May 27, 2012
Interesting article from The Walrus magazine on Northrop Frye’s look at the condominium form and its effects on our attitudes, particularly in the context of Canadian history and our “garrison mentality.” I’d be interested in people’s reactions to this.
May 7, 2012
What follows is the Preface of Don Gutstein’s 1975 book Vancouver Ltd., a thorough—and, as it turns out, prescient—analysis of the way in which Vancouver fell into the hands of real estate developers and realtors.
October 12, 2011
Vancouver towers from Wikimedia Commons
[Update: see post on this topic on the Vancouver Lights blog. Also see this critique of glass highrises by Lisa Rochon in the Globe and Mail.]
Apologies that this is such a long post.
September 13, 2011
(All photos here are of New York. Photos of Vancouver to be appended later.)
The building at left is by Gehry. Shot is taken from the Highline promenade.
April 17, 2011
Above: db Bistro, now closed. Overrefined corporate decor, dreary and visually bleak. New York in the 80s?
“The murals in restaurants are on a par with the food in museums.” ~ Peter de Vries, 1977
Vancouver is overrun with restaurants blighted not just with notably bad art but also with a type of generic commercial decor that makes you want to throw cutlery.
August 25, 2009
I had a fit of morbid laughter when I saw this redevelopment banner today. The graffiti could be its Greek chorus. Do you think the condo developer actually bothered to read The Iliad before naming a building after it?
