architecture & style, Vancouver

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Vancouver had some great public art on the walls in the downtown area. This was superb work. Starting in 2008 the provincial government invested $10 million over 3 years to celebrate the history, heritage and culture of Vancouver's first urban areas. From the murals I saw this was an excellent investment.

this is more the quirky stuff. you have the lovely traditional sculpture on the facades of buildings and then you have....the "original". this was in downtown Vancouver, actually within walking distance of the previous photo.

An upside down house...gotta love it!

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The Vancouver skyline is dominated by glass and metal...lots of it. I'm no architecture expert, but I have mixed feelings about this style. During the winter months when it rains a lot, the glass and metal tend to have a drab color. Hence the whole skyline looks gray. On the other hand, during the summer, it's more aesthetically pleasing. There are many high-rise apartments, condos, and hotels that have floor to ceiling windows. Kind of neat, but also quite dreary during the rainy season. As a novice photographer, I love taking shots of reflections. That would give the glass one more advantage in my book. I'm still unsure overall what I think about the glass...let me ponder over it some more.

One thing I've noticed about the buildings in Vancouver is that unlike buildings in the United States, they are actually big and tall apartment buildings in which people live in them. In the United States I don't think you would see that. Tall buildings in the downtowns of big cities in the U.S. are mainly offices of companies, banks, etc. So how the buildings in Vancouver are being used was pretty interesting. They look different than buildings in the U.S. too because they have balconies. There are also office buildings in Vancouver too by the way.

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One thing that caught my eye was the varied, and often quirky, public art and architecture that you will see around Vancouver

Vancouver's large buildings look very tall and circular. Not very attractive architecture, but a cool view over the bridge.