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Vancouver is more expensive than New York, more expensive than Paris, more expensive than London. But what we discovered was that in each generation, Vancouver has rebuilt itself to respond to some huge demographic shift. So how do we understand these organic trends and take the next step forward? How do we find space for our kids and our elderly so our community stays a real place? We came up with four basic strategies ... »»»
The arguments are all wrong regarding a development proposal in one of Vancouver's funkiest neighbourhoods. Nostalgia is not a reason to preserve an area of cheap, temporary and often ugly buildings. The fight shaping up over a development proposal in a funky Mt. Pleasant location says just about all you ever want to know about where the city of Vancouver is these days ... »»»
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has released a study on the world's 20 tallest buildings projected to be built by 2020. The Council introduced the term 'megatall' to describe buildings over 600 meters (1,968 feet) tall, which is twice the height of the previous superlative 'supertall' buildings. Buildings that have been stalled and do not have a predictable completion date have been excluded from the study ... »»»
A better model, from Britain and Vancouver, is to concentrate stores on “high streets,” turning others into mostly quiet residential streets. A rule of thumb is that an office worker will support a few square feet of retail businesses — essentially lunchtime eateries and perhaps a drugstore. In comparison, a resident will support 10-20 square feet. So, outside of a downtown retail core, the presence or absence of people living nearby determines whether a shop dies, barely survives, or thrives ... »»»
Today, after the customary few decades of slow growth, it would seem Winnipeg has again entered an era of prosperity that will leave a similar architectural legacy on its urban form. In time we may look back on today as the beginning of a third golden era of Winnipeg architecture. A time, as they did a century ago when local designers reached out to the world for inspiration and global architects found their way here to add a dramatic new chapter to Winnipeg's distinct architectural narrative ... »»»
The emergence of China on the global economic stage has been discussed at nauseum in myriad publications. But this emergence has had an impact on the world of architecture, providing a testing ground where architects can experiment with new ideas about sustainability and urban growth. These new ideas have been realized in recently completed structures, and more are just beginning construction or have been proposed for the future. More on these new buildings after the break ... »»»
Urbanization is an unstoppable world megatrend. Over the past 60 years, the urbanized areas of the planet have gone from 29 percent in 1950, to half of the world’s population today, and by 2050, 70 percent of the world’s population is expected to live in urban regions. Cities are already responsible for 70 to 80 percent of the world’s energy consumption. Accordingly, climate change cannot be addressed without their transformation through strategic alliances ... »»»
Local Vancouver architecture has become a source of inspiration to other cities ranging from Seattle to Dubai. Although Vancouver's architecture and reputation as one of the world's most livable city has been long admired, it is not without its flaws, argues Boddy. If the city's current challenges were created by design, there's hope that excellent design can carve the way to solutions as well. ... »»»
I resist the idea that Dubai heralds the civilization of the future. But I have to concede that in some senses it might. Not only Singapore and Hong Kong but parts of central London now populated by transient bankers and their semi-legal Filipino servants have more in common with Dubai than with their own hinterlands, even if the architecture is different ... »»»
An unprecedented level of development is under way in the Manitoba capital, as Winnipeg attempts to reverse decades of movement out to the suburbs. Around the world there is a growing understanding that suburban sprawl is unsustainable, and that, for cities to survive, they must shrink back in on themselves, tightening up, promoting density and pushing their growing population into space already served by existing infrastructure and social services ... »»»