GESAMTKUNSTWERK

Westbank has built a practice around long-term commitments to artistry, sustainability and city-building. These commitments underlie an orientation towards projects like Woodwards, Vancouver House, Mirvish Village, Telus Garden and Oakridge – catalysts for larger change that go beyond the borders of the projects themselves. We are here to create. To provoke. To ignite. We are the vehicle for a new movement of cultural expression.

As the practice matures, we have become more ambitious. With every new project reflecting our commitment to the philosophy behind Gesamkunstwerk, or in our recent work the Japanese philosophy behind layering, the net effect is that our work becomes much more complex and far-reaching.

The core of Westbank’s mission is to create a body of work with a high degree of artistry that helps foster more equitable and beautiful cities. Westbank is active across Canada and in the United States, with projects including luxury residential, Five Star hotels, retail, office, rental, district energy systems, affordable housing initiatives and public art. Established in 1992, we are one of North America’s leading developers, with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Seattle, Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and over 25 billion dollars of projects completed or under development.

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Philosophy
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May 28, 2014

Westbank Salon Series: Jeff Derksen

Jeff Derksen is a poet and Professor of English at Simon Fraser University.

Derksen’s books of poetry include The Vestiges, Transnational Muscle Cars, Dwell and Down Time. His book of essays Annihilated Time: Poetry and Other Politics was followed his essays on art and urbanism, After Euphoria. He is a member of the research collective Urban Subjects whose bookworks include Autogestion, or Henri Lefebvre in New Belgrade, Momentarily: Learning from Mega-events and The Possibilities Are. He is the editor of Line magazine and is a poetry editor at Talonbooks.

Derksen was formerly a research fellow at the Center for Place, Culture and Politics at CUNY, where he worked with geographer Neil Smith, and is currently graduate chair in the Department of English at Simon Fraser University.

His salon takes place on Saturday May 31, 2014, beginning at 4:00pm. Register here!

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