Sunday, October 24, 2021

The Grace of the Curve - Part 1

In past blogs I've often focussed on what appeals to me in the urban environment. I realize what I've really been doing is exploring the age-old question of "beauty". It's a subject that has haunted philosophers... artists... designers. An online definition says it is "a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight".

This definition intrigues me. In many of my blog posts I have featured images of colourful scenes that have appealed to me. However, lines, shape and form also are important features, and in this post (and the next one) I'm focussing on them.  

Our human-constructed cities tend to be made of straight lines - vertical posts in buildings, horizontal or pitched roofs, roads, and sidewalks. 

Nature, on the other hand, grows in curves - rivers snake through valleys, trees might form semi-elliptical canopies, branches are snarled curves.

The curves created by the shapes of the conifers soften the vertical and horizontal lines of the highrise in the background
While each branch of this birch is relatively straight, the tree's overall shape is of a soft "U"


An intriguing shaped multi-curved tree, probably caused by pruning decades ago

Another example of a tree with multiple stems and a graceful appeal which interacts visually with the pitched roof, and the horizontal and vertical lines of the house and the fence

In our built environments I appreciate how curves add aesthetic to the design. Some may disagree with me. I recall a recent zoom meeting I attended that included a presentation by an architect for a local proposed high rise project. In response to citizens' concerns that high rises might be ugly, she suggested that they should go to architecture school to learn to appreciate that form of design. Perhaps I need to go to architecture school!  But then, perhaps not.... Some highrises are indeed pleasant to look at - but not all!

I'll start with some of the old, large buildings in Victoria that I find aesthetic.
Arched windows at the Legislature soften the angles of windows and walls

Curves are created in many ways in this doorway of St. Andrews Presbyterian Church: the arched doorway, with the pattern repeated in black paint, the leaded windows above the door, the curved hinges, and the supporting columns

The arched entrance of St. Andrews Cathedral. Again, curved lines are repeated in the windows above the doors, and in columns

Fairfield Bicycle Shop. This building was originally built around 1913 and housed a pharmacy and a grocery store. (Source: Fairfield Gonzales Observer, Feb 2012)

Law Office, Burdett Avenue. I liked the "curves within curves" of the archway which is decorated with an embossed design.

St. John the Divine Anglican Church. The stained glass window was being lit up from light within the church, probably coming in another window on the opposite side.

Old town Victoria, near Bastion Square.
In editing this post, my partner Ken noted that in former times there were many architecturally designed buildings which remain beautiful to this day. He wonders -- is this beauty a quality which is no longer sought in present day construction?
While the bright colours of the central building draw the eye, the features I'm interested in are the varying curves of the arches above the windows. Do you see all three?

A mural designed almost exclusively with curves transforms this building.

I've noticed that window design can add interesting curves. Here are a few examples:

Maritime Museum window with curves which speak to the ocean.

Part of window detail, Visitor Information Centre, Victoria.

Window features for the Foundry, an addiction rehabilitation centre

Moving from larger buildings to houses: I have talked about the aesthetics of Victoria's old houses in many blog posts over the last few years. I will limit myself to just a few to demonstrate how adding a curved line or two adds to the appeal of the house.

This house has just a few simple curved lines in the balcony overhangs. Those curves are enough to give the building a more dynamic energy than if the lines were all straight.

I liked the curved lines of the brackets above the main floor windows, the rounded posts for the front porch, and the landscaping plants which all balance the vertical lines of the building.

This is one of several Vancouver Street houses built in the early 1890's and designed by architect John Teague. Curves are introduced through the  brackets with the "sunburst" design above the windows, the attic window, and the scalloped siding above the bay window.

Another house softened by an interesting front porch with sublte decorative details, and a half-moon window in the front door. I also like the way the picket fence introduceds a curve at the gate which gives the fence an energy flow.

One final example of curves obtained by porch detail - both the posts, and the railings. Even the drapes are tied back in curves.

I have more to observe about curves in urban design and will continue this theme in a subsequent blog post.


Tuesday, October 5, 2021

A Retroactive Thank You

This post is about trees, and about people who have made a difference for them.

There is a striking Copper Beech tree on the grounds of the Legislature. The picture below gives some idea of its size. The Copper Beech can apparently grow to 40 metres tall, and has a lifespan of 150 to 300 years.

Copper Beech, BC Legislature

I have learned a little of this particular tree's history, but there is a mystery associated with it. The tree was planted in 1921, to commemorate the provincial government librarian E.O.S. Scholefield. (https://www.leg.bc.ca/dyl/Pages/Copper-Beech-Tree.aspx)

Planting of the Copper Beech tree, April 1921. Source: Friends of BC Archives, Item G-06259, Tweet of April 8, 2018. The spade is being held by the Premier at the time, John Oliver.

To give an idea of the current size of the tree, Ken suggested I pose with it. 

The copper beech today, 100 years later.

And now, the mystery: This tree, for some reason, was almost bulldozed and uprooted in 1970, when it would have been about fifty years old. 

I have not yet been able to learn the reason this action was proposed. But what I have learned is that thanks to two journalists, James Nesbitt and Bruce McKelvie, the tree still stands. When they saw the bulldozer about to destroy the tree, one of them (Bruce McKelvie) stood guard to stop the machine, and the other, (James Nesbitt), hunted down the Minister of Public Works, brought him to the site, and had the work stopped. (Source: https://www.leg.bc.ca/dyl/Pages/Copper-Beech-Tree.aspx)

Standing with the trees against machinery set to destroy them ... does this sound familiar? 

Every one who walks under this tree and enjoys its magnificent shade might appreciate the actions of those two journalists. 

Nesbitt was also a well-known historian, and it was his energy that led to the "Parade of Ships" plaques on Victoria's Inner Harbour. There is a plaque recognizing his efforts, also in the Inner Harbour.

Plaque honouring Nesbitt at the Inner Harbour's "Parade of Ships".  It doesn't mention his other role as a saviour of trees!
James E. Nesbitt. Source John M. MacFarlane http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/Monument_Nesbitt.php

Now, moving from the 1970's to current times, here is a different type of effort to protect trees.

In July, I visited Coles Bay Regional Park in Saanich.

The popular beach at Coles Bay Regional Park in Saanich

While the beach is idyllic, I was especially entranced by the adjacent forest, and its ferns, cedars and firs.

The forest at Coles Bay
I noticed a number of large firs which had evidence of someone controlling the invasive English Ivy to prevent it from girdling, and killing, trees.
A large fir with ivy snipped around its base

Close up of the dead ivy vine

At the time I happened to be reading a book by the poet Lorna Crozier, telling some of the story of her life with, and farewell to, her husband Patrick Lane, also a poet. 

The couple lived across the road from Coles Bay Regional Park, and Crozier describes their efforts - especially Patrick's - to regularly go into the park and control ivy that was threatening trees. It was hard work, made even more difficult by the gulleyed terrain and the prevalence of hidden pitfalls that could twist ankles. I am surmising that the photos I took of dead ivy vines reflect their handiwork.

Book by Lorna Crozier which includes a mention of her and Patrick Lane's efforts to control ivy in Coles Bay Park
 
Two stories of fighting for the trees. There are hundreds more. I am grateful to each person who puts their energy into defending these living beings.