Day THREE

This one was the most interesting of all the talks I think. It was in Arthur Erickson’s Museum of Antropology. While, it was blindingly hot and glare-ridden. It was great to see so many people of various walks of life interested in the city. I think the location was a great place to talk about these kind of issues, an architecture that really speaks of Vancouver. Erickson is probably the closest thing to architectural innovator that we have. I admire the guy for sticking with his ideas and his concepts of what he wanted. He was way ahead of the technology but that is a totally different story all together. His law courts are probably one of my favorite pieces of architecture in Vancouver. It integrates itself into downtown. It isn’t a building that places itself squarely on top of the fabric but a piece of architecture that was thought out to integrate with the core of the city, a truly urban building. Erickson himself was there at the talks, along with a bunch of other people that I sort-of recognized… probably important people.

Other people that were a huge part of the lecture were this man called Trevor Boddy who is an architecture critic and he writes for various Vancouver and western Canadian publications. He was the moderator and co-curator for the three evenings. He seemed fairly interesting and he injected a little bit of fun ever so often. Another woman was Jill Baird who was the main curator of the exhibit.

The last evening was directed towards Vancouver. An interesting point made was the more you know about others the more you know about yourself.

Quick impressions of Vancouver

Noelle

• Condo craze


• City Center


• The importance of warm, hospitable architecture

Rykwert

• Likes law courts – life of the city


• Central City, Surrey

Desmond

• Central City, Surrey


• Shopping, commerce and culture


• The merging of public and private spheres


• Woodwards development – realms of public and private come together

Roberto

• Towers


• Public space


• Segregation

Samia

• Ppl make place


• Architects make space


• Make it your own


• Framed views of commercialism


• Merges individuals good with public good


• Tourism as an unviable economy


• Building as city center?


• Decentralization

Yasmin

• Spirit and connectedness


• Loosing connection with nature


• Connections to the environment

General comments

• City of views


• Use public space to bring economic viability


• How will public space help consumerism


• Wasteland of parking inevitable with towers


• Mixed use


• Where does the money go?


• Downtown as a resort not a city


• What should a city look like?


• The way that Vancouver is now doesn’t reflect the city


• Lack of social awareness

Q: Bing Thom

• Transformation and authenticity


• Various stages of colonization


• Natives, colonialism, expo, hk takeover


• Hong-couver colonialization


• City of information


• How do we find our own authenticities? Inspirations?

A: Yasmin

• Where is Vancouver?


• How do we express the city


• What is the response to the site, people use


• It’s the material palette of the city be it physical or metaphysical

Q: Joyce Drohan

• Waterfront as public space


• Possibilities of public space to create a vibrant waterfront? Examples?


• Darlin harbor?


• Authenticity?


• Much of the waterfront is put into place after the fact

A: Rykwert

• What are the restrictions to be placed


• Need a master plan for waterfront


• Masterplan as a historical object


• Virtual plan as a physical reality


• Master vision

A: Samia

• Think of vertical planning


• Layers of history


• Need a system or matrix


• Ocean doesn’t give to the people


• Land>human>water


• Hierarchy


• Basic understanding of ourselves


• No city has an answer you need to look and think about yourself

Q: Herb Auerbach

• If you don’t know where you’re going what is the point?


• Transportation/economics etc


• Trading center


• How do you use it?


• What kinds of government do we need to able to implement changes and what kind of planner do we need?

A: Yasmin

• Where do you want go?


• Implement research


• Public participation in planning issues


• Education informs public

A: Dennis

• Don’t leave it to the designers


• Cities of people


• People make cities

General public questions were now opened up

Q:

• Public is a dangerous term


• I think we are moving away from public and more towards “private” (in a commercial sense?)


• How do we deal with that?

A: Desmond

• The “private” is a reality we have to deal


• Less and less financing


• hinges on the public/private relationship

Q

• the roundhouse and its purpose what do you think about it?


• Concentration of architectural typologies in one area


• Other arts facilities to help the city

A: Roberto

• San Paolo


• Public transportation to reinforce city


• More accessibility to pedestrian spaces and transportation


• Bring people back to the city


• Vertical social structure?

Q (comment from arch critic from seattle)

• No master plan?!


• Public process


• Authenticity and waves of colonization


• Rise of glass towers new form of public space

Rykwert

• About US contingent


• Philidelphia


• Plan as a vision not a plan


• New urbanism


• “I don’t want to be a citizen I want to be a customer”

Q

• Long history of social protest


• Protests of bad development


• If people don’t want to be involved how do you make a difference

A: Noelle

• Need an awakening


• The sept 19 1985 earthquake was a catalyst for her


• Hurricane Katrina will be a catalyst for ppl of new Orleans


• Become a citizen of your city


• Be involved


• Communication is key

Q

• Cynicism and futility


• Is with the government sometimes and their lack of understanding and stance


• Engaging in the community and how you feel engaged? Optimism in the city

A: Sharp

• Hierarchy is a problem


• Use press and all communication abilities to get your point across

Q (comment by Vanessa Richards? Artist)

• The idea of flexispace


• Investment


• Celebration of local life


• Transform the space


• Cultural needs from government so we don’t ignore them

Q

• How do we capture city


• Civil society in the world and what can be used and moved

Q

• Enhancing quality of life


• Public transportation


• Good examples?

Q

• London iniciatives about pay entry into the city


• How do you bring pedestrians into London

Q

• Allegiance to the street


• How do critics deal with this?

A: Yasmin

• Need to know the people and who you are working with


• Media is important to use


• Architectural critic in city in papers


• Competitions and that kind of project bring ppl together


• Put things on show like real projects to make people feel that they are a part of something that will be made

A: Samid

• A short response to roundhouse


• Who is the custodian of the museum?


• Something must be at stake for people to be interested in it


• Need a participant


• Mediator of architecture and the street


• What is its history and why


• Myth of city


• What is the role of the museum in the city


• Cultural tourist


• Personal tourism memory, knowledge experience


• City is the history is the museum


• Urban form to engage people and city as tourist


• Set your own trends

A: Rykwert

• Bologna city riot


• Beat up officials?

Closing remarks

• We know others and that is how we know ourselves


• Anthropology is part of people and understanding them is to understand them


• Create a co-management of resources


• Is the museum a relevant program for north America


• New institutions to engage what the city is


• Metaphysical architecture