BRENT BELLAMY THE DEATH AND LIFE OF AN AVERAGE CANADIAN CITY.

BRENT
BELLAMY
THE DEATH AND LIFE OF AN AVERAGE CANADIAN CITY.
Why do architects take photos of buildings without people in them? Why do we leaf
through glossy magazines and marvel at the latest cantilever in Rotterdam or glistening
titanium skin in Paris?
Why do we look at buildings as objects? Why do we present them as sculpture, as things
to observe? The most resonant architecture is not an object – it is a place. The design of
a building does not stop at its facade, with the landscape architect or planner taking over
from there. The spaces around a building, its connection to its city, to its neighbourhood,
to its street and to its site are as vital as the spaces protected within its walls.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25
NOON | CENTRE SPACE
JOHN A. RUSSELL BUILDING
FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE
UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA
LUNCH SERVED $5
These relationships control a city’s vibrancy, its safety, prosperity and sustainability. They
affect the physical health of its population, their quality of life, confidence and psyche.
A wall can be a divider. A wall can be a connector. A wall can invite. A wall can repel. The
types of walls we build and the places we build them define the character and quality
of our neighbourhoods, of the places we live.
The architecture of Winnipeg offers many examples of each of these conditions. What
can we learn from their examination? We are attracted to areas like the Exchange
District, yet we build our new city without considering the reasons for its success. We
acknowledge the vibrancy of Osborne Village yet the principles of its form are not
replicated in new development. - Why?
Why have we forgotten the importance of the human landscape, its scale, its edge and
its texture? Why has walkability, connectivity and diversity been dismissed in our modern
city? Why do we create buildings, neighbourhoods and streets without consideration
for the human experience of each?
Why does it matter?
Brent Bellamy is an architect and public advocate for sustainable city-building and human
focused design. Over the past five years he has contributed a featured business column in
the Winnipeg Free Press, titled ‘On Architecture’, in which he challenges the conventional
perceptions of architectural and urban form. He explores the connection between design
and economic growth, environmental sustainability, civic competitiveness and quality
of life.
Brent is Creative Director at Number TEN Architectural Group, an integrated practice
of architecture, interior design and planning, based in Winnipeg. Projects such as the
University of Winnipeg’s, Richardson College for the Environment, the Qualico Family
Centre at Assiniboine Park and the Winnipeg Humane Society, exemplify his commitment
to the principles of sustainability and demonstrates his desire to create sensitive and
efficient architectural forms that provoke thought and stimulate the imagination.
Cultural Events 2014 - 2015