Vancouver Heritage Foundation

The annual Heritage House Tour is great. You purchase a booklet that serves as your admission ticket. Then you walk, drive or bike to each house/​flat for a self-​guided tour of the interior. This year, the offering ranged from east-​side gritty rehabs in progress to a stunning English Arts & Crafts Shaughnessy mansion. I do like the balance of residences they offer, but would like it if more of the owners were on hand for chats.

well the tour was a HIT! I was captivated from start to finish. We hit 5 homes, heard two of the most well known west coast architects speak, and learned that it’s not a dirty thing to use the words modern and heritage in the same sentence!
so a quick break down of the homes I saw:
Mclellan — Saddy house– a 1958 Thompson, Berwick & Pratt (my favorite)
Gibson house– a 1959 unknown architect
Private owner– a 1963 Thompson, Berwick & pratt (inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright)
Hwang house– a 1980 Arthur Erikson (some of the most amazing vista’s and use of floating walls and columns
Wong House– a 1955 Duncan McNab
I had the pleasure of listening to Duncan McNab speak about the home, what inspired him, what he had to do to complete the rock outcropping, and a general background of what it was like in the fifties to be an architect in the Vancouver.
I cant wait to do it again next year! Note to self… I am going to wear slip ons next time.