Group Seeks To Preserve Cultural History of “Lost” Projects
As people retire or move offices, old files often go missing, get thrown out or are left in dust and obscurity. A small group of engineers, architects, planners and other interested individuals is attempting to rescue a rich hidden cultural history by preserving documentation from old “lost” projects.
Responding to discussions originating from the Vancouver Planning Commission, the group is trying to preserve materials such as old plans, reports and designs. Many of the best ideas are ignored for reasons that appear good only at that time, and ideas that have been written off as outrageous or before their time may be of interest to future generations. While municipal governments keep records of what was built, there are also the projects that never saw completion, or never made it past the concept or design stages—work that is worth recording for future historians and planners.
Currently, there are efforts underway to amass some of these materials, and the group requests that anyone with old plans, reports and designs that are going to be thrown away first contact the group to see if the project documentation can be reviewed, collected, and stored in a new archive. Digital copy will be the first step, with hard copy if a sponsor can be found to house this archive of cultural history.
If anyone has such material and is willing to part with it, please contact Rick or Pat Balfour (balfourarch@telus.net), Derek Hayes (derek@derekhayes.ca), or Charles Dobson (cdobson@telus.net).