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April 2016 - In French they say, 'Je suis fatigué'. Fatigué is a good word to describe the state of my inspiration over the past year - or in English, fatigued.  My inspiration feels frightened. An inspiration that needs to be coaxed out of hiding and tenderly guided into the dawn of a new land.

I'm just getting revved up. I'll be in LA for the month of May hangin' with my cousin's cat Wes. Taking the PCH down from San Francisco and chillin' the heck out. Lunch reservations at Chez Panisse, helping out a friend at the Rose Bowl Flea Market, night viewing of the Stahl Residence, and dropping by my old Alma Mater the Pickwick Vintage Show on May 29th - stoked about that - I can shop it this time, (for crazy lady in Vancouver clothes).

Here's a checklist of what I've been pondering as of late:

Fashion - the elderly Chinese ladies of Vancouver (per usual), Incredible String Band, and a smidgen of Hole (MTV Awards 1995). Hey, I've met quite a few guys in Vancouver lately with great style. There's Jacob over at Nordstrom (near the Chloe bags), Nigel at Gravity Pope and Mohammed who was at Gravity Pope but is now at Blanche MacDonald. If you're into men's street style go check out the kids hanging out on their 10:30 smoke break in front of BCIT downtown then watch them drive off in their Maseratis and Bentleys at 3:30.

Architecture -  There have been 787 demolition permits issued in the District of West Vancouver since 2010 - 174 in 2015 alone (population of West Van is 43,000). You know I left West Van in 2014 - or was it 2015? I left because I was frustrated by the mowing down of all the West Coast Modern homes. Well, turns out the District has voted unanimously to curb the size of McMansions. Here are the minutes of the meeting from December 2015. Too little too late in my opinion. The City of Vancouver issued 267 demolition permits in the first three months of 2016. If Mayor Gregor Robertson is tooting the greenest city horn - let's challenge him on the effect of the demolition cycle on landfills. I lived in Pt. Grey for six months (story in my next post). It was like a ghost town - no community, no neighbours hanging out in their yards shooting the shit, no cats rolling on the sidewalk, no sound of children playing in their yards. I moved eight blocks East and what a change! I was walking down Second last night and a group of people were having a glass of wine - they invited me to join them -  I did!

That being said how long do you think this house two blocks over from me is going to sit vacant?

My friend @bijouliving has the raddest apartment. This sunroom is a dream. 😍 #apartmenttherapy #decor #bohemian #indoorplants #decorinspiration #personalstyle #70s #sunroom #designideas #designsponge #vancouver #vancouverbc

A photo posted by Dana Landon (@itsmydarlin) on Apr 27, 2016 at 7:11am PDT

Interiors - I moved again in February - four times in one year.

Music - I have some playlists up on YouTube if you want to check out what I've been listening to.  Electric Moon, JJUUJJU, Federale, Moon Duo, A Place to Bury Strangers, Roy Harper, Bridget St. John, Magic Carpet and of course classical Indian music.

image via coding horror

Personal - Remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books from our childhood? I'll leave my adventure to you. Perhaps you've been following my other pages, perhaps you know my real adventure or perhaps I'm living vicariously through one you've chosen. Whichever - know this - everyone deserves a love story.

Design - I was contacted by the family of Thomas Kakinuma - the midcentury BC ceramicist that I've written about. They'd read a blog post I did and wanted to gift me a piece of his work. I went to their beautiful home and what's transpired is a wonderful friendship and a possible show at the UBC Museum of Anthropology (two year curation time but we're working on a small show in a different venue). You can see some of the images of his works I was able to photograph at his home posted over on my Facebook page.

Random - I've been so deeply moved by all the spiritually profound stolen images defaced with free hand font floating around my feeds. Please read this journal article On the Reception and Detection of Pseudo-Profound Bullshit.

Thanks for sticking around - I really value your readership! 

An Untouched 1970s A-Frame Wonder

The Gienger Residence in West Vancouver is on the market for the first time. 

The original owners/architects have lived in the home since 1971. 

And what a beauty it is! Is that plush carpeting I see in the living room? 

Look at the beautiful, unstained cedar walls and exposed beams.

The original copper pendant lights and a burl bar.  I'd take the rope off the bar.

The original floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace and hand-carved beams.

Spiral staircase and original brick kitchen. 

The floors may have been replaced with unfortunate laminate. 

However, nothing appears to have been updated in the home, so it could be the original hardwood floor. 

They're well cared for, as it looks like the rest of the house has been.

Are the burl table and chandelier included in the sale?

Sold me at the sunken purple bathtub! I'd rip that carpet out, though. Please, the carpet does not belong in the washroom. Gross. I'd put in a light-coloured heated stone floor of some sort.

There you have it. For more images, check out the realtor's website. 

It would be a shame if the home was bought strictly to be torn down and replaced with the ever-popular West Van Baroque Craftsman.

 

Remember these little guys?

images © North Shore Realty 

West Vancouver Home Demolition Before and After

 

Do you remember this beautiful old gal with solid bones and amazingly restored hardwood floors? I posted about her back in November 2013.

Well, this is what replaced her. 

And to think, the contractor told me the new home 'wasn't going to be that big.' 

A (Bed) Room of One's Own

Master Bedroom Boyd House Architect Ron Thom image by Stacy Reynaud

I brought up the topic of separate bedrooms this morning, only to be greeted with, 'Should we each have our own house, too?' Geesh, sensitive.

Architectural trends reflect our culture, but how far do these trends reflect our instincts?

My first thought was that the shared bedroom is a socioeconomic thing—lots of money = lots of house. Not so much money = not so much home. 

You know what I'm talking about, so let's not go into tiny house living choices or the cost of a 435 s.f. apartment in Vancouver because I'm simply talking about the concept of the shared bedroom.

My second thought - brought into fruition by a comment regarding prudery - is an image of a lovely Homo erectus couple snuggled up under a muskox blanket in front of their amber-hued, crackling cave fire. The shared bedroom now becomes a mammalian instinct. 

Stay warm, stay safe, and have sex (in whichever preferred order).

My next thought - is Lucy and Ricky's bedroom - sure, it was fictional (somewhat), and they were shown in separate beds due to TV regulations of the 1950s. Still, I'd argue that it was actually the result of the continuous evolution of Western socioeconomic and mammalian instinctual concepts.

Okay, let's leave it at that - I want my own bedroom, and ignorance is bliss.

image: Boyd House, Ron Thom 
© Stacy Reynaud

Another West Vancouver Significant Home Demolition

Dan White House Orchard Way West Vancouver image stacy reynaud

I'm in a dysfunctional relationship - with West Vancouver. I moved out of West Van in July. I was getting too bitter about the clash of ideas concerning housing, being ripped off in rent, and all the bloody traffic on Marine Drive. Well, I'm moving back. 

Turns out I'm not the only one that's getting fed up, though:

West Vancouver Council moved unanimously to commence community consultation and draft a bylaw addressing form and character in West Vancouver homes. Jeremy Shepherd, North Shore News. 

You can watch the 'boisterous' council meeting on video and read the full meeting agenda from October 20th here.

Thanks to Brent Richter's Twitter feed for bringing this meeting to my attention.

I touched on this topic in February 2014  when West Van held its first public Info Session. What came from the Info Sessions were recommendations from West Vancouver's Manager of Community Planning, Stephen Mikicich. You can read those recommendations from June 2014 here.

So, back to the title of the post. Which significant home is gone? Well, it's Dan White's Vernacular Orchard Way home that I've posted many times about (search Dan White at the top of the search box). Mr. White is also the architect of the Museum of Vancouver just finished a retrospective on.

I can't help but see the correlation between what's happening in West Vancouver and what Alan Weintraub and Alan Hess discuss in their book Forgotten Modern: California Houses 1940-1970.

Except for a few hometown architects (Whitney Smith, Harwell Hamilton Harris) and a few stray writers and professors (Jean Murray Bangs, Jack Hillmer, Esther McCoy), almost no one knew of them, [Charles and Henry Greene], except as relics of the past (Hess 2007, 8).

Dan White's Orchard Way Vernacular once stood here.

view from Mathers Ave.

Architecture - and spectacles - Expo 67 Montreal

Impressions of Expo 67 by William Brind, National Film Board of Canada

One of my UBC art history papers, way back when, was on Moshe Safdie's Habitat 67 (he was working on the Vancouver Public Library at the time). 

Safdie originally conceived the project as his Master's thesis in architecture at McGill. It became a thematic pavilion at Montreal's Expo 67 (in which the central theme was Man & His World - with housing as a subset).

Already having a fondness for the architecture of Expo 67 - based on my past research, as well as spending a few summers teaching Québécois university students English - I was pretty interested in The National Film Board of Canada e-newsletter that arrived in my Inbox this morning.

Impressions of Expo 67 is an eight-minute promotional video for what was considered the most successful World's Fair of the 20th Century.

As I mentioned, I am interested in Expo 67's architecture. Still, it takes time to find a thorough list of pavilion designers. 

If you know any more—in addition to the ones listed on Wikipedia—please leave them in the post's comments section.

A few:

Sandy van Ginkel - chief designer and planner of Expo 67

Arthur Erickson - consultant, Canada Pavilion, 

Buckminster Fuller - designer, USA's geodesic dome pavilion

Images of Expo 67 Pavilions can be viewed at the Library and Archives Canada page Expo 67 Man and His World - Pavilions and the Canadian Design Resource Site page Expo 67

So take a peek at the architecture in the short video, and while you're at it, check out the fabulous late 60s design of the visitors' sunglasses.

Images of Expo 67 Pavilions can be viewed at the Library and Archives Canada page Expo 67 Man and His World - Pavilions and the Canadian Design Resource Site page Expo 67

Before and After - West Vancouver Home Demolition

1930s American Bungalow - interior images and the story here
I'd originally posted about this home on November 5th 2013

When I spoke with the contractor back in November he told me the home would be small as the woman and her two sons didn't want anything large. I'd hate to see their interpretation of large!

West Coast Modern Vernacular Home

Deep Cove mid-century vernacular image Stacy Reynaud

Built on steep slopes in wild landscapes West Coast Modern Vernacular homes - with sloped roofs and natural wood siding - are a natural fit for our Pacific Northwest rainforest.

West Coast Modern vernacular. image stacy reynaud

Not to be left just for the privilege of the cliff dwellers, the 1970s saw toned-down designs making their way into suburban neighbourhoods like West Vancouver (not to mention an awful lot where I grew up - Langley or Brookswood, more specifically.)

Mid-century West Coast Modern image stacy reynaud

West Coast Vernacular image stacy reynaud

West Vancouver mid-century vernacular image Stacy Reynaud

West Vancouver West Coast Modern home image stacy reynaud

West Vancouver home demolition stacy reynaud

Arthur Erickson 6028 Eagleridge Dr. West Vancouver West Coast Modern vernacular image stacy reynaud

Merrick House image Stacy Reynaud

The ultimate West Coast Vernacular home - Merrick House. Built 1974.
Currently in the draft stages of a conservation plan by the District of West Vancouver and Birmingham & Wood Architects.

 

The Granddaddy of West Coast Vernacular, Charles Moore's Sea Ranch - a movement referred to as Bay Area Modern.

Originally published October 19, 2012

Wink and Howie's Place - A West Vancouver Mid-Century Home Demolition

You remember this home. In February 2012, I posted about Wink and Howie's cute little place they'd lived in for 40 years. They sold in the summer of 2011 because of declining health (I bought their teak bedroom and dining suites). Well, last weekend, we decided to do a drive-by to see if the home had been restored - as we thought it would be back in 2012. Good God - no. It's been replaced by a concrete monstrosity with Parthenon-worthy Doric columns (the most massive Greek temple columns) and Baroque balconies. First image of the series.

The Longest Year in History

was 1972.

Remember the power of three? It's happening again, this time with the year 1972.

First off - Moody Blues, Nights in White Satin - a song I thought, from the very first day I heard remembering hearing it, was a cheesy 70s rambling poem song about King Arthur, so I paid no attention to it. Anyway, it popped up at me on the weekend, and I took the time to listen to the lyrics - which are everything but knights in white satin. 

New old favourite!

Then, I was looking at old Honda motorbikes online and came across this vintage ad from 1972. The truck and camper (and mini bike) equate to the elimination of the living in a van down by the river scenario created by the Vancouver rental pool.

Finally, Tuesday night I was looking at residential architecture and up pops this beauty. West Vancouver's Helmut Eppich house designed in 1972 by Arthur Erickson Architects (and sold in 2010 for $4.8 million.)

A Community Plan that Defeats its Purpose

mid-century home demolition West Vancouver BC image Stacy Reynaud

information on issues relating to McMansions and possible District actions to make new housing better fit existing neighbourhood character.

West Vancouver Home demolition image Stacy Reynaud

West Vancouver heritage demolition image Stacy Reynaud

West Vancouver West Coast Modern home demolition image Stacy Reynaud

West Vancouver mid-century home demolitions image Stacy Reynaud

In West Vancouver, there's this mentality that renters are an unruly, degenerate, dirty bunch who will settle for anything (as interpreted by the state of the rental portfolio and letters to the editor of the North Shore News). Those of that particular mindset aren't reading this blog, so telling them to get their heads out of their (gl)ass (house) won't matter. It also shouldn't give them the right to try and rent us a termite-infested crack house off the highway for $3000 a month (such as one on Palmerston & 14th we saw recently) or this black mould mid-century we looked at in 2012.

Just because we live in West Van doesn't mean we'll pay you more to rent your 'tear down' house you just bought until you can afford to put up your 'trophy house.' You know what we see when we're out there snooping around at architecture, kids (usually baby boomers) whose parents just died that are eager to sell off what they perceived as the tacky family home they grew up in. Don't just blame the buyers of these properties for the 'ugly' neighbourhoods transforming West Van; look at the sellers.

Generation X is just now hitting the peaks of our careers, and we are all looking for homes that we can rent and live in for many years. We can't afford down payments for overpriced homes - remember, we moved out of our parents' house when we graduated from high school, worked three jobs and put ourselves through university instead - because that's what you did. We'd love to rent your well-loved, well-kept, clean, tacky family home and make it our home, but we need to be more innovative to pay over $3000 a month for it - the bloody thing was probably paid off forty years ago. So West Van, if you want to keep, or try to attract, a younger demographic with extra money to spend in the community (not on renting a crappy house), get it together because we're getting fed up with this - and because we rent - we can just up and leave, whenever we want. You're losing your history and your future community all at the same time. 

Check out the Facebook group I Grew Up in West Vancouver.

Are you interested in moving to West Van to rent but need to figure out what's happening here?

The first of two info sessions on West Vancouver housing is Monday, February 24th, from 4 to 8 pm at the West Van Community Centre.

See you there.

PS coach houses shouldn't cost $1.0 million or $4500 monthly to rent.

Images Stacy Reynaud