May 26, 2011
Photo of Vancouver by Colleen Hardwick
Vancouver is in the throes of a real estate gold rush. While Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and China have passed legal deterrents such as property speculation taxes on second homes, Vancouver (and all of British Columbia) have not.
May 25, 2011
Spaceship condominium in Guilford, Connecticut, designed by Wil Armster. We need to see more buildings like this, especially in Vancouver, to break up the endless architectural monotony not to mention mediocrity.
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.
April 16, 2011
Harland Bartholomew, a key figure in twentieth-century Canadian and American urban planning, designed a comprehensive plan for the City of Vancouver between 1926 – 1930. Bing Thom Architects/ BTA Works have been working with the Vancouver City Archive and the Museum of Vancouver on a series on the “Bart Plan” as it’s known in planning circles.
April 6, 2011
This is a belated short note to say I am participating in the Vancouver Art Gallery’s current exhibition WE Vancouver—12 Manifestos for the City, running February 12–May 1, 2011.
March 29, 2011
“Application to the City of Vancouver to develop an abysmal chasm for purposes of facilitating public reverie, contemplation and longing.” Makes me laugh every time I look at it. By my friend & Vancouver artist Aaron Carpenter.
November 28, 2010
This small residential hotel in downtown Vancouver was stubbornly saved from demolition by its amazing owner, the quietly determined George Riste. George resisted numerous attempts by BC Hydro to buy his building, continually asserting the rights of his tenants to remain exactly where they were.
November 20, 2010
Local artists Jeff Depner, Russell Leng, Aaron Moran and Sarah Gee (see previous post on her here) are all showing their work in AFTER MATH, a group show at East Van Studio, 870 East Cordova Street, Vancouver, November 26-28, 2010.
Above: the superb book design on Davis’ often-reprinted books from the 1970s.
Chuck Davis died early this morning at age 75. Chuck was arguably Vancouver’s most well-known historian; certainly he was its best-loved historian for anyone who grew up in Vancouver in the 70s or 80s.
November 14, 2010
At Beckwoman’s, an old Vancouver institution on Commercial Drive. DON’T PRAY IN MY SCHOOL AND I WON’T THINK IN YOUR CHURCH. And lots more where that came from, if you want slogans.
