Hemingway Residence

Brian Hemingway's own 1977 residence is on the market. 

Located on a steep hillside in West Vancouver, the house is a virtual treehouse and shares many qualities with the contemporaneous and nearby Merrick house.

Copious use of timbers and glass, an intimate relationship to a precipitous site and and the tangible influence of Ron Thom are all part of this wonderful late-modern West Coast work.

Photos: Pixilink

Don Vaughan Profile

Via Price Tags - a great profile on landscape architect Don Vaughan and three significant projects he designed in Metro Vancouver.

It's the first of a four part series of short films on Vancouver landscape architects from film-makers Saba Farmand and Paul Albi.

Image: Don Vaughan at High Tide Pavilion/Low Tide Sculpture at David Lam Park

City Hall Buildings

Changes are coming to Vancouver's city hall buildings due to identified earthquake risks. The east wing has been marked for eventual demolition and the west annex will require significant seismic upgrades.

A report by Glotman-Simpson notes that it would take about $4 million to upgrade the east wing to the highest seismic standards, a sum that has apparently been deemed excessive. Interestingly, the report also states that both buildings "are of a quality and finish that is suitable for retrofit."

The east wing was designed in 1968 by Townley, Matheson and Partners who were also the architects of the original, heritage-designated city hall building on the West 12th Avenue site. 

P4A

The next instalment of Party For Architects is slated for September 26th. Vancouver Special is hosting and Campos Leckie Studio will be in attendance as special guests.

See Trevor Boddy's insightful article for a primer on Campos Leckie's residential work in Mexico.

Ron Thom Exhibit

This is the final week to view the West Vancouver Museum's excellent Ron Thom exhibit, guest curated by Adele Weder. 

It comes down after September 21 and will then travel East to Toronto and Peterborough in the coming year.

See also the exhibition-related website that explores Thom's work.