V.I.A.

Check out V.I.A./Vancouver Is Awesome.

It's a non-profit organization and website dedicated to all things cultural and artistic in the city, including architecture and the urban landscape.

It's an angle we here at Vancouver Lights can appreciate.

Erickson and Japan

The Arthur Erickson Conservancy is presenting a lecture exploring Erickson's formative travel to Japan in 1961.

In 2009, Texas-based Architecture Professor Michelangelo Sabatino retraced Erickson's visit to the country to explore its influence on the Canadian architect. Sabatino will present his findings in an illustrated talk and Q & A session at 7pm on November 25, 2009 at the Vancity Theatre + Atrium.

Considering the deep impression left on Erickson by his early travels, and Japan in particular, it should be an engaging talk.

For further information, contact Cheryl Cooper at info@arthurericksonconservancy.com

Moveable City

Check out Moveable City, opening tonight in Vancouver.

The exhibition is organized by Cineworks and is an exploration of the potential of the city's built environment. Featured artists include Sean Arden, Ross Birdwise, Katarina Elven, Holly Schmidt and Jamie Ward.

The works focus on the subjective experience we have as we move through the city, and the less tangible qualities such as "the histories, the lost, the imagined, the remembered, the desired, the retold, the destroyed and the phantasmagoric."

Things get started at 7pm at the Cineworks annex space in the Ironworks Building at 235 Alexander Street. The exhibition runs until September 18th.

Abraham Rogatnick, 1923-2009

Abraham Rogatnick passed away on August 29, 2009.

The man's contributions to this city were enormous, from the New Design Gallery through teaching at UBC to his recent thoughts on the proposed Vancouver Art Gallery relocation.

I last saw him speak at the June service for Arthur Erickson at SFU where he delivered a ruminative and impassioned eulogy for his old friend, encapsulating the spirit of the man and the city which both called home.

He will be missed.

Shim-Sutcliffe's Toronto

An interesting article in the Weekend Post by Vanessa Farquharson that explores Toronto through the prism of city architects Shim-Sutcliffe. It's part lifestyle piece, part urban treatise and has considerable insight into the city's built environment.

Brigitte Shim talks about the neighborhood they live and work in- Leslieville- noting that they chose it largely based on an empty lot on which they could build a modern laneway house.

She further discusses the broader fabric of Toronto, comments which can easily apply to Vancouver:

"Much like Leslieville, Toronto is still in transition - it has a ways to go. So you have to think about how its buildings contribute to the landscape and community as a whole. If we're less obsessed with trophy buildings and more interested in how to build a great city, it gives people tons of reasons to want to be here."

Given the calibre of their work, more designs from Shim-Sutcliffe in Toronto (and Vancouver, for that matter) would be a good thing.