Downs + Pullan Interview

A recent North Shore Outlook article on Barry Downs and Selwyn Pullan features the two reminiscing and discussing their respective professions. A photo of them outside Pullan's studio is a nice touch.

Kim Smith and Bo Helliwell, featured as well, talk about their renovation and sympathetic addition to Downs' 1963 Rayer residence.

Barry Downs' North Vancouver Civic Centre

Downs/Archambault's 1975 North Vancouver Civic Centre has been in transition for some time and the recent redesign by Mcfarlane Green Biggar is close to completion.

The original complex of City Hall and the library, designed by Barry Downs, was a remarkable if under-recognized work of West Coast Modernism that was diluted through incremental change and evolving civic priorities.

Downs conceived the Civic Centre as an unassuming, functional pair of buildings that inspired a more inclusive idea of politics and civic interaction.

Material choices spoke to this: raw cedar, concrete and an emphasis on landscaping of native plantings. Downs designed a pronounced planted berm and water feature that softened the connection between buildings and the urban surroundings.

It was a vision of politics that embraced integration and subtlety - hallmarks of Downs' work. The civic centre was so deeply connected to place, it felt as if it literally rose out of the fecund North Shore landscape.

Sadly this vision has largely been dismantled. The berm and water feature are long gone. The library building was demolished last year. Across the street is Diamond & Schmitt's new library – a sign of a changing urban mandate that is now transforming North Vancouver's Civic Centre and community buildings in general.

Meanwhile, Downs' lone remaining City Hall structure sits as a testament to the ingenuity, understatement and priorities of a different time and a master of the site.

B+W Photos: John Fulker

Moon Residence

See this weekend's Globe & Mail for Adele Weder's article on Fred Hollingsworth's Moon/Miller residence in North Vancouver.

Hollingsworth in North Vancouver

In what is already proving to be an active month for architecturally significant listings, add Fred Hollingsworth's 1950 Moon Residence to the list.

It is one of his Wright-influenced Neoteric designs that features a taut post and beam structure, cedar board and batten siding, copious interior plywood and red brick that defines the central living space. The house is actually two linked structures set on a 45 degree angle, giving a dynamic sense of space.

The Moon Residence is listed as a Primary Building in North Vancouver's Heritage Building Inventory and remains in stunningly pristine condition.

Plywood Down

A follow up photo of the Plywood Research Laboratory location, post-demolition:

Plywood Research Laboratory

Ron Thom's Plywood Research Laboratory is to be demolished, replaced by–surprise–townhouses.

Built in 1962, the laboratory's most distinctive feature is its faceted stressed-skin roof. The structure underlying the roof system is a dynamic arrangement of two-hinge glulam arch ribs, meaning there are no typical support features like beams or posts.

The roof consists of trapezoid and triangular fir plywood panels which further strengthen the structural support. The plywood is covered with a fibreglass 'skin'. The design allows a large free and open workspace and is strong enough to support three separate crane systems (one in the centre and two on the sides), each capable of moving 1 tonne of weight.

The drainage system from the roof is also unique, with water funneling down the facets onto concrete buttresses that act as structural support with channels for runoff.

The building was Canply's plywood research laboratory for over 40 years, but has been increasing encroached upon by low-scale residential development. Given Thom's prominence, the building was considered for heritage designation, a move that was not supported by Canply.

That designation never went through and this modest but significant piece of North Vancouver's architectural heritage will fall this week.

Testing laboratory interior.

Roof detail with translucent skylights.

Testing laboratory showing materials and cranes.

Roof detail, with yellow and green cranes in foreground.

Plan of exterior.

Detail plan of two-hinge glulam arch ribs.

Rendering of building front entrance.

V-shaped roof section leading to concrete buttress and drainage channel.

Detail of concrete buttress.

Front entrance.

North side of building with mature native west coast landscaping.