CCA Screening and Panel: To Build Law

Much of what we build (and how we build it) is actually shaped by laws and public policy. From building codes to zoning and heritage by-laws, these frameworks have an enormous impact on what gets built and what is lost along the way. Buildings are held as assets, torn down, and redeveloped, with limited consideration of community and environmental impacts. Evidently, a systemic shift in the way we build and value our built environment is urgently needed.

Join us on Monday, January 19th, for a special screening of To Build Law, the documentary produced by the Canadian Centre for Architecture that follows the work of the German collective of architects Bplus through the making of their latest project HouseEurope!. This project is a European initiative to propose a new set of laws at the European Parliament, meant to incentivize renovation over demolition and new construction.

The screening will be followed by a conversation reflecting on the film's themes in the local Vancouver and BC context, focusing on the role of legislation and legal frameworks in shaping the value of existing buildings and on how they could and should be changed.

Panelists

Alexandra Flynn		Associate Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, Director, Housing Research Collaborative, UBC
Betsy Agar		Director of Buildings Policy, Efficiency Canada
Joseph Dahmen		Chair, Bachelor of Design in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urbanism, Associate Professor, UBC SALA