Boredom could inspire creativity. Inspiration could give way to creativity. But time, time is the only thing that can actualize creativity.
University of Regina Photo by Barry Bierman
University of Regina Photo by Barry Bierman
University of Regina Photo by Barry Bierman
University of Regina Photo by Barry Bierman
Legislative Building photo by Barry Bierman
Walks along the creek photo by Ted Saczek
Legislative Building photo by Barry Bierman
Walks along the creek photo by Ted Saczek
Walks along the creek photo by Ted Saczek
Cityscapes photo by Ted Saczek
Trees unfreezing
Cityscapes photo by Ted Saczek
Walks along the creek photo by Ted Saczek
Walks along the creek photo by Ted Saczek
Walks along the creek photo by Ted Saczek
Avenue College Building by P3A Architects
Avenue College Building by P3A Architects
Avenue College Building by P3A Architects
The magnitude of the pandemic on mental health, economic falls and the division of lifestyles is riveting. I’ve been lucky enough to experience 2 continents – 2 countries and 1 state – and their unique ways of dealing with preventative measures around the COVID 19 virus. As a result of these measures in place, one thing I’ve noticed for sure, is a lot of people around the globe have a lot more time on their hands.
I was in South Africa when the pandemic hit. The lockdown laws were strict and immediate to assist in reducing the spread of Covid 19. I think the laws were quite brash and not well-thought-out because most SA residents don't have the space or money to afford a lockdown! Eitherway, the economy shut down its restaurants, its social spaces and basically all its movement either than buying household goods. Wild.
I, on the other hand, had just moved into an apartment in the city center which quickly turned into a prison cell on the 16th floor. Luckily, my partner had moved into an apartment in a booming area ridged between the sea and Table Mountain. I see now how immaculate the timing was to have had access to that space, especially for my remote working. I was lucky to spend the lockdown with long walks, howling wind and picturesque sunsets. We debated about the future of SA, tried to stay in touch with friends as much as we could and complained about how fragile a job is in the time of a pandemic. Although, we werent spending on niceties like nails, hair, dinners etc so we noted that those earning a salary were saving more with these restrictions. Then boom, your girl got fired.
Once I landed into the thick humid air of Zambia, I was at ease and in the comfort of my grandparents’ house. I called it Hotel lockdown due to the rules that needed to be in place to protect their wellbeing.
Now what? I thought… I have travelled back home with no plan. I have never worked in Zambia before and now in the middle of a pandemic and at the end of the year what am I hoping for? Shaaa (my exasperated phrase). The complexity of needing a job to indicate my growth on my resume as a starting worker in society contradicted the realization that I don’t want a whatever job, I want a I-love-my-job job. But there was no other plan!
To try tackle this misplaced feeling I filled my mornings with connecting to people around Lusaka to try find out what firms existed. Okay on some mornings. On the other mornings, I resurfaced old templates of resumes, looked at old projects, and pushed forward the one private job I had – it was not a consistent pay. For the rest of the day, I spent time with family, ate well and played lots of darts. I reconnected with friends online and procrastinated for the remainder time.
After about a month, I said fuck it and chose to spend the end of the year exploring Zambia. Looking for a job was a lost cause and a waste of time. I exited hotel lockdown and moved into a friend’s place for more socializing freedom. I saw friends, drove around Zambia and spent weekends talking to new friends at game nights and braais. I visited aunties and cousins who were magically also back in the country and went as far as booking a flight to Zanzibar as my first solo trip over the New Year into 2021. Hoping for new opportunities and starts to the New Year.
Then, to my amusement, my partner and I decided I should follow him to Canada and continue figuring out life. It boasted a reliable economy and a new landscape to grow both our paychecks and change the narrative. Why not? By mid-January of 2021, with 4 months of unemployment, I found myself in the middle of the coldest place I'd ever been - Regina Saskatchewan - with more time on my hands than I could imagine possible.
I apparently landed just before the worst storm ever to hit followed by the lowest temperatures ever to be recorded in their winter. I am talking -40 degrees. It was colder than Alaska! I am an African at heart and I had just come from Zambia and Zanzibar with temperatures soaring to 35 degrees. What was the plan girl?
To top it off, the residential architecture in Regina is monotonous in comparison to the Arab, Indian, Persian, European and African mixture of 3 storey stone and wooden tight knit buildings of Zanzibar. Nor did it have any identity like the elaborate residential gates and landscaped gardens of Zambia. No, here every house is somewhat similar, with a garage entrance, front door porch, is double storey and pitched roof. The plot sizes are similar with no front gate/barrier and the colors of the houses are brown, grey, dark colours and the occasional soft pink colour – if you’re lucky. The houses are in rows and rows with most looking onto the street or onto a main road. All identical, all slightly different. For an initial introduction, and after such long flights, it was anything but inspiring.
Overtime I realized the interior is more important than the exterior, seeing that winter lasts longer than the summer. And the views from your windows are what you experience. My was I enthralled by a snowy winter! Cars would be buried in snow, some left on charge to keep the car alive. Trees would form crystal leaves that glimmer frosty white grey. Best of all are the white rabbits that blend straight into the snow for safety. And the frozen creek right in front of the house kept inspiring a gentle peace that I didn’t expect. A safe peace. I easily forgot what the house looked like or what colour it was let alone what the street looked like. I saw the house as inverted and only through the openings it provided to the outside.
Compared to the bustling social life I had come from, my new environment bit down on lockdown and because winter was seasonal, social distancing was in the Regina blood. Alongside the huge time difference between Africa and Canada, I found myself back to having even more time on my hands. Which is a hard space to navigate when you feed off energy exchange.
As the first month passed, I found myself refocusing on resume updates, portfolio cleaning and learning. I got artistic with my emails, I got passionate with Instagram posts and I got creative with website design interaction. And now here I am, writing the first blog for Black Architect.
Black Architect began for me years ago with a dream of one day doing something that looked pretty dope. Along the journey of studying, classmates inspired the dream with their ambition and drive around architecture. I thought, me too, I can do this, I can do this well. I rallied 2 classmates promising that if a project opportunity surfaced, we would form a team. Excited with the pledged alliance, I have been pulling at clientele and real projects whenever I can. I feel I am still in this phase of alluring clientele. But, after many years of having that in the background, I finally scored two great clients that helped legitimize what we are now: A group of creatives still trying to figure out what the hell we’re doing.
Anyway, this blog is more about my new surroundings and better use of time rather than the history of Black Architect. Maybe I will do a blog post on that once I feel there is content to share. For now, let me share with you what I’ve liked about this town called Regina:
As the winter thawed and the spring came into existence, I began by taking walks around the creek in front of the house. Then I took longer walks in the neighboring trail parks (my partner is big on outdoors so I had much encouragement from him). And finally, I took a bicycle ride to explore the town on a more eye level interaction – cars didn’t do justice. And to my amazement, this town is full of small interventions and well curated pedestrian friendly paths. It has some impressive skyscraper designs and man-made wonders to create a sense of place and belonging. The trees, after being told to sleep throughout the winter, come alive with such vibrance of a green you would not believe you are looking at the same view. The fish unfreeze and the bunnies change from a frosty white to a dull grey. And the skies…. The skies talk with their 101 clouds, its sunsets and migration of birds.
Regina is a farmer town that produces mustard and wheat. Back in the 1900’s – specifically 1902 – 1915, there were two guys named Edward and William Sutherland Maxwell of Montreal who came along and requested a legislative building to be built in the new center of Regina. It was to stand as a testament to the spirit of a new province and its people, and their hope for a bright future. The legislative building mimicked the styles of the English Renaissance represented by St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the French Beaux-Arts tradition found in the Palace of Versailles and Les Invalides in Paris. Trees were planted in an orderly fashion around the building and along pedestrian paths that all looked onto the Wascana creek – a massive manmade creek. Together, they now create the picturesque center mirage of a well-balanced governance, land and people.
There are two buildings that I adore that are both part of the University of Regina. One is the campus building th
at has a ‘tepee’ design in the center of it to commemorate the history/presence of the First Nations (google to find out more, it’s a lot of new things still to learn). It has soft curves and ribbed windows that draw ones eye to the center feature of the modern tepee.
The other to steal my heart and inspire design is the Methodist College building that has an old and new collaboration of design. It was built around the same time as the legislative building in 1912-1929. The new additions to the building are to serve as bookends to the campus. The project was completed in 2018 by P3A Architects – a well known local firm in the Saskatchewan state. There was such sensitivity in the materiality and types of structural connection choices. The colour palette is rich with hues of red brick and dark glass and the scales of the new vs old are complimentary. Gosh even the different façade treatments create an apex of awe. It drips with respect, style and talent. See the images attached to just get what I mean (it’s the first blog, ill get better with explanation).
Anyway, I guess I began to really appreciate where I was, and what space the Canadian lockdown had provided. I had been in lockdown in SA and didn’t get much done due to stress. In Zambia I didn’t get much done because I jumped back into a socially bustling lifestyle that filled my days and weekends. Only in Canada, in the middle of nowhere, and after much boredom, have I managed to reach a point of wanting to write down my experience of all this change. Almost like writing a manifesto to you and myself to remember where and why I started blogging. Because for once, it is in boredom I got inspired.
Well-done for getting to the end if you did, and welcome to the creative space that is Black Architect.
Photo CRED: https://www.instagram.com/barrybierman/