This row of ghostly replica phone boxes was spotted today by Chris Pearson outside St Pancras station. The anaemic quartet appear to be heralds of the BT ArtBox project (online details still sketchy), which will see hundreds of artistically painted phone boxes appear around town. Remember Cow Parade and Elephant Parade? Well, a bit like… Continue reading Artbox Project in London
Exit Interview: Brent Toderian, Vancouver’s Ousted Planning Director. “I was shocked but not surprised, if that makes sense,” says Toderian. “The management-style challenges have been here for a while. Many of the people who I highly respected at the Hall had already left or had been pushed out.”
What the History of Diocletian’s Palace Can Teach Us About Adaptive Reuse. How will the city of tomorrow adapt and reuse the city of today? I don’t think we ask that question broadly enough, and our day-to-day, property-specific incrementalism can easily overshoot the greatest lessons from history. A hometown case in point transported me from… Continue reading What the History Can Teach Us About Adaptive Reuse
Working-class neighborhoods have been cleared of their inhabitants to make way for villas and hotels. Public schools and hospitals, some in historic buildings, are being sold to private developers. And a third bridge across the Bosporus is planned, which would bring roads and development to a large swath of forest land in the city’s northern… Continue reading Trouble in Instanbul?
My first visit to the Chinese Theatre in Chinatown, Vancouver, was in the winter of 1898. Precisely how we got to it I cannot tell. We turned off Hastings Street and went south on Carrall Street. Then, at some point, we turned into an alley between old wooden buildings. There were no lights. It was… Continue reading A Visit to the Theatre in 1898
Architect to realize vision for remand centre. I like this idea. Now if they can do something about the lack of activity on the street level.
I spent a interesting day Saturday on Granville Island with the students from SFU’s Dialogue Program. it was the class wrap up and they presented a series of workshops, tours and discussions all focusing on Vancouver. I took the walking tour which was great fun and really well presented. Other workshops included gardening and public… Continue reading Stories from the Terminal City, April 2nd
We:Vancouver 12 Manifestos for the City is a fascinating exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery looking at some of the neat things happening in the city. I was quite honored to be asked to contribute a reading list for the We:Read section. Here is my list of books which started me thinking about Vancouver and… Continue reading We:Vancouver Reading List
On Feb 23, I’ll be leading the How to Research Your House evening at the Vancouver Archives presented by the Vancouver Heritage Foundation. Here’s your chance to learn the secrets of water permits, building permits and fire insurance maps; and touch really old documents. Archives staff will be on hand too to answer questions and… Continue reading How to Research Your House Workshop
Re:place magazine has reviewed our latest book The Changing City.
What Floats to the Top of My Desk 