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Doorknobs are dead in Vancouver

You may not give much thought to the humble doorknob but those at the vanguard of universal design are ringing the death knell for the knob and they are starting in Vancouver....
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You may not give much thought to the humble doorknob but those at the vanguard of universal design are ringing the death knell for the knob and they are starting in Vancouver.

Read listener feedback on 'Isolation Rooms' that started this part



When it comes to architecture, we may be at the threshold of change. The city of Vancouver has banned doorknobs in new buildings and that has traditionalists spinning.


 

Real life doorknobs aren't usually as curious as the one Alice speaks to in Wonderland. But they're annoying enough for the City of Vancouver to ban them from all new buildings. Vancouver is the only city in Canada with its own building code, but changes there are often put into practice across the rest of the country.

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(Doorknob Photo: daisee)

Howard Gerry is an associate professor at OCAD, Canada's largest art and design university -- and an expert in universal and accessible design. He was in Toronto.

In The Salvage Shop in Toronto, antique doorknobs are much in demand. The Current's Natalie Chu went to visit shop owner Roy Clifford to find out what makes one knob stand out from the rest.

Allen Joslyn is very passionate about the future of the doorknob. He is the President of The Antique Door Knob Collectors of America and Allen Joslyn was in New York City.

The impending death of the doorknob in Vancouver has some wondering what other hardware may disappear. Sasha Josipovicz is an interior designer at Studio Pyramid. He was in Toronto.

Do you think doorknobs should be banned? Do you think knobs are the jewellery of doors?

Take a picture of your beautiful doorknob and post it on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #fortheloveofknobs for our website.

Tweet us @thecurrentcbc. Follow us on Facebook. Or e-mail us through our website. Call us toll-free at 1 877 287 7366. And as always if you missed anything on The Current, grab a podcast.

This segment was produced by The Current's Shannon Higgins.

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