Food for thought: the best pavilions of Expo Milan 2015

By Giovanna Dunmall
Wallpaper, May 8, 2015

The global architectural extravaganza that is the World Expo is once again upon us and it is Milan’s turn to play host.

The original master-planners, a team that included Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, walked out in 2011 after their vision for a new typology of the Expo, one based on content rather than the individualist (and often propagandist) architecture of national pavilions, was rejected by the organisers.

(Image: ‘The Nursery of Italy’ The Palazzo Italia faces the Piazza d’Acqua (the Water Square) in the design of the host country’s pavilion. Photo: (copyright) Nemesi&Partners, courtesty of Wallpaper)

The results – despite much decried construction delays and other colourful scandals – were in turn demented, elegant, garish and at times audacious; a sort of global Eurovision song contest in building form. Often the exhibition’s avowed theme, Feeding the Planet – Energy for Life, seemed merely an excuse to have a restaurant outlet and/or a shop selling national produce. Read more…

UBC student writes 52,438 word architecture dissertation with no punctuation — not everyone loved it

By Brian Hutchinson
National Post, May 8, 2015

There was Patrick Stewart, PhD candidate, defending his final dissertation before a handful of hard-nosed examiners at the University of British Columbia late last month. The public was invited to watch; two dozen curious onlookers saw Stewart attempt to persuade five panelists that his 149-page thesis has merit, that it is neither outlandishly “deficient,” as some had insisted it was, nor an intellectual affront.

(Image: Dissertation of Patrick Stewart, PhD candidate. Courtesy of National Post.)

Unusual? It is definitely that. Stewart’s dissertation, titled Indigenous Architecture through Indigenous Knowledge, eschews almost all punctuation. There are no periods, no commas, no semi-colons in the 52,438-word piece. Stewart concedes the odd question mark, and resorts to common English spelling, but he ignores most other conventions, including the dreaded upper case. His paper has no standard paragraphs. Its formatting seems all over the map. Read more…

Oral Reviews

Three dates have now been set for the next round of oral reviews: Wednesday, June 17; Thursday, June 18; and Tuesday, June 23. The oral review is an interview-based examination open to Intern Architects who have:

• Completed and logged at least 2800 hours; and
• Completed the required AIBC courses.

Oral reviews are also open to those Alternative Qualifications Candidates who have:

• Successfully completed their Oral Assessment;
• Successfully completed all oral assessment panel recommendations and/or requirements; and
• Completed the six required AIBC courses.

Applications, along with an employer’s letter and fee payment, must be received by Friday, May 29, 2015. Eligibility will be confirmed by the Registration and Licensing Department. For complete details and to download the application form.

Oral Review Preparation Workshop:
A free Oral Review Preparation Workshop will be held on Monday, June 1, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. Please RSVP to Belinda Chao, Admissions Coordinator, at bchao@aibc.ca.

Questions about the oral reviews and workshop can be directed to Belinda Chao, Admissions Coordinator, at bchao@aibc.ca or 604-683-8588 ext. 324.

In Passing: Jonathan Pemberton Miller Yardley

You’d be hard pressed to find someone who loved life as much as Jonathan Pemberton Miller Yardley Architect AIBC did. Whether learning a new piece of music for one of the many choirs he sang with, painting a foggy rain-soaked horizon, or helping to restore some of Canada’s most cherished heritage buildings, Jonathan always committed himself fully to everything he did.

Born in Lichfield, England, Jonathan made his home on Salt Spring Island with his wife Sue (née Wall) in 1974, renovating their beloved Southdown Farm, growing a massive veggie garden, and raising sheep, goats, cows, pigs, chickens, geese, horses – and three children.

In his life on Salt Spring, Jonathan always shared his warmth and joie de vivre with everyone around him, from hosting live Christmas nativities in the barn, to dancing the grapevine on the lawn to celebrate friends’ birthdays, to taking midnight dips in the pond just to see the stars.

A graduate of the Birmingham School of Architecture in England, Jonathan managed to quietly carve out an extremely successful career on the western edge of Canada. Though he was too humble to ever announce it, he received dozens of provincial and national architectural awards (including recognition as “Life Member of the AIBC” in 2008 for 30 years of continuous membership with the Architectural Institute of British Columbia), and had a hand in the preservation of nearly every renovated heritage building in downtown Victoria and Vancouver (not to mention some of our most cherished ones here on the island – Ruckle Provincial Park, Mahon, Beaver Point and Fulford Halls, to name a few).

An avid traveller, he and Sue have explored many parts of this world, taking equal pleasure in the sublime (soaring cathedrals) and the simple (a baguette and wheel of hard cheese). Venice was a special spot they shared with their closest friends on a number of trips, but walking the Camino de Santiago across France and Spain in 2003 with eldest son Thomas was a life-defining experience.

Taken by prostate cancer too soon with still so much life to live, Jonathan will be desperately missed by wife Sue, sons Thomas (Michelle Yardley) and Ben (Jessie Carlson), daughter Emma (Daniel Squizzato), granddaughters Lucy, Lila and Grace Yardley, and sister Jennifer Chapman, as well as many relatives in England and the U.S.A.

The family would like to thank Dr. Manya Sadowsky and all the nursing staff at Lady Minto Hospital for their compassionate care. A private ceremony will be held for family. Please send your good memories of Jonathan to 316 Isabella Pt. Rd., S.S.I., B.C. V8K 1V4.

To honour Jonathan’s memory, the family requests that you speak to your health professionals and government representatives about Dying With Dignity (dyingwithdignity.ca), in the hopes that Canadian law will be amended to eliminate unnecessary end-of-life suffering.

The information was sourced from an article written by by L. Sullivan for the Gulf Islands Driftwood on April 28, 2015.

Role Call: City of Duncan Advisory Design Panel (New ADP)

The AIBC’s Design Panel Committee is seeking volunteers to serve on the newly-formed City of Duncan Advisory Design Panel. The role of an advisory design panel member is to give impartial, professional advice directly on any proposal or policy affecting the community’s physical environment in the public interest. Duncan is the urban centre of the Cowichan Valley, and has a vibrant, unique downtown core. The Panel will review development applications for a variety of projects, including residential development consisting of five or more units, commercial or mixed use development, and any design-related policies, such as Development Permit Area Guidelines. While sustainable design credentials are not mandatory for this role, Duncan’s commitment to environmental sustainability would be well-served if applicants possess a working knowledge of sustainable building design and practice.

To learn more about the procedures for serving on a panel, please refer to the following documents:

• AIBC Bulletin 65: Advisory Design Panels – Standards for Procedures and Conduct
• ADP Frequently Asked Questions

Please fill out an interactive application form and forward your submissions to the attention of Professional Services Coordinator Alexandra Kokol by email (akokol@aibc.ca).

Urban Land Institute BC: Mayor Robertson’s Annual Address

Save the Date! ULI BC is pleased to present Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson for a keynote address on affordable housing. This is an opportunity to hear the Mayor speak about what is on the horizon at City Hall, plans for addressing some of the City’s toughest housing challenges, and his vision for Vancouver’s future.

Mark your calendars! Further detail and registration will be available soon.

Date: June 17, 2015, 11:30am-1pm
Address: Pinnacle Hotel Vancouver Harbourfront, 1133 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-689-9211

Visit the ULI BC website for details.

Urban Land Institute BC: How building healthy places is good for business

Hear from an expert panel of three respected community visionaries, as they discuss the emerging trends in building healthy places, and how to use this social innovation to generate value.

Around the world, communities face pressing health challenges related to the built environment. For many years, ULI and its members have been active players in discussions and projects that make the link between human health and development; we know that health is a core component of thriving communities.

Date: June 11, 2015, 3pm-6pm
Address: Terminal City Club, 837 W Hastings Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-681-4121

For more information and to register.

New Registered Educational Provider: ICYNENE INC.

Icynene Inc. was established to develop a spray in place, light density foam insulation that is healthier, quieter, and more energy efficient than competing insulation products. It is approved by the Envirodesic™ Certification Program as environmentally friendly. Icynene has established a network of licensed dealers in North America, and exports the product to Japan, Korea, China, Middle East, Ireland and the U.K.

To learn more about all AIBC Registered Educational Providers, please visit the AIBC website.

New Registered Educational Provider: University of Northern British Columbia

Located in the spectacular landscape of northern British Columbia, UNBC is one of Canada’s best small universities. UNBC provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate learning opportunities that explore cultures, health, economies, and the environment. As one of BC’s research-intensive universities, they bring the excitement of new knowledge to all of their students, and the outcomes of their teaching and research to the world. UNBC is a university both in and for the north, and this mission has instilled a strong sense of ownership, purpose, and adventure among their students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the communities we serve. They are also Canada’s Green University™, leading the way to a more sustainable future for all.

To learn more about all AIBC Registered Educational Providers, please visit the AIBC website.

Council of Educational Facility Planners International, Pacific Northwest Region (CEFPI)

Transitions – Preparing Our Students for the Global Community
This Conference will bring together representatives of the Pacific Northwest Region, which includes Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. In addition to a wide array of educational and social opportunities, there will be a trade show, a golf tournament, a companion program, and tours of some cutting edge new schools.

Date: June 18-20, 2015
Location: Student Union Building (SUB) at the University of British Columbia, 6138 Student Union Boulevard, Vancouver
Cost: Based on package type chosen
Learning Units (LUs): 1 Core LU per session and guided tour
To register: http://www.cefpi.org/websites/regions_and_chapters/index.php?p=893

AIBC Recognition Awards – Call for Nominations

The AIBC believes in recognizing our volunteers and other individuals who have made positive impacts in the profession of architecture.

Call for Nominations

Do you know worthy candidates who should be recognized for their contributions to the profession, the community or the Institute?

Nominations for the following AIBC Recognition Awards have been extended and will be accepted until
August 31, 2015:

AIBC Lifetime Achievement Award

This prestigious award, established in 2013, is intended to recognize current or former B.C. architects who have made exceptional, sustained and significant contributions to the profession of architecture and its public appreciation in the province through an outstanding, career-long body of work. Consideration will be given to those with notable work across an entire career generally greater than 25 years and may be bestowed posthumously.

AIBC Special Certificate of Recognition

This award is intended to honor AIBC architects, other individual registrants or architectural firms who have made positive contributions to the practice or profession of architecture through volunteer activities.

The Barbara Dalrymple Memorial Award for Community Service

Established in honor of the late Barbara Dalrymple, a prominent Vancouver architect with a strong commitment to her profession and the community, this award recognizes contributions made by AIBC architects, individual registrants or architectural firms, in the spirit of Barbara’s dedication to positive change and her legacy of professional and public service.

Nomination Forms

Visit the AIBC website to download a nomination form for each award category.

Nominations for all AIBC Recognition Awards are reviewed by the AIBC Recognition Committee. Nominations that meet the awards’ criteria are recommended to and selected by AIBC Council.

This year’s awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on November 19, 2015, at VanDusen Botanical Garden.

For more information about the AIBC Recognition Awards Program, please visit the AIBC website or contact Gayle Roberts at 604-683-8588, extension 310; or by email at groberts@aibc.ca.

US$14,000 grant to help create more Wikipedia pages for women architects

By Geraldine Chua
Architecture & Design, May 8, 2015

A proposal to increase the visibility of women in the architecture, urbanism, design and construction industries on Wikipedia has been awarded a US $14,150 grant by the Wikimedia Foundation.

Put forward by Parlour (Australia), Architexx (New York) and n-ails (Berlin), the proposal was submitted in response to the resistance new contributors faced from other Wikipedia editors on International Women’s Day 2015, when people from Australia and around the world gathered to have the most diverse and wide ranging record of women in architecture written into Wikipedia. Read more…

(Image: By Tom Morris, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Architecture: Three ways we can make the most of our cities’ unused nooks and crannies

By Alex Bozikovic
The Globe and Mail, May 6, 2015

The bottom of a highway overpass. An empty field under a rail line. A parking lot next to a bus stop. If you’re going to transform the contemporary city, these spots are not obvious places to begin. And yet a recent ideas competition turned the attention of almost 300 designers to just such marginal places.

(Image: Undersky by Jorge Sanfulgencio, Julio Romero)

“These are the kind of spaces in between that are often overlooked,” explains Amery Calvelli, a co-founder of the non-profit d.talks, which ran the Calgary-based Lost Spaces Found competition. By focusing on these fragments of public space, the effort suggests that small-scale changes really can make large impacts on the culture and ecology of a space. “The idea was to really stretch how we think about the city,” Calvelli says. Read more…

BC Wood

Understanding and Designing with Heavy and Engineered Timber in Challenging Projects
The program includes seminars in the upper lodge of the spectacular Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish followed by a guided factory tour of a heavy timber manufacturing, drying and processing facility including a radio-frequency kiln drying operation

Date: May 21, 2015, 11am-4pm
Location: Sea to Sky Gondola Upper Lodge.
Cost: No Charge.
Learning Units (LUs): 2.5 Core LUs
To register: contact Roy Manion of BC Wood at rmanion@bcwood.com

SIMRES Presents Cornelia Hahn Oberlander at Saturna Island

The Saturna Island Marine Research & Education Society (SIMRES) is pleased to present Cornelia Hahn Oberlander at Saturna Island.

A Canadian national treasure, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander is one of the most important, highly respected and beloved landscape architects of the twentieth century. Cornelia is a trailblazer, instrumental in the development of a modern sensibility to landscape design. For six decades she has practiced socially responsible and ecologically sensitive design for public landscapes. She has worked in cities around the world on projects that have helped define a natural landscape within urban areas. She has designed some of the most iconic outdoor spaces in Canada including Robson Square in Vancouver and the gardens of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

Cornelia and her family have had a home on Saturna Island for many years. Now in her 90’s, Cornelia continues to work with a twinkle in her eyes and a curiosity that has not been erased by time. Hear her speak about her life, projects and philosophy on landscape design.

Date: May 16, 2015, 1-3 pm
Location: Saturna Community Hall, Saturna Island, BC
Cost: $10 at door, 18 years and under are free

Visit the SIMRES website for more information.