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Old Posted May 27, 2011, 10:21 PM
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ELLE DECOR Goes to Vancouver - Dramatic architecture meets diverse cultural riches...

quite the opposite view of the city compared to that other article

ELLE DECOR Goes to Vancouver

Dramatic architecture meets diverse cultural riches in this stunning seaside city

Written by Claire Dederer



The light—gray and northern and surprisingly abundant—pours between tall, slender towers that look so new they might not even be built yet. The buildings cluster in elegant forests along the water’s edge; at their feet sit the vibrant, brick-lined neighborhoods of Gastown, Yaletown, and the West End. To walk through Vancouver—and make no mistake, this is one of the great walking cities of North America—is to travel continuously between old and new.

The old isn’t terribly old in Vancouver: The city’s history, at any rate its European history, is fairly brief. The Spanish came first; the English didn’t show up until the late 18th century. During the next hundred years, trappers, miners, and loggers—the holy trinity of Northwest pioneer life—settled on the land and incorporated the city.

Over the last three decades, Vancouver has grown from a bit of a backwater to a favored destination for moneyed newcomers from all over Canada—and the world. Some credit the Expo ’86 World’s Fair with putting Vancouver on the map. The handover of Hong Kong from the British to the Chinese in 1997 sped things up, as wealthy Hong Kong nationals looked for somewhere new to live and found in Vancouver a Pacific Rim city with temperate weather, excellent schools, and room to grow.

By any account, Vancouver is growing fast. In terms of city planning, it appears to be uniquely graceful growth. The beauty and elegance of Vancouver’s downtown can be traced to one simple thing: setbacks. Yes, there are the spectacular mountain views, the balmy sea breezes coming in from all sides of the peninsula, the cosmopolitan mix of cultures, and the food, always the food. But it’s a humble building regulation, introduced in the 1950s and sustained through a major construction boom in the 1990s and the 2000s, that gives this compact, dense city its sense of spaciousness. New high-rise residences in the city core must be built with an apron of space at street level. Gardens and playgrounds and café seating and little lawns spread over these open spaces, making sidewalks feel uncrowded and welcoming. More important, the setbacks decrease the footprint of the buildings, giving them a narrow and light appearance and leaving wide corridors of space (and views) between the structures. Here in the Northwest, where gray skies can grow oppressive and rain can feel like an omnipresent hat that you’d really like to remove, these setbacks do something very important: They let the light in.

While Vancouver’s buildings have space at their feet, they in no way resemble the modernist ideal of a glass box standing in a field. These towers are linked by mews and paths and pedestrian alleyways, luring walkers from the street into the built environment.

And it’s good to be lured into walking in Vancouver. If you have an especially excellent pair of shoes, you could spend the whole day looping the city—from Gastown and its bars and design shops, down the shopping promenade of Robson Street to the funky, beachy West End. Stanley Park, with its complex ecology and incredible beaches, lies beyond. Head back up along the waterfront, lined with well-funded and intelligent public art (we are, after all, in Canada), and into Yaletown, a redeveloped industrial district that strikes the perfect Vancouver balance between the past (Hamilton Street and its gritty brick façades) and the present (the towers and marinas and parks at the water’s edge).

...

http://www.elledecor.com/entertainin...ouver?page=0,1

side note: Claire Dederer lives in Seattle and writes about books and culture for the New York Times, Newsday, and many other publications.
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Old Posted May 27, 2011, 10:55 PM
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She hits the mark on the great aspects of teh city. I agree that it is a great walking city, which surprisingly some on here seem to feel otherwise.
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Old Posted May 27, 2011, 11:53 PM
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Now there's somebody speakin' my language. Thanks for the article!
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Old Posted May 28, 2011, 12:15 AM
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Originally Posted by ckkelley View Post
Now there's somebody speakin' my language. Thanks for the article!
i especially like how she aknowledges that Vancouver is more than shinny new towers and pays hommage to the city's older areas. She also captures what Vancouverism is and how the city is defined by its relationship to the ocean and its natural surroundings.
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