Canadian Architect RAIC Gold Medal (June 2012) by IQ Business Media

RAIC GOLD MEDAL 2012 PETER CARDEW

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A ContInuuM of woRk

PeTer Cardew arChITeCTS

Contents

20 MeAsuRed dRAwInG

InSIghTS InTo The moTIvaTIon and workIng ProCeSS of ThIS year’S raIC gold medal wInner are revealed In a CandId ConverSaTIon wITh Ian ChodIkoff.

13 CRAft woRk

The heIghTened ImPorTanCe of drawIng ThroughouT and afTer The deSIgn ProCeSS IS deTaIled by Cardew aSSoCIaTe davId SCoTT.

23 PIVotAl desIGn

elIzabeTh ShoTTon dISCuSSeS The TradITIonal yeT modernIST arChITeCTure of PeTer Cardew ThaT IS buIlT uPon a dIverSe and ITeraTIve deSIgn ProCeSS.

17 An ARChIteCt’s ARChIteCt andrew grufTS aSSerTS ThaT PeTer Cardew haS ConTInually demonSTraTed ImagInaTIve wayS To InfuSe ClaSSIC modernISm wITh new and relevanT IdeaS over a Career SPannIng nearly fIve deCadeS.

SCoTT waTSon reCounTS hIS exPerIenCeS aS The ClIenT who enabled PeTer Cardew To deSIgn one of The moST ImPorTanT buIldIngS To be ComPleTed In vanCouver over The PaST 30 yearS.

26 no oRdInARy BuIldInG greg bellerby reCallS how a new PerSPeCTIve on arChITeCT PeTer Cardew waS gaIned Through The ProCeSS of CuraTIng an exhIbITIon of hIS work In 1996.

28 ColleCted wIsdoM ChrIS maCdonald reSPeCTfully noTeS ThaT deSPITe The rIgorouS demandS of PraCTICe, PeTer Cardew haS alwayS found TIme To Share hIS vISIon and aCCumulaTed wISdom Through ProfeSSIonal menTorIng and aCademIC lIfe.

30 Role Model ruSSell aCTon deSCrIbeS The PaTIenT and InTermInably long (buT ImmenSely worThwhIle) waIT aS a Tender young graduaTe, eager To work wITh The menTor of hIS ChoICe.

June 2012, v.57 n.06

The SaTurna ISland houSe by PeTer Cardew arChITeCTS on SaTurna ISland, bC. PhoTograPh by PeTer Cardew arChITeCTS.

CoVeR The NaTioNal Review of DesigN aND PRacTice/ The JouRNal of RecoRD of aRchiTecTuRe caNaDa | Raic

RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

Peter Cardew arChIteCts

forEword

Editor Ian ChodIkoff, OAA, FRAIC AssociAtEEditor LesLIe Jen, MRAIC EditoriAlAdvisors John MCMInn, AADIpl. MarCo PoLo, OAA, FRAIC contributingEditors GavIn affLeCk, OAQ, MRAIC herbert enns, MAA, MRAIC douGLas MaCLeod, nCARb rEgionAlcorrEspondEnts halifax ChrIstIne MaCy, OAA regina bernard fLaMan, SAA montreal davId theodore calgary davId a. down, AAA Winnipeg herbert enns, MAA vancouver adeLe weder publishEr toM arkeLL 416-510-6806 AssociAtEpublishEr GreG PaLIouras 416-510-6808 circulAtionMAnAgEr beata oLeChnowICz 416-442-5600 ext. 3543 custoMErsErvicE MaLkIt Chana 416-442-5600 ext. 3539 production JessICa Jubb AbovE Peter Cardew sketChes a 1:1 drawInG of the Cn PavILIon sPaCe-fraMe truss for exPo ‘86. Cardew’s dedICatIon to hIs Craft has resuLted In an InsPIred PortfoLIo of subLIMeLy detaILed arChIteCture of endurInG PresenCe.

The 2012 RAIC Gold Medal is being awarded to Peter Cardew, a Vancouver architect who has dedicated his career to realizing exceptional buildings for his clients through a careful approach to design that explores very seriously the architectural ideas of depth and circumstance. While Cardew’s work avoids rhetoric and pomposity, the world of architecture today is permeated by a global design culture that not only accepts, but encourages a superficial architecture fuelled by grandiose statements and flashy, high-resolution images accessed from the Internet. Cardew’s architecture serves as a veritable balm to this shallow condition where the “cool factor” caricatures buildings rather than allowing innovative spatial, material or contextual explorations. There is little room for whimsy in the work of Peter Cardew; he is an architect whose commissions prioritize program, site and structure over a modish material palette and promotional renderings of show-off buildings that are little more than—in Cardew’s own words— “decorated sheds.” Since the establishment of the firm in 1980, Cardew’s small, low-profile practice has completed a modest number of consistently excellent buildings. He is living proof that it is still possible to maintain an office that places a high priority on architectural meaning and craft—priorities which require both thoughtfulness and an unhurried pace. His disciplined career path is marked by deeply personal experiences that have inspired the many talented individuals who have worked for him over the years. By his own admission, Cardew is not a brazen self-promoter, and this is a major reason why his portfolio tends not 4 rAicgoldMEdAl2012

to include an abundance of conspicuously celebrated civic buildings. But it is not something he has consciously shied away from, as he has consistently pursued opportunities to design largescale public buildings. Cardew moved to Vancouver in the late 1960s and got a job with Rhone & Iredale Architects, where he had an opportunity to work with many of the finest emerging architects and some of the best projects of the 1970s. When he branched out on his own in 1980, he evolved as an architect during a transformative decade marked by Expo ’86—a significant turning point for the city which saw itself morph from a frontier town into an established city with a new generation of clients able to appreciate the sophistication of Cardew’s architecture. In today’s world, the superficiality of slick imagery produced by even the most mediocre of architects can influence clients everywhere and make them believe in a certain architectural rhetoric. Consequently, many architects have established their own brand of polemical showmanship with the goal of wooing influential clients and landing tasty commissions. By contrast, Cardew isn’t dogmatic about his work. Throughout his entire career, he has steadfastly maintained a rigorous approach to the details and rationalism that reveal the intelligence of his architecture. There is much to learn from the work of Peter Cardew, an architect who has established his own well-ordered principles of architecture based upon the foundations of practice, knowledge and determination. Ian ChodIkoff

ichodikoff@cAnAdiAnArchitEct.coM

grAphicdEsign sue wILLIaMson vicEprEsidEntofcAnAdiAnpublishing aLex PaPanou prEsidEntofbusinEssinforMAtiongroup bruCe CreIGhton hEAdofficE 80 vaLLeybrook drIve, toronto, on M3b 2s9 telephone 416-510-6845 facsimile 416-510-5140 e-mail editors@canadianarchitect.com Web site www.canadianarchitect.com Canadian architect is published monthly by bIG Magazines LP, a div. of Glacier bIG holdings Company Ltd., a leading Canadian information company with interests in daily and community newspapers and business-tobusiness information services. the editors have made every reasonable effort to provide accurate and authoritative information, but they assume no liability for the accuracy or completeness of the text, or its fitness for any particular purpose. subscription rates Canada: $54.95 plus applicable taxes for one year; $87.95 plus applicable taxes for two years (hst – #809751274rt0001). Price per single copy: $6.95. students (prepaid with student Id, includes taxes): $34.97 for one year. usa: $105.95 us for one year. all other foreign: $125.95 us per year. single copy us and foreign: $10.00 us. return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation dept., Canadian architect, 80 valleybrook dr, toronto, on Canada M3b 2s9. Postmaster: please forward forms 29b and 67b to 80 valleybrook dr, toronto, on Canada M3b 2s9. Printed in Canada. all rights reserved. the contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in part or in full without the consent of the copyright owner. from time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. If you do not wish your contact information to be made available, please contact us via one of the following methods: telephone 1-800-668-2374 facsimile 416-442-2191 e-mail privacyofficer@businessinformationgroup.ca mail Privacy officer, business Information Group, 80 valleybrook dr, toronto, on Canada M3b 2s9 member of the canadian business press member of the audit bureau of circulations publications mail agreement #40069240 issn 1923-3353 (online) issn 0008-2872 (print)

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Congratulations to Peter Cardew

on being awarded the

RAIC Gold Medal

A CoNTINUUM oF WoRK 2012 RAIC Gold MedAllIsT PeTeR CARdeW dIsCUsses The evolUTIoN oF hIs CAReeR ANd hIs dedICATed APPRoACh To ARChITeCTURe—bUT MosT IMPoRTANTly, The sIMPle desIRe To CoNTINUe MAKING Good bUIldINGs. INTeRvIeWeR

iAn chodikoff

how did your educational and early experiences working as an architect in england and Germany develop your approach to architecture?

I went through the traditional five-year program in architecture at the Kingston School of Art (which became the Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture at Kingston University). The school wanted us to take a year off after third year, so I decided to work in Germany. I was one of the first students from that school who decided to

study abroad, and I got a job working for Max Becher who ran a very small firm in Stuttgart. Becher was more of an academic than a practitioner, but it was a terrific experience for me. There were four people in the office, and all of a sudden they received a commission for an exhibition pavilion. Although I didn’t speak a word of German, Becher asked me to supervise the project. Unlike today where everybody speaks English, very few Germans were able to speak English in those days. This forced me to draw so that I could effectively communicate with the contractors. In hindsight, this was a very important skill to learn. After finishing my studies, I made a

peter cArdew Architects

A section of the pin-up wAll documents A portion of the design process driving the development of A forthcoming building for the cAlgAry folk music festivAl.

Above

conscious decision to work for relatively unknown firms. I felt as though I had my own architectural ideas but they weren’t fully developed so I wanted to work in firms that would allow me to design and, in essence, continue my education. After working for a couple of firms, you worked for the architect and artist Roman halter in the UK. What made you finally decide to move to Canada?

Roman Halter had a small firm and he gave me a project to look after—a school for children with physical disabilities. I left for CanRAIC Gold MedAl 2012

philippe mArtin-morice

ada before the school was actually finished. Halter was very supportive of me and let me do everything as long as I didn’t mess anything up. One design element of the school which I was particularly proud of was the treatment of the entry. School buses would back up to a 2’-6” platform and let the kids out onto the platform where they could take a ramp down into the school—this was before there were loading platforms or specialized buses to facilitate the unloading of disabled children. For the sake of the kids’ dignity, I suggested that everybody should go down that ramp so that the able-bodied would have to walk up a few steps before entering the school with everyone else. I had a lot of arguments with that design but I eventually won out. After about a year, Halter offered me a partnership which would mean a major commitment to the firm. I was 25 years old and I felt as though I hadn’t explored enough architecturally. My excuse was that I wanted to travel for awhile; my ultimate destination was Australia, but I never made it there. My mother lived in New York at the time, and I went there first before moving on to Vancouver where I had a few friends, and I’ve never left. After getting a job working at Rhone & Iredale, how did Bill Rhone and Rand Iredale influence your architecture?

peter cArdew Architects

Rhone & Iredale was a unique working environment where they encouraged their project managers to run everything. That’s not to say they weren’t interested in the design, but they saw their role as mentors. The firm had weekly office-wide design panels. Almost every project was presented and the review sessions could be quite vicious. Rhone and Iredale were great admirers of Caudill Rowlett Scott (CRS), a firm based out of Houston, Texas. CRS was a similar architecture firm to Rhone & Iredale; Caudill established all kinds of systems and Rand Iredale was also a big fan of systems. He brought in one of the first computer systems in Vancouver. Rhone & Iredale was a terrific firm that had some very good people working for them—Richard Henriquez. Peter Busby, Terry Williams and others. This critical mass of people working for the firm at that time must have shored up your attitudes about design and rational structuralism with buildings like the Crown life

A recent photogrAphic portrAit of peter cArdew; the northfAcing curtAin wAll of cArdew’s crown life Building completed in 1975 while he wAs still At rhone & iredAle.

leFT, ToP To BoTToM

8 RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

I’ve never separated building types when I design buildings. You are always dealing with people issues. Take the Lignum Sawmill as an example. I got that commission through somebody that I knew. The owner of the company was John (Jake) Kerr and through our professional relationship, he later gave me the second phase to design when I had my own office. For the townhouses at False Creek, this was a project that I completed as a first-time developer. The City of Vancouver basically said, “If anybody wants land, come and apply for it.” Ron Pears (who later went on to establish Aldrich Pears) and I went to the City for the land while we were still working together at Rhone & Iredale. We raised the money and enjoyed a terrific experience with the project, which changed my ideas about what architecture can accomplish. What did all of this teach me specifically? I look at life as a kind of continuum and treat every project the same way—an opportunity to do good work.

on the subject of clients, can you talk about what happened during expo ’86—a pivotal and exciting moment in Vancouver’s history that brought a lot of urban development and ambition to the city?

Expo ’86 was a more adventurous time. When I was asked to design the CN Pavilion for Expo, the client didn’t know what the exhibit would look like so I suggested that we take our inspiration from the great European railway terminals. If you

peter cArdew Architects

How has your attitude about architecture changed over the course of your career?

peter cArdew Architects

You give me too much credit about making such conscious decisions! When you get into this business, you often take what you can get. I’ve never been a great promoter of my work. As for the Crown Life building, Bill Rhone was in charge of that building and we basically got the commission because of the Westcoast Transmission building that preceded it. There is no way that you can build these kinds of buildings today. The whole culture has changed. Firstly, there are no head-office buildings in Vancouver anymore, so you end up dealing with a junior vice-president instead of clients like Frank McMahon who owned the Westcoast Transmission Company. According to Rhone, McMahon looked at the presentation model for five minutes before saying, “OK, build it!”

peter cArdew Architects

office tower. Can you discuss these big important commissions and maybe why you made a decision to not work on large projects such as these after you left Rhone & Iredale?

A glimpse of the light industriAl context surrounding the odlum drive townhouses which cAn be seen At the left of the imAge. ABoVe, leFT To RIGHT the lignum sAwmill sited within the vAlley context of williAms lAke; A view of the interior courtyArd of the odlum drive townhouse complex.

ToP

build a great structure that can accommodate anything underneath, then you don’t have to worry about waiting for the exhibit designers to design the exhibition. Vancouver today is a much more timid city, and a less adventurous one. You wouldn’t think so when you look at the buildings today, but I believe this might just be a part of growing up from a frontier town into a more established business city.

do you still think of Vancouver as a frontier town today?

I don’t think so but sometimes I regret its transformation. Individuals like Frank McMahon were definitely part of that frontier-town attitude. Those clients are simply not around anymore. When Jake Kerr first took me up to the site at Williams Lake, we rode on a Greyhound bus. By RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

peter cardew archItects

The success of this building was a matter of finding the essence of the architectural meaning behind the program. The initial program was based on precedent. When they saw that the three separate spaces they wanted couldn’t be built with the budget that founding director Scott Watson had in mind, we had to develop an alternative strategy. This is where the idea for the pivoting walls came into being—you could have one big space with different spatial configurations within it. Another issue was the eventual removal of a large lobby. At a university gallery, there are never enough people arriving at once to merit a large lobby, so you can basically eliminate that space from the program. The success of the Belkin is built upon rethinking what a facility like this could be rather than just adopting the initial program and designing a building around it.

peter cardew archItects

You have had many interesting people work for you over the years—people like Russell Acton, Marc Boutin and Beth Shotton, who have since moved on to establish their own successful careers. How do you see your role as a mentor?

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen myself as a mentor. I just try to hire good people with common goals. Maybe it’s just the fact that I’ve become older, but I still learn from younger people too. Our office is currently comprised of five people. Eight is the maximum that we’ll ever have. When my office grew to 10 people, I simply became a bad manager. You have often had a strong opinion about representing your work in drawings and models.

InspIred by the structure of large european traIn statIons, the cn pavIlIon was desIgned for expo ’86 even before an exhIbItIon was determIned. ABoVe the oversIzed maIn entry and dark-grey exterIor claddIng provIdes a contemporary InterpretatIon of domestIcIty In thIs renovatIon of a tradItIonal suburban vancouver resIdence. ToP

the time I was hired to design the last phase of Lignum, we flew in his private jet. There is definitely less risk-taking today but that’s true within the entire profession of architecture. With less risk-taking, architects end up producing showoff buildings that are really just decorated sheds. I don’t think that people are asking fundamental questions about buildings anymore. I really appreciate buildings like the Seattle Public Library (designed by OMA), but I don’t think that it is a great advancement in architecture. On the other hand, James Stirling’s Faculty of History building at the University of Cambridge represents a real curiosity that examines how this building type 10 RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

can actually evolve. I recently went to a lecture given by Winy Maas of MVRDV and another one delivered by Bjarke Ingels of BIG; I don’t think that there is any question that architects used to be more serious. It’s all very superficial today. If there is one building that you are known for, it would be the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. Has this building met your own personal expectations of success?

We were lucky enough to get this job. I can’t say that I worked any harder on this project than any other because I work hard at all of my projects.

I love to draw. The drawings that most people see are ones you do in the beginning. These are usually schematic and fictional. The drawings that I enjoy doing come after the project has been built. Can you describe the relationships that you’ve built up with contractors over the years—key individuals that have helped you realize the construction of your architectural ideas?

I wish we could have that luxury. Often, we must deal with the guy who presents the lowest bid. We have certain sub-trades that we like to use and that I try to steer toward the general contractor. For example, we are currently using Structurecraft Builders to design the roof for the Calgary Folk Music Festival. Nobody else has the ability to design and manufacture a roof of this kind. I’ve personally toyed with the idea of starting up my own construction company similar to the way the structural engineering company of Fast+Epp established Structurecraft.

peter cArdew Architects

A highly expressed roof structure chArActerizes the interior of the fulford residence; the exterior of the fulford residence, A remote mountAin retreAt. RIGHT sue ockwell, richArd peck, peter cArdew, mike kothke, Beth shotton And greg BellerBy pose in front of A wAll instAllAtion mAde from cArdew’s sketches At the Ordinary Building exhiBition held At the chArles h. scott gAllery in 1996. ABoVe, leFT To RIGHT

Who influences your work?

I was recently in Switzerland to look at some of Peter Zumthor’s buildings—work that I admire for its craft and workmanship. I am typically more interested in the work of smaller practices around the world and these are the projects that I like to visit and explore. In Canada, I greatly admire the work of John and Patricia Patkau. As a student it was James Stirling—if I ever had a hero it would be him. When the Canadian Centre for Architecture bought his archive, I arranged to go to Montreal to see the collection. I had a wonderful few days where they gave me complete access to the archives. It was fabulous. They gave me a pair of white gloves and said, “Go to it!” For somebody who has seen his drawings as a kid in school, this was a fantastic time. peter cArdew Architects

You talk about your own life as a continuum. do you have any unfinished business to deal with in your practice?

I have some ideas as to what it should be. I just want to keep on designing good buildings. CA RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

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CRAft WoRk

PEtEr cardEW architEctS

the WoRk of PeteR CARdeW CAn be desCRIbed In teRMs of dIGnIty, ResPeCt And CRAft. these tRAIts hAve yIelded A tRAdItIonAl yet ModeRnIst ARChIteCtuRe buIlt uPon A dIveRse And IteRAtIve desIGn PRoCess. teXt

ElizabEth Shotton

The extensive publication record in the international press on the work of Peter Cardew, starting from the very earliest mention in Deutsche Bauzeitung in 1962 where architect Max Bacher graciously gives his youthful intern Cardew full credit for the design of an exhibition pavilion in Stuttgart, attests to a significant record of achievement in the past 50 years. A showcase of this body of work, Drawing Conclusions, sponsored by the University of Tennessee in

Knoxville in 2010, is but the most recent of many exhibitions and lectures given in both public and academic venues, further evidence of the high regard held for the work. Yet, though this is a testament to the scope of recognition Cardew has achieved over the span of his career to date, the true achievement lies in the approach to the work itself, and it is this that will have an immeasurable and lasting impact on our profession. Spanning across all scales, from the iconic Crown Life Plaza undertaken while a partner with Rhone & Iredale in the 1970s, to the small but precise prefabricated Lach Klan Industrial Arts Shop of the late 1980s, and the skillful adaptation of a postwar split-level bungalow in West Vancouver in 2007, the work is pursued with equal passion, integrity and precision regardless of budget or locale. David Scott, an associate with the firm, describes Cardew’s approach to architecture as founded on a “belief that all who use the buildings should be treated with dignity and respect and that all buildings are crafted to the highest

locatEd at thE baSE of thE vallEy, thE maSSivE ScalE of thE lignum officES and forEStry cEntrE (1977) in WilliamS lakE iS rElativE to itS induStrial and hEavily forEStEd contExt.

Above

level achievable regardless of the informality of its use or the banality of its material.” Dignity, respect and craft are fundamental in both the work and the process, offering our profession an inspirational paradigm for architectural practice. Peter G. Rowe, in his treatise Civic Realism, describes a good civic work to be dependent not only on the manifestation of the familiar, the pluralistic and the critical, but is also “inextricably bound up with the continual advancement of the expressive means by which it is made and elaborated.” The strength of Cardew’s work on purely urban grounds—the resonance each project develops with the given environment through a profound understanding of the social and cultural aspirations of the communities it both RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

peTer cardew archiTecTs

The Timeless moderniTy of The lignum offices and foresTry cenTre is clearly evidenT, especially when The vehicles daTe The image as vinTage 1970s. ABoVe The careful eleva Tion of The sTurdy house (1998) in wesT vancouver. oPPoSITe ToP graceful and minimal deTailing of The cliffside house on saTurna island allows The ocean views To domi naTe. oPPoSITe BoTToM an eleganTly drawn secTion of The cliffside house. ToP

serves and neighbours—is undeniable. But just as apparent throughout the portfolio is an indelible trace of material and structural imperatives, which seem to inform the work in equal measure to his very evident social objectives. So to view this body of work in an isolated fashion from a theoretical construct regarding society or from an equally isolated position of the relevance of mak ing to design is to fail to grasp the totality of the work. The two forums, that of social theory and 14 RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

that of making, are here inexorably linked and interdependent—a truly civic body of work. Cardew’s convictions regarding dignity are manifest in his earliest work after graduation while working for Roman Halter, on a rehabili tation school for disabled children in Kent in which the dignity of the children was considered of foremost importance. Cardew’s intention in the design was “that the ramp provided a height ened experience of privileged entry comparable

to that of formal steps rising to the entry to Vic torian civic buildings,” thus neutralizing any per ceived difference between the ablebodied and the less able. Similar in approach is his work on the original Lignum Offices in Williams Lake, where the desire to reinforce the understanding of common endeavour among all of its employ ees, whether administrative or mill worker, led to the attenuation of the small program across the site, enlarging the scope of the building’s influ

Peter Cardew arChiteCts

ence well beyond its small footprint and, more critically, signalling the co-dependent nature of the workers regardless of position. The architectural approach in these early projects resonates again in the much later Belkin Gallery, where there is an insistent equality to the treatment of what would normally be considered front and back of houseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;an abolishment of differential treatment without resorting to the unilateral sameness which inflicts most projects that reject

hierarchyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;thereby creating a project with the capacity to draw the surrounding spaces, buildings and communities into a cohesive dialogue with equal dignity. The craft of making has been just as critical to the work, evident in the fine detailing of each project. But less recognized is the exploration and ambition in the design of structure and use of materials. The early Lignum project, undertaken with CY Loh as structural engineer, broke

new ground in the fabrication of curved plywood box beams, as recorded in Wood World. This tradition was continued on the recent Calgary Folk Festival Hall, designed in concert with Gerry Epp of Fast & Epp Structural Engineers, in which conventional joinery techniques were evolved in the three-dimensional roof trusses. This is architectural research at its best; the development of new ideas and technologies, which are tested through construction. The collaborative RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

peTer cardeW archITecTS

design process that exists between Cardew and his colleagues in related disciplines accounts for the success of these endeavours and, though a rare phenomenon within our profession, offers an encouraging model of practice. This form of invention is also pursued at more intimate scales in the design of furniture—a long-term preoccupation for Cardew, which had on occasion surfaced in the public realm (RE POSE Folding Chair), but has more recently been formalized in a collaboration with a Vancouver furniture maker, 18KARAT. Equally significant is the range of influence Cardew’s approach to architecture has had, as it spans across the profession, academia and the larger public realm by virtue of the breadth of Cardew’s participation in the community. His long-term and enduring tenure as an educator and mentor of young architects across the Amer-

16 RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

icas and Europe will continue to have a lasting impact on the profession of architecture on an international scale. His patience, articulate guidance and generosity have shaped many young architects, mentored through several decades, enriching the profession through the continuation of the ideals of dignity, respect and craft in new practices. In tandem with the generous amount of time and effort Cardew has given to the education, he has also contributed invaluable time and insight to the wider Vancouver community, in particular through his many years of service as the Chair of the Urban Design Panel, a role for which he is well remembered and highly regarded. There are few architects capable of sustaining a career the length of Cardew’s with as much integrity to principles, attention to clients, and care in every detail. Even rarer then to find one gifted

The enTrance To The STurdy houSe In WeST VancouVer; The Lach KLan SchooL InduSTrIaL arTS Shop. BoTToM a draWIng reVeaLS one eLeVaTIon of The BeLKIn arT gaLLery.

ABoVe, leFT To RIGHT

enough to span the range between furniture design, architecture and urban design with equal sophistication, or to transcend the boundaries between practice, education and public advocacy with ease. There is no doubt that Peter Cardew satisfies all the criteria for an RAIC Gold Medal, offering an alternative vision of leadership in our profession. CA Elizabeth Shotton is a lecturer at the School of Architecture, Landscape & Civil Engineering, University College Dublin.

timothy hursley

An ARChIteCt’s ARChIteCt

PeteR CARdew ContInues to PRoduCe buIldInGs of InteGRIty And InnovAtIon, esChewInG the CoMMeRCIAl IMPulse so PRevAlent In the vAnCouveR Context In whICh he woRks. text

Andrew Gruft

Peter Cardew may be a multiple award-winner for many of his buildings, and known to all who are serious about architecture in Canada, but he has very little public profile in his hometown. In Vancouver, it is the business of architecture—real estate—that dominates. Even within the profession, the major topics of conversation seem to focus on the biggest and flashiest projects under construction. With the exception of star designers, the media continues to identify projects by the developer and never the architect, who is often not mentioned at all. This remains the working context of architecture in British Columbia. In contrast, all conversations about projects of

architectural consequence in the West have always connected with Cardew, who has taken his place amongst the small group of committed practitioners of architecture working on the West Coast. This is underscored by the recognition he has received in Canada and elsewhere: accolades, exhibitions, lectures, juries, and teaching in the US, Europe, Asia and even Latin America and Australia. Despite his modest body of work containing a few large projects, Cardew is known for his consistency and rigour. Each project is carefully considered no matter what its size or apparent importance—an interior design for a small medical clinic is given the same level of consideration as a public building. Cardew is always searching for what he calls the project’s “essence,” the key understanding of its nature that drives his architectural concepts. Why still no book on his architecture? He’s “working on it.” As usual, he is too busy concentrating on his projects. Cardew arrived in Vancouver from Britain in 1966, gravitating to Rhone & Iredale, one of the more innovative firms operating in Canada at

with four distinct elevAtions And built within A confined AcAdemic context, the morris And helen belkin Art GAllery At ubc remAins one of cArdew’s most siGnificAnt buildinGs to dAte.

Above

that time. Similar to Thompson Berwick and Pratt (TBP) or Erickson Massey, this was an important “nursery” practice that incubated talented young architects. Bing Thom, Bruno Freschi, Brigitte Shim, and the Patkaus passed through Erickson’s office. Ron Thom, Barry Downs, Paul Merrick and too many others to mention went through TBP. However, it was at Rhone & Iredale where I met Cardew, along with Richard Henriquez. Cardew and I still have fond memories of the regular late Friday afternoon design discussions where the entire office participated in heated arguments criticizing current projects in the office. During his tenure at Rhone & Iredale, Cardew produced a number of fine projects such as the False Creek Row Houses (1980) and the Crown Life Building (1975). False Creek consisted of a RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

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row of long, narrow housing units. This was a radical, unknown typology in Vancouver at the time, influenced by Cardew’s knowledge of the best of British Modernist public housing. When clients questioned the narrowness of the units he had designed, he suggested that they measure the smallest dimension of the biggest room in their homes, and that convinced them. Crown Life, arguably still the best high-rise office building in Vancouver, shows the influence of one of his heroes, James Stirling. It set a standard for commercial office buildings yet to be equalled, with only Erickson’s MacMillan Bloedel Building (1969) as its closest competitor. As Rhone & Iredale were coming apart in 1980, Cardew started his own practice. I have always believed that if the breakup could have been avoided, he would have been the chief designer of one of the major architectural firms in Canada (like Gordon Bunshaft at SOM) and would have had the opportunity to design many large projects, demonstrating his prodigious talent. But Cardew tells a different story. In fact, he had been thinking of going out on his own for a num18 RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

The STurdy houSe STandS heroically in iTS privileged WeST coaST conTexT; The o’Sullivan-donaldSon houSe in lionS Bay (1983) WaS cardeW’S firST Single-family reSidenTial projecT; a model of The lionS Bay reSidence.

CloCKWISe FRoM ToP leFT

ber of years, disillusioned with working in a large firm where he was becoming less able to control his project from start to finish, and unable to devote sufficient attention to the making of the building, not just its design. Cardew works with a small, dedicated staff of about half a dozen, insisting that they work “collegially rather than hierarchically.” His modestly sized open office space is dominated by a 30-foot-long communal worktable set along its centre with workstations on each side. The divider is set low enough so everyone can see each other. One end serves as the “conference table.” He sits at one of the stations, not working alone in an isolated office, but together with his staff in open interaction. Cardew still maintains that he has never wanted to have a large office, but if he were to expand he would rather be more diverse— such as having his own construction company with engineering capabilities.

Cardew started his own practice with a hit—it was the Lignum Office Building (1977) for a lumber company in Williams Lake, British Columbia. A smooth, streamlined simple object, the building had to compete with a host of much larger elements in the landscape: the mill, sawdust burners, piles of lumber—all of industrial scale. In that context, a little building would have looked ridiculous, but by carefully adjusting the program for maximum effect, Cardew was able to produce a building that punches well above its weight. The O’Sullivan-Donaldson House in Lions Bay (1983) was his first single-family residential project and demonstrated the clarity and rigour that was to mark all of his residential work, continuing right through to his recently completed zinc-clad house in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood. One cannot talk about Cardew houses without focusing on the Sturdy

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House (1998), perched on the rocks of a quintessential Pacific Coast site while eschewing any cheap West Coast romanticism. Nevertheless, the home fits perfectly with its stunning wilderness surroundings. Cardew’s CN Pavilion for Expo ’86 stood out amongst the plethora of strident trivia competing for attention—that which constitutes the norm for exhibition pavilion design. The memorable building was clear, simple and held more than enough presence to be noticed. His project for the Expo Tower, an exciting design incorporating memories of previous exhibition markers, was unfortunately never built when the fair went well over budget. Another key project that deserves note is the Stone Band School, a project that transforms elements derived from traditional native architecture into an organizing structure for a contemporary First Nations school. Winning a Progressive Architecture Award in 1991, the school addresses the needs of the community while giving its members an architecture they can identify with and be proud of, but without the sentimen-

ToP leFT The Crown Life BuiLding (1975) in downTown VanCouVer empLoyed a VarieTy of earLy susTainaBLe design ComponenTs suCh as a souTh-faCing ConCreTe Core for ThermaL massing, an earLy exampLe of a soLar Chimney, and a speCiaL soLar greengLass CurTain waLL sysTem. ABoVe leFT a moCk-up of The norTh-faCing founTain, whiCh was designed To CreaTe a fLow of waTer TexTuraL enough To Be appreCiaTed in norThfaCing LighT. ABoVe The Crown Life BuiLding is as eLeganT Today as when This phoTo was Taken shorTLy afTer iT firsT opened. noTe The empTy Land To The BuiLding’s righT whiCh has sinCe Been exTensiVeLy redeVeLoped as CoaL harBour.

tality that marred so many projects built for First Nations at this time. The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at UBC (1995) is one of Cardew’s finest buildings, achieved with the support of intelligent and knowledgeable clients—the museum director and donors—a key factor in bringing off such an ambitious project. A powerful architectural concept rigorously carried through into supportive detailing produces one of the best small art galleries anywhere—a masterwork of Canadian architecture of the period. In opposition to the norm, Cardew’s practice sets a challenging alternate example for young designers entering the profession at this key moment of major change. An unreconstructed but

not hidebound Modernist, Cardew has continuously demonstrated imaginative ways to infuse classic Modernism with new ideas, keeping his work fresh and alive. Most architects are happy to have built a couple of outstanding projects through the course of their careers—Peter Cardew has more than half a dozen. The 2012 RAIC Gold Medal is well deserved. CA Andrew Gruft is Professor Emeritus at the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at UBC, the curator of several exhibitions, and the author of a number of publications on contemporary Canadian Architecture, including Substance over Spectacle, A Measure of Consensus, Idea into Form, and two books on the work of Patkau Architects. RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

20 RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

Peter Cardew arChiteCts

MeAsuRed dRAwInG A lonG-seRvInG AssoCIAte desCRIbes hIs MAtuRAtIon As An ARChIteCt fRoM the fIRst dAy he beGAn woRkInG In PeteR CARdew’s offICe. teXt

DaviD Scott

I arrived at architecture school without much of an idea of what architecture was. As we each introduced ourselves and where we were from, the professor paused after I spoke and said, “Kamloops, eh? You’re getting a good building.” That moment was my first introduction to Peter’s work. The next fall I was sitting at a small table in the corner of his office with glue and knife in hand, building a model of that very same building. Peter’s Ordinary Buildings exhibition arrived in Halifax not long after that. Seeing the Stone Band School and Lignum Sawmill drawings—buildings located within hours of my hometown of Kamloops—gave me that feeling that Winnipeggers must have when they hear mention of their city in a Neil Young song. I was proud of the idea that strong architecture could be conceived for the dusty part of the country in which I’d grown up. I was amazed by the drawings themselves. In Peter’s office, there is and has always been significance given to the act of drawing. Drawings are often constructed as a postscript to a project shortly after the buildings are completed. They are an elixir for the often demanding and relentless act of project execution. When the dust of construction has settled, the buildings are quietly reconsidered and distilled into a single drawing that is emphatic of an idea which is central to the architecture of the project. In many ways, the act of preparing these drawings is an important continuum which binds many of the architects who have worked in the office together. I have often quietly stood looking at the delicate detail which Russell Acton once penned onto paper for the Lach Klan School, and the lattice of the CN Pavilion roof structure drawn by Mike Kothke. At the completion of each project, I am struck by the significance of the act of producing a drawing and I am reminded that this is where an architect’s voice is the strongest, when it is constructed on the page. Working with and watching Peter work has allowed me to understand the importance of effort in design. Solutions are arrived at through the understanding of a problem and the working and reworking of a solution. The work is constructed from knowledge and comprehension—not from an epiphanic conception or a quick gesture of the pen. Projects are designed by way of a thorough process of measured evaluation; drawn at scale from the point of an early idea. Details are refined through discussion with the tradespeople who will build them, and from the experience gained by visiting workshops and job sites to witness and appreciate the people, tools and materials which will ultimately give form to the architecture. The work is the product of Peter’s clear understanding of what architecture is as a discipline and his relentless determination to make buildings a critical part of the lives of those who inhabit them. Over the last 30 years, Peter has quietly constructed a small body of work which will have a lasting and meaningful position in the history of Canadian architecture. There is a substantial quality to the work which endures the carDew’S office haS a long traDition of careful Detailing teSteD through the proceSS of Drawing, aS thiS criSp illuStration for the cn pavilion’S Space frame illuStrateS. oPPosIte bottoM two imageS of the cn pavilion roof, aS it waS built for expo ‘86. RIGht, toP to bottoM the axonometric Drawn for the aDDition to the lignum Sawmill officeS in williamS lake revealS an appreciation for elegant Structure anD geometry; a moDel of the aDDition for the lignum Sawmill project.

Simon Scott

oPPosIte toP

RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

peTer cardew archiTecTs simon scoTT

David Scott first worked for Peter Cardew Architects as a student in 1998 and returned after graduation to work in the office from 2000-12. He has taught design at the University of British Columbia and the University of Calgary, and project execution at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. 22 RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

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changing seasons, improving with time and use. The projects are a testament to Peter’s belief that all who use the buildings should be treated with dignity and respect, and that all buildings are crafted to the highest level achievable regardless of the informality of its use or the banality of its material. Each building bears Peter’s unconscious understanding of the role of tradition and innovation; something which allows the work to be perpetually relevant and continuously significant to the people who experience them every day. CA CloCKWISe FRoM ToP The sobrieTy of concreTe block is an effecTive base for The sTone band school; The sTreeT façade of The arT Gallery, library and reGional GovernmenT faciliTies in kamloops; a deTail model clearly reveals The sTrucTure and form of The same mixed-use projecT in kamloops.

peter cardeW architectS

PIvotAl desIGn

A ClIent ReCounts hIs ex PeRIenCes develoPInG whAt ReMAIns A key vAnCouveR CultuRAl InstItutIon. text

Scott WatSon

It is a pleasure to recall working with Peter Car dew on the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia, which opened in June of 1995. We chose Peter for two reasons. Firstly, we liked his commitment to his Modernist ideas. In the early ’90s, Postmodern ism’s sway had not quite yet expired. Peter exem plified the ethical, philosophical and political understanding of architecture that we call Mod ernism. Secondly, alone among the shortlisted candidates, Peter was prepared to talk about specific new gallery spaces he had visited and thought about. The design process took over two years. The building design went through much iteration as Peter thought through the responses of the com mittee. He consistently managed to find eloquent and sensitive solutions to design requests that were sometimes not fully articulated. Peter was particularly adept at handling the bureaucratic process at UBC. The University was an especially difficult client in those days—it had decided on a kind of Brutalist Gothic in pinkish brick as its

standard look for the Main Mall. Besides our own committee, Peter had to meet with another com mittee that rarely communicated with ours. It was this committee which had the power to give or withhold the final approval of the design and, as I recall, there was resistance. Among the many issues that arose at the final design stage was the roof (Why couldn’t it be flat? Wouldn’t that be cheaper?). I accompanied Peter once to the other committee where he was asked, as a challenge to the design’s supposed lack of a clear “façade,” to name a building without a façade as a precedent. Without hesitation he replied, “The Coliseum.” To the suggestion that some trees “hugging” the building might mitigate the severity of its elevations, he replied dryly, “Hugging?” Peter prevailed with unfailing charm, patience and levelheadedness. He also had the support of the donor—Helen Belkin—for his design. That helped a great deal. In the end, I can say that the building is a pleas ure for those who work in it, exhibit in it, and visit it. Peter’s white glazed brick triumphed over the threat of pink brick because it tied the building to the nearby Lasserre and Buchanan Buildings, making a statement about the coherence of the Norman McKenzie Centre for Fine Arts. Previously, the gallery had been housed in the basement of a (now demolished) wing of the Uni

at the MorriS and helen Belkin art Gallery on the UBc caMpUS, a MeticUloUSly deSiGned WindoW appearS to reach oUt toWard the north Shore MoUntainS Beyond.

ABove

versity’s Main Library (now the Barber Learning Centre) where our offices were adjacent to the exhibition space. A window next to the entrance hall meant that we could monitor the gallery without a guard while we worked in our offices. We were always connected to the exhibition space and our visitors. Sometimes, we even conversed with them. Importantly, it was a way of watching our visitors interact with the exhibitions. Peter’s solution to this challenge was the overall open ness of the interior of the Belkin Gallery, where the offices were located on an open mezzanine overlooking the gallery entrances. The idea behind the main gallery was to make it not at all precious so that holes cut through walls or even in the cement floor could be re paired easily. Pivoting walls were basically con figured in four ways—at least that was Peter’s instruction to us. He did not envision us using the pivoting walls diagonally. But after a while we did, and found that the space was even more flex ible than he had initially planned. After 17 years and over 70 exhibitions, I can say that the pivot RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

TimoThy hursley

peTer cardeW archiTecTs

was the only freestanding purpose-built art gallery in the Lower Mainland when it was constructed. It still is. CA Scott Watson is the Director/Curator of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery and Head of the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory at the University of British Columbia.

CloCKWISe FRoM ToP leFT The inTricaTely hung canopy of The Belkin gallery; The inTerior of The gallery space; exposed painTed sTeel, grey Brick and concreTe comprise a soBer maTerial paleTTe for The gallery Building; kelly Woodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s phoTography hangs on The ingenious pivoTing Walls of The gallery.

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ing walls function very well. Invariably, shows on tour look their best inside the Belkin. The gallery is a pliable and hardy instrument that can be adapted to many circumstances. It is a very convincing argument for the white cube. Importantly, the building is open to discovering new ways of using it. Rather astonishingly, the Belkin Art Gallery

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A VANCouVeR CuRAtoR speAks of the extRAoRdINARy leVel of RefINeMeNt ANd INteGRIty fouNd IN the woRk of peteR CARdew. text

The TradiTion of crafT exTends To The losT arT of model-makinG, evidenced By This elevaTion-sTudy model for a series of rowhouses desiGned in 1980. Below a finely crafTed secTional model of The morris and helen Belkin arT Gallery aT uBc.

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GreG BellerBy

In 1996, I had the opportunity to co-curate with Elizabeth Shotton an exhibition of the work of Peter Cardew at the Charles H. Scott Gallery at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design. The exhibition was titled Ordinary Buildings, a reflection of Cardewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s belief that the essential buildings are the common buildings: schools, office buildings, houses and stores. The exhibition featured eight projects from a 20-year period, chosen to demonstrate the various building types Cardew had produced. These included the industrial (Lignum Offices and Forestry Centre, 1977/96), the educational (Stone Band School, 1992), the cultural (Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, 1995), and the residential (False Creek Housing, 1980 and Odlum Live-Work Studios, 26 RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

1996). All of them award-winning projects. Cardew had definite ideas about how his work should be represented, the design of the exhibition, and the publication that accompanied it. For Cardew, the exhibition was not simply an exercise in self-promotion, but rather an opportunity to provide an analysis of the projects and

the design process, and to examine the conceptual foundation of each project. The exhibition also addressed to a degree the problematic aspects of the architectural exhibition itself. To that end, the decision was made to not include photographs of the buildings, but instead rely on drawings and models alone.

simon scoTT

No oRdINARy BuIldING

Cardew’s hand-drawn worm’s-eye axonometriC for the stone Band sChool has BeCome nearly as iConiC as the Building itself; the Completed false Creek row houses enjoy a waterfront view; the interior of the kikwili inside the stone Band sChool; a seCtion through the sChool; a drawing used to explain the folding/unfolding planes of the Belkin art gallery.

peter Cardew arChiteCts

CloCKWISe FRoM BeloW

ing to the respect Cardew has among his col leagues in Canada and elsewhere. Since establishing his own practice in 1980, Cardew has produced a truly significant number of outstanding projects—most of which have won awards. His practice is typified by a refinement in his buildings and a design integrity that has been uncompromising. His work emerges from a thoughtful analysis of each project, its program, site and client’s needs, resulting in buildings that are often cited for their clarity, simplicity, ele gance and quality. A major achievement has been the consistent quality of his work throughout his career, a result of his commitment to the higher goals of architecture, ones that can have a posi tive influence on the urban environment and in dividual lives. CA Greg Bellerby is the Director/Curator of the Charles H. Scott Gallery at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

peter Cardew arChiteCts

The main feature of the exhibition was a large conceptual drawing and a model of each building. The models often revealed only a portion of the project, acting as an aid to further understand the concept. Cardew refers to these as “investiga tions, made after the buildings are completed, of ideas critical to the formation of the building. They represent an analytical expression of what remains a largely intuitive design process, pro viding a clearer and more critical understanding of the development of architectural ideas.” I think the exhibition accomplished two things: it represented Cardew’s work and the thoughtfulness and intelligence that go into the development of his projects; and it also chal lenged us as viewers to really look and compre hend how architecture is made. It allowed for a discourse not only on Cardew’s work, but on con temporary architecture in general. The exhibition opened in Vancouver and toured across Canada and to several cities in the United States, attest

RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

peter Cardew arChiteCts

ColleCted WIsdoM In the CouRse of hIs CAReeR, PeteR CARdeW hAs ConfRonted MAny ARChIteCtuRAl ChAllenGes AlonG the WAy—the lessons of WhICh he hAs shARed WIth hIs stAff And students. teXt

Chris MaCdonald

A survey of Peter Cardew’s oeuvre to date portrays work of intense consider ation. This is the work of a designer of deliberate measure, meticulous in both its consideration and—perhaps more extraordinary—in its execution. The work represents the accumulated successes over a professional life time and provides vivid testimony to the clarity of purpose and consistency of resolution Cardew has summoned up throughout his career. Collectively, the work might further serve as cipher for his commitment to the full spec trum of ambition he inherits from the modern project in architecture. In clusive and broad in its suggestion, the varied programs and scales of pro jects undertaken by Cardew’s practice can be construed as a nearcomplete vision of a modern community—resolutely framed by the distinctive geog raphies of his chosen West Coast setting. Across the spectrum of Cardew’s buildings and projects, such a funda mental underpinning is clear. The industrial realm of Lignum is countered by the cultural presence of the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, while the Plaza of Nations shelter suggests a reticent framing of emerging public occasions. Innumerable detached houses strike a fine balance between a re 28 RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

a detail of the spaCe-fraMe design used for the roof of the Cn pavilion that was proMinently loCated on the plaza of nations at expo ’86.

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sponsible regard for geography and the vicissitudes of individual owners’ expectations—and a similar balance may be observed between the collective identity and private realm in urban housing such as the Waterfront Row Houses on Southwest False Creek, and in the modest but suggestive Odlum livework project. The sense of a consistent ethos in tectonic and detailed concerns is especially evident in furniture design and interiors—whether commercial or domestic in their programmatic emphasis. Finally, in the recent project for the reconfiguration of the Garden Wall House (see CA, December 2006), a preWWII Vancouver residence designed by Robert A.D. Berwick, the work suggests a strategy for a reconciliation of modern impulses with the habits of tradition—a case for design continuity in the midst of change and increasing urbanity. The projects often carry with them a suggestion of prototype, registered in their somewhat schematic and openended planning strategies—not withstanding the evident commitment to a fine resolution of material arti fact. This very gracious evocation of “flexibility” takes note of the very young and rather brittle context of the Vancouver region, and the need to anti cipate the unexpected in spatial and urban practice. Finally, if this corpus of work can be considered as being much more than that of the sum of the parts, it is not insignificant that Cardew has in the midst of his practice’s demands, consistently shared his vision and

peter cArdew ArchitectS

accumulated wisdom through the agencies of professional mentoring and academic life. This speaks to a personal generosity of spirit that resonates deeply with his modern tradition and provides further testimony to his unflagging and enthusiastic professionalism. CA Chris Macdonald, FRAIC, is a Professor in the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia.

A drAwing of the odlum live-work StudioS explAinS the relAtionShip of the fAçAdeS to eAch other; the wAterfront row houSeS on SouthweSt fAlSe creek were originAlly believed to be to nArrow, but Are quite SpAciouS— eSpeciAlly in the context of vAncouver’S current reAl eStAte mArket; the odlum live-work StudioS were conStructed in A light induStriAl AreA, notwithStAnding the AnomAly of the edwArdiAn houSe next door; the fAlSe creek row houSeS.

CloCKWISe FRoM ToP leFT

RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

Simon Scott

Role Model

An Architect who hAs estAblished A successful VAncouVer-bAsed prActice recAlls his humble beginnings As A young intern working for his first mentor.

TeXT

russell Acton

It was 1987 and I had just received a Bachelor of Architecture degree after absorbing five years of contemporary phenomenological architectural theory at Carleton University. My thesis sought to determine what the floor plan of Fred Flintstone’s ever-morphing house might look like. I was now set to enter the world of built architecture and Peter Cardew was the architect I wanted as a mentor. At the time, Peter was operating as a sole practitioner. During my job interview, he matter-of-factly stated that he did all of the design in the office. My response was that I certainly hoped that to be the case as what would I know about designing buildings? Apparently satisfied, Peter offered me the job. I would begin work in a week, as soon as approval was received from a client to start a project. Twenty-one weeks later, I was hired.

30 RAIC Gold MedAl 2012

During that time, my life savings had run out and my world was topsy-turvy. I stayed up late into the night and slept in until noon. I wasn’t doing anything much more than checking in every week or so to see if Peter had received approval to start. Every time the answer was the same—just one more week! Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and I was offered a position with a prominent local firm. I was given until the next day to consider the offer and went home to think it over, only to find that Peter had left a message on my answering machine. “Could I start work tomorrow?” was the message. So began my three-and-a-half-year odyssey with Peter, during which time I gained at least double the experience, absorbing lessons learned directly from the master: architecture need not reference other arts to have meaning; design is an ongoing process that never ends; concepts rooted in past projects find life and evolve in new ones; materials, products and systems must be thoroughly understood to realize their full potential; detail concrete to appear heavy and steel to appear light; no more than two pieces of steel should be joined at a single point when welding; treat contractors and tradespeople with respect. The lessons went on and on.

ABoVe russel Acton mAde this model for the lAch klAn school industriAl Arts shop. the project wAs eVentuAlly built on kitkAtlA dolphin islAnd in british columbiA, And wAs one of the first buildings Acton designed while working with peter cArdew from 1988-91.

Peter is a very generous teacher. He is demanding yet patient. When I wasn’t sure how to resolve a particular detail, he would sit by my side, pencil in hand, and guide me through a process to achieve the desired result. Peter always explained what he was trying to achieve and why. He finds potential in every aspect of design, and in every type of ordinary building. I left Peter’s office to pursue a longstanding goal of starting a practice of my own. Within one year I had achieved that goal. I like to think that Peter’s influence can be seen in my own work today. Over the years, I have passed Peter’s design principles on to others, always letting them know that what I am passing on to them is what Peter passed on to me, not so long ago. Those 21 weeks were well worth the wait. CA

Russell Acton is a principal of Acton Ostry Architects in Vancouver.

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