Vancouver Museum of Anthopology
Revisiting my old city
It’s been a long time since I was in Vancouver — more than five years. Some things always stay the same and other things have changed. This trip was a short one, just a few days but it gave me the opportunity to see some of the new architectural projects that have popped up since I was last here.
One of the things that struck me was when I woke up and saw the North Shore Mountains. I knew they were there but in my time living on a flat plain (Toronto) I’d forgotten how tall the mountains were. Years ago I used to hike these mountains every weekend and I’d become accustomed to their height. Now, they were a large presence that was both surprising and reassuring.
I was in Vancouver on my way to Vancouver Island and preparing for the upcoming months in Japan so I actually spent a lot of time in Starbucks and Libraries getting stuff done. I was mainly scheduling out my two months in Japan and booking accomodations in advance. This trip to Japan is going to be focused on seeing significant modern architecture projects so I wanted to make sure I had them all pinned on the map. None the less, I made sure to see the sunset whenever I could because sunsets on the West Coast are the best I’ve ever seen anywhere in the world.
On the day that I went to UBC I saw some new projects including the Truth and Reconciliation building between the two libraries. This was a building I was keen on seeing and it didn’t disappointed. I think it’s well crafted in form and detail. It doesn’t seem as well connected to the larger campus as it could be but it isn’t bad either. Along the way to the Museum of Anthopology, I stopped at my favourite place: UCLL. This was my private study hall for 3rd and 4th year because it was always open, there was never anyone around, and I had the whole building to myself.
I found out afterwards that the reason I like the building and garden so much is because it was designed by Arthur Erickson, architect for the Museum of Anthopology too.
The Museum of Anthropology was fantastic. West Coast First Nations art is some of my favourite and the collection is quite extensive. The building is also beautiful, although the grand hall is closed for seismic upgrades. Of course, the work of Bill Reid is also great and I spent a few minutes just sitting on the bench admiring his work.
Afterwards I walked around the Northern part of UBC and spent some time thinking about architecture. I’ve been collecting images and thoughts that I’d like to put into an essay on the differences between West Coast, Toronto, and Newfoundland architecture so it was good to be able to walk around the cedar forests and take pictures of the older buildings I appreciate.
