The Evergreen Building is significant as a landmark project by internationally-acclaimed architect, Arthur Erickson. A Vancouver native, Erickson’s career dominated the development and growth of the country’s architectural profession during the late twentieth century, and he has been recognized as Canada’s most brilliant architect of the modern era.

Profoundly influenced by his world travels, Erickson’s architecture reflects his belief in the importance of site, light, cadence and space, embodied in the ‘green’ nature of this urban building. He continues a Vancouver-based practice, and recent award-winning projects have further enhanced his reputation and stimulated public interest in his distinguished career. Additionally this building is an example of his collaborative work with pioneering landscape architect, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, who participated with Erickson on a number of landmark projects.

Erickson's career trajectory aligned with the rise of Modernism, which emphasized glass, steel and reinforced concrete as building materials. Built in 1980 during the middle of his career, the Evergreen Building is restrained by the unorthodox boundaries of the property, yielding a structure with diagonal lines and a sawtooth edge. Each zigzag floor steps up from a larger one below, diminishing the size of the level as the building climbs higher.