BRITISH COLUMBIA ARTISTS

About the Author/Artist

Gary K. Sim

September 26 1951 -

BC Forestry work crew: log cabin building at Ingenika Forks (1972)
Canadian Telephones & Supplies (Central Office Equipment Installer 1973-1977)
BC RAIL Rock Gangs 151, 152 & 153 (Driller, Scaler, Blaster, Rock Gang Foreman 1978-1987)
Agrisystems International (Agricultural Draftsman & Designer, Seattle 1988)
Vancouver Architectural firms (Draftsman, Production Manager, Contract Administrator 1989-2019)
Architectural Technologist, AIBC (AT.AIBC 2000 - 2015)
Owner/Editor, Sim Publishing (2003 - current)
Contact Information

From Jack Bowman "friendship album" 1959

INTRODUCTION EMPLOYMENT HISTORY EDUCATION MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS HONOURS, AWARDS, NOMINATIONS VOLUNTEER WORK SPONSORSHIPS & DONATIONS SIM PUBLISHING PUBLICATIONS - WRITING PUBLICATIONS - GRAPHICS CONFERENCE PAPERS / LECTURES COMMISSIONS - WRITING COMMISSIONS - ART GARY SIM ARTWORK ART - SOLO EXHIBITIONS ART - GROUP EXHIBITIONS ARTWORK - COLLECTIONS ARTWORK - CURATORIAL REVIEWS

Elected Class President in Grade 11. Joined S.O.U.L. group 1968 to help put on school sock hops with live bands. Booked Dal Richards Big Band, Paul Perry's Dixieland Band, and His Intricate Mind acid rock band for a 3-band blowout at Steveston High School auditorium, selling 600 tickets. Note: Mel Richards, Dal's brother, was the high school Principal, which was a great selling point for booking the venue.

Briefly attended Simon Fraser University (1969), Vancouver School of Art (1970), and "dropped out". Has worked as paperboy (Vancouver Sun and Province); welfare hostel cook (Terrace); plywood mill labourer (Fraser Mills); box plant labourer (Richmond); tree planter (Chilcotin Plateau); gardener, foundry worker, sign painter, book store clerk (Vancouver); mailman (Richmond); fruit picker (Okanagan); candle maker, YMCA maintenance assistant (Vancouver); logger, log cabin builder, trail builder for BC Forestry (Mackenzie, Ingenika Forks 1972); CT&S central office telephone equipment installer (Whalley, Williams Lake, Kamloops, Penticton, Vancouver, Chilliwack, Burnaby, Victoria 1973-1977); substitute school teacher and janitor (Shalalth); construction laborer (Seton Portage); electrician's helper (Shalalth); guitar teacher. Trained as Mountaineering Expedition Leader, Capilano College, climbed Mount Waddington 1978.

Has been a member of the International Woodworkers of America union, the Pulp Sulphite and Paper Workers union, the Federation of Telephone Workers (elected shop steward), and the Canadian Union of Transport Employees Local 6.

Electric coal train, Tumbler Ridge 1983. Photo Gary Sim.

Sketch map of architectural field trips in 2009

3D Studio rendering (from animation)

Architectural scale models

3D Studio rendering

3D Studio rendering from an animation

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Senior Architectural Contract Administrator, Bingham Hill Architects (2017 - 2019)
     The PRIME residential high-rise project, central Surrey
         Client: Reliance Properties / Macdonald Development Corp. with Turnbull Construction Project Managers
         $60 million CCDC-2 contract; general contractor: Metrocan UT
         37-storey 398-suite residential tower with podium and five levels underground parking.
         Role on project: Contract administration (starting when concrete was being poured on Level 31)
         Responded to RFI's; reviewed and distributed ongoing shop drawings
         Reviewed all Change Requests; issued all SI, CCO, CO, CD, and Progress Certificates up to $2.7M per month
         Attended 90 site meetings; issued 70 site reviews
         Administered hazmat contract to remove extensive mold growth in tower drywall
         Redesigned mail room to current Canada Post letter and package standards
         Completed code-fire-life-safety reviews to all tower suites (levels 6 - 37)

Yours truly

     Plaza 500 Apartment Conversion, Vancouver
         Client: Plaza 500 Ltd.
         GC: Haebler Construction
         $18,000,000.00 Stip-Sum renovation of 156-suite Hotel into 118 Rental Apartments
         Coordinated drawings for Tender; Issued for Construction and As-built
         Included fire & life safety upgrades, elevator replacement, new exterior glazing
         Administered extensive hazmat sub-contract for mold abatement
         Attended bi-weekly Site Meetings and Field Reviews for three years
         Designed and issued all required construction details during construction
         Issued all architectural project paperwork except Certificates of Payment
         Completed all deficiency reviews, City of Vancouver building inspections
         Achieved Substantial Performance and Occupancy December 2016
     Condition Assessment - Assisted Living Facility, Masset
         Client: Northern Health Authority
         Field review of building that was water damaged by frozen sprinkler lines
         Wrote report and recommendations for repairs
         Reviewed progress of repairs, did field review of completed work
     Statement of Requirements, Lakes District Health Care Centre, Burns Lake
         Client: Partnerships BC
         $55,000,000.00 Design-Build Competition for new Hospital
         Wrote and coordinated the performance spec for Lakes District Hospital
         Compiled all architectural and consultant updates into master document
         Managed secure plan room at PBC headquarters for Design-Build Competition
         Completed Field reviews for Early Works Package including Nurse Residence relocation
     E.C.U. Demolition & New Parking Lot, G.R. Baker Hospital, Quesnel
         Client: Northern Health Authority
         GC: Vachon Construction, Quesnel
         $760,000.00 Stip-Sum demolition of ECU, new parking lot c/w lights & block heaters
         Coordinated drawings for Tender; Issued for Construction and As-built
         Site was adjacent Fraser River, needed to work with DFO on siltation control
         Remediated hazardous materials including asbestos, PCBs, and underground oil tank in active hospital
         Attended monthly Site Meetings and Field Reviews
         Designed and issued all required construction details during construction
         Issued all contract documents including ASKs
         Completed all deficiency reviews and building inspections
     Plaza 500 Hotel Upgrade, Vancouver
         Client: Plaza 500 Ltd.
         GC: Carillion Construction
         $8,900,000.00 Stip-Sum renovation of 156-suite Hotel into Hotel Indigo
         Coordinated drawings for Tender; Issued for Construction and As-built
         Included fire & life safety upgrades, elevator replacement
         Administered extensive hazmat sub-contract for mold abatement
         Attended bi-weekly Site Meetings and Field Reviews for two years
         Designed and issued all required construction details during construction
         Project went over budget and was cancelled by Owner
     Tertiary Older Acute Psychiatric Renovation, Peace Arch Hospital, White Rock
         Client: Fraser Health Authority
         GC: Halse-Martin Construction
         $1,300,000.00 Stip-sum renovation of ECU into psychiatric care facility
         Updated drawings to match existing conditions, issued to Consultants
         Coordinated and issued all Architectural drawings and specifications for Tender
         Included psych observation room, Spyder Alert system, CCTV system, patient wander alert
         Safety upgrades included laminated windows, security bars, ligature-proof hardware
         Project expanded to include security upgrades to three lobby levels

Beam lift (click image for project information)

     London Aviation Centre, South Terminal YVR, Sea Island
         Client: London Aviation Services (owned by London Drugs)
         GC: Scott Construction
         $18,000,000.00 Fast-Track Design-Build new 65,000 sf airplane hangar c/w 25,000 sf offices
         360 x 180 foot clear span hangar (will fit two Boeing 737s)
         Drew, coordinated, and issued all Architectural drawings for construction
         Two trips to Spokane to review steel fabrication details prior to delivery
         Attended bi-weekly Site Meetings and Field Reviews for one year
         Designed and issued all required construction details during construction
         Completed all Deficiency Reviews and YVR Building Inspections
         Achieved Substantial Performance and Occupancy October 2009 (on schedule)
     Diagnostic Imaging Suite, Powell River General Hospital
         Client: Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
         GC: Scott Construction
         $1,800,000.00 Stip-sum upgrade to existing Diagnostic Imaging Suite in active hospital
         Coordinated and issued all Architectural drawings and specifications for Tender
     Extended-care Servery & Activity Room Renovation, 100 Mile House Hospital
         Client: Interior Health Authority
         $140,000.00 Stip-Sum Renovation to functioning extended care unit in active hospital
         Issued all construction documents for Tender and IFC, attended all Field & Deficiency Reviews
     Angiography Suite, Kelowna General Hospital
         Client: Interior Health Authority
         $250,000.00 (construction only) retrofit of new Angiography machine into functional hospital
         New high-voltage electrical room required
         Coordinated and issued all Architectural drawings and specifications for Tender
         Issued all construction documents, attended all Field Reviews in active hospital
     Cart Washer, Kelowna General Hospital
         Client: Interior Health Authority
         $250,000.00 (construction only) retrofit of new Cart Washing machine into active hospital
         Structural upgrade required, live steam and high pressure water
         Coordinated and issued all Architectural drawings and specifications for Tender
         Issued all construction documents, attended all Field Reviews
     Shuswap Lake General Hospital Addition & Renovation, Salmon Arm
         Client: Interior Health Authority
         GC: Yellowridge Construction
         $22,000,000.00 Construction Management expansion and renovation of functioning hospital
         New Emergency Department, Diagnostic Imaging, Electrical Room, Emerg. Generator
         Project was two phases, two stages, had Clerk of Works
         Issued all construction documents, attended all Field & Deficiency Reviews for two years
     Master Planning for new Ambulatory Care Centre, Childrens & Womens Hospital, Vancouver
         Client: Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
         Assembled as-built drawing set for entire site, provided Option drawings
         Did Field Reviews and photography of entire site to confirm accuracy of drawings
     Fischer Place 29-bed Complex Care Facility Addition & Renovation, 100 Mile House
         Client: Interior Health Authority
         GC: Yellowridge Construction
         $4,600,000.00 Stip-Sum Addition to functioning hospital
         Issued all construction documents, attended all Field & Deficiency Reviews for two years
     St. Joseph the Worker - Parish Offices & Residences Expansion, Richmond
         Client: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver
         GC: Double-V Construction (Van Vliet)
         $1,800,000.00 Stip-sum addition and renovations to existing office & residence building
         Issued all construction documents, attended all Field & Deficiency Reviews for one year
     Managed DGBK Continuing Education program for two years (AIBC learning units)

Draftsman / Job Captain, Dalla-Lana Griffin Dowling Knapp Architects (1997)
     Job Captain: $3.2 million retail/residential development (‘The Heights’)
     Working drawings: residential, aviation, commercial, healthcare, scientific projects
     3D modeling and rendering: YVR South Terminal, Winnipeg Library Millennium proposal

Draftsman / Network Administrator / Graphic Production, TSHW Architects (1989 - 1997)
     Network Administrator & Computer Manager: Novell 3.12 network (10-user)
     Working drawings: residential, healthcare, commercial, institutional
     3D modeling, rendering, animation: residential, healthcare, commercial
     Architectural scale models: massing, study, presentation
     Proposals: graphics, page layouts, proof-reading, research

Draftsman / Head of Drafting, Agrisystems International (1988 - 1989)
     Developed drafting standards, hired and managed one draftsman
     Completed manufacturing set of agricultural mechanical working drawings
     Created presentation graphics, logo design, colour schemes, patent illustrations
     Drawings published in Agrisystems Advisory, Soybean Digest, Wellington Times, AgWeek
     Helped build working prototypes of No-till Opener and Seed Drill

No-Till Seed Drill

Driller-Scaler / Powderman / Foreman, B.C. Rail Rock Gangs 151, 152, 153 (1978 - 1987)
     Achieved position of Permanent Foreman, High Scaling Rock Gang 152
     Specialized in high cliff work: scaling, drilling, bolting, falling danger trees
     Blasted for 9 years, with safety fuse and single-series electrical Blasting Ticket
     Introduced modern rope and climbing techniques to B.C. Rail Rock gangs
     Trained & qualified men in high cliff face rope work
     Assisted with track repair, heavy salvage, equipment operator, and train patrol
     Awarded W.C.B. Gold Safety Medal, two letters of commendation
     Camps: Horseshoe Bay, Porteau, Squamish, Garibaldi, Tisdall, Pemberton, Seton, Lillooet;
       Tumbler Ridge camps: Tumbler, Wolverine, Whitford

Labourer, B.C. Forestry Service, Mackenzie, B.C. (Summer 1972)
     Construction of 4 log cabins for air tanker base, Ingenika Forks
     Construction & maintenance of Forestry campsites & trails, Mackenzie

Maintenance manager's assistant, downtown Vancouver YMCA (1970)
     Misc. chores including painting wayfinding signage.

Cook, Terrace Welfare Hostel (Summer 1968, 1969)

Labourer, Crown Zellerbach box plant, Richmond (Summer 1967, 1968)
     Mostly working on the "beer line" making beer cartons.

Labourer, Crown Zellerbach plywood factory, Fraser Mills (Summer 1966)
     Maintenance work: cleaning sawdust, scything weeds; flipping oiled sheets of plywood.

EDUCATION

MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS

HONOURS, AWARDS & NOMINATIONS

VOLUNTEER WORK

Cover image Amphora 135

CONFERENCE PAPERS / LECTURES

"A Brief History of the Visual Artists of B.C."
     Featured lecturer
     Ferry Building Gallery, February 20 2020

"BC Artists - the story behind the project"
     Featured lecturer
     Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars, SFU, Dec. 7 2017

"Early Art & Artists in Vancouver"
     Featured lecturer
     Vancouver Historical Society, Feb. 23 2017
     Lecture posted on Youtube

"Railway Rock Gang"
     Featured banquet speaker
     TRAINS 2014 Annual Conference (October 2014)

"Railway Rock Gang"
     Vancouver Public Library public lecture
     Main branch, Vancouver (January 15, 2014)

From "Looking For Maud" to "Art & Artists in Exhibition: Vancouver 1890 - 1950"
     Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Inaugural Conference
     Concordia University, Montreal (October 2 - 5, 2008)

COMMISSIONS - WRITING

Forty Years of Amphora, review of journal's history for Alcuin Society (2005)

COMMISSIONS - ART

Gallery in Winter, limited edition linocut print for Burnaby Art Gallery (2007)
     Edition of 50 with 5 Artist Proofs printed for gallery Christmas card

Entropy Press, wood engraving for Alcuin Society Printer's Mark series (2005)
     Printed by Barbarian Press in edition of 500 and tipped into Amphora 149 (July 2008)

GARY SIM ARTWORK

Gary Sim artwork as used in BC Artists web pages.

ARTWORK - CURATORIAL

"Check out the wicked print at the top of this column. That's by Gary Sim, a Vancouver artist who's got a bunch more linocut and vinyl-cut prints up at this library, as part of an outreach program by the Burnaby Art Gallery. This particular piece is entitled Higher Rises, and is reminiscent of at least a half-dozen vistas in my West End neighbourhood. Très local cool."
      Hans Ongsansoy, Vancouver Province & on-line E-list, September 17 2007

"This slender little disk holds a wealth of information. There are capsule histories of arts organizations, short biographies of artists, lists of exhibitions and titles of paintings included. There are exhibition review, bibliographic citations and artists' statement. All of these are linked together to make easy work of finding the information you're looking for. ...
      This reference tool is of great value to a busy librarian who gets many queries about artists who were working during these early years. The sheer volume of information is astonishing. Like many references in Canadian art, it was created by an author who wanted to share the results of his research. ...
      This electronic resource will be a useful collection of information for libraries, schools, galleries, dealers, curators, and students of Vancouver history. We are indebted to Mr. Sim for the staggering amount of research and planning that went into this project. And, a very positive aspect of electronic resources, it is still growing!"
      Art & Artists in Exhibition: Vancouver 1890 - 1950 (electronic resource)
      Review by Cheryl Siegel, B.C. Historical Journal, Vol. 38 No. 3 pg. 26, 2006

"The work of the two artists presented in Viewpoints was influenced by their past, where they have been, what they have seen. The result (sic) were representations of familiar places through the eyes of the creators, in media that included watercolours, pen and ink drawings, block prints and mixed media."
      Gallery: Viewpoints, Editor, architectureBC, page 8, Fall 2005

"Gary Sim is an architectural technologist whose artwork is a mix of realistic and abstract ideas in various forms that include pen and ink drawings, three-dimensional work, and experimenting with glass, clay, wire, wood, cut gems, and found materials. ...
      Editor, AIBC Intern Architect Update, September 2005

"In addition to the books offered for auction, this year we are pleased to announce that one of our members, local artist Gary Sim, has contributed original art works to the auction. These have particular interest to our members, as all of them have appeared in various of the Society's publications. As well as two of his own works (which appeared in Amphora), there are eight original page layouts for the 1966 Alcuin publication A Theatrical Trip for a Wager, and one test print of the front cover image."
      The Alcuin Society Citations Book Auction and Lunch, Vancouver, November 2005

"Kudos to Gary Sim for this impressive resource which documents artists and exhibitions in Vancouver from 1890 - 1950."
      Art & artists in exhibition (electronic resource)
      Vancouver Public Library new books listing, October 2005

"The Viewpoints show at the Architecture Centre Gallery is a two-artist affair. ... On this page are sketches by Gary Sim. An architectural technologist, Sim is an active member of the local arts community, as a founding member of the Richmond Community Arts Council, a member (and former chair) of the Vancouver Public Art Committee and as a volunteer for the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Viewpoints runs until Oct. 6 at the gallery, 100 - 400 Cambie, Vancouver."
      Show highlights Viewpoints of two local artists
      Editor, Vancouver Sun, pages F1 & F15, September 10 2005

"Congratulations to our very own artist and writer Gary Sim who received kudos for his work for the Alcuin Society in the Fall 2004 issue of architectureBC. I don't know of anyone who does more to promote the Society and its works than Gary! Many thanks.
      News and Notes, Richard Hopkins, Amphora Issue 136, page 27, September 2004

About the Artist /Author
      Amphora Issue 135, page 36, June 2004

"Amphora, the journal of the Alcuin Society, has selected Gary Sim as the feature artist for Issue Number 135. ... The selection is a great honour and includes the design for the colour front cover, numerous images printed throughout the journal, and a one-page artist's biography. ... In addition to this the editor selected an article by Sim on "the care and feeding of antiquarian booksellers" for publication in the same issue."
      Amphora Art, architectureBC, Fall 2004, pages 13-15
      Illustrated: Public Art on Alberni, Nine O'Clock Gun, Burrard Bridge

"A labour of love by Vancouver architectural technologist Gary Sim, this CD-ROM compilation of information about Vancouver's earliest artists, exhibitions, and art organizations is an invaluable contribution to Canadian cultural research - and a boon to all art historians who have struggled to piece together the history of West Coast painting. ... "
      Art & Artists in Exhibition: Vancouver 1890 - 1950
      Paula Gustafson, Artichoke magazine book review, Summer 2004

"On the more positive side of the ledger this issue has represented for me the discovery of a multi-talented new friend in the person of artist, researcher, and writer Gary Sim. Initially I visited Gary's studio just to see the woodcuts we might feature in Amphora #135. I took away a handful of great art pieces to pass along to Stuart Isto for the issue in hand. Then, however, Gary proceeded to get busy and cut an original piece of work involving the entrance to the Lions Gate Bridge especially for the cover of the journal. Stunning! And then, since I had taken him a few sample back issues of Amphora, I received a wonderful piece of writing from him entitled "On the Care and Feeding of Antiquarian Booksellers", written in response to an article he had read on the future of bookselling in Amphora #134. Believe me it is a pretty darn exciting thing to latch on to such a talented individual. I hope to feature more of his artwork and writing in future issues."
      From the Editor's Desk, Amphora Issue 135, June 2004
      by Richard Hopkins, Chair, Alcuin Society publications committee

"Zeidler's stylistic opposite in this show is Gary Sim, who does drawings of such taut precision and emotional control as to raise the question of what a drawing is. Whereas Zeidler relies on the quick freehand gesture, Sim uses perfectly straight lines. Sim became an architectural technician in 1988, as he puts in his artist bio, "seeking a safer career after nine years as a blaster and rock gang foreman for B.C. Rail". Every line in his four drawings in the show is handled as purposefully as lit dynamite. The best of his four riveting little pen-and-ink compositions pictures the salvage of Locomotive 705 from Cheakamus Canyon."
      from "Architectural Art", Sean Rossiter, The Georgia Straight, September 19-26, 2002.

"Gary Sim has been one of the Festival's most outstanding and long serving volunteers. Gary has been a volunteer of the Festival for 10 years. As a volunteer Gary has done many things for the Festival. He has escorted authors, co-ordinated the Great Canadian Spelling Bee, performed (several times) at the volunteer appreciation parties, worked with Festival's Writer Services Co-ordinator at the Festival's hospitality suite and most recently persuaded Stantec, the company he works for, to become a corporate sponsor of the Festival. He was also responsible this year for hosting the readings at our volunteer party. (For those who didn't know or didn't guess, lots of the Festival volunteers are wonderful aspiring writers and they get a chance to express their talents at the party.)
      These are the things he has done for the Festival. In his other life Gary has blown up mountainsides, scaled rocky cliffs and put himself in dangerous positions on behalf of BC Rail. He is a very talented artist and has an extensive knowledge of artists and their work. Maps fascinate him; he writes; he sings; he plays the guitar; he enjoys good food and he has incredible contacts in all aspects of his creative life.
      Gary is very modest about his skills and accomplishments, so we wanted those of you who have perhaps worked with him as a volunteer or who have seen him around the Festival quietly "doing his thing" to know how valuable he is to our team and how much we appreciate his contribution. Thanks Gary and we trust you'll keep us on your priority list of volunteer opportunities."
      "Friend of the Festival: Gary Sim"
      by Alma Lee, Creative Director, Vancouver International Writers Festival
      Published in the Festival's Fall 2002 newsletter, and posted on Festival website.