10 Great Arthur Erickson Designs

By John MacKie, Vancouver Sun

May 19, 2012

Arthur Erickson (1924-2009) was a prolific fellow. Nick Milkovich Architects has compiled a list of 425 projects he designed around the world, from Lethbridge to Kuwait City, Los Angeles to Kuala Lumpur. Some were completed, some were proposals that never got off the ground. In 1982, believe it or not, he submitted a design for a hotel/condo development in New York for Donald Trump. Many of his most acclaimed designs are in Vancouver or elsewhere in British Columbia. Here are 10 of his notable local buildings. More … 

Arthur Erickson’s Gold-medal Building

By John MacKie, Vancouver Sun

May 19, 2012

Arthur Erickson died on May 20, 2009 at the age of 84. His health declined precipitously in his later years, but Vancouver’s most renowned architect continued to be involved in the design of new buildings, virtually to the end. Canada House – what may be his final finished design – recently went for sale on the Olympic Village site. It’s easy to spot; it’s the building that looks totally different from every-thing else. More … 

100 Mile House Open Ideas Competion

The Architectural Foundation of British Columbia has announced the winners of its 100 Mile House Open Ideas Competition. The competition invited architects, designers, artists, students and other environmentally- conscious creators to explore, rethink, question and experiment with the concept of the regional house with a geographical focus on Vancouver. The challenge was to design a 1200 square feet home for four using only materials and systems made, manufactured or recycled from city. First prize was awarded to MYCO Home, a project of Vancouver architect Tony Osborn MAIBC. Second place went to submission from Dundee, Scotland, while third place honours were taken by a New York entrant. A special Innovation Prize was granted to The Bee House, by Renee Ferguson and Michelle Krochmnal of Oyster Bay, New York. In the Student category, Laura Dian and Dario Adail Ferrer from Madrid, Spain were singled out. In all, there were 57 entrants from 17 countries. For more information, go to http://100mh.architecturefoundationbc.ca/.

The War Against Sixties Architecture

By Mark Lamster, Design Observer

May 15, 2012

A few days ago news broke that, absent some last-minute stay, John Johansen’s Mummers Theater in Oklahoma City will face demolition. This comes on the heels of a report, just a week earlier, that Johansen’s Mechanic Theater in Baltimore is also slated for destruction. Johansen’s work is of the same era, and shares some essential DNA with that of Paul Rudolph, which has also been under assault of late. The Whitney is abandoning its Breuer home. The American Folk Art Museum, a more recent building very much in the spirit of Johansen and Rudolph and Breuer, also faces a future in question. It is easy to criticize this school of architecture, to label it with the “B” word. It is admittedly not always friendly to the touch, and for those accustomed to more supposedly genteel models, to colonials with green lawns and white picket fences, it can be an acquired taste. But taste is a matter of conditioning and education. There are glories to be found in the concrete architecture of the sixties, in its heroic scale and its dynamic forms and spaces. But I suspect I am largely preaching to the converted here. More …