15 Facts About Arthur Erickson

1.

Arthur Charles Erickson was a Canadian architect and urban planner.

2.

Arthur Erickson is known as Canada's most influential architect and was the only Canadian architect to win the American Institute of Architects AIA Gold Medal.

3.

Arthur Erickson always integrated light and water features into his designs, along with the characteristic horizontal elements and terraces that came from the vernacular architecture of the Far East.

4.

Arthur Erickson is known for numerous futuristic designs such as the Fresno City Hall, the UCI School of Biological Sciences and the 1967 Catton House, known as the 'Starship House'.

5.

Arthur Erickson insisted on bringing in a landscape architect at the outset of all of his projects and, for most of his projects, worked with the landscape architect Cornelia Oberlander.

6.

The campus is landscaped to provide numerous small spaces for study; it in centre, Arthur Erickson placed a large rectangular pool containing an enormous block of Fraser River jade.

7.

Oversized beams evoke a monumental feeling in many of Arthur Erickson's projects, calling on the size and scale of the trees found in the surrounding context.

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8.

The landscape of the site was particularly important, as Arthur Erickson wanted to depict the connection between indigenous Pacific Northwest cultures to the land.

9.

Arthur Erickson blended the Neoclassicism of existing structures with the idiom of the Plantation house to create an expanse of space.

10.

Oberlander landscaped the courtyard with northern plants; Arthur Erickson had Haida artist Bill Reid create the massive sculpture Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Black Canoe, which sits in the courtyard in a pool of water.

11.

Arthur Erickson divided the archives of his work among several Canadian repositories.

12.

Arthur Erickson was the mentor of many other noted local architects and urbanists, including founding members of many of Vancouver's premier design-oriented architectural firms.

13.

Arthur Erickson's buildings were the subject of paintings by artists including Vancouver-based Tiko Kerr.

14.

Arthur Erickson received the Chicago Architectural Award in 1984 alongside Philip Johnson and Joan Burgee.

15.

Arthur Erickson lived in Point Grey with his life partner and interior design collaborator, Francisco Kripacz.