Exhibition: Mar 3 – Apr 29, 2012
Curated By: Alex Buss & Alexandra Kenyon
Artist Talk: 2:00pm, Mar 24
Opening Reception: 8:00pm, Mar 2
Project Website
221A Artist Run Centre is pleased to present Tangential Vancouverism, an exhibition and publication that explores the potential for new “urban extensions” to be tenably designed as vibrant constituents of city life in Vancouver. Characterized by the proliferation of slender residential towers atop street-friendly bases, Vancouver is not only lauded for being the “City of Glass” but also for having introduced a new approach to the development of cities, aptly named “Vancouverism”. A city, however, is much more than a collection of buildings or the rules by which it builds. The density and diversity of experiences, and our relationships to them, is what makes a great city. With this in mind, Tangential Vancouverism aims to re-frame current conversations about the city by foregrounding the importance of people’s interaction in Vancouver’s urban environment. Through proposing evolutions to the very definition of Vancouverism, this project hopes to propel Vancouver beyond its status quo image, as the city of glass, and toward a city that cultivates a growing collection of meaningful experiences.
Tangential Vancouverism brings together emerging architecture and landscape architecture practices Hapa Collaborative, ph5 architecture, Public Architecture, RUF Project, space2place and writers Hannah Teicher, Ian Ross McDonald, and Matthew Soules to develop new ideas for enriching Vancouver’s urbanism across topics of mobility, communication, food, event and education, while considering the political, social, and economic shifts required for each idea to take root. This project is prefaced on broadening current discourse on urban life in Vancouver by providing a venue for design research for the practices, and by opening the discussion to the public.
221A Artist Run Centre is a registered non-profit organization funded in part by the generous support of government grants and private donors who share a vision to provide qualitative space for the development, education and exploration of nascent interdisciplinary contemporary art and design practices. Tangential Vancouverism was made possible through the support of UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, The Parking Spot, SructureCraft Builders, On Set Glass, Cygnus Group, Post Projects, Steamwhistle Brewing and the City of Vancouver.
Hapa Collaborative is a landscape architecture and environmental design practice established with place-making, attentiveness and collaboration in mind. Hapa Collaborative sees each project as an opportunity to partner, to dream big and to synthesize ideas wrought from many, often opposing, influences.
Joseph Fry – Principal, BCSLA CSLA ASLA
ph5 architecture / urban republic arts society was officially founded in 2008. Ph5 provides architectural services to clients for residential and commercial projects. Urban Republic, a registered non-profit, is a vehicle to research, develop, and implement speculative projects using the tools of design to cultivate opportunities for social engagement. Combined, the practices encompass both speculative projects and the material, logistical realities of built architecture.
Peeroj Thakre – Principal, MAIBC MRAIC
Henning Knoetzele – Principal
PUBLIC Architecture + Communication is an integrated design studio formed from the collaboration between architects and communication designers. PUBLIC works together and separately on projects involving environments, brands and information. PUBLIC’s designers share space, resources and ideas.
Brian Wakelin – Principal, MAIBC MRAIC
John Wall – Principal, MAIBC
Susan Mavor – Principal, MGDC
Rural / Urban / Fantasy / Project is the multi-disciplinary design firm led by Sean Pearson, RUF’s work contains both a rigorous aesthetic and an open-ness to crossing creative borders. With their wide ranging international experience, grounded in a certain Canadian sensibility, their work is marked by high design standards and originality, but also by a commitment to an in situ approach that respects the local, even as it references the global.
Sean Pearson – Director, MRAIC
Space2Place design Inc. Landscape Architects, is a creative company which, through design, transforms space into place. Their work embodies a philosophy of strong simple design that responds to the environmental and cultural processes influencing each site. Space2Place’s philosophy is based on respect for clients, for the environment, and for the power of design.
Jeff Cutler – Principal, BCSLA, CSLA
Hannah Teicher is a designer and urban strategist in Vancouver, BC and has been with Shape Architecture since 2008. At Shape, Hannah has contributed to recreational and small-scale residential infill projects. In addition to practice, in the fall of 2010, she taught a graduate seminar at the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture considering ways to re-imagine zoning from the ground up. She also collaborated with the Transporation Infrastructure and Public Space Lab at UBC to develop a framework for deploying public electric vehicle charging stations. In July 2011, she spoke at the Urban Land Institute’s Cascadia Region Conference on Vancouver’s neglected middle scale of density. In 2007, she placed first, with Nick Sully, in the First Annual Cleveland Design Competition with a proposal for transforming a brownfield site into a socially productive urban wetland.
Hannah Teicher – MArch, LEED AP
Shape Architecture
Ian Ross McDonald is a licensed architect in the province of British Columbia and has been with Bruce Carscadden Architect since 2007. Ian’s work with the firm includes the Lieutenant Governor Medal winning Swalwell Park, Kensington Park, and Robert Burnaby Park Washrooms, the District of Lake Country Winfield Arena Addition, and the new Princeton Town Hall. In addition to practice, Ian has taught at the UBC School of Architecture + Landscape Architecture since 2005, having taught in both the graduate vertical studio stream as well as the core undergraduate and graduate courses in design media. In addition to teaching and practice, Ian is a Board Member for Vancouver’s Centre A Gallery and is a blogger for the World Wildlife Fund.
Ian Ross McDonald – MAIBC
Associate, Bruce Carscadden Architect
Matthew Soules is a licensed architect in Canada and the United States holding a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University. Prior to founding MSA, Matthew worked with leading architects around the world, including Rem Koolhaas in the Rotterdam headquarters of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in New York City, and Arthur Erickson in Vancouver. He has made significant contributions to high-profile projects in Beijing, Shanghai, Milan, Paris and NYC. Matthew is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and has been a guest critic at numerous institutions, including Harvard University, MIT, Northeastern University, and the Rhode Island School of Design. His writing has been published in prominent journals and magazines including Praxis, 306090, Canadian Architect, Azure, and Topos.
Matthew Soules – MAIBC, MRAIC
Director, MSA Inc.
Graphic Design
Post Projects is a Vancouver based graphic art and design studio that began in 2010 with the partnership of Alex Nelson and Beau House. The studio currently work with a network of local and international specialists on creative projects that include identity & branding, print media, and web design.
Curators
Alex Buss is a curatorial resident at 221A Artist Run Centre and a Masters of Architecture thesis student at the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Before pursuing architecture, Alex studied Communication and Interaction design at Emily Carr University and Designskolen in Kolding, Denmark. He has worked as an interactive designer for professional services firm Deloitte in Vancouver since 2007.
Alexandra Kenyon is a curatorial resident at 221A Artist Run Centre and a Masters of Architecture thesis student at the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Before pursuing architecture, Alexandra studied Industrial design at Emily Carr University which led to work at Vancouver’s molo design studio, Droog design’s drooglab in Amsterdam, NL and P3A architects in Regina, Saskatchewan.
