At West 5th and Burrard, Yamamoto Architecture wrapped a five-storey concrete building in horizontal bands and generous glass. Above the street-level retail, just 24 residences ranged from compact studios to three-bedroom penthouses with private rooftop terraces. City, mountain and water views gave the upper homes an outlook well beyond their intimate address.

The product gave the campaign its substance. Cutler’s light and dark interiors paired nine-foot ceilings and engineered wood floors with Wolf cooking appliances, integrated Fhiaba refrigeration and marble bathrooms. For local downsizers and urban professionals, the proposition was specific: the finish and permanence they wanted, in the neighbourhood they wanted to keep.

“Something wicked this way comes” made an unexpected first impression in Kitsilano. The teaser announced a building with a sharper character; black and white, a geometric W5 monogram and fine gold detailing gave it a visual language to match. The number 24 carried its own weight: this was a small collection, and the campaign made that scale part of the invitation.

Tanner Wilson at Theorem Design Inc. developed the identity and design. In the brochure, fine gold linework opened into large architectural images; on the street, the black gallery frontage reduced the message to West Five and 24 contemporary residences. The same geometry appeared in print, on the facade and in the illuminated W5 downstairs.

The sales gallery occupied an existing on-site retail space. Its footprint called for selection: a kitchen and marble bathroom vignette rather than a full display home; a scale model and two touchscreens rather than rows of plans. A private closing office gave buyers somewhere to settle the details.

A neon W5 marked the staircase into the gallery. Visitors arrived at the model, then moved closer to the materials. The light and dark palettes could be compared beside the kitchen and bathroom displays, with the building and individual plans close at hand.

For the launch, West Five opened out to the neighbourhood. Yolks brought breakfast to the lane; coffee, conversation and a gathering of local buyers and realtors gave the introduction the ease of a block party. The campaign’s architectural polish met a more familiar kind of Kitsilano hospitality.

Sales opened on May 2, 2015. By June 26, all 24 residences were sold—less than eight weeks from launch.