Location:
The screening and discussion took place at the John Dutton Theatre at the Central Public Library. The theatre was named after John Edgar Dutton who led the Calgary Public Library from 1979 - 1991. A believer in the library as “part of the economic, cultural and recreational life of a successful city,” Dutton’s quote from the 1990s is possibly even more true today as libraries embrace a role as community hub.
Film Screening:
Integral is a mathematical term, but it also infers complete, lacking nothing, and indispensable. When does space transition from matter to experience? Taking a residence designed around a complex curve, the conversation explored design from the perspectives of music and math. We sought to understand intangibles such as quality and emotional spark.
Integral Man is a documentary film about a private residence for James Stewart, a mathematician and musician. The residence was designed by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects. Filmmaker Joseph Clement is a trained landscape architect and this film captures the human relationship with the environment.
James Stewart was a former McMaster University professor of mathematics who authored the seminal university-level calculus textbooks starting in the 1980s. He was also a violinist with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.
Shim-Sutcliff Architects is a Canadian practice started by Bridgitte Shim and Howard Sutcliff in 1994 and recognized with a dozen Governor General Medals for Architecture. The residence is unusual for its L-shaped curvilinear form punctuated by glazing with fins of white oak.
image: Nicole Wolf
discussion following the film:
Carey van der Zalm is an Intern Architect AAA, and a National award winning creative director for the Canadian architecture magazine The Site Magazine. Carey has made it her practice to integrate architecture with healing. Trained in traditional Algonquin Shamanic healing, her work focuses on the integration of the simultaneous physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing of the built form and the body. She currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta and works at Manasc Isaac Architects.
Dr. Pratim Sengupta is the Research Chair of STEM Education and Associate Professor of Learning Sciences at University of Calgary’s Werklund School of Education. His research, teaching and creative practice are at the intersections of designing open source programming languages and public spaces for modeling complex systems. He is the recipient of a CAREER Award from the US National Science Foundation. Two of his open source installations include: the Exchange Archive for MoMA in New York (April - May 2014) and Hack the Flock, a permanent installation at Telus SPARK from January 2018 and ongoing.
Eileen Kosasih is inspired by aesthetics and stories. She is a violinist, conductor, curator and music teacher. Her diverse musical journey includes study in Calgary, Boston, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, New York City, and Los Angeles. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Music (the violin), a Masters in orchestral conducting, and a piano diploma. She has reinvented herself from being a punk to founding an orchestra...the Calgary Arts Orchestra, a two-year project that explored new Canadian music and fostered forward-thinking, local talent. She explores artistic, business, and musical territories with her constant companion, her dog BB and is often busking and traveling with BB.
Continuing the Conversation:
This event will hopefully start conversations around how intangible aspects of place are measured. We hope it seeds a way to build stronger connection to the things that you care about in your neighbourhood.
The book we recommend (and that we gave to the panelists) is: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. First released in 1974, we found the chapter on “quality” highly compelling. You can find it on the d.talks shelf at Shelf Life Books.
Event Supporters:
Thanks to our organizational supporters: DIRTT, HOK Calgary, Urban Systems and the merchants of International Avenue BRZ and RNDSQR. We couldn't put on our events without you.
And hats off to the volunteers of d.talks who roll up their sleeves and make vision happen.