A Door to Architectural Legend Ron Thom

By John Mackie
Vancouver Sun January 8, 2016

(Image: Jan Pidhirny and Jim Ferguson with the now famous front door of their Ron Thom designed home in West Vancouver. Courtesy of Vancouver Sun, photo by Ric Ernst)

A couple of years ago architectural writer Adele Weder was putting together an exhibition of work by the late, great West Coast modern architect Ron Thom.

One of Thom’s masterpieces, the Carmichael House, had recently been sold and restored. So Weder phoned up the new owners, Jan Pidhirny and Jim Ferguson, to see if she could take a look.

“I was going to exhibit photographs and plans of their house,” Weder recounts. “Then I saw this amazing (front) door, and was three-quarters joking when I said, ‘Can I have it for my exhibition?’”

It is quite a door. Made of oak, it’s large (114 cm wide, 203 cm tall), heavy (91 kg) and features an intricate design with a series of hexagons and parallelograms. Read more…

Canada’s Next Top Architect

by Danny Sinopoli
Globe and Mail, Jan 15, 2016

(Image: Gandhi designed the Float house in Halifax to echo its rocky environment while taking advantage of airy views across Purcell’s Cove. Courtesy of Globe and Mail, photo by Omar Gandhi & Jeff Shaw)

For a budding starchitect, Omar Gandhi seems refreshingly devoid of ego. Or maybe he’s just pragmatic.

If the Ontario-born, Halifax-based designer flops, “I can always go back to Brampton and work in trucking like I did when I was a kid,” he jokes from Nova Scotia, where he has been living on and off since receiving his master’s degree at Dalhousie University in 2005.

Considering that, in 2014 alone, Gandhi nabbed both the Canada Council’s $50,000 Prix de Rome and a spot on Wallpaper magazine’s list of the world’s top 20 young architects, his Plan B likely won’t be necessary. In fact, Gandhi will be returning to Ontario this week – as a featured speaker, along with B.C.’s Omer Arbel, at the Interior Design Show in Toronto. Not long after, he’ll be back to open a satellite office in the city. Not bad for a 36-year-old whose projects to date have largely been private homes. Read more…

North Korea’s Capital Is Actually Colorful – Really Colorful

by Laura Mallonee
Wired, Dec 15, 2015

(Image: Grand People’s Study House, Pyongyang, 1982. Courtesy Wired, photo by Oliver Wainwright)

MINT. APRICOT. LAVENDER. These aren’t flavors of overpriced artisanal ice cream, but the unexpected colors that dominate the architecture of Pyongyang, a world Oliver Wainwright reveals in North Korean Interiors.

Wainwright, a design critic for The Guardian, visited Pyongyang in late July for a 10-day tour of the city’s architecture. He found relatively modern buildings bedecked in bright hues. “I have to say [Pyongyang] is honestly one of the most colorful cities I’ve ever been to,” Wainwright says. “You expect a gray, crumbling, 1950s dystopia of decaying concrete, but they’ve made a real conscious effort to try and cheer the place up.” Read more…

Reminder: Bylaw Review Consultation Session in Victoria

Since 2011, the AIBC has been engaged in a comprehensive bylaw review process to address both substantive bylaw subject matter areas and more routine amendments. The Bylaw Review Committee (BRC), supported by AIBC Council, is advancing the following initiative.

Bylaw Amendments: Investigations & Remedial Discipline
This Investigations & Remedial Discipline initiative is a recommendation for a suite of substantive “investigations/discipline” bylaw amendments to more firmly establish the institute’s investigations and disciplinary processes in bylaw. This initiative includes a new ‘remedial discipline’ process intended to give the institute greater flexibility to meaningfully address professional conduct complaints than is currently available.

Read the bylaw amendments and supporting rationales.

Consultation
Consultation for the “investigations/discipline” bylaw amendments will be extending through February 2016, with a submission seeking council’s direction to proceed to a member vote not expected until spring 2016. Increased council participation in the consultation process is planned given the subject matter and importance of this bylaw modernization initiative.

An initial consultation session on the “investigations/discipline” bylaw amendments was held on October 30, 2015 at the AIBC Annual Conference. The session’s primary focus was on the remedial discipline process. Two additional consultation sessions have been scheduled to take place in January: one at the Vancouver AIBC Office and a second session, in-person only, in Victoria at the Cedar Hill Golf Course. Please see below for attendance details.

Consultation Sessions
Council policy requires member consultation when any bylaw amendments are advanced for member vote. AIBC council invites your participation at the following consultation session, which will address the proposed bylaw amendments. The session will open with a presentation, followed by a question and answer period.

Please RSVP your attendance by the date indicated below using the RSVP link.

Victoria Session
Date: Thursday, January 28, 2016
Time: 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Location: In-person only (Cedar Hill Golf Course, 1400 Derby Road, Victoria, BC)
Learning Units (LUs): 1 Core
RSVP: In-person session (by January 25 at 5 p.m.) To date, 8 participants have registered.
The in-person session will be available to a maximum of 30 participants on a first come, first served basis.

Note: Registered participants who are subsequently unable to attend are kindly asked to withdraw using the RSVP link.

Member Feedback
Member feedback can be provided to the Bylaw Review Committee at any time. Please email the Bylaw Review Committee at: bylawfeedback@aibc.ca.

An online feedback form is also available for your comments: Investigations & Remedial Discipline Online Feedback Form

To learn more about AIBC Bylaw Review, please visit www.aibc.ca.

UDI Vancouver Lunch – Charles Montgomery

(Image: Charles Montgomery is the featured keynote speaker at Feb 18 UDI lunch. Photo by Trevor Hagan)

The Urban Development Institute (UDI) presents TEDx featured international speaker Charles Montgomery as its February keynote.

What if our cities themselves had the power to make or break our happiness? Charles Montgomery explains how cities influence how we feel, behave, and treat other people in ways most of us never realize. Everything from the length of your commute to the depth of your front yard can have an unseen effect on your mind, emotions, and social life.

By understanding the effect that design has on our emotions and decisions, we can all share this empowering new vision of city life.

Referencing global and local examples, Charles shares his insights and research findings:

• How city design can build more social connections and create more happiness
• Explore where Metro Vancouver goes wrong and how we can fix it
• The psychology of bad urban planning decisions and how to overcome this

Date: February 18, 2016, 11:30am-1:30pm
Location: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 655 Burrard Street, Vancouver
Cost: $85 + GST UDI membership pricing for all registrations including non-members
Register: http://udi.memberzone.com/events/details/udi-vancouver-lunch-charles-montgomery-165

CES participants may self-report educational activities in accordance with the rules in AIBC Bulletin 80, Mandatory Continuing Education System (CES) Rules and Guidelines. Please refer to Bulletin 80 for further information.

Heritage BC & ArtsBC 2016 Conference Call for Proposals

ArtsBC and Heritage BC are inviting presentation proposals for the conference “PlaceMaking: Where Arts and Heritage Collide” taking place May 5-7, 2016 at Granville Island, Vancouver. Deadline for submissions is February 15, 2016.

The conference will focus on a series of themes and topics including: Building Places for the Arts and Heritage; Contesting and Caring for Places; New Frontiers and Collisions; Organizational Capacity and Partnership Building.

Presentation formats can include traditional presentations (15-30 minutes); conference session or roundtable (90 minutes), and workshops (90 minutes).

For more information, visit the Heritage BC website.

Next Round of Oral Reviews and Oral Review Preparation Workshop

Three dates have now been set for the next round of oral reviews: Wednesday February 17, Thursday February 18 and Tuesday February 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, February 5, 2016. 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 Wednesday February 3, 2016 at 6 p.m. Please RSVP at feb2016oralreviewworkshop.splashthat.com. 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.

New Registered Educational Provider: Lambton Doors

The mission of LAMBTON DOORS: To design, develop, manufacture and sell complete standard and eco-friendly high quality, value added interior wood door and frame solutions for commercial, architectural and institutional markets. These doors and frames meet North American building code standards as well as environmental standards. LAMBTON DOORS manufactures 5-ply wood doors and frames for several applications: fire-rated doors, acoustical doors, lead-lined doors, bullet-resistant doors, oversized doors and others. Visit www.lambtondoors.com for more information.

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

Call for Nominations: AIBC Honorary Membership

AIBC Council invites members and associates to bring forward nominations for AIBC Honorary Membership.

This prestigious award recognizes non-architects who have made an exceptional contribution to the profession of architecture or demonstrated a remarkable commitment and service to the institute. Areas of consideration include innovation, education, publication and public service.

Do you know a worthy candidate for this significant award?

To Nominate a Candidate:
Download a nomination form and view additional information.

Nomination Deadline:
February 26, 2016 (4:30 p.m.)

For more information, please visit the AIBC website or contact Shawna Chilton, Manager of Human Resources & Administration, at schilton@aibc.ca.

Call for Entries: 2016 AIBC Architectural Awards & Awards Jury

The Architectural Institute of British Columbia showcases the best in B.C. architecture through its highly-respected Architectural Awards program.

An esteemed jury with representation from both within and outside the profession will consider candidates for the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia Awards in Architecture (both medal and merit); the AIBC Innovation Award; the AIBC Emerging Firm Award and the AIBC Special Jury Award.

While honours are given in these distinct award categories, there is one common element: Excellence.

Winners are celebrated at the Architectural Awards Reception on May 18, 2016 as part of the AIBC Annual Conference, and featured in architectureBC.

Submit An Architectural Awards Application:
For detailed information including award criteria and submission requirements, and to make your submission, please visit the AIBC Architectural Awards website.

Deadline for Awards Submissions: February 29, 2016 (5 p.m. PST)

Submit An Application To Sit On The Architectural Awards Jury:
The AIBC invites applications to sit on the AIBC Architectural Awards Jury. The role of an awards juror is to consider candidates for all awards categories. Individuals who have submitted projects for consideration in the Architectural Awards will not be considered as jury members due to a conflict of interest. For detailed information and to make your submission, please visit the AIBC Architectural Awards website.

Deadline for Jury Applications: February 29, 2016 (5 p.m. PST)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact communications@aibc.ca.