Canada Pavilion Redux

Canada Pavilion...

...and the unfortunately similar LiveCity beer tent next door.

Rochon and Vancouver

With the spotlight on Vancouver and the 2010 Olympics, Globe & Mail architecture critic Lisa Rochon has turned her eye to various issues on the West Coast.

Along with a glowing review of the Olympic Village, and a profile of Surrey's urban development and Townshift competition, her most recent piece discusses the proposed new roof for BC Place, the Woodwards complex as well as the increasingly- and thankfully- unpopular Vancouver Art Gallery move.

Kudos to the Globe and Rochon for the coverage.

Gropius

Creation and love of beauty are elemental for the experience of happiness. A time which does not recognize this basic truth does not become articulate in the visual sense; its image remains blurred, its manifestations fail to delight.

- Walter Gropius, 1962

Vancouver 2010: Canada Pavilion

A lost opportunity and perhaps an illegal move by the Conservative government. Where's the sense of pride and inspiration we want to communicate about our country? Ian Chodikoff, editor of Canadian Architect, has also weighed in in a National Post article.

Here's what our Heritage Minister, James Moore, has to say about the $10-million pavilion: "it's going to be a destination for people to come and enjoy the games, not to stand with folded arms and have an architectural experience." Are they really that divorced in his mind?

Canada has a wealth of architectural talent that could have been tapped to produce a building that more accurately reflects this dynamic and engaged country.