Article Contents
Vancouver’s reopened Museum of Anthropology showcases a visionary transformation, because one of its most powerful exhibits is the building itself: To save it, designers had to demolish and rebuild it.
Ad 2
Article Contents
Originally designed by renowned architect Arthur Erickson in the late 1960s, the museum is world-renowned for its Indigenous art and Great Hall.
As explained by Nick Milkovich, who worked on the original building, visitors entered a front porch at the darker end of the property and moved among the totems and other artifacts, illuminated from various points.
Then suddenly a great hall appeared with an eruption of light, and I felt as if I had walked through a forest and emerged onto a brightly lit beach.
It was a symphony of the senses, and it was also dangerous.
Local engineers determined that only a quarter of the necessary earthquake-proofing measures had been taken, and scans of the building’s components also revealed that the 50-year-old concrete lifting equipment was so limited that the support columns were hollow.
Ad 3
Article Contents
Moreover, the museum’s roof structure was made of extremely stiff diagonal beams, so in an earthquake the connected beams would collapse first, leaving the building with nothing to support it. Both the columns and the beams had to be rebuilt without changing the overall nature of the structure.
So the museum closed for 18 months so that Milkovich could begin a complete overhaul from the ground up, incorporating new design and functionality to keep the museum safe and vibrant.
While the old building was set directly on the ground, the new structure is made from precast concrete with a crawl space underneath and massive steel beams supporting it on new, sturdy columns.
Under every column are rubber-and-steel tips called base isolators that act like shock absorbers during an earthquake. The “flexibility” they provide allows the entire building to move more than 35 centimeters (14 inches) in a few seconds during an earthquake, preventing the building from toppling over.
Ad 4
Article Contents
The museum’s massive glass exterior also had to be replaced: the old one was tempered and would have easily shattered, but the new one is laminated, which Milkovich says is stronger, safer and uniquely installed to move slightly in an earthquake and “dance with the building.”
New technological innovations position the museum for a bright future, and the renovation has remained completely faithful to Ericsson’s original design, resulting in a much improved version of the same building.
This got me thinking about the widely held misconception that God wants to change you into someone you are not, when in reality, He just wants to transform you into your best self by eliminating anything that is damaging to your emotional and spiritual safety, or sanity, stability, and maturity.
Ad 5
Article Contents
The Spirit of God must undo and save us to conform us to the image of His Son without compromising our uniqueness. It is not enough to add good things to our lives without removing those that threaten our solid ground.
Spiritual formation involves taking us to our essence and restructuring our attitudes, values and priorities.
Once we acknowledge our sin and recognize the need for change, rebuilding begins with the renewing of our hearts and minds.
The Apostle Paul said, “Now that you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, put away your old, weak nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deceit.
“But be ye renewing your minds and your attitudes by the Spirit; and put on the new nature, which is created after the image of God” (Ephesians 4:21-23).
Ad 6
Article Contents
We need to allow our Designer to build things into our lives that will keep us safe and stable, rather than relying on rigid mindsets and hollow emotional supports that crumble every time we are rocked by the tremors of chaos.
For that to work, our identity and purpose must be based on the fundamental belief that Jesus was fully God and fully man and now sits with divine authority.
As taught in the story of the wise builder (Matthew 7:24-27), God’s love, power, and guidance are a foundation that can never be shaken or destroyed. For those who accept that reality, Paul says, “God is at work in you, giving you both the desire and the power to do the things of his will” (Philippians 2:13).
But that process of re-creation is faithful to God’s original vision of who you were meant to be, before sin and weakness got in the way. By strengthening every aspect of your unique personality, God will bestow upon you the love, strength, and maturity you need to withstand the upheaval of a catastrophe.
God will give you a solid foundation in your life, strong pillars of support like prayer, Scripture, and the encouragement of other believers in church, and the emotional flexibility you need to absorb the shocks when you are shaken to your very core.
If you follow the expertise of an architect, you too will never go wrong and will have a bright future.
Send your comments to Rick at info@followers.ca A former television reporter and journalism professor, Rick is the pastor of an independent, non-denominational church called Followers of Christ (www.followers.ca) in Brantford, Ontario.
Article Contents
