…”When prices are as high as they are, there is a push on space and people get pretty creative.” Clark Kim, a South Korean international student, knows all about creativity. He has been sharing a living-room space since January.
Kim sleeps in the partitioned-off living room of a two-bedroom West Georgia Street apartment. Another student sleeps on the sofa bed beside his.
“I like it because it saves me money every month,” Kim said. He pays $455 a month for the fully furnished living room, which comes with wireless Internet.
“Maybe it’s because I’m a guy, but not having so much privacy doesn’t bother me.” Kim chose the shared space because of the price, the location and because he could practise his English with Canadian roommates.
“It’s good here. It’s a nice place,” he says…”Read the full article at theprovince.com.
Observations & Interpretations:
An Artist’s View of Woodward’s
New buildings should add the the urban landscape and create points of discussion and interpretation. The Woodward’s redevelopment does just that. The architectural elements, details, juxtapositions enliven the not only the building but our interaction with it.
The artist notes,
An interesting high-rise going up on the old Woodwards department store site down in gastown.
Those two guys in the lower right stood there for a while at the street corner so I managed to get them in - I’m usually not too good at capturing people in a sketch.
I like the “cornice” on the new tower and wanted to echo that in the cornice of the old 19th century building to the left.
This new tower looks like it will have a good amount of detail - there are some die-cut steel plate wall panels depicting tree forms and of course the cornice or “crown”.
Lots of homelessness, addiction, and general misery down at street level. Vancouver feels more and more like a third world city.
Sketch by mc_bds
To see Woodward’s images, visit flickr.com.
Becoming the Greenest City
Source: City of Vancouver (see article link below)
Nestled amongst the ocean, rivers, forest and mountains, Vancouver is situated in an exceptional natural environment. It is often cited as one of the best cities in the world to live, work, visit or invest in. We have one of the smallest carbon footprints of any city in North America and we’re a leader in green building, planning and technology.
The City of Vancouver is dedicated to making ourselves, our city, our residents and our world more green. In February 2009, Mayor Gregor Robertson launched the Greenest City initiative, with a goal to map out how we can earn that title by 2020.
To learn more, visit vancouver.ca/greenestcity.
Council approve the provision of infrastructure for charging electric vehicles (EVs) in new multi-family buildings
Vancouver needs to make significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to achieve our local targets. There is no “silver bullet” low carbon vehicle solution available today, though EVs show great promise.
This report makes recommendations for phasing in the EV charging infrastructure for multifamily homes, existing buildings, and public parking locations over a reasonable period of time.
The City has adopted a ‘build-it and they will come’ approach. There is evidence that City efforts are making a difference with at least three automakers considering Vancouver as an early deployment location for EV’s, including Mitsubishi Motors Corporation who recently announced a non-exclusive agreement with the City, BC Hydro and the BC Government to test their new EV in the City fleet.
There are at least three main reasons for building this infrastructure now in new buildings versus waiting to retrofit. First, there is a growing population of EVs, including cars, scooters and bikes that require a charge overnight in multi-family homes. Secondly, early adopters have already confirmed that it is very challenging to individually convince their building owners and strata councils to retrofit the infrastructure. And lastly, the City must find new ways to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our transportation sector if we are to meet our greenhouse gas target of 33% below 2007 levels by 2020, even though this may come at a marginal new cost to the development industry.
Read the full report at vancouver.ca.
Robertson: Trial is “most pragmatic, responsible and affordable solution”
By Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, The Province
July 12, 2009
Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson, in his recent Province article, notes,
A recent proposal from local architect Gregory Henriquez for a pedestrian/bike bridge has generated an incredibly positive reaction from the public.
Read the full article at theprovince.com.
