Usually thought of the best Canadian architect of the twentieth century, Arthur Erickson (1924-2009) is well known for his modernist buildings that span the globe from Kuwait to Germany, and proceed to outline the contours of his residence metropolis of Vancouver. On this portrait of Erickson from 1981, he explains how his work attracts from a variety of influences cultivated over the course of his life, together with the ‘natural structure’ of Frank Lloyd Wright, the gardens of Japan and his private embrace of contradiction. The movie takes viewers to a few of Erickson’s most important and notable designs, together with the Museum of Anthropology on the College of British Columbia, the Robson Sq. civic centre within the coronary heart of Vancouver and his personal humble one-room residence. From this temporary tour and Erickson’s personal phrases, a definite aesthetic philosophy emerges – one centred on creating work in concord with its environment, and an openness to new views.
