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Carpet Diem with cc-tapis

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Born in France. Designed in Milan. Produced in Nepal. cc-tapis is an Italian company which produces contemporary hand-knotted rugs created in Nepal by expert Tibetan artisans. The company was founded by Nelcya and Fabrizio Cantoni who have been producing hand-knotted rugs in Nepal for over 17 years. A strong respect for the materials and for the culture of this ancient craft is reflected in the company’s eco-friendly approach to every step of production, ranging from the hand spinning of the softest Himalayan wool to the use of purified rainwater for the washing of the final products, making each one of cc-tapis’ rugs unique.

Far from mass production, cc-tapis aims to offer a tailored service to those who understand and enjoy a high-end product, where a three month production time contains a story of ageless culture.

Fabrizio and Daniele introduced their new collection titled Inventory, designed by Faye Toogood. cc-tapis works with a wide array of designers, such as Patricia Urquiola, Chiara Andreatti, Martino Gamper, Parisotto + Formenton, Alex Proba, and Mae Engelgeer.

Photographer Selwyn Pullan

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Photographer Selwyn Pullan captured the spirit of modernism on the West Coast

Celebrated photographer and North Shore resident Selwyn Pullan died on Monday, September 25, 2017. Born in Vancouver on March 14, 1922, Pullan studied photography at the Art Center School in Los Angeles (now the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena) from 1948 to 1950. His iconic images of West Coast Modern architecture captured the spirit of innovation and design in British Columbia from the 1950s to the 70s. Pullan’s photographic projects by many leading architects, including Barry Downs, Arthur Erickson, Fred Hollingsworth, Ned Pratt and Ron Thom, were prominently featured in lifestyle magazines of the era.

Selwyn Pullan’s compelling photographs were the subject of two solo exhibitions and the seminal book Selwyn Pullan Photographing Mid-Century West Coast Modernism (Douglas & McIntyre 2012), produced by the West Vancouver Museum. In 2014, Pullan generously donated his important archive of more than 10,000 negatives and prints to the museum.

“I saw Selwyn’s photographs at his studio for the first time in 2004. I kept visiting him to learn about the development of modernism in this city. His images brilliantly showcased modern living on the West Coast and the pioneering architectural designs that played an important role in the city’s growth,” says Kiriko Watanabe, Assistant Curator, who worked closely with Pullan on both exhibitions and the monograph.

“We are fortunate that Selwyn chose to donate his collection to the West Vancouver Museum. It is a lasting and historically important record of a bygone era. We will honour Selwyn’s monumental achievements by making the collection accessible over time,” says Darrin Morrison, Administrator/Curator.

The West Vancouver Museum will honour Selwyn Pullan’s legacy with an exhibition of his work in 2018.

Image: Selwyn Pullan in his studio. Photograph by Ken Dyck, 2008.

 

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This post was written by the West Vancouver Museum.

Ettore Sottsass

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Born on September 14th, 1917 in Innsbruck, Austria and died on New Year’s eve 2007 in Milan. His father who shared his name and profession moved to Turin so that his junior could study Architecture at Politecnico di Torino. The elder Ettore was a traditionalist, his son wanted to be everything that he was not, drawn to bold shapes and colours, often bending and breaking the rules of Architecture and Design. After graduation, Ettore was drafted into the Italian military to fight in the Balkan Campaign, was captured and held in a POW camp in Yugoslavia.

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Kaikado

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We were honoured to host master craftsman Taka from the legendary Japanese manufacturer Kaikado.

Kaikado was established in 1875, shortly after Japan opened its doors to the rest of the world. With welcoming outside civilizations came the import of tinplate from England. Tin was used for the plating of steel, and was considered a fashionable foreign-made item at that time.

In the Edo era, canisters made from tin became commonplace means of storage for tea, as were jars made from china or earthenware. It was the company’s founder, Kiyosuke, who first designed the tin tea caddy and made it into a commercially available item, the very same caddies that they still make today.

The following day after Taka’s talk, he held a workshop with a lucky few in the craft of fabricating one of their small plates.

Arigato Taka-san!

Happy Birthday Florence Knoll

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Florence Marguerite Knoll Bassett née Schust was born May 24, 1917 in Saginaw, Michigan. Florence studied Architecture under Eliel Saarinen at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1934. In 1936, she started to explore furniture making with Eliel’s son Eero and the now legendary Charles Eames.

 


Florence discussing the now infamous Tulip base with Eero Saarinen

 

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UBC SALA Modern House Series

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Merrick House is a documentation of one of the jewels of West Coast Modern architecture, a home that, as a young architect, Merrick built by hand on the steep wooded slopes of West Vancouver, BC in the early 1970s. The photographs by Michael Perlmutter bring out the wonders of the architectural space and materiality, and the text by Tony Robins explores Merrick’s influences, the many spatial moves he employed and the changes made over time with successive renovations.

 
 
 

 
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Capture Photography Festival Speaker Series

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Brussels-based Canadian artist Alex Morrison discusses Brand New Era Social Club (2017), his major public art commission on the facade of the Dal Grauer Substation on Burrard Street, and other aspects of his diverse practice, in conversation with photographer Christos Dikeakos.

 
 


 
We mostly know famous architecture not through direct experience, but through images made by architectural photographers like Ema Peter. In conversation with Mark Busse of HCMA Architecture + Design, Peter discusses the constructed nature of architectural photos, the symbiotic relationship between buildings and photography, and how image capture affects design. She also shares technical insights and experiences from her award-winning career.

 
 
 


 
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Rest in Peace Robert Burgers

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Robert and Marieke Burgers have been clients since the mid 1960’s. At that time Niels remembers a young vibrant Dutch couple, full of optimism.

Robert taught us and our design community so much. He was a huge personality, generous, warm and he didn’t suffer fools gladly. A perfectionist, he always was pushing and pressing for better.

His family was his centre and he taught us to treasure that family time above all else.

The first time that I was at the Burgers home, I noticed that they didn’t take the Artemide tags off the Tolomeo lights. Why? It just was that way.

The homes that he designed are big hearted, open and inviting; Marieke’s interior design complemented that with striking colours and brave forms; his gardens are sumptuous and elegant always with room to play bocce or lay out a long table for 20.

There was nothing better than being invited to the Burgers, with Marieke’s delicious cooking and Robert laughing a big belly laugh. Lively discussions and contrasting views were always in order. Sometimes we felt so lucky to be nestled in the luscious garden with an intimate table for four or with many other close friends gathered around the long table in the garden.

We will miss him and will honour his belief to never settle for less than the best.

– Nancy