Charles Gwathmey was born in 1938 in Charlotte, North Carolina, he died in 2009. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Yale School of Architecture. He was one of the New York Five, as was Michael Graves you’ll remember. Amusing fact he designed a beach house for his parents in 1965 before being licenced. The house design was part of a question during his licensing exam! Gwathmey was a a modernist to the end. The New York Times featured a great article on him when he died.
Our Newsletter provided a snapshot of the Ottawa Real Estate Board news release but below you will find the complete version.
OTTAWA, May 3, 2018 – Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 2,032 residential properties in April through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 1,788 in April 2017, an increase of 13.6 per cent. The five-year average for April sales is 1,704. April’s sales included 416 in the condominium property class and 1,616 in the residential property class.
The average sale price residential-class class property sold in April in the Ottawa area was $455,212, an increase of 4.2 per cent over April 2017. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $269,294, an increase of 0.3 per cent from April 2017.*
“Full employment and reasonable house prices in proportion to incomes are fueling our market. Ottawa is not only a beautiful and
dynamic capital but also one of the more affordable cities in Canada,” observes Ralph Shaw, Ottawa Real Estate Board President. “While prices and conditions do vary by area, the overall residential marketplace shows solid and steady performance on investment for homeowners, and offers a variety of property class options and price points for those looking to enter the market,” he advises.
“While sales were strong this month, certain areas in Ottawa continue to experience limited supply with both condo and residential inventory down 23.7% from the same month last year. With our low inventory, potential sellers are reluctant to put their home on the market if they are uncertain of their ability to acquire another property.”
“April’s colder than usual temperatures may have been one of the reasons potential sellers delayed listing their properties. However, there are other factors at play which are contributing to the lack of supply. Of course, the new mortgage stress test is affecting some homeowners who may no longer qualify to upsize their homes,” Shaw points out.
“Further compounding the issue within Ottawa proper is a restricted supply of serviceable land, and thus fewer new build opportunities. We need both the new build and resale inventory to be robust enough to meet demand on a consistent basis,” he explains.
“Moreover,” Shaw elaborates, “life adjustment sellers such as Boomers, lack suitable purchasing options due to urban engineering. Many of them do not want to live in downtown condominiums, preferring smaller homes with an attached garage and a decent sized yard where they can still host family BBQs and entertain. Our city council would benefit from the input of Ottawa’s long-serving REALTORS® who truly understand the variety of needs of local home buyers and sellers,” Shaw concludes.
In addition to residential and condominium sales, OREB Members assisted clients with renting 770 properties since the beginning of the year.
*The Board cautions that the average sale price can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that
specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The calculation of the average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold. Price and conditions will vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.
Michael Graves was an american architect. Graves was born in 1934 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He earned his bachelors degree at the University of Cincinnati and his masters at Harvard University. He taught at Princeton for approximately 40 years. He was part of the New York Five, a group of architects whose photographed work was the subject of CASE (Committee of Architects for the Study of Environment). He was also a member of the Memphis Group, a group focused on work typicaly featuring asymetrical colourful design elements. In the 1960s and 1970s Graves worked in the modern style. However, he is best known for his postmodern style. Postmodern being the style that came about in reaction to the simplicity of the modern style. His most iconic buildings are the Portland Building in Oregon, the Humana Building in Kentucky and the expansion of the Denver Public Library in Colorado. His style also falls into the New Urbanism and New Classical Architecture. New Urbanism being the movement to create environmentaly friendly spaces. New Classical Architecture which is the intregration of classical elements into contemporary design. He was a major influence in the three styles.
Snyderman House, 1972
This is an important design because although of the modernist style it is quite elaborate it is hinting at things to come.
Portland Building, 1982
This building was in great contrast to what was being built at the time. Important design elements are the contrasting colours and the use of reimagined classical elements.
Riverbend Music Centre, 1984
This outdoor amphitheatre was built to enable the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to perform outdoors during the summer months.
Humana Building, 1985
Known as the “Milk Carton”, each side of this building is slightly different. It is capped by a pyramidal shape.
Denver Public Library, 1990
“Known for his surreal and “entertainment” architecture; Graves’ implemented traditional post-modern motifs of abstracted classical forms, natural materials, and colours commonly found in past centuries” – Archdaily
This year Jane’s Walk featuring over 50 walks will be May 5-6. This free festival of neighbourhood walks is a great way to discover facts about your area, another area, and perhaps make new friends.
