In 1997, Vancouver City Council set in motion the redevelopment of its last fifty acres of waterfront land at South East False Creek as a "model sustainable community". The mandate of this project has been to pioneer practices in sustainable urban development that can be implemented throughout the city and abroad.

VIA Architecture was the architect and prime urban planning consultant leading this complex multi-phase planning process, from policy planning to the 2005 approval of the Official Development Plan that included the 2010 Olympic Village. The City lands on the waterfront comprise over two million square feet of primarily residential development plus 24 acres of park space.

VIA's pioneering work on this project has been featured at international Greenbuild conferences and in City of Vancouver urban design publications.

VIA is also architect for the focal private site at Columbia and Second Avenue, for which LEED Silver is the required development standard.