Author: Andrea Cordonier
-
CurioCabinet: “Lumbermen”
Credit: Ronny Jaques / National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque / Library and Archives Canada / PA-204120 Read more
-
re:THINK(ing) Affordable Housing in Vancouver
And on go the thinking hat(s)…… “As part of the work being done by the Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability, re:THINK HOUSING, an open ideas competition, is being launched to generate a broader discussion of possibilities for Vancouver’s affordable housing crisis. Aimed at everyone who has an interest in affordable housing, from the general public, to… Read more
-
Adaptive Reuse (and Reuse and Reuse) at the Grey Nuns’ Convent
Not all those who wander are lost. – J.R.R. Tolkien Choosing a mini-adventure over a late afternoon nap, I laced on the mocs and headed across Esplanade Riel to Le Musée de Saint-Boniface. While the museum is filled with fascinating objects, including the half-burnt coffin of Louis Riel, the principal artifact is the building itself.… Read more
-
Walking the Walk
Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urbanist and activist whose writings championed a fresh, community-based approach to city building. She had no formal training as a planner, and yet her 1961 treatise, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, introduced ground-breaking ideas about how cities function, evolve and fail that now seem like common sense to… Read more
-
The House at Armstrong’s Point
A natural park formed by a bend of [the] Assiniboine River, which surrounds it on three sides, preventing encroachment and overcrowding, well sheltered by fine timber, rich soil sloping south, excellent drainage…wide boulevards…less than two miles from centre of the city, comprising the choicest residential property and the pretties gardens and lawns in the city.… Read more
-
Tile Me a Story
Once again admiring the intriguing narrative tile work here at Inn at the Forks in Winnipeg. I’m searching for more pieces around the city by local artist Fleur McLauchlan, but work has a way of seriously cutting into my sleuthing time… Read more
-
Exit the Television
We haven’t had a television in our house for a very long time. One day I got fed-up trying to place the family room furniture in a conversation-friendly layout that also permitted television viewing. So I called up a friend who drove over and drove away with our set, bound for a Community Living group… Read more
-
(Sort of) The Grand Re-Opening of the McKittrick Hotel 2012
A year ago we donned bone-white Venetian masks and registered at the McKittrick Hotel in NYC for an evening of mute revelry and immersive voyeurism. It’s set to be doors wide open again this year. Post the Do Not Disturb sign and prepare to Sleep No More. Read more
-
Encyclopedic Knowledge
And the train of thought goes like this: How did I marry someone who has the identical leather-bound, gilt-edged set of Encyclopedia Britannica that I have? Where do encyclopedias go to die? Where did all the door-to-door salesmen go? How come it’s mainly political candidates and religious folks that drop by? Now that I’ve framed in and… Read more
-
Now I’m a Licensed Prospector, Too
Some things in life are surprisingly simple. For a fee of $25.50, presentation of photo i.d., and the completion of a form that required little more than my name, address, telephone number and birthdate, I became a licensed prospector in the province of Ontario. I am now permitted to stake mineral claims anywhere in the… Read more