Last week I was given the opportunity to explore the building where Lester’s Army is based with fresh and wide eyes. I was invited along to an exploration of the Woodward’s Development with Walking Home Projects. The idea of these walks is to share knowledge and experience with members of the community, and to give people an interesting insight into the world they encounter every day.
The group met at the top of the spiral staircase in the Woodward’s atrium. I have never actually been up there and it was unnervingly shaky, but provided a great view. When the whole group was present we were introduced to Walking Home Projects Director Catherine Pulkinghorn, and to one another. We were invited to focus on viewpoints of the atrium and crowded the ledge to see the artwork around the building.
From the top we had a great view of the $1 million photography project above the main entrance. The installation by Stan Douglas represents the 1971 Gastown riots and is quite an evocative piece. The enclosed area in the atrium is public space and often hosts local events and international art work. In the centre of the floor was the strange installation from the PuSh Festival (by Berlin, a theatre company from Belgium). The documentary installation, Iqaluit, results from two months spent in the Arctic Circle. The experience involves wearing infrared headphones and watching 7 different scenes from the region. When the visuals and eeerie sounds of the Northern Lights begin then you move to the next screen. When I started working at Lester’s Army, The Woodward’s building seemed like such an interesting and arty place, it made me feel like the offices housed there were edgy and creative. Which, it turns out, they are.
The whole building has an interesting history. It is most famous for originally housing the Woodward’s department store, a family business that ran for 100 years. In the 1990’s the business collapsed and the space gradually became home to a squatter community. The Woodward’s re-development project has transformed the city block. The developer and lead architects redesigned the space into a multipurpose building combining low-income housing with condominiums, City of Vancouver and non-profit organization office space, businesses, Simon Fraser University and a public area. The open space in the atrium was designed to address the lack of plazas in Vancouver; the area is sheltered but has an outdoor feel and a basketball hoop! It also connects each of the buildings in the development to form an entire community space. Woodward’s is regarded by some as one of the most important models for mixed community use ever designed. There are television screens in the atrium that relay the story of the redevelopment in a stop motion film with audio if you are interested in finding out more.
Catherine next took us across to another building via an overpass above Gastown. Here we looked out onto Cordova Street from an unusual perspective that allowed a new look at the historic buildings. It was interesting to find out that Gastown is one of the oldest parts of Vancouver but is still less than 150 years old. Originating from England myself, that slice of history seems so fresh and new. Next stop was up onto the roof terrace to see the city from above. The panoramic view was great, the waterfront to the North and the clusters of tall buildings to the West. The newly erected neon ‘W’ on the Woodward’s building can be seen clearly from this angle as well as the original, heavier ‘W’ on the ground. This landmark of advertising is famous in Vancouver because of its visibility and was often used as a point of reference before the development of higher buildings. Before the ‘W’, Woodward’s originally used a beacon of light but this was removed during the war for fear of attracting attention.
It was quite dull and brisk when we went out onto the windy parkade but the sights were worth looking at. The difference in architecture between the low-income housing and adjacent decadent condos was interesting to see. We were provided with an overview of the Woodward’s department store. The biggest in Vancouver for a long time and the food hall brought self-serve groceries to Canada (almost a shame because I love to think of giving someone behind the counter my shopping list and having them weight and wrap my groceries me…)
Back inside we were shown around the western offices of the National Film Board of Canada. They are in the same building as the magazine and I hadn’t even noticed! The NFB are Canada’s public producer and distributer of socially relevant films. The group watched 3 short films in the private screening room (they can be seen online along with hundreds of artistic, cultural and thought provoking documentaries and films).
The experience with Walking Home Projects was a fascinating way to appreciate viewpoints of our everyday world and an opportunity to become more engaged with the culture and history immediately around us. Some of the group had always lived in Vancouver and commented about the interesting perspective they had. Being a newbie to the country I enjoyed learning about the heritage and development of the city and how one region can have such a big impact on the culture. (Photo credit: Catherine Pulkinghorn)