Fab 40: Vancouver Winter Olympics

Vancouver’s Olympic architectural legacy is less about starchitects and iconic buildings than about the very Canadian values of community consultation and environmental sensitivity - with locally harvested softwood getting top billing.

Cannon Design’s speed skating Oval, with its unique undulating wooden paneled roof – one of the longest clear spans in North America - wins points for reusing wood salvaged after a voracious pine beetle infestation destroyed half of British Columbia's pine forests.

The Olympic Park Day Lodge, by Merrick Architects, combines cutting edge green design and stunning views of the surrounding Callaghan Valley. At its centre, Glulam beams follow the upward tilt of the roof, engaging with the coastal mountain range and offering a cathedral like sense of spaciousness and majesty.

At the core of the Walter Francl-designed Trout Lake ice rink, is an arch formed from 70-foot Glulam beams and supported by a concrete buttress wall. Geometry in motion, the building almost disappears into the sloped topography. Organic modernism at its best, the curvilinear white clamshell roof echoes the snow-capped mountains.

Finally, the Athlete's Village is home to a community centre designed by the late Arthur Erickson - destined to eventually become a new mixed-use neighbourhood after the 2010 games - along with a 1.2 million square foot waterfront convention centre and the stylish new Hillcrest curling and Kilarney ice rinks. Olympic architouring looks set to be a key event.



www.vancouver2010.com

The Bombardier Learjet

The Bombardier Learjet

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Interior of the Learjet

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Interior of the Learjet

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The Bombardier Learjet

The Bombardier Learjet

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The Staircase House by Cindy Rendely, Toronto

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The Staircase House

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House exterior

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The Staircase

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The Staircase House

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The Staircase House exterior

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Coast restaurant, Vancouver

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Coast restaurant, Vancouver

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Coast restaurant, Vancouver

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Dinning area of Coast restaurant, Vancouver

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Dinning room

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Coast restaurant

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Coast restaurant, Vancouver dinning room

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Coast restaurant, Vancouver

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Coast restaurant, Vancouver dinning table

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Dinning table Coast restaurant, Vancouver

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Dinning room

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Supernova by Douglas Coupland

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Supernova by Douglas Coupland

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Talking sticks by Douglas Coupland

Talking sticks

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Penguin Pretty Vacant by Douglas Coupland

Penguin Pretty Vacant

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Coyote by Douglas Coupland

Coyote by Douglas Coupland

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Patricide by Douglas Coupland

Patricide

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Penguin Cumshot by Douglas Coupland

Penguin Cumshot

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Penguin Clash by Douglas Coupland

Penguin Clash

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Matricide Silver Skate by Douglas Coupland

Matricide Silver Skate

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Matricide Beer by Douglas Coupland

Matricide Beer

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Drip Maple Syrup

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Drip Maple Syrup

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Drip Maple Syrup

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Form & Forest by D'Arcy Jones Design

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Form & Forest

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Form & Forest

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Form & Forest by D'Arcy Jones Design

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Exterior view

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Exterior view

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Form & Forest by D'Arcy Jones Design

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The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver

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The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver

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The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver bedroom

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The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver

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Flower vase and black sofa

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Pool view of The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver

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The Keefer Hotel, Vancouver

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Laneway House, Toronto, by Kohn Shnier architects

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Laneway House

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Laneway House, Toronto

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Laneway House exterior

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Laneway House, Toronto

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Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

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Richmond Olympic Oval

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Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

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Richmond Olympic Oval

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Exterior

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Richmond Olympic Oval by Cannon Design

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Richmond Olympic

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Skating area

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Staircase

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Exterior view

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Richmond Olympic Oval exterior

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Exterior view of Richmond Olympic Oval

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Territory table and chairs by Samare Design, Montreal

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Territory table and chairs

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Territory lounger by Samare design

Territory lounger

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Territory desk and chair by Samare design

Territory desk and chair

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R-Mountie bench and throw by Samare design

R-Mountie bench and throw

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Still House by Level Design, Vancouver

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Still House

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Still House exterior

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Still House exterior

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Still House by Level Design, Vancouver

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Sunset Cabin by Taylor_Smyth Architects, Toronto

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Sunset Cabin

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Sunset Cabin

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Sunset Cabin by Taylor_Smyth Architects, Toronto

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Sunset Cabin exterior

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Exterior view of Sunset Cabin

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Sunset Cabin interior

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40R_Laneway House by Süperkul, Toronto

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Laneway House

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SHIFT Cottage

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SHIFT Cottage by Süperkul

The Trans Canada Trail

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The Trans Canada Trail

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The Trans Canada Trail

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Nylon Haneda by WANT luggage

WANT luggage, Montreal

Nylon Haneda

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Newberry White by WANT luggage

Newberry White

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Nylon Haneda by WANT luggage

Nylon Haneda by WANT luggage

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Dumont black by WANT luggage

Dumont black by WANT luggage

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Carl Phare's wooden rollercoaster, designed in 1958, Vancouver

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Carl Phare's wooden rollercoaster, designed in 1958, Vancouver

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Carl Phare's wooden rollercoaster, Vancouver

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Fashion by Ying Gao, Montreal

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Fashion by Ying Gao

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Fashion by Ying Gao, Montreal

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Fashion by Ying Gao, Montreal

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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).