The only comprehensive handbook to Vancouver's architecture -- from the modest to the monumental Vancouver is still a young city, and its streetscapes and neighbourhoods reflect the city's constant state of reinvention. New buildings adapt the latest global architectural trends to the regional context or express the distinct local West Coast style; heritage buildings stand for earlier eras and continuity. The result is a dynamic urban landscape. Highly readable and authoritative, this entirely updated edition of Exploring Vancouver is the definitive guide to the city's architecture -- from the breathtaking to the bizarre. Harold Kalman and Robin Ward, both longtime chroniclers of Vancouver's architectural story, take the reader on a walking or driving tour of 14 areas in and around the city and detail more than 450 of the city's most notable buildings, structures and landscapes -- from the historical to the high-tech -- ituating each in its social, cultural and historical context.

Divided into 14 distinct city areas, with a full-colour photo accompanying each entry, Exploring Vancouver is a perfect companion for both curious visitors and the many architectural enthusiasts who are proud to call this city home. Endorsed by the royal architectural institute of Canada.

Harold Kalman is a specialist in architectural history and heritage conservation. He is the author of many texts, including A History of Canadian Architecture (Oxford University Press, 1994), Heritage Planning (Routledge, 2020), and Exploring Ottawa (Figure 1 Publishing, 2017). He is a member of the Order of Canada and holds appointments at the universities of Victoria and Hong Kong.

Harold Kalman's profile page

Robin Ward was born in Glasgow in 1950, studied graphic design at the Glasgow School of Art, drew and wrote about Victorian buildings for the Glasgow Herald, and published three books on the buildings of Glasgow and Edinburgh. After travelling throughout Europe and Canada, he and his wife settled in Vancouver. He soon became a well-known local, drawing and writing his enormously popular weekly column, "Robin Ward's Vancouver," for the Vancouver Sun and working as an artist, writer, photographer, book designer and architecture critic. Author and illustrator of the bestselling Robin Ward's Vancouver, Robin Ward's Heritage West Coast and Echoes of Empire: Victoria and Its Remarkable Buildings, and co-author and photographer of Exploring Vancouver, Ward has won two City of Vancouver Heritage Awards and a Heritage Canada Achievement Award. He is a favourite guest on local radio and television, speaking on architecture and heritage issues.

Robin Ward's profile page

John Roaf studied architecture at ubc and has specialized in architectural photography in Canada and in Europe for 40 years.

John Roaf's profile page

Mike Harcourt is a former Premier of British Columbia and Mayor of Vancouver who has maintained a lifelong commitment to the sustainable development of cities and communities. He is the author of City Making in Paradise and Plan B: One Man’s Journey from Tragedy to Triumph.

Mike Harcourt's profile page

• Short-listed, Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award
• Short-listed, City of Vancouver Book Award

"The reading is astounding. Harold Kalman and Robin Ward's text is as straightforward as John Roaf's images. It also has enough wit to please the armchair reader and enough facts to make walks of Exploring Vancouver's fourteen architectural districts time well spent."

Malcolm Parry

"Exploring Vancouver is organized into 14 chapters -- or tours...How some of the heritage buildings have been altered, adapted or reused by subsequent generations of architects is of particular interest. And of course, new buildings are featured alongside older ones, which only emphasizes how the collective architectural inventory of Vancouver and its surrounding municipalities is both idiosyncratic in stylistic approach and rich in cultural history."

Canadian Architect

"An indespensible guide to anyone who is curious about Vancouver's architecture of yesterday and today."

Bing Thom

"Exploring Vancouver: The Architectural Guide is exactly what its title says. Original authors Harold Kalman and Robin Ward have added considerable detail to their original appraisals, and also report on two decades' worth of structures added since...John Roaf's colour photographs of each building, many familiar but some less so, merit double-page treatment. Still, they make the not-quite-pocketable book a valuable companion on walks for which the authors provide useful maps."

Vancouver Sun

"Easily the most substantial, witty and fearless companion for touring the buildings/streets of Vancouver -- all other guides are fly-bys."

Trevor Boddy, curator of "Vancouverism: Architecture Builds the City"