Henriquez Partners Architects’ Publication Explores an Innovative Housing Solution for Refugees in Vancouver
How can we live together? documents a fictional development model envisioning refugee housing funded by tourist timeshare condominiums, with essay by Kerry Gold and preface by Gregory Henriquez.
Vancouver, BC – April 15, 2024 – Henriquez Partners Architects, known for inclusive, mixed-use developments, is announcing a new publication, How Can We Live Together?. The book documents the GHETTO exhibition, which was displayed at the Museum of Vancouver between August 23, 2023 and January 1, 2024. GHETTO originally exhibited at the European Cultural Centre (ECC) 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale and Art Gallery of Ontario (2022) before travelling to Vancouver.
Henriquez Partners’ exhibition, GHETTO, at the Museum of Vancouver was hosted in collaboration with the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, European Cultural Centre and Museum of Vancouver. The exhibition’s goal was to illustrate the leadership role that architects and all citizens can play in the creation of inclusive and engaged cities, as well as the power held by the development community in providing social benefits for those most in need.
GHETTO proposed a theoretical rezoning project in Vancouver’s False Creek and sought to encourage meaningful dialogue on our collective responsibility to care for one another through the creation of inclusive cities. How can we live together? highlights the public input in the form of a housing survey, which was gathered from over 15,000 visitors during the Vancouver exhibition.
“’The exhibit was meant to articulate to the world the potential of our CAC process and to transform it from condos into other things,’ says Henriquez. ‘But also, it was meant to generate talk about larger global issues of people in need around the world as well. And so that’s what the survey was trying to measure… to what extent are people self-interested, and to what extent are they altruistic in terms of their aspirations to help people who have less than them?’”
– excerpt from essay by Kerry Gold
Awards
GHETTO has been honoured with awards from the European Cultural Centre, Architecture MasterPrize, Architizer A+, AIA Canada, Azure Magazine, World Architecture News and Grands Prix du Design. Most recently, GHETTO was selected as a Special Mention in the 2024 Architizer A+ Awards for “Unbuilt – Multi-Unit Housing (S <10 Floors).”
About Kerry Gold
For 16 years, Kerry Gold has been The Globe and Mail’s housing and real estate columnist for BC. She’s written for numerous publications, including The Walrus, the Toronto Star, MSN, Moneywise, Yahoo UK, Reader’s Digest and many others. In her previous life she was the music critic at the Vancouver Sun for a decade. Kerry is the author of six books, including co-author of Michael Buble’s bestselling memoir Onstage, Offstage, and is currently working on her seventh.
About Henriquez Partners
Henriquez Partners Architects is a Canadian architectural practice, with studios in both Vancouver and Toronto. Led by Gregory Henriquez, the studio seeks to re-examine the role of ethics, activism, and critical commentary in architectural practice, and to re-establish the leadership role of the architect in the creation of collective spaces that form the fabric of our daily lives and communities.
Henriquez is now best known for ambitious, inclusive mixed-use projects that typically require rezoning. The Woodward’s redevelopment, completed in 2011, in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, remains unprecedented in Canada due to its scale, humanitarian aspirations and complexity. Since then, the studio’s socially, culturally and environmentally sustainable projects continue to have a major impact on shaping local communities.
Current large-scale mixed-use projects include the 5 million ft² Oakridge Park development in Vancouver; 1 million ft2 Mirvish Village in Toronto with 100% rental units; 580,000 ft2 5207 Dundas Street an affordable housing project with Housing Now; and 1 million ft2 2444 Eglinton Avenue East the City of Toronto’s first large scale co-op housing development in a generation.
About Museum of Vancouver
The Museum of Vancouver connects Vancouverites to each other and connects Vancouver to the world. The museum’s programs, exhibitions, and collections bring people together and inspire conversation about the future. The museum, an enthusiastic civic advocate, is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring a socially connected, civically engaged city.
MEDIA CONTACT
Nicolette Williams | Henriquez Partners Architects
nicolettewilliams@henriquezpartners.com | 604.369.1713
