Altered Carbon Filming Sites in Vancouver

A person with light hair stands on a balcony overlooking a futuristic cityscape with tall buildings and neon lights at night.
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Flick on a Netflix sci-fi or superhero TV series, and chances are you’ll glimpse Vancouver in the background. Altered Carbon, which debuted in February 2018, is no exception – in fact, the dystopian drama was filmed almost exclusively in the city.

Vancouver’s architecturally stunning structures and dynamic landscapes translate beautifully to the series’ setting, which takes place more than 350 years in the future. The world of 2384 is a bleak, inhospitable space where people’s memories are reduced to mere storage devices, which are surgically inserted into “sleeves” (disposable human bodies). The series stars Joel Kinnaman as Takeshi Kovacs, a political operative who is the only survivor of a defeated uprising. He wakes up 250 years after his previous sleeve was exterminated, and is given the choice to either spend his life in prison or help solve the murder of a wealthy, powerful businessman named Laurens Bancroft (played by James Purefoy).

Read about major filming sites seen in Altered Carbon. Then watch or re-watch the series and see if you can spot them on-screen!

British Columbia Institute of Technology

Spacious modern lobby with curved concrete ceiling, glass railings, and red and blue circular seating.

The BCIT Aerospace campus is seen as headquarters of the company that clones “sleeves”.

VanDusen Botanical Garden

Modern building with a wavy roof and glass walls, surrounded by trees, reflecting in a pond in front.

The VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre is the stately mansion home of Isaac Bancroft, son of Laurens and Miriam.

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts

Empty concert hall with wooden seats and a grand piano on a brightly lit stage under circular ceiling lights.

The Chan Centre for Performing Arts at UBC was the site of a dedicated battle arena situated inside Laurens Bancroft’s immense palace.

UBC Rose Garden

Symmetrical garden with flower beds shaped like a maple leaf, surrounded by green grass and trees, with mountains and water in the background.

The UBC Rose Garden is portrayed as Laurens Bancroft’s ethereal palace in the sky.

BC Place

A large stadium with a white roof and tall supporting beams, surrounded by city buildings at sunset.

BC Place Stadium is as awe-inspiring as the powerful airship belonging to Reileen Kawahara, Takeshi Kovacs’ sister.

Telus Garden

Modern glass office building with two protruding glass box structures, surrounded by other tall buildings in a city.

The TELUS Garden office tower serves as a meeting place for three characters in episode six.

Vancouver Convention Centre

Waterfront building with large glass windows lit from inside and people walking outside near a pier with Canada Place in the background.

The Vancouver Convention Centre doubles as the spacious, cavern-like apartment of Isaac Bancroft, son of Laurens and Miriam Bancroft. It was transformed again to be the launch bay of a spaceship.

The Qube

Modern glass building elevated on a concrete base with stairs leading up, surrounded by leafless trees and other buildings.

The Qube is home to a company that clones “sleeves”, or human bodies that different beings of consciousness inhabit.

Britannia Mine Museum

Multi-story gray and white building with balconies next to a large stepped white industrial building on a green hillside under a cloudy sky.

Britannia Mine Museum was the Yakuza Base, where Tak leads an assault team before turning on them.

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