CCA Grant Deadlines

AIBC members and other registrants should note the March 1, 2012 postmark deadline for the following Canada Council for the Arts grant programs:

• Assistance to Practitioners, Critics and Curators of Architecture ($20,000 max) – available to individuals and firms for the public presentation of contemporary Canadian works of architecture. For the application guidelines and form, go to http://www.canadacouncil.ca/grants/visualarts/yf127227074072812500.htm.

• Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture ($50,000) – awarded to a young architectural practitioner or firm that has shown exceptional promise in their first buildings, it allows laureates to travel around the world to hone their skills. For the application guidelines and form, go to http://www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/prix_de_rome/mj127712888940611569.htm.

• Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement ($10,000) – to candidates who demonstrate sensitivity to architecture’s allied arts, crafts and professions within the context of an integrated built environment, such as landscape architecture, interior design, furniture design, graphic design and decorative arts. For the application guidelines and form, go to http://www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/ronald_j_thom/et127223821566718750.htm.

• J.B.C. Watkins Award ($5 000) – available to Canadian architectural graduates pursuing further studies at a foreign institution. For the application guidelines and form, go to http://www.canadacouncil.ca/prizes/jbc_watkins/fq127223810522968750.htm.

Please also be aware of February 1and April 1postmark deadlines for the CCA’s travel grants program, which awards as much as $2500 to architects, independent critics and curators to research an exhibition or publication project, or present their work to the public. Deadlines are throughout the year. For more information, visit http://www.canadacouncil.ca/grants/visualarts/yo127216997029843750.htm.

On Vancouver’s West Side, a Home That’s Green, Affordable And Well Designed

By Hadani Ditmars, Globe and Mail

Friday, January 20, 2012

At the corner of 10th and Balaclava, in the heart of Vancouver’s west side, two new houses stand tall. Part urban cabin, part neighbourhood intervention, the 1,600-square-foot house and its younger sibling, a 400-square-foot laneway home, read like residential installation art. In this neighbourhood of traditional arts and crafts style homes, of pitched roofs, dormers and gables, the modernist grey-blue dwellings accented with bright orange, red and yellow are somewhat of a novelty. “We had about 1,000 people come by the first week we moved in,” says the middle-aged owner, who, while not shy about sharing his house with curious neighbours, prefers not to be attributed in newspaper articles. More …

2012 IDC/IIDA Vancouver Leaders Breakfast

Interior Designers of Canada invites you to this year’s iconic IIDA Leaders Breakfast, which makes it’s Vancouver stop of Thursday, February 9. This year’s event features keynote speaker Jay Shuster, Pixar Art Director for Pixar, as well as Larry Beasley, University of British Columbia professor and former Director of Planning for the City of Vancouver, who is the recipient of the 2012 Leadership Award of Excellence recognizing outstanding contributions to the profession of interior design. It takes place from 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The deadline for tickets is Tuesday, January 31. To purchase tickets, visit http://memberservices.membee.com/ontorasndsn/irmevents.aspx?id=621.

Construction Specifications Canada (Vancouver Island Chapter) – Luncheon Meeting: Everything You Wanted to Know About Paint Specs But Were Afraid to Ask

The Master Painters Institute (MPI), which operates throughout Canada and the United States, has replaced Canada’s CGSB standards. In fact, B.C.-based MPI is specified by approximately one-half of all architectural project manuals in the United States. Don’t miss this presentation by Barry Low, founder and president of MPI as well as the manager of Master Painters & Decorators Association of British Columbia. He will address the Paint Quality Assurance Program, referencing various MPI standards specified in B.C. His presentation will also deal with the unintended consequences of LEED® and other “green” initiatives that do not consider performance, and will demonstrate the “Decision Tree”, a new initiative being looked at by the American Institute of Architects and MasterSpec as well as Canadian and American government specifiers. It takes place Thursday, February 9, 2012, 11:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. at the Harbour Towers Hotel & Suites, 345 Quebec Street, Victoria. The cost is $45 ($35 for pre-registered CSC members and $25 for students). For more information and to register, go to http://vancouver-island.csc-dcc.ca/.

AFBC Web Site

The Architectural Foundation of British Columbia has launched its new web site. The site provides comprehensive information on the AFBC’s activities and initiatives, including how B.C. architects can become involved with and contribute to the foundation. The AFBC was founded in 2001 with the goal of promoting appreciation, awareness and understanding of architecture in British Columbia. Visit the new site at  http://www.architecturefoundationbc.ca/.