Feature Article

Goodbye Arthur Erickson

Faculty Club Garden, UBC

Text and photos by Sean Ruthen, re:place magazine

As a musician studying architecture at UBC over a decade ago, I was not overly surprised at that time to discover that singer-songwriter Paul Simon was also a musician with an architectural background. Simon was 18 years old when Frank Lloyd Wright passed away in 1959, an event which compelled him to write the song ‘Goodbye Frank Lloyd Wright’ with his musical partner Art Garfunkle. And so similarly, with the new president of the Architectural Institute of BC, Pierre Gallant, having written a poignant summation of Mr. Erickson’s career on his passing, as well as numerous other pieces in the national papers, including a piece by City of Vancouver’s head of planning Brent Toderian and  an editorial in the latest Vancouver Magazine, I too would like to write a song on the passing of one of the profession’s great master builders. Read the story »

Books

Skytrain Explorer

Author: John Atkin (Steller Press, 2005)

Everything is walking distance if you have the time.
-Steven Wright, Comedian and Actor

This is how Vancouver historian and walking-tour guide John Atkin starts his 2005 Vancouver guide Skytrain Explorer: Heritage Walks From Every Station, and hints at the way the author upholds walking as an essentials means of exploring. Written as a carry-along guide for short walking tours around the fifteen stations serviced in common by the Expo and Millenium Lines, the book takes explorers through tiny pockets of Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster. Read the story »

Cartographically Speaking

Kingsway: Building footprint figure-ground

By Erick Villagomez, re:place magazine
(Map courtesy of ENDS 402_w09 class, digital format © 2009 - class individuals named at the end)

Kingsway is one of the most significant streets in Metro Vancouver.  With its rich history that pre-dates European arrival and its unique diagonal urban structure spanning three municipalities, its importance has not diminished over time.  Quite the opposite, in fact. Read the story »

TransitFan

Becoming an expert transit rider

True expertise in riding a transit system takes time, patience, and lots of careful observation. It is not achieved overnight. Read the story »