Settling In…

After being in Vancouver for 7 weeks, I thought it was time to post a few pics.  I’ve split my time between slothing about and keeping warm, trying the ‘best’ coffee(s) of Van, finding fun work and exploring the city…

Since the start of this trip I have ‘gone with the flow’, plans and destinations shifting considerably from my original ‘plan’.  In a nutshell, I decided that Vancouver would be my last stop around the world.  I have found some fun work at design/craft fairs and am now learning the art of coffee at Trees Organic.  I am finding that I love Vancouver the more I spend time here; it has the most incredible landscape skyline, is a very multi-cultural and is easy to get around.

URBAN CENTRE :

LANDSCAPE ARCH STUDIO (UBC) :

I was invited to sit in on the 1st year M.LArch studio presentations led by Daniel Roehr.  The studio project was to design a memorial (the type was up to the student) on a site located on the south shore of Vancouver.  Vanier Park is currently under-used; a scattering of buildings (music, planetarium and boat dock), a dark woodland, poor drainage and open green park do not encourage public recreation especially through the cold seasons.  However, those who do visit (run, walk the dog, homeless people) can appreciate its spectacular views to the mountains, downtown centre and English Bay.

Visiting UBC as well as the Uni of Toronto and Montréal has opened my mind to the creativity, imagination and issues concerning landscape architecture at both a local (Canada) and global scale (Australia).  The students at UBC were enthusiastic about their projects and Prof. Daniel Roehr encouraged them to enjoy learning; many had never drawn before this course which took me by great surprise.  As part of the assessment panel I had to rethink what I had learned over the years – conceptual thinking, communication, experimentation, and most importantly, a belief in what you do.  I am grateful for the opportunity to provide input into design studios as this is ‘where it all begins’.  In this particular studio students were introduced to multiple aspects of design: technique, language, ideation, symbolism/representation (memorial design is a loaded and challenging typology!) and they worked together to advance their abilities across the board.

GRANVILLE ISLAND :

Granville Island...under snow

I was spoiled by my friends who live adjacent to Granville Island/this dock

A french musician...c'est magnifique!

FLAVOURS OF VANCOUVER….

When in doubt..there's always an Irish Pub!

Caffe Artigiano..the 'Cibo' of Vancouver

“DECK THE HALLS…..”

I was a little worried that Christmas would bring a wave of homesickness upon me. But….I was warmly welcomed to celebrate Christmas with the Engelmann and Black families!  Between Christmas breakfast, dinner and another Boxing Day dinner I think I’ve eaten more turkey than I’ll EVER manage to eat again (trust me)!

City of Festive Lights!

29lb = 13.15kg = oh my golly!!!

Mt. SEYMOUR :

VICTORIA, Vancouver Island :

A brief visit to Vancouver Island for another Christmas get together….the weather looked grey and grim when we left but by the time we were aboard the BC Ferry the heaven’s opened…wow!!  We had the most perfect weather for visiting the island – Victoria’s city centre, Sidney (small coastal town similar to Victor Harbour) and the Nash family home that looks over to Saltspring Island.  A fabulous way to finish 2010!

Couldn't believe the sky...this is the same ferry trip!

View from the kitchen...quite nice!

Yes...there are lycra lovers here too!

Arbutus menziesii (the only native broadleaf evergreen to Canada)

Netherlands Carillon (the bell tower was a gift to Victoria for its 100th birthday, 1967)

The Empress Hotel beyond

The boats have become a real icon of Vancouver for me

SAPUTO BURNABY 4 – Pro Track Cycling Comp :

Aside to looking at landscapes and buildings, I thought I’d make the long bus trip to the city of Burnaby as I will be missing the Tour Down Under (I needed to fill a two-wheeled withdrawal!).  I loved the ‘Madison’ (relay) and was definitely “wow’d” by the elite cyclists! I’d love to load a video but refuse to pay for the plug-in..I can email though!

Toronto : streets, parks + precincts

Toronto is located on the northern edge of Lake Ontario and is the commercial, financial, industrial, and cultural centre of Canada.  In 1793 the British settled the ‘Town of York’ and in 1834 it had expanded to become the ‘City of Toronto’.

City Area: 630 km² | Urban Area: 1,749 km² | City Population: 2,503,281

STREETSCAPE :

University Avenue

Yonge Street

Inner city housing

St George Avenue

CITY CENTRE :

Old Town Hall

NATHAN PHILLIPS SQUARE:

At the base of the new Town Hall buildings (1965) lies Viljo Revell’s (Finnish architect) city square; in summer it is a site for events and in winter it transforms with an ice-skating rink.  A large ramp pulls you up to the Podium Roof (it can be confusing as it appears to be a vehicle ramp).   From here, you can overlook Henry Moore’s ‘Three-Way Piece No. 2’, a Peace Garden, a Speaker’s Corner and the large ‘Freedom Arches’ that hold beneath them a piece of the Berlin Wall.  Currently, it is difficult to appreciate the composition of the square as sections are cordoned off with the construction of the “Nathan Phillips Square Revitalisation Project”.

In October 2006 the Mayor of Toronto launched a design competition for the redesign of the square as the site had deteriorated and did not meet the needs of the contemporary city.  Attracting 48 local/international entries, the winning team were PLANT Architect Inc. and Shore Tilbe Irwin + Partners (both of Toronto).  The project is estimated at $40m; the city has approved $16m so far and the 1st phase of the “Podium Green Roof Garden” opened in May 2010.  Visit the website of PLANT to see artists impressions of the overall upgrade!

Town Hall (Viljo Revell, 1965)

Podium Green Roof Garden (PLANT Architect/Shore Tilbe Irwin & Partners)

WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT :

For over a decade the City of Toronto has held approx. 16ha of land for the purpose of public parks, waterfront promenade, and school/community use.  Current projects of the city include Harbourfront Park’s “HtO Park” and “Sugar Beach Park”.

HTO Park was opened in 2007 and was designed by Janet Rosenberg + Associates Landscape Architects (Toronto) and Claude Cormier Architectes Paysagistes (Montréal).   HTO Park is divided into two parts: Maple Leaf Quay and Peter Street Slip.  Its concept makes reference to George Seurat’s painting, ‘A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte’.  Whilst its an ‘urban beach’, one cannot swim…which makes the sand more like Seurat’s l’herbe.

“HTO envisages a dynamic zone between the city and the water, a place that synthesizes the best qualities from the urbanity to the north, and the islands to the south.  The master plan creates a diverse and animated waterfront meeting place.” (Janet Rosenberg)

HTO Park

Sugar Beach Park:

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE:

PARKS :

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO : Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design