.
Some unexpected and some very good news-the Friedman House located on the University of British Columbia’s Endowment Lands has found a buyer. In this Globe and Mail article written by Kerry Gold the trust looking after this modernist gem by architect (and first director of the School of Architecture at the University of British Columbia) Frederic Lasserre has accepted an offer to purchase the house from a family in Ontario that-gasp-want to live in it and raise their children there. Landscape architecture legend Cornelia Oberlander designed the gardens around the Friedman house as her first commission in Canada. She is already at work prepping the garden for summer and the house’s new owner.
I wrote about this house’s seemingly inevitable demise a week ago. This house is an important bridge between Modernist design so popular in the 1950’s and 1960’s to the West Coast Style that brought forward architects like Ned Pratt.
These are not grand houses by scale, but are reflective of the mid-century designers’ optimistic adaptation to place, light, and space. In the case of the Friedman house, this important modernist design link towards establishing a vernacular coastal style will remain.
This says a lot:
“…the winning bid was not the highest. One offer, from an offshore buyer, was six figures higher…”
Essentially, it means that the only way to ensure houses like this get saved is if current owners are willing to give up money, which shouldn’t be expected from them.
Related to this, how can it be legal to pick who gets to buy your place? I know it happens. But, isn’t it racist/discriminatory? Landlords have very strict rules on refusing to rent to people. Sometimes those cases end up in the Human Rights Tribunal. How can those rules not apply to who can buy your place? Anyone?
It’s your home. You can accept any offer you want. Personally I’m thankful people can still make those choices to preserve the integrity of their neighbourhood. Very glad the home has been saved!
I dunno. What if someone refused to sell to a gay couple?
And, from a tax perspective, isn’t this a benefit if you pay under market value? It was over six figures.
Author
Reblogged this on Sandy James Planner and commented:
Success! The modernist Friedman house in Vancouver has found a buyer who will live in it.
My article here: