CJSW » Space + Place

#13: H2O flow

marc — Tue, 01 May 2012 19:30:14 +0000

In the imaginary city of Armillo conceived by Italo Calvino in Invisible Cities, all that remains is the plumbing. Today’s show looks at water from the mostly invisible perch of what we don’t often see. Suyama Space (a Seattle gallery located inside the offices of architecture firm Suyama Peterson Deguchi) recently installed Uprising, an elaborate network of hand-crafted plumbing. Gallery curator Beth Sellars tells us why. Next, we hear from Tristan Surtees and Charles Blanc of Sans Facon. They’re working with the City of Calgary on an innovative program called Watershed+ and we’ll hear how the collaboration aims to make the urban watershed a little less invisible. And finally, John Knechtel tells why the topic became a book: Water. Inside, you’ll find the musical score from Alfred Hitchcock’s film Psycho, photographs of a water-damaged journal from the gold rush, a collection of bottled water, and architectural ideas for watershed solutions.

image: “Uprising at Suyama Space” courtesy of Mark Woods

Space + Place #12: bridge(ing)

marc — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:12:39 +0000

The how and why of Calgary’s new Peace Bridge…design constraints, materials, Calgarian’s impressions of the new bridge, and a perspective of Mr. Calatrava’s work.

Bridge(ing)

amery — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:32:57 +0000

This show looks behind Calgary’s Calatrava-designed Peace Bridge that opened on March 24th. Fitting within site constraints of a band of open space 6.2 metres high and 130 metres wide, the bridge is a twisting helical structure without pier in the river or cable in the sky.

The City of Calgary’s Jadwiga Kromin, manager of bridges and structures, Alderman Druh Farrell, The American Institute of Architects’ CEO Robert Ivy and Calgarians at the opening all contribute to the show. Image: J. Calvelli.

Link to the Design Matters talk on Preston Scott Cohen here.

#11: architecture from the inside out

amery — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 16:34:51 +0000

Douglas Cardinal is an architect and community builder. Named to the Order of Canada, his body of work includes the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the National Museum of the American Indian. His St Mary’s Church, designed in 1968, appeared on a postage stamp. His design for the Ouje-Bougoumou village in Quebec earned a United Nations Award.

Listen to him speak at the the Alberta Art Gallery in Edmonton on March 29th. Tickets here.

The talk is part of the M.A.D.E. Aboriginal Architecture Series, supported by a grant from the Canadian Council for the Arts. The series includes: Alfred Waugh in concert with a First Nations Conference, Richard Kroeker, Wanda Dalla Costa and a Finish Lumi architect (still to be confirmed) later this year.

Images: St. Mary’s Church courtesy of Douglas Cardinal Architect, Inc.

#10: Michael Sorkin

marc — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:09:15 +0000

Michael Sorkin shares a bit of insight from his recent book, All Over the Map. The Michael Sorkin Studio is devoted to practical and theoretical projects focused on the city and green architecture. Variations on a Theme Park, Exquisite Corps, and Twenty Minutes in Manhattan are a few of his books.

All Over The Map

amery — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:29:41 +0000

In defense of the public realm, how bio-climate, culture and invention are intertwined, the social responsibility of design, and much more…Michael Sorkin, from his studio in New York City, talks about his latest book, All Over The Map. Also, hear about Spontaneous Interventions: design acts for the common good, the submission organized by the Institute for Urban Design for the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale this fall. And finally, congratulations to the winners of the Strip Appeal competition to re-design the strip mall. Image courtesy of Verso Books.

design research: luxury and a mile

amery — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:55:10 +0000

Design research isn’t limited to white lab coats. Sometimes it involves tasting fresh seal, as in the Luxury of the North project, or it requires walking 500 miles by foot as three brothers did for the project: We Make The Road by Walking. Both research projects use tools of observation within place to inform design.

Droog Lab’s Agata Jaworska describes the thinking behind Here, There, Everywhere…a series of projects observing the everyday in specific local cultures with the aim of defining the next generation of global design. Luxury of the North is one of the projects. Tim Antoniuk from the University of Alberta, also behind the ‘Luxury’ excursion, adds a Canadian perspective of the visit to Pond Inlet on Baffin Island.

In September, brothers Travis Sousa, Adam Sousa and Everett Nate Yockey walked from Los Angeles to San Francisco along the proposed high speed rail line. Identifying their research as qualitative and entitling it We Make the Road by Walking, they captured a multiplicity of views both for and against the line. Travis and Everett share details of the 30-day journey.

images courtesy of Droog Lab for Luxury of the North and We Make the Road by Walking

#8: Independent Bookstores

marc — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:04:09 +0000

Space + Place seeks advice on some of the best architecture and design books out there. In the process, we learn about independent bookstores, why we frequent them, and why we fight to keep them in the neighbourhood. Featuring interviews with A co-owner of St. Mark’s Books in New York, Peter Miller of Peter miller books in Seattle, John Frosst of Frosst books in Calgary, Will Lawrence of Shelf Life Books in Calgary and a representative of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.

neighbourhood indie

amery — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:34:45 +0000

Today’s show is about independent bookstores specializing in architecture and design. We discuss the value of the independent bookstore, why we frequent them and what they add to a neighbourhood. We hear about the challenges and why communities fight to save them. And most importantly, what particular titles these independent bookstores excited about right now.

In order of appearance, a special thanks to:

Bob Contant of St Mark’s Bookshop

Peter Miller of Peter Miller Books and Peter Miller at the Henry

Will Lawrence of Shelf Life Books

John Frosst of Frosst Books

Janet Abrams of the Canadian Centre for Architecture

Joanne Saul of Type Books

reading material: Crosscut News A clean, well-lighted bookshop

image courtesy of Frosst Books

Migrating Landscapes Alberta Exhibition Opens

amery — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 01:09:24 +0000

The Migrating Landscapes Alberta Regional Exhibition opens at the Illingworth Kerr Gallery at ACAD on Wednesday December 7th from 6-9pm. Migrating Landscapes was selected as Canada’s official entry to the 2012 Venice Biennale of Architecture. Communicating through videos, architectural models, and a landscape represented by a wooden structure, young Canadian architects will express residential design as a response to cultural memories and experiences of im/migration.

From the seven regional juried competitions across the country, approximately a dozen winning entries will be selected to represent Canada in the Biennale. The curators, 5468796 Architecture and Jae-Sung Chon of the University of Manitoba will discuss the competition at the opening. Alberta’s regional jurors include: Marc Boutin, Catherin Hamel, Shafraaz Kaba, Matthew North, and Katherine Wagner. See the Alberta regional architectural submissions until December 17th.

You can hear our interview with Johanna Hurme of 5468796 about Migrating Landscapes here.