Büro Ole Scheeren's residential Fifteen Fifteen skyscraper in Vancouver, which will have a distinctive form with numerous stacked boxy volumes, has taken a step closer to reality as apartment pre-sales begin.

Sales will open in November 2021 for apartments in the proposed 42-storey Fifteen Fifteen residential tower at 1515 Alberni Street in the Coal Harbour neighbourhood.

Developers Bosa Properties and Kingswood Properties first unveiled the design in 2015, planned for the same site but with the address 1500 West Georgia Street.

It was approved by the city council in 2018 and is set to start construction in 2022.

The project is not to be confused with a pair of similar towers designed by Büro Ole Scheeren for the city's West End, revealed in 2018 by the same developer but still in application review stage.

Fifteen Fifteen will include 202 condominiums, ranging from studios to three-bedroom homes. Among these are 18 Observatory Residences located in the horizontally protruding portions of the building and four penthouse apartments.

The cantilevered sections of the Observatory Residences will be wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass, intended to offer residents the sensation of floating above the city and landscape.

"My vision for Fifteen Fifteen was to forge an immersive three-dimensional connection between nature, urban living and personal space," said studio founder Ole Scheeren.

"The building actively positions the individual within its distinct community and embraces Vancouver’s breathtaking landscape."

The architect and his team will also design the interiors for the condos, complementing the architecture and engineering.

Among the selection of amenities will be a lounge spanning the 29th and 30th floors, with 270-degree views over Vancouver.

Several buildings with stacked box-like elements have been proposed or completed over the past few years.

Perhaps the best known is Herzog & de Meuron's 56 Leonard skyscraper in Manhattan, with others including The Interlace housing development in Singapore and the proposed overhaul of a Frankfurt office tower, both also by Büro Ole Scheeren.

The international firm's similarly playful skyscraper designs include the pixelated MahaNakhon tower in Bangkok and a pair of honeycomb-patterned buildings in Singapore – both of which completed in 2018.

Images are by Binyan Studios.