AE100 CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Comments delivered by Emily and Geoffrey Erickson setting the context for the Centennial Celebration event:

Emily Erickson:  JAPAN

Arthur said,

I plead for conservation of human culture, which is much more fragile than nature herself. We needn’t destroy other cultures with the force of our own.

When Arthur was designing the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, he took care to study indigenous Northwest Coast art and culture, which he did not at first understand, then applied what he learned to the design and siting of the building and especially the massing of the longhouse-like columns and beams looking out toward the ocean. This quest to honour the site, the light, the space, and the culture for every design was fundamental to his practice.

In Japan, Arthur again encountered his own cultural biases, especially when he visited the Kokedera or Moss Garden in Kyoto in 1961. Frustrated—even angered—by his lack of understanding of the garden’s design, he vowed he would not leave until it made sense. He doesn’t say how long that took… but he eventually figured out that the Japanese design was based on, in his words,

… simulating vegetal vitality, the force of stillness—

which is so different from the western approach based on the human form and its vitality of movement. Such opening of his heart and mind was what Arthur sought when he’d chosen at that low point in his life to explore Japan.

Arthur was profoundly influenced by Japan, from his wartime studies of the Japanese language so that he could be a translator for Canadian and British Intelligence services, through his 1961 travels in Japan, to his later work designing the Canadian Pavilion at the 1965 Tokyo Trade Fair and the Canadian Pavilion at Expo ’70 in Osaka—which won first prize and was the only pavilion visited by then Emperor Hirohito.

Perhaps it was his adventures in Japan that led Arthur to observe:

Our incapacity to comprehend other cultures stems from our insistence on measuring things in our own terms.

Emily Erickson: EUROPE

Arthur’s love of travel was stimulated in childhood by National Geographic magazine images and stories brought back by mercantile friends of his father’s. With World War II and his Officer’s commission, he had his first experience of other cultures—in his case unmarred by ever firing a gun! His appetite for travel unappeased, Arthur leapt at the chance to turn a small scholarship earned on graduation from Architecture at McGill University into a two and a half year travelling odyssey in Europe. He described his goal:

to see every monument, work of architecture and work of art that had graced or borne forth the peculiar civilization of 20th century… to which I belonged.

He started in Cairo, traveled along the Mediterranean coast through Jordan, Syria and Turkey, thence into Greece and the rest of Europe. Along the way, he read and thought about what constitutes civilization, the inaccuracies of historical theory, and what makes art and design great. He became vividly aware of how climate affects architecture, and found inspiration everywhere, from the gently curved columns of Greece’s Parthenon to the palaestra or gymnasium in the ancient ruin of Pergamon in Turkey, which motivated the gymnasium design at Simon Fraser University here in Burnaby.

Arthur returned from his travels with an appreciation of classical music and dance from around the world, including, for example, the shakuhachi flute of Japan, and learned about acoustics and performance needs when he designed Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, The Christopher Cohan Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo, California, the Grand Theatre at the Dalian Cultural Center in China, and our very own Scotiabank Dance Centre here in Vancouver.

As Arthur said:

The responsibility of the architect is to create a sense of place, to create an environment that resonates with its users.

Geoffrey Erickson: ROBSON SQUARE

Welcome everyone to this plaza which we can thank Arthur for- an open space for the people of Vancouver in what is becoming a forest of towers. He brought his knowledge acquired from world travels to envision the importance of such a place for Vancouverites… and nobody cared more about our city than Arthur.

Working with the team on this 3- block project at Arthur Erickson Architects in 1973 was Nick Milkovich, who recently oversaw the completion of Arthur’s original plan for a car-free plaza in the centre of the city where events such as this could take place. Nick Milkovich Architects also completed the plaza on the other side of the VAG on Georgia St. to complete the 3-block plan.

Geoffrey Erickson: LATIN AMERICA

Nobody had an uncle like Arthur Erickson, who brought us gifts from around the world, where he went on extended treks to learn about great world architecture sites. As kids I remember for example him bringing us real sombreros and hand-woven vests from Mexico, and of course a traditional doll for sister Emily.

The great Mayan and Aztec sites were a great inspiration, including the mountaintop site of Monte Alban in Mexico, which influenced the SFU masterplan.

Latin cultures influenced him in the form of his longtime partner and interior designer Francisco Kripacz who came from Caracas, Venezuela. Francisco also became a mentor to me as a designer, whose daring use of colour helped to bring Arthur’s designs to life. Check out the book Arthur wrote about his inspiring work and collaborations with him. They first met in 1961, and by 1965 had opened Francisco Contract Furniture in Montreal where they were working on several projects for Expo ’67. They started importing exotic Brazilian furniture to Canada and helped architect Carlos Villanueva with his Venezuelan pavilion there.

Arthur and Francisco loved to throw parties, and they were well known for them- in Vancouver, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York City, and Fire Island. They would hire bands and performers, and I recall witnessing such a party as a kid with a Latin group performing in his garden and how Arthur was a great dancer himself… so I know he would love our next performers.

Geoffrey Erickson: ASIA

Arthur first visited Asia and Malaysia during the Second World War when he was stationed in Kuala Lumpur to work with the Canadian and British Intelligence there, and operate a radio station partly as a Japanese language translator. A post in India followed, and travels to the Middle East, and Egypt. 

In 1973 Arthur and Francisco were among the first westerners to enter then communist China on a diplomatic trip with our Prime Minister. They really stood out in their fashionable western style at that time! Arthur went on to complete many projects there, including Dalian, Tianjin, Weihai, Bejing, and Shanghai, which I documented for him. He also completed a major housing complex In Kuala Lumpur. 

So Asian cultural influences were a significant influence on his thinking about design.