Title

EcoSoMo (Ecological Social Modules)

Artist

Soules, Matthew

Date

2015

Medium

concrete

plants

Type

sculpture

Owner

UniverCity

Accession Number

NA

Location

9150 University High St., Burnaby

Category

Private Development Public Art

Collection

Public Art

Lat/Long

49.2773873,-122.9084313

View in Google Maps

http://www.google.com/maps?q=49.2773873,-122.9084313

EcoSoMo consists of 13 “futuristic yet primitive” sculptural clusters constructed from 50 pieces of concrete—in six modular shapes—fabricated by Szolyd Development. Inspired by the Rosetta Stone of ancient Egypt, each concrete piece bears information about Burnaby Mountain in the Roman alphabet, braille, and pictographic lettering created by graphic designer Ross Chandler. Two of the clusters—topped by a “plant volcano” and a bird bath—have ecological roles. One of the two social clusters forms a seat, while the other has recesses inviting the public to decorate it. https://univercity.ca/art/ecosomo/

Matthew Soules is a licensed architect in Canada and the United States, and the director of Matthew Soules Architecture (MSA) Inc. —a Vancouver-based architecture, urban planning, and research firm. MSA has received numerous awards including the Architectural Institute of British Columbia's 'Emerging Firm Award' in 2010. Matthew's research interests include the intersection of ecology and design, the Metropolitan Project, and questions of architecture's relationship with popular culture and politics. His writing has been published in magazines and journals including Harvard Design Magazine, Praxis, Azure, Canadian Architect, Topos, and 306090. He has been a guest critic at numerous institutions including MIT, the Rhode Island School of Design, and Harvard. Prior to starting his own practice, he worked on a diverse range of projects throughout the world for architecture firms in Vancouver, Boston, Rotterdam, and New York City.