Twisting with a purpose. The newly approved—by the Vancouver city Council—52-story tower designed by Dutch architect Bjarke Ingels in his first foray into Vancouver, B.C., rotates skyward, turning from a triangle into a rectangle as it goes.

Ingels says the change allows his building to reclaim its logical footprint at the top, all while sidestepping a tricky piece of real estate adjacent to the Granville Street bridge.

The Ian Gillespie-developed Vancouver House property will not only include the tower, but also a mix of residential, retail and commercial space in other on-site buildings on both sides of the bridge near the corner of Beach and Howe streets.

And there will be art underneath.

Westbank Projects, Gillespie is Westbank’s president, will turn the 600-unit tower into a key building in Vancouver’s downtown. Ingels says the twist reminds of a curtain being drawn, welcoming people into downtown via Granville.

The tower, though, isn’t the only piece of the art.

The developers also plan to place light boxes on the underside of the bridge, turning the space below Granville’s bridge into an art zone and connecting both sides of the development with a sort of urban plaza. Expect multiple site activation possibilities for the space too.

To further educate the public about the project the group will open an exhibition on March 22 called Gesamtkunstwerk, German for total work of art. He wants all of Vancouver to understand the reason for the twisting, artistic development. He has a purpose.