November 20, 2015
The urban planning disasters of the 1960s in Britain. We think we have learned from them, but have we?
Start watching the video at 14:00 if you don’t want to watch the whole documentary, which is a sort of myth-busting look at the 60s in England.
August 13, 2014
This post is for Vancouverites who are either new to the city, or who are urban or civic politics nerds but aren’t acquainted with the early historical roots of the local civic political party that is known—somewhat hilariously—as the Non Partisan Association (NPA).
January 15, 2014
Orange Cars Powell, 1973, Photo reprinted by kind permission of Equinox Gallery and Fred Herzog. (Contact the gallery if you’re interested in purchasing one of this edition of 20.)
The Ming Sun Building is still standing.
October 8, 2013
Vancouver artist Ken Lum took the opportunity of a Pecha Kucha appearance to talk about the his city, its history and its habits, and its demolition and disappearance. Though he said little about his own work, none of the concerns or ethic of his art were missing.
April 25, 2013
It is hard not to view this frozen waterfall as an artwork, but it only functions as art inadvertently. Its effect is quietly visceral, though, a response I don’t have to art often enough.
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 18, 2012
When I was in India in February, I stayed with a designer friend in Mumbai. He has lived for 20 years in a beautiful heritage building that was originally built as an orphanage.
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.
April 5, 2012
UPDATE: This disastrous, precedent-setting development was passed by our City Council, dominated by supposedly “green” Vision Vancouver, in a 9-1 vote. It was not sent back to design; only vague requests to the developer to make it smaller and less ugly were uttered.
December 3, 2011
McCabe & Mrs. Miller, released in 1971, was one of Robert Altman’s earliest feature films (after M*A*S*H*, That Cold Day in the Park, and Brewster McCloud).
