BOABC Annual Conference

The 58th Annual Building Officials Association of British Columbia Conference & AGM takes place May 5-8, 2013 in Kimberley. This year’s event, themed  “The Rocky Mountain Perspective”, is focused on topical issues relating to the interpretation and administration of the BC Building Code and other relevant building industry matters affecting the effective and efficient operation of building departments. It will feature a full schedule of workshops, seminars and study sessions as well as a number of local site visits. For additional information including registration form, visit http://www.boabc.org/.

PARKit Design Challenge

The City of Surrey invites submissions in its PARKit Design Challenge, a competition for the design and installation of a summertime pop-up park in Surrey City Centre. This initiative offers a great opportunity for a hands-on design and construction project. Individuals and groups are invited to submit their ideas for a creative sustainable outdoor public space capable of supporting mobile food vendors. The PARKit site, located adjacent to Surrey Central SkyTrain Station in the North Surrey Recreation Centre parking lot, has become an important pedestrian hub, linking SFU Surrey and Central City Mall with the skyTrain station and recreation centre. The selected design team/individual will receive up to $12,000 to fabricate and install the design. Honorariums will be also awarded to second- and third-place entries. Submissions are due by Friday, May 17, with the selections announced on May 24.  The chosen project is expected to be installed by mid-July, and will remain open through August. For more information, visit www.surrey.ca/parkit.

Denise Scott Brown Demands Pritzker Recognition

By Emilie Chalcraft, Dezeen Magazine

March 27, 2013

Architect Denise Scott Brown has asked to be retrospectively acknowledged for her role in her husband Robert Venturi’s 1991 Pritzker Prize. Speaking in a pre-recorded address at an Architect’s Journal Women in Architecture Awards lunch in London last week, where she was an honorary guest, Scott Brown said her exclusion from the prize was “very sad”. “They owe me not a Pritzker Prize but a Pritzker inclusion ceremony. Let’s salute the notion of joint creativity,” she said. More … http://www.dezeen.com/2013/03/27/denise-scott-brown-demands-pritzker-recognition/.

 

Barry Downs Exhibition

Melding Architecture with Landscape: A Collaboration in Design

May 8 to June 15, 2013

This spring, West Vancouver Museum will showcase the work of famed Vancouver architect Barry Downs. Titled “Melding Architecture with Landscape: A Collaboration in Design“, the exhibition will celebrate Down`s significant contribution to B.C. architecture over his five-decade career, and will feature projects ranging from homes and institutions to community master plans … all with a strong respect for topography, ecology and natural surroundings. The exhibition runs May 8 – June 15, 2013, with an opening reception planned for 7:00 on Tuesday, May 7. For more information, visit http://westvancouvermuseum.ca/exhibitions/upcoming_exhibitions/barry_downs_melding_architecture_with_landscape.

Arthur Erickson’s Home Faces The Wrecking Ball

By Brent Jang and Dave McGinn, Globe and Mail
March 27, 2013

The cottage is small, one-storey, a fixer-upper on a large parcel dominated by a garden and a pond. Spread across two lots in Vancouver’s coveted Point Grey neighbourhood, the property would be prized by developers eager to knock down the house and build a massive residence on each lot or perhaps even townhouses. But this little bungalow, mostly hidden from view by a tall hedge and trees, was once the beloved refuge of acclaimed architect Arthur Erickson, the garden’s serene setting helping to inspire designs for what would become world-renowned buildings. More … http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/arthur-ericksons-home-faces-the-wrecking-ball/article10475209/.

Going With The Grain, And Building With Wood

By Lisa Rochon, Globe and Mail
March 29, 2013

Not long ago, in Scarborough, on the eastern edge of Toronto, I was accused by a supporter of Mayor Rob Ford of being a tree hugger. Actually, the man was condemning all downtown urbanites as “anti-casino tree huggers.” The memory tickled like a feather, and then earlier this month I found myself on the West Coast hugging a giant sequoia so massive it prevented four adults from rounding its trunk with outstretched arms. Send me to the gallows, but I’m in love with trees, and the potential for poetic, resilient architecture built from them. In British Columbia, a series of award-winning projects reveal that Vancouver-based architects and engineers are making strides in leading the world with their all-wood designs. More … http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/going-with-the-grain-and-building-with-wood/article10559701/.