In Vancouver there’s a moment at dusk, just before the blinds go down, when curious pedestrians can catch a glimpse into the glass-and-steel condo towers lining False Creek. Linger a little longer, and you may notice that one penthouse doesn’t go into lockdown after the sun dips. In fact, its arresting interior seems as much designed to engage the outside world as its inhabitants.
The creator of this reverse-observatory is Omer Arbel, the young Vancouver designer, whose design objects—a resin chair, a pendant lighting system of cast-glass spheres—carry international cult status.

Which is why he finds it mildly irritating that this 7,200-square-foot penthouse gets more attention for its price tag than its design features. At $18 million, it’s the city’s most expensive resale condo. (Tales of Arbel covering the walls in 4,600 square feet of white onyx didn’t exactly help his case.)
“Of course, it’s an over-the-top project—that’s the nature of the project,” grins Arbel. But the “dream” nature of the house is in the thoughtfulness of the design, not the price.

To start, Arbel’s solution to the delineation of space is also one of the condo’s most dramatic features. Inspired by lanterns, Arbel’s four onyx-enclosed “pods” (the kitchen, the office and two bathrooms) are at once rooms and giant lamps. Concealed fluorescents make the stone pods glow with the textured translucence of rice paper. They are best appreciated from a seat at the dining-room table, where the kitchen pod illuminates the area and the remarkable floating office pod serves as the light source overhead. “It’s this huge mass of stone suspended above you,” describes Arbel. “But at the same time it’s ethereal.”

Originally the Canadian crash pad of rock ’n’ roll bad-boy Axl Rose, the penthouse has changed hands several times over the last decade. With owners more interested in its appreciation than its livability, the three-storey condo was never elevated beyond a concrete shell.

The cycle continued until four years ago, when the current owner gave Arbel carte blanche and a multi-million-dollar renovation budget. The designer brought in the best: Spanish onyx, walnut, white marble and a proliferation of his signature cast-glass chandeliers.

Arbel takes an erudite pleasure in the contrasting world those materials allowed him to create. Outside the pods, you feel a bit exposed, a result of the soft palette, double-high ceilings and imposing cityscape beyond. By contrast, inside, you feel a sense of intimacy—ceilings are low, vistas are cropped and colour makes an appearance as a bright green epoxy floor in the kitchen and blue-glass tiles in the bathrooms.

The master bathroom demonstrates that contrast unforgivingly. Blue tile marks the boundary of the pod comprising the shower, sinks and toilet. The space is hermetically private—except for the tub. Cast out of the cocoon, it stands alone in a glass alcove. And in plain view of False Creek.
The obvious question is, who would live in this fishbowl? Arbel doesn’t miss a beat when he answers, “A rock star!” But he means in lifestyle, rather than by profession. The desire to be seen, and not seen, is everywhere. So are the signs of high-flying bachelordom. A private elevator runs from the penthouse to the four-car garage, making stops at the lobby on the first floor and the nanny (or, perhaps, lover) suite on the second. A wine rack, concealed in the dining-room floor, pops up on demand to kick-start the evening. A hot tub on the sky-high balcony provides an exhilarating end to the night. And a concealed water cooler beside the master bed serves up morning-after relief.

At 26 floors up, that kind of drama is just too good to keep under wraps.