SPECIAL EVENTS

RECENT Special EVENTS

January 23, 2025

MEMBER'S Private Reception at ARTHUR erickson's METAL HOUSE

All Foundation members were invited to this exclusive social event in Vancouver’s Mackenzie Heights neighbourhood. Metal House was designed by Arthur Erickson in 1965 for Nicholas Metal and his family. Metal was an audiophile and specifically requested a design built for high fidelity quality audio. The second owners purchased it in 1985 and added an extension designed by Erickson protégé Nick Milkovich. Wood, glass and concrete make up the architectural language of the light-filled home which features double-height living spaces and an inner courtyard anchored by a large cedar tree. This was a rare opportunity to see this Westcoast Modern architectural gem before it turned over to its new custodians. The event featured live music, a film presentation, light refreshments, and brief remarks from members of the Board of Directors to welcome the new year.

ARTHUR erickson Centennial: A Multicultural CElebrATION

The Arthur Erickson Foundation, in conjunction with the Erickson Family, presented performances and activities at Robson Square showcasing the multicultural influences on Erickson’s work from his extensive travels around the world. Festivities included: welcome by Indigenous elder, artist and ethnobotanist Cease Wyss; the Van-Okinawa Taiko drummers; opera singer Laura Widgett; the Mexican Dance Ensemble; the Lorita Leung Dance Company; and Latin band Mazacote. Concurrent activities included a hands-on children’s workshop with Petit Architect; a display of Erickson houses built by LEGO artist Paul Hetherington; and totem-carving by Haida carver, Clarence Mills.

View commentary and photos >>

October 14, 2023

HOSTED INTERIOR TOUR of DYDE HOUSE

The Arthur Erickson Foundation and the University of Alberta conducted a Fundraising Interior Tour of Dyde House at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden in Parkland County, just west of Edmonton, hosted by AEF board members Barry Johns FRAIC and Trevor Boddy FRAIC. This was a rare opportunity to see the interiors and appreciate Erickson’s architectural innovations, plus the sublime parkland axial garden and pond he designed around it.

June 24, 2023

AFTERNOON & EVENING TOURS of SMITH HOUSE II

Arthur Erickson's Smith House II has inspired generations of West Coast architects. With the house newly-restored (and in its most splendid shape since first opening in 1964), AEF members and friends had the rare opportunity to gather at the house and its sublime Erickson-designed garden for tours and celebration. Our hosts were new owners Andy Sylvester and Daina Augaitis whose stunning collection of contemporary art is now installed in the house. As a special bonus for evening guests, side visits to the nearby Douglas Coupland home were also facilitated, hosted by the writer-artist himself. Thank you to all who participated: this fundraising event has provided significant support for the conservation and education work of the AEF. 

May 13, 2023

Members' Garden Party

AEF Members new and old gathered in the Erickson Garden for an afternoon of wine, canapés, and conversation to usher in the summer season. Joyce Murray MP was in attendance. Outgoing AEF President Phil Boname was thanked for his years of vision and service.

July 7, 2022

UNBUILT ERICKSON: CELEBRATION & ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

This exclusive video exhibit of Erickson's unbuilt masterworks took place in the Great Hall of one of his built masterworks, the BC Law Courts in conjunction with the AEF's 2022 annual general meeting. It was accompanied by light refreshments, a live auction, and lots of inspiration as the architecture and design community united to celebrate Erickson's vast legacy.

July 4-5, 2022

YOUNG ARCHITECTS MASTER CLASS: OUR CITY OUR PLAYGROUND

A two-day master class hosted by the AEF at the Polygon Gallery was designed to attract Grade 9–12 students with an interest in architecture. To honour Erickson’s commitment to mentorship and education, the master class used a laboratorial approach to dissect the present norms of public and private spaces, and challenge the relevance of mobility.

 July 15, 2021

ON-LINE PRESENTATION & ERICKSON GARDEN TOUR

Highlights included a live-streamed tour of the Erickson Garden in Vancouver, by architectural photographer Simon Scott (with special guests) and the public premiere of a new Arthur Erickson short-documentary. Zoom attendees, watching from five time zones, also heard a moving tribute to the late Cornelia Hahn Oberlander by AEF Vice-President Liz Watts. At the AGM which followed the Garden tour, a video memory of Geoffrey Massey was aired, as was a work-in-progress from McGill architecture students May Bi and Lauren Kim featuring dozens of intercut clips of Erickson buildings—as they have appeared in documentaries, TV shows, and Hollywood movies.

November 25, 2020

DYDE HOUSE & GARDEN: ARTHUR ERICKSON'S MISSING MINOR MASTERPIECE, REDISCOVERED

Attendees at AEF's first-ever virtual AGM were among the first viewers of a film which both celebrates the little-known Dyde House and Garden, and advocates for its conservation. Dyde House, designed by Arthur Erickson in 1960, sits on fifty acres of land in Edmonton now owned by the University of Alberta and forming part of the Devonian Botanic Garden property. The house was the first masonry house by Erickson, which he sited to capture a commanding view. AEF Board members Barry Johns and Trevor Boddy were behind the film project.

December 5, 2019

ONE TIME ONLY: An Exclusive Glimpse Inside Arthur Erickson’s Eppich II Residence

Following on from a concrete house for Helmut Eppich, in 1979 Arthur Erickson designed this West Vancouver house in steel and curving glass for his brother Hugo and his wife Brigitte, filled with a complete set of custom furniture by associate Francisco Kripacz. After its completion a few years later, Erickson described Eppich II as “my most complete work.” The EXCLUSIVE GLIMPSE event was a lavish reception and tour, and possibly the last opportunity to see this sparkling marvel in the company of the original clients and its key designers. Guests were encouraged to come early to catch the last rays of sunlight, and tour the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander-designed garden and its studio pavilion, completed by Nick Milkovich, both of whom were on hand to deliver remarks and memories. The event's hosts were the Eppichs themselves, with a special message from Phyllis Lambert.

June 27, 2019

EXPLORING ROBSON SQUARE GREAT HALL & GARDENS/ TELLING THE ROBSON SQUARE STORY 

Called "a bold, contemplative work of urban design", Robson Square is a three-block civic complex anchored by Justice – the Law Courts and glass-roofed Great Hall – and Culture, the conversion of the earlier courthouse into the Vancouver Art Gallery, all magnificently integrated into a terraced public park with landscaped areas, both open and intimate. The EXPLORING ROBSON SQUARE event was a self-guided tour which began with an introduction by Donald Luxton in the Great Hall, followed by a walk with stationed guides, including James Cheng, Eva Matsuzaki, Barry Johns and other special guests. Each brought their own unique perspective to how the building and landscape were designed, including the ingenious “stramps”, the cascading waterfalls and the grand public spaces. Registrants (and all AEF members) gained complimentary access to TELLING THE ROBSON SQUARE STORY, a separate event with reception and facilitated discussion immediately following the final tour. Speakers included Bob Williams, James Cheng, Eva Matsuzaki, Barry Johns and Cornelia Oberlander.

March 28, 2019

ERICKSON'S EVERGREENING: A Celebration of an Arthur Erickson Design and Those Who Saved It

Through a multi-year effort by many individuals, businesses and institutions, the Evergreen Building has not just been saved from demolition, but fully preserved. The first example of 1970s Modernist architecture to be both historically designated and fully restored in Western Canada, this reception and presentation publicly told the full story of how the Evergreen Building was saved then preserved, in the words of those who did it. Read more >>

June 22, 2018

A THOUSAND WORDS
ARTHUR ERICKSON: A LEGACY TOLD THROUGH DIVERSE PERSPECTIVES

A special presentation from a diverse set of notable figures in architecture, landscape architecture, media, academia, heritage, and business. It is said that an image is worth a thousand words. Each speaker shared their own thousand words in response to an image from Arthur Erickson's legacy and in turn, shared how it inspires their future. Click for video:

Abu Nuwas project rendering: Michael McCann