Alexander Girard: Architect of Modern Living - West Coast Modern League

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Alexander Girard: Architect of Modern Living

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Today, June 16th @ 4:00pm PT is the deadline for t

Today, June 16th @ 4:00pm PT is the deadline for those in West Vancouver to take part in a survey on two proposed locations for a new Arts & Culture Centre in the Ambleside area. ⁠
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A new arts centre would be an opportunity to upgrade and expand upon current aging and undersized facilities and would provide a much-needed injection of energy and investment in building upon and showcasing one of the region’s leading communities for influential arts, architecture, and culture.⁠
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From an architectural perspective, West Vancouver has historically been a hotbed for experimentation and innovation in design principles that have proliferated across the south coast of British Columbia and beyond. The steep, forested, and irregular terrain of West Vancouver, with its gaze set upon the ocean, became fertile ground, in the mid-20th century, for the development of the regional modernist expression that came to be known as West Coast Modernism–the only architectural design movement to be recognized as originating in Canada. West Vancouver, together with the North Shore, boasts the largest per-capita collection of mid-century West Coast Modernist residences and buildings, designed by some of Canada’s most influential architects, who saw the potential in this new modernist idiom to design for living in a harmonious relationship with nature, with West Vancouver as their playground.⁠
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Link in bio for more information and details on how you can provide input.⁠
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#westcoastmodern #westcoastmodernism #vancouverarchitecture #vanarch #artsandculture #artarchitecture #iconichouses #heritagehouses #westcoasthouses #canadianarchitecture #canadianart #canadianarchitect #westvancouver #westvan #westvancouverartsandculture #westcoastmodernleague #wcmlvan⁠
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🚨 DEMOLISHED: Barbara Frum, public broadcaster

🚨 DEMOLISHED: Barbara Frum, public broadcaster and long-time friend of Ron Thom, once described his collaborative approach to design like this: “As he told us at that first meeting, he loved doing houses, enjoyed working closely with clients on the intimate sum of personal details that a house is…Ron was an artist who made a refined aesthetic out of unrefinement, a master of the difference between complexity and fussiness. He taught us to love raw surfaces and the natural, to recognize harmonious proportions, how good it is to sleep and eat close to the floor, to be wrapped in a cocoon of a dark room, punctuated by the sparkle of tiny beams of light, how everything went together if you knew what you were doing—how many steps made a walk inviting, how many made a destination too far, and how broad and deep these treads must be—which he’d dance out for us to teach the difference, striding up and down across the floor.”[1]

This experience no doubt captures Thom’s love for residential architecture and the spirit of his body of work. It certainly describes the essence that was the Dawson-Purdie House.

Link in bio for more details.

[1] Barbara Frum, November 1986. Excerpt from Shadbolt, D. (1995). Ron Thom: The Shaping of an Architect. Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre.
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Dawson–Purdie House, 1956-57
West Vancouver, BC
Designed by Ron Thom
Renovations by Russell Hollingsworth, 2008
Garden/ Gate Design by Barry Downs, 2015
Demolished, 2021
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#westcoastmodern #westcoastmodernism #westcoastmodernhouses #coastmodern #woodhouses #midcenturyarchitecture #midcenturymodern #modernism #modernarchitecture #canadianarchitecture #vancouverarchitecture #vanarch #heritagehome #hexagonalarchitecture #architecture #design #artarchitecture #iconichouses #architecturelovers #archilovers #ronthomarchitect #russellhollingswortharchitecture #barrydownsarchitect #franklloydwright #westvancouver #britishcolumbia #modernwestcoastplaces #westcoastmodernleague #wcmlvan

🚨 DEMOLISHED: An architectural experience akin

🚨 DEMOLISHED: An architectural experience akin to a walk in the forest, designed to enhance and harmonize with its terrain and surrounding environment.

Link in bio for more details.
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Dawson–Purdie House, 1956-57
West Vancouver, BC
Designed by Ron Thom
Renovations by Russell Hollingsworth, 2008
Garden/ Gate Design by Barry Downs, 2015
Demolished, 2021
.
.
.
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#westcoastmodern #westcoastmodernism #westcoastmodernhouses #coastmodern #woodhouses #midcenturyarchitecture #midcenturymodern #modernism #modernarchitecture #canadianarchitecture #vancouverarchitecture #vanarch #heritagehome #hexagonalarchitecture #architecture #design #artarchitecture #iconichouses #architecturelovers #archilovers #ronthomarchitect #russellhollingswortharchitecture #barrydownsarchitect #franklloydwright #westvancouver #britishcolumbia #modernwestcoastplaces #westcoastmodernleague #wcmlvan

🚨 DEMOLISHED: Arriving at the Dawson–Purdie H

🚨 DEMOLISHED: Arriving at the Dawson–Purdie House was a journey in and of itself. As the house and garden wove itself around a mature stand of trees, you would first enter the private garden through large wooden gates positioned between two large trunks, beneath a hexagonal pergola. Once past the gates, you were ushered toward the main entry along a concrete aggregate pathway through a lush oasis of ferns, tall stands of bamboo, Japanese Maples, and ground covers. The front door was then nestled into a hexagonal crevice created between the front and rear arms of the house, welcoming you into the home’s central living space.

Link in bio for more details.
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Dawson–Purdie House, 1956-57
West Vancouver, BC
Designed by Ron Thom
Renovations by Russell Hollingsworth, 2008
Garden/ Gate Design by Barry Downs, 2015
Demolished, 2021
.
.
.
.
.
#westcoastmodern #westcoastmodernism #westcoastmodernhouses #coastmodern #woodhouses #midcenturyarchitecture #midcenturymodern #modernism #modernarchitecture #canadianarchitecture #vancouverarchitecture #vanarch #heritagehome #hexagonalarchitecture #architecture #design #artarchitecture #iconichouses #architecturelovers #archilovers #ronthomarchitect #russellhollingswortharchitecture #barrydownsarchitect #franklloydwright #westvancouver #britishcolumbia #modernwestcoastplaces #westcoastmodernleague #wcmlvan

🚨 DEMOLISHED: Because the Dawson–Purdie House

🚨 DEMOLISHED: Because the Dawson–Purdie House was designed with acute and oblique angles, it fit organically into the surrounding nature and projected a dynamic flow of space within. Bob Dawson, the original owner and occupant, now retired, still vividly remembers Ron Thom coming over to his empty lot to see what he might design for him there.

Back in 1956, Mr. Dawson had already tried to draw up several house designs on his own. But the sloped, irregular property he had purchased was difficult to build on in a way that would fit into its natural setting. “I remember Ron coming in the driveway,” recalled Mr. Dawson. “He looked at the solid granite rock, walked straight ahead, looked around at the hillside that was going down over several levels. Then, he envisioned in his mind where everything could go: the front door, the windows, everything.”

Link in bio for more details
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Dawson–Purdie House, 1956-57
West Vancouver, BC
Designed by Ron Thom
Renovations by Russell Hollingsworth, 2008
Garden/ Gate Design by Barry Downs, 2015
Demolished, 2021
.
.
.
.
.
#westcoastmodern #westcoastmodernism #westcoastmodernhouses #coastmodern #woodhouses #midcenturyarchitecture #midcenturymodern #modernism #modernarchitecture #canadianarchitecture #vancouverarchitecture #vanarch #heritagehome #hexagonalarchitecture #architecture #design #artarchitecture #iconichouses #architecturelovers #archilovers #ronthomarchitect #russellhollingswortharchitecture #barrydownsarchitect #franklloydwright #westvancouver #britishcolumbia #modernwestcoastplaces #westcoastmodernleague #wcmlvan

🚨 DEMOLISHED: Ron Thom's 1956 Dawson–Purdie H

🚨 DEMOLISHED: Ron Thom's 1956 Dawson–Purdie House, one of his few remaining, Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired, 30-60-90 houses, has been demolished.

The Dawson–Purdie House stood as a unique architectural iteration of West Coast Modernism in West Vancouver and a wonderful example of Ron Thom's artfulness and geometric prowess. Designed by architect Ron Thom and completed in 1956-57, the Dawson–Purdie House was originally built, owned, and occupied by Bob Dawson, a craftsman and friend of the architect. Utilizing a design approach now synonymous with Thom's work, the Dawson–Purdie House was one of the earliest built examples of the hexagonal planning grid, otherwise known as the "hex" or "30-60-90" grid. This unique design approach was pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright, for the 1937 Hannah House in Stanford, California, and brilliantly harnessed by Ron Thom as an effective way to design homes on West Vancouver's famously irregular topography.

Link in bio for more details.
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Dawson-Purdie House, 1956-57
West Vancouver, BC
Designed by Ron Thom
Renovations by Russell Hollingsworth, 2008
Garden/ Gate Design by Barry Downs, 2015
.
.
.
.
.
#westcoastmodern #westcoastmodernism #westcoastmodernhouses #coastmodern #woodhouses #midcenturyarchitecture #midcenturymodern #modernism #modernarchitecture #canadianarchitecture #vancouverarchitecture #vanarch #heritagehome #hexagonalarchitecture #architecture #design #artarchitecture #iconichouses #architecturelovers #archilovers #ronthomarchitect #russellhollingswortharchitecture #barrydownsarchitect #franklloydwright #westvancouver #britishcolumbia #modernwestcoastplaces #westcoastmodernleague #wcmlvan

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