Arthur
Erickson:
Vision for a New Order
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Architecture or Revolution.
Revolution can be avoided.
Le Corbusier

by Stephen Hynes

We often yearn for the sense of personal connection in village life, and yet we turn our backs on our neighbours. What can we do to bring the village mentality into our urban existence?

Arthur Erickson's experience with many cultures enables him to understand community in a comparative sense, and he sees the urban isolationism that bedevils community as a North European phenomenon, a cultural gloominess that looses its grip as one moves towards the equator or the east. I would add that its reach is growing with the near world-wide acceptance of the icons of Western consumerism as desirable symbols of modernism and power. Cities everywhere look much the same, and are faced with remarkably similar problems.

We are trying to understand the relationship between our built environment and community, and we believe this building is a step towards the development of an architecture that encourages community. 
 

N E X T_ P A G E: The Project