Happy Birthday, Arthur Erickson!

Architecture, as I see it, is the art of composing spaces in response to existing environmental and urbanistic conditions to answer a client’s needs. In this way the building becomes the resolution between its inner being and the outer conditions imposed upon it. It is never solitary but is part of its setting and thus must blend in a timeless way with its surroundings yet show its own fresh presence.
— Arthur Erickson

Google “world’s top architects” and he doesn’t merit so much as a mention, but Arthur Erickson is arguably Canada’s best internationally known architect. He was born in Vancouver 100 years ago today.

After serving in the Canadian Army during and after World War II, Erickson had plans to become a diplomat, but his interests turned to architecture upon seeing the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. He completed his studies at UBC, went on to McGill, and also studied in the Middle East, Greece, Italy, and Japan. In 1962, after a decade spent teaching and designing, he opened his Vancouver-based architecture firm in partnership with Geoffrey Massey. After they won the competition to design Simon Fraser University, there was no stopping him.

Some say that Erickson’s architecture should be as well known as Margaret Atwood’s novels or Emily Carr’s paintings. Certainly his buildings have shaped the look of Vancouver. Erickson also shaped architects — many moved to Vancouver to work under his mentorship.

Centenary events are happening throughout Vancouver this summer. My own commemoration will consist of a series of blog posts about some of his most important Vancouver projects.

But, to begin, today I’m posting about the only building of his that I’ve photographed outside of Canada. That would be the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC.

I don’t usually make a point of checking out Canadian embassies during my travels (unless required to, as happened during an unfortunate episode while in London on route to Paris — that’s a story I keep meaning to tell but haven’t gotten around to yet). However, I can attest that the Canadian Embassy in Washington is magnificent, and definitely worth a look-see.

If you’ve ever visited Washington, you know it’s a sea of Neoclassicist buildings. Erickson had to work under a series of restrictions so that the building he designed did not stand out too much from its surroundings.

As you approach the embassy, its façade is imposing, but not severely so. The Rotunda of the Provinces and Territories consists of 12 pillars, representing 10 provinces and two territories. (Nunavut was not yet in existence when the embassy was built.)

The waterfall that surrounds the rotunda is meant to represent Niagara Falls, the world-famous waterfall that straddles the Canada–US border.

In the courtyard, resting in a pool of water, is the bronze statue Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Black Canoe by Bill Reid. (A second casting of the same sculpture, Spirit of Haida Gwaii, the Green Canoe, is in the International Terminal at YVR Airport.)

The embassy opened in 1989 and is located on Pennsylvania Avenue between the United States Capital and the White House.