Jun 3, 2009

The Decline of West Coast Modernism

Many significant West Coast Modern homes are at risk due to rapidly increasing land values, lack of recognition, lack of maintenance and inappropriate alterations. Below are five before and after examples from West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The last selections show the deterioration of a significant modernist home due to lack of maintenance.


1. Before
W.G. Marr, Designer, 1950


Description of the home before demolition: Horizontality is the dominant design element in this single family home. A flat roof with exposed twinned roof beams adds a decorative feature to an otherwise modest facade. A small deck is cantilevered off the second floor living room. Horizontal board siding is used as the primary cladding material, broken into modular sections marked by vertical beams.
(from: 1994 West Vancouver Survey of Significant Architecture 1945 - 1975)

1. After
2. Before 2060 Gisby St
Duncan McNab and Associates, Architects, 1961


Description of the home before demolition: Two storey house incorporates vertical board cladding and a low pitch side gable roof. Ribbon windows are used on the first and second floors. A distinctive breezeway and entry court is created by extending the roof beams over the carport. The site is enhanced by a rock retaining wall, and mature cedars and rhododendrons.
(from: 1994 West Vancouver Survey of Significant Architecture 1945 - 1975)

2. After 2060 Gisby St.

3. Before
F.M. Polson, Architect, 1950

Description of the home before demolition: Two storey horizontal board clad structure capped with a dramatic monocline roof, and fronted by a two storey cantilevered deck. The residence is situated at the base of a hill, and retains its original landscaping, including shrubs and bushes which has now matured to provide lush surroundings. This house was published in the RAIC (Royal Architectural Institute of Canada) Journal 1951. (from: 1994 West Vancouver Survey of Significant Architecture 1945 - 1975)

3. After
4. Before
Arnulf H. Petzold, Architect, 1955


Description of the home before demolition: One storey vertical board clad structure, with a low pitch front gable roof, features a rectangular form with a central chimney, clerestory windows and an angled entry. The site is landscaped with a rockery feature at the entry, decorative fruit tree, spruce vine maple and many pines. (from: 1994 West Vancouver Survey of Significant Architecture 1945 -1975)

4. After

5. Before
Lewis Construction Company, Designer, 1955

Description of the home before demolition: Two storey vertical board clad structure displays a rectangular form, exposed roof beams, a projecting second storey deck and ribbon windows. The site is extensively landscaped with a rock retaining wall, rockery garden with sculpted shrubs, river rock staircase, two mature cedar trees and decorative fruit trees.
(from: 1994 West Vancouver Survey of Significant Architecture 1945 -1975)

5. After

Furniture can be reproduced and so can photographs, but architecture is unique and once it is lost it is gone for good.
Giovanni Brino

(click to enlarge)

Arthur Erickson & Geoffery Massey, Architects, 1966

(click to enlarge)
Heavy timbers are used to frame the form of the house, which steps down a very steep slope in a series of overlapping narrow triangles. Posts and beams are cut to the same dimensions to balance the distinction between horizontal and vertical forces. Infill panels of horizontal siding, latice and plate glass are used within the heavy grided frame, while the entrance is marked by a sloping shed roof over the carport and entry court.

(click to enlarge)
The ends of the beams are carried past the ends of the house in flying extensions that contrast the vertical lines of the natural forces.
(1994 West Vancouver Survey of Significant Architecture 1945 -1975)


(click to enlarge)

Every work of art reveals its creator, an exact image and likeness of the person who made it. Carlo Mollino

Jun 2, 2009

Design Lover: The Bauhaus Birdhouse


The Bauhaus design principle is fundamentally, "no boundaries between the crafts". So, with the end user in mind, behold the Bauhaus birdhouse. Designed in Sweden and made from solid larch wood and painted with non-toxic colours, the house stays true to principle. Intelligent design keeps the end user, the birdies, from sitting in their food and soiling it and ensures that larger birds are kept away.

Available online at The French House.

Quote of the Week - Anne Demeulemeester


I don't do black because it's in. I do it because it's one of my favourite colours.
Anne Demeulemeester




10 Things You Should Know About Carlo Mollino

Carlo Mollino
  1. Mollino, in collaboration with his friend Mario Damonte, designed the aerodynamic 1955 Damolnar Bisiluro racing car which was to go on and hold the 750cc category record at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.
  2. He was a pilot, a racing car driver, an expert downhill skier, an important photographer, an artist, a fashion designer, an author, a dabbler in the occult, an international traveler and an erotomaniac.
  3. Most of his architecture has been demolished or left to decay. After it ceased working, his unique cableway station for skiers in the Alps at Lago Nero was left to fall apart. Squatters soon moved in and used the interiors for firewood.
  4. Alpine architecture and territorial planning were so important to him that he set up the Istituto di Architettura Montana (Institute for Mountain Architecture).
  5. He began to race cars seriously as soon as he learned to drive.
  6. In the final years before his death in 1973 his preferred photographic medium was the Polaroid.
  7. Mollino personalized sandals designed by Bruno Magli and made by Italo Bruschi by adding strass brooches. The sandals are now part of the collection of Museo Casa Mollino.
  8. The bedroom, according to Mollino, was the 'erotic chamber' and thus only Louis XV furnishings were suitable. He believed that eighteenth century designers were the only ones who, 'knew how to wrap a woman in desire, giving the furnishings of the room the same grace as her own softly curving body...'
  9. An avid inventor, he held 15 patents in various fields including, but not limited to, drafting, interior design, building products, automobile related devices, and everyday objects such as a cigar lighter and the 'clothing protector fairing to bicycles'.
  10. 317 butterflies were arrayed in rows in front of his bed.
The Bisiluro



Further Reading:
Brino, Giovanni. 2005. Carlo Mollino: Architecture As Autobiography. New York: Thames & Hudson

May 27, 2009

7 Sandals for Men: How To Wear Them Well

  • No socks.
  • Keep them clean with soap and water.
  • Flip flops aka thongs should be seen in three places: the beach, public showers and the spa.
  • Toenails can be a real turn off if not properly cared for. Go ahead and pamper yourself.
  • If wearing with trousers make sure you're not stepping on your hem.

1. Marsell
2. Anne Demeulemeester

3. Camper
4. Raf Simons

5. John Varvatos

6. Mexican Huraches

7. Bruno Bordese

May 26, 2009

Quote of the Week - Mary McFadden


A hotel room is just a place to sleep. However, as soon as I arrive, I do order Champagne and Perrier.
Mary McFadden





The Style Quiz 3

Fashion fades, only style remains the same.
What year are the collections below from?
Comme des Garçons
Yves Saint Laurent Blumarine Genny Moschino Galliano Thierry Mugler Answer posted on June 5th.
Related Posts:

May 25, 2009

Vintage Pierre Cardin

Pierre Cardin Men
1980





Photos of My New Studio Space


A 1910 heritage building, zero capital and a storage locker full of vintage goodies. I've shot one of the blank walls so you can see the mint green I have to deal with. I think I'm going to cover the entire thing with collected art work and vintage rock posters.


images stacy reynaud

May 24, 2009

Best Scenes Begin at 3:10


Heaven (Fully Flared Intro Video Remix)
by UNKLE_UK

Mesmerizing music by UNKLE set to an extraordinary re-edited sequence of shots from the Spike Jonze and Ty Evans film Fully Flared.

My favourite shot is at 4:54.


Related Posts:
The Skateboard as Rite of Passage
Signature Series Street Art and Fashion
Alone with Kurt Cobain's Duffle Bag




May 20, 2009

RIP Arthur Erickson

MacBlo Building - Vancouver BC
image Stacy Reynaud

Canadian modernist architect Arthur Erickson passed away May 20th, 2009 at the age of 84.

Related Posts:
West Coast Modernism for the 21st Century
Earth Integrated Architecture
West Coast Modernism - Going Going Gone

Vintage GUCCI

Gucci Sphere Watch $125
1980




May 19, 2009

Quote of the Week - Edgar Allan Poe


There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion.

Ligeia, Edgar Allan Poe

May 14, 2009

Jean Gillon - Collector Alert


Designing primarily in Brazilian rosewood during the mid century Jean Gillon could not have known his material of choice would become a CITES listed endangered species. Brazilian rosewood is now illegal to trade.
Gillon was born in Romania in 1919 and received his architecture degree in 1942. At the age of 37 he moved to Brazil where he began designing furniture and household products out of local hardwood, primarily rosewood.
Two years later, in 1958, Gillon founded Italma Wood Art and began to solidify his reputation as one of the top Brazilian furniture designers.


Gillon did not limit himself to furniture design. He also worked with textiles producing highly collectible tapestries.


Watch for his work.



Related Posts:

Paul Evans: 20th Century Alchemist
A-Z of Inspirational Design
Patricia Urquiola and the Italian Papasan Chair

What to Wear on the Weekend



A men's look for a weekend in Vancouver

Vintage Yves Saint Laurent


Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche 1978

May 11, 2009

Quote of the Week - Anonymous



Age is of no importance unless you're a cheese.
Cheese shop. Cannes, France

May 7, 2009

Arnaud Maggs: Reality and Mortality

Arnaud Maggs is aware of his own mortality. It is this sense that keeps him working to consolidate his large body of work while trying to capture fresh ideas. Maggs' work speaks to the universal human experience. Hotel signs become more than sans serif on white on black. Portraits become stark realities of the form of the human head. Maggs is 83.

The Back 40