West Coast Modern Week is a yearly celebration of West Coast Modernism, a distinct architectural style with deep roots in West Vancouver. Surrounded by forested mountains, an expansive ocean, and a lush rainforest, this natural setting presents unique challenges and opportunities that are reflected in the local architecture. Presented by the West Vancouver Art Museum, West Coast Modern Week’s events included talks, exhibitions, parties, and a unique Home Tour offering access to local, architecturally-significant homes.
The West Coast Modern League Presents
John Patkau: Material Operations
On July 9th, pre-eminent Canadian architect John Patkau joins the West Coast Modern League, with the West Vancouver Art Museum and The Polygon Gallery, for a talk exploring the creation of architecture and design through unconventional material practice.
Founded by John and Patricia Patkau, Vancouver-based Patkau Architects is one of Canada’s most celebrated architecture firms. Their recent designs include the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver, and Arbour House in Victoria.
In 2010, following 30 years of conventional material practice, Patkau Architects initiated a formal research program into using commonly available construction materials with modest but unconventional construction methods to produce buildable, expressive forms with inherent structural capacity and evocative identities.
Working directly with materials—bending and breaking them, feeling their texture, mass, and strength—provides a depth of understanding beyond simple visual observation. Material Operations begin with a relatively simple manipulation of a specific construction material and develop through reactions to the resulting transformation. At the most basic level, they follow the formula Material + Force = Form. Initial forms are found, not preconceived, in the way a specific material expresses stress through strain—flexing or failing in particular ways.
Now 15 years on, this investigation has produced numerous innovative projects, and the Princeton Architectural Press publication Patkau Architects: Material Operations. The journey of this investigation will be the focus of John’s presentation.
