Lethbridge Modern Shawn Van Sluys
I nnovative techniques and inven- tive materials, intense luminosity and gridded patterns— these are the essential elements that create transparent, free flowing and engag - ing modernist space. Lethbridge is particularly striking for the applica- tion of modern design principles to a vernacular architecture in a city that experienced rapid postwar growth. The well preserved exam- ples of modern buildings featured in Lethbridge Modern, an exhibi- tion that opened October 19, 2002 at the southern Alberta Art Gal- lery, demonstrate that architectural integrity and style were not for- feited in the rush to develop Leth- bridge as a regional centre after the Second World War. Modernism was strategically deployed at many scales. Elements of standardisation and new con- struction were promoted by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, established in the 1950s, for the efficient construction of houses to meet the post war demand. These houses blended openness and a gridded order with new prefabricated construc- tion materials. The office of Meech Mitchell & Meech, Architects balanced a series of primary coloured panels on the facade with adjacent walls of trans- lucent glass. These enclose a mini- malist garden reflecting the spare prairie landscape. Contrasting the vernacular and the domestic with the universal and the international results in a unique vocabulary of design and architect in Lethbridge. Also the extreme Lethbridge moderne D es techniques novatrices et des matériaux inusités, une luminosité intense et des motifs grillagés – voici les éléments essen- tiels qui viennent créer un espace moderne transparent, fluide et attirante. Lethbridge est particu- lièrement reconnue pour son appli- cation de principes de conception modernes à l’architecture vernacu-
climate, the interruptive coulees, the agricultural economy and the diversity of cultures and religions influenced the application of the modern aesthetic to local buildings. Lethbridge Modern as an exhibi- tion, a symposium and a catalogue, is intended to expose the local, regional and national communities of Canada to the often neglected history of modern architecture in their midst. As more and more examples of this architecture are disappearing from our communi- ties, exhibition so of this nature are critical for the preservation and understanding of our cultural land- scape. Lethbridge Modern is curated by Gerald Forseth FRAIC and Victoria Baster of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Lethbridge.
OFFICE BUILDING 1953 for MEECH, MITCHELL AND MEECH ARCHITECTS Architect: Meech, Mitchell and Meech Two of the best Lethbridge modern archi- tects, George Robins and George Watson, worked within this office building on 529 - 6th Street South.The building is charac- terized by its front facade grid of glass and steel, its exposed steel staircase vis- ible from the street, its interior partitions of floor-to-ceiling glass and steel and its custom door handles and period sus- pended light fixtures. Today, the second level interior is occupied by the Chamber of Commerce, preserved with only minor renovations over the past 50 years.
ravines interrompues, l’économie agricole et la diversité des cultures et des religions sont venus influ - encer l’application d’un esthétisme moderne aux édifices de la ville. Les conservateurs de l’exposition Lethbridge moderne sont Gerald Forseth FRAIC et Victoria Baster de la Faculté des beaux-arts de l’Université de Lethbridge.
été affectés par le développement hâtif de Lethbridge comme centre régional après la Seconde Guerre mondiale. On y trouve un con- traste entre le vernaculaire et le domestique, mariés aux résultats universels et internationaux. Il en résulte un vocabulaire particulier de conception et d’architecture. De plus, le climat extrême, les
laire d’une ville qui a connu une croissance après-guerre rapide accélérée. Les exemples bien préservés des immeubles mod- ernes de Lethbridge moderne, une exposition qui a ouvert ses portes le 19 octobre 2002 à la Southern Alberta Art Gallery, démontrent que l’intégrité et le style architecturaux n’ont pas
4
O n S ite review
S ewing
I ssue 8 2002
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator