Townshift Reflections
March 24, 2010
Surrey’s Townshift: Suburb to City international ideas design competition had the potential of leaving a powerful and visionary legacy for how to intelligently transform the suburban landscape. Unfortunately, it fell short of the mark. Erick Villagomez critically analyzes the competition to see what lessons can be learned.
By Erick Villagomez, re:place magazine
Building Evolution
January 20, 2010
Photo courtesy of City of Vancouver (media centre)
How do current practices of planning and regulation affect the evolution of buildings and cities? Erick Villagomez looks at the nature of urban evolution over history and offers the development of Olympic Village as an interesting point of reflection about the pros and cons of contemporary methods of directing the city form.
By Erick Villagomez, re:place magazine
Juhani Pallasmaa: Architect of the Senses
November 18, 2009
With the recent visit of Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa to the UBC School of Architecture (SALA), many in Vancouver’s architectural community had the pleasure of joining the seventy-three old award winning architect for an evening’s presentation of his work at the Vancouver Playhouse.
By Sean Ruthen
Performing Infrastructure
September 16, 2009
Edmonton's Gallagher Park at the 2009 Folk Music Festival
With growing national interest in funding infrastructure projects to kick start our lumbering economy, Sean Ruthen considers another type of infrastructure requiring funding - Performance Infrastructure.
By Sean Ruthen, re:place magazine
Canada Line craziness: An adventure on the rails
August 17, 2009
Thousands wait outside Waterfront Station for a free ride on the Canada Line.
Article and photos by Leszek Apouchtine, re:place magazine
The first day of the Canada Line saw thousands of people line up at many stations, while other stations sat practically empty. Read more
In Focus: The Built Landscape
August 13, 2009
Statement and Photos by Sean Orr
I’m not a photographer who readily predetermines defined areas of focus or themes, however since I always have my camera with me, those areas tend to reveal themselves with any change in my daily routine. Ergo, after getting a new job in the downtown core, my focus has shifted away from the back alley bricks of Gastown and towards the curious spaces found in the CBD. Read more
Vancouver’s Evolving Shoreline
July 16, 2009
SEFC - riprap "amphitheatre" offers direct access to the water of False Creek.
By Erick Villagomez, re:place magazine
All photos courtesy of PWL Partnership
As you ride leisurely along the newly constructed south-east shoreline of False Creek - sun beaming and salty air licking your face - it is easy to take the significance of this newest addition to Vancouver’s public realm for granted. Although visions for the 80 hectares of SouthEast False Creek (SEFC) have ebbed and flowed for well over a decade, it was with the awarding of Vancouver’s 2010 Olympic bid in 2003 that pressure to move forward to transform this derelict industrial area truly took hold. Read more
In Focus: Van Refuse & Bricolage
June 9, 2009
Statement and Photos by Alex Witko & Courtney Hunt
Our environment is increasingly becoming a landscape of which waste is an integral part. We tend to ignore it but refuse of many kinds is, and always has been, part of the human realm. Read more
In Focus: Picturing Commercial Drive
April 22, 2009
Comparative images and statement by Jason Skladan
Commercial Drive is dependant on its history. Much of the street has been built in short phases of financial success and subsequently renovated to accommodate changing needs. Read more
Deconstructing FormShift
March 31, 2009
By Erick Villagomez, re:place magazine
Spring is in the air and slowly, our dreary winter eyes are shedding their grey-stained patina to the exuberant energy and life blooming around us. Wisely, the City of Vancouver and Architectural Institute of British Columbia are looking to capitalize on the spirit of the season through launching their jointly-sponsored FormShift architectural design competition. Read more
