The Orion
Lecture Series in Fine Arts
Through the generous support of the Orion Fund in Fine Arts, the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Victoria, is pleased to present:
Steve Mannell
Professor & architect, Dalhousie University
“Living Lightly on the Earth”:
Building an Ark for Prince Edward Island, 1974-1976
11:30am (PST) Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Online webinar
Free & open to the public via Zoom
Presented by UVic’s Department of Art History & Visual Studies
For more information on this lecture please email: arthistory@uvic.ca
Built in 1976 as an “early exploration in weaving together the sun, wind, biology and architecture for the benefit of humanity,” the Ark bioshelter integrated ecological design features to provide a self-reliant life for a family. This talk explores the story of the Ark and its architectural vision of life led in collaboration with nature. While its legacy includes today’s technically focused sustainable architecture, crucial lessons remain to be learned from the eco-social imagination of the Ark experiment.
Steve Mannell is an architect with a fascination for the ways that human societies and settlements interact with their environments. After 20 years of professional practice and teaching in architecture schools, he created the vision for Dalhousie University’s College of Sustainability, where he served as director (2009-20).
About the Orion Fund
Established through the generous gift of an anonymous donor, the Orion Fund in Fine Arts is designed to bring distinguished visitors from other parts of Canada—and the world—to the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Fine Arts, and to make their talents and achievements available to faculty, students, staff and the wider Greater Victoria community who might otherwise not be able to experience their work.
The Orion Fund also exists to encourage institutions outside Canada to invite regular faculty members from our Faculty of Fine Arts to be visiting artists/scholars at their institutions; and to make it possible for Fine Arts faculty members to travel outside Canada to participate in the academic life of foreign institutions and establish connections and relationships with them in order to encourage and foster future exchanges.
Free and open to the public | Seating is limited (500 Zoom connections) | Visit our online events calendar at www.uvic.ca/events