Studies in Canadian Architecture
ARTH 371 Concordia University
A material record of the events,
attitudes, and social practices that make a place distinctive is
represented in the history of its built environment. On one hand,
examining this record raises questions about inclusion, omission, and
the political aspects of constructing a history of place with a
medium so varied in its technical and practical concerns. On the
other hand, it reveals how architecture participates in the formation
of cultural identity and the rhythms of everyday life: studying the
history of architecture shows it to be a disciplinary or regulative
force sanctioning official programs of spatial practice at the same
time as it supports more and different forms of vital expression. How
a place is defined and represented becomes a more open and complex
process when these methodological issues concerning how history is
made are set alongside questions about the practical, formal, and
ideological motives underpinning architectural form.
This course is a survey of Canadian
architecture covering a period of time beginning in the 19th century
and continuing to the present. “Place” and the related concepts
of “settlement” and “development” help guide our inquiry and
analysis of the formal, cultural, and aesthetic features of the built
environment in Canada. Broad themes such as nation building and
governance; (regional) difference and (national) integration;
materiality; and modernization and social transformation organize our
study. This approach let’s us learn about canonical buildings,
styles and architectural elements. But it is also a chance to
consider a wide range of building types, vernacular structures,
infrastructure, and public spaces to better understand the extent to
which architecture is a residual condition of historical processes
instrumental in shaping a sense of place.
Unknown (photographer), View of DEW Line Radar Station BAR-3,
Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada, circa 1960, PH2016:0004:013,
Gift of Stephen Bulger, Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, QC,
https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/search/details/collection/object/472476.