Smith Residence- Vancouver"Illusion is needed to disguise the emptiness within"
Arthur Erickson
At school, Mr. Erickson was kind enough to speak to us about his life and design. The thing I remember the most was when he spoke of discovering the discipline of Japanese design. He said he didn't understand it, until one day he watched an old man in Japan using small handmade scissors to prune his garden. He knew then it was the discipline and the balance with nature. From then on his work changed.
He's 84 now, and the last time I saw him, he was the guest of honour at the opening of his new tower downtown. Diana Kraal was his invited guest, and played a few songs just for him.
Mr. Erickson has had an amazing career, including working in the middle east for a long period of time.
He has lived in a modest home, with an amazing garden in Vancouver unti just recently.
3 comments:
The Arthur Erickson designed Smith residence is simply beautiful! What I've seen of Erickson's work I've really liked - his clean asthetic and use of materials like wood, stone, glass and cement to create homes & building that LIVE rather then take over their environments. Does that make sense?
Thanks for sharing!
Victoria (one half of DesignTies)
Erickson is one of my canadian heroes. I saw an amazing TV show about this house.
We certainly see his name everywhere in this city! Thanks for the little education :)
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