The Hand Drawn City

When we first started MOTIV three years ago, Emma Fitzgerald, a former classmate of Asher’s from architecture school, had just returned to Vancouver to work on her then unpublished book - Hand Drawn Vancouver. Rather than get ourselves photographed as most people would do - we asked Emma to come by our Aviary studio and sketch us. While it may not have the crisp lines and forms that we normally use in our architectural work - Emma’s sketch has captured something important about who we are and how we work as MOTIV. It captured the importance of starting our business by supporting the beautiful and talented people within our community. It embodied the fact that our work is a reflection not only of the creativity here at MOTIV - but also of the fantastic people that we get to work with everyday to turn projects into real built work. Thank you for helping us start on the right foot Emma!

Emma is a Halifax-based illustrator and author, born in Lesotho and raised in Vancouver. Her beautiful book, Hand Drawn Vancouver is now out in bookstores around the city and available online! It captures so many of the places that are dear to Vancouverites, including the Lions Den Cafe at Fraser and Kingsway, a few doors down from our dear friends at the Aviary, where Ava and I (Asher) go for morning walks to pick up a delicious Matchstick coffee. Emma’s book has illustrations and wonderful stories of real people that Emma met on her travels sketching the city - from Coal Harbour to Little India, from Kits Beach to our home here in East Van.

Pick up a copy for yourself or as a gift. Find the places you frequent and learn something new about the place that you call home.

We can’t wait to see the work that will come out of Emma’s current residency in Victoria, BC.