Andrew Schroeder

Only from Russia…

After dreaming of “Paris is Burning” last night… I had to post this.

As defined by Wikipedia:

Vancouverism is an urban planning and architectural technique pioneered in Vancouver, Canada. It is characterized by mixed-use developments, typically with a medium-height, commercial base and narrow, high-rise residential towers to accommodate high populations and to preserve view corridors. With a large residential population living in the city centre, no expressways connecting the core to the suburbs, and significant reliance on mass public transit, Vancouver is somewhat unique among large North American cities. In part, these reasons contribute to the fact that it is consistently ranked among the most livable cities in the world. Other cities have begun to take note of the principles of Vancouverism and have begun to incorporate this approach in their own planning directions.

Renowned architect Bing Thom described Vancouverism this way:

It’s a spirit about public space. I think Vancouverites are very, very proud that we built a city that really has a tremendous amount of space on the waterfront for people to recreate and to enjoy. At the same time, False Creek and Coal Harbour were previously industrial lands that were very polluted and desecrated. We’ve refreshed all of this with new development, and people have access to the water and the views. So, to me, it’s this idea of having a lot people living very close together, mixing the uses. So, we have apartments on top of stores. In Surrey we have a university on top of a shopping centre. This mixing of uses reflects Vancouver in terms of our culture and how we live together.

An excellent pod cast from the CCA on the topic:
Trevor Boddy: Vancouverism and its Discontents (5 April 2007)

Ah… finally a film that I’m looking forward to seeing in the theater.

josh_3020_P003 ® Geotypografika

There seems to be a relationship unfolding in my art and work life. When I’m actually engaged in what I’m doing/making I have absolutely nothing to write about. Hence, I haven’t updated this thing for awhile. At the moment, I am just reading and researching for my trip to Montreal next week. My reading list is topped off by books concerned with architecture/space/place/modernism-as-utopia. The question I’ve been asking myself this week: what exactly is my relationship with utopia? As a person that has grown up in the “post-utopian” age of postmodernism, is there any reason for me to be interested in lofty and impossible things like utopian thought?

According to Yi Fu Tuan in Space and Place “such places had to exist because they were key elements in complex systems of belief. To discard the idea of terrestrial paradise would have threatened a whole way of looking at the world.”  It is my hope with the new series of photographs I am undertaking I will be able to better understand/visualize that “whole way of looking at the world”.

In the meantime:

Check out the Flickr photostream of Geotypografika aka Erik Brandt. (CLICK IMAGE ABOVE FOR LINK) I find his work in Amsterdam particularly amazing… and his MCAD GD student’s work… fantastic. Cheers.

Map ©Lauren van Wyke 2009

A few days ago I received this amazing map from a fellow artist and friend, Lauren van Wyke. I love this idea of us both being suspended in the air at the same time… stuck in the netherland which is air travel.

Thank you Lauren.

Leuchtturm Ink Samples ©Dowdyism on FLICKR

After 5 years of being a dedicated Moleskine user, I’ve finally been tempted by the fruit of another. The Leuchturm reporter style pad is incredibly comfortable, features a “date/datum” field and a table of contents. A perfect fit for a classic OCD type such as myself. The image above is from a FLICKR photostream devoted to notebooks of all shapes, colors, creeds and sizes. Very much worth checking out.

It seems that everyone is making a tribute to Michael Jackson today. I think my love for the King of Pop could best be summarized through this song, “Sex Dwarf” by Soft Cell. It seems… so appropriate to his life. Enjoy.

La Tourette ©JMTP on Flickr

I’m digging JMTP’s photostream on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmtp/