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Thearchitecture of Canada is, with the exception of that of CanadianFirst Nations, closely linked to the techniques and styles developed in Canada, Europe and the United States. However, design has long needed to be adapted to Canada's climate and geography, and at times has also reflected the uniqueness of Canadian culture.
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Prior to the arrival of Europeans theFirst Nations lived in a wide array of structures. The semi-nomadic peoples of the Maritimes, Quebec, and Northern Ontario, such as theMi'kmaq,Cree, andAlgonquin generally lived inwigwams. These were wood-framed structures, covered with an outer layer of bark, reeds, or woven mats; usually in a cone shape although sometimes a dome. These groups changed locations every few weeks or months. They would take the outer layer of the wigwam with them, and leave the heavy wood frame in place. The frame could be reused if the tribe returned to the location at a later date.
Further south, in what is today Southern Ontario and Quebec,Iroquoian society lived in permanent and semi-permanent agricultural settlements holding several hundred to several thousand people. The standard form of housing was thelong house. These were large structures, several times longer than they were wide holding a large number of people. They were built with a frame of saplings or branches, covered with a layer of bark or woven mats. An example of a long house settlement is withinCrawford Lake Conservation Area
On thePrairies the standard form of life was a nomadic one, with the people often moving to a new location each day to follow thebison herds. Housing thus had to be portable, and thetipi was developed. The tipi consisted of a thin wooden frame and an outer covering of animal hides. The structures could be quickly erected, and were light enough to transport long distances.
In theInterior of British Columbia the standard for of home was the semi-permanentpit house, thousands of relics of which, known asquiggly holes are scattered across the Interior landscape. These were structures shaped like an upturned bowl, placed on top of a 3-or-4-foot-deep (0.91 or 1.22 m) pit. The bowl, made of wood, would be covered with an insulating layer of earth. The house would be entered by climbing down a ladder at the centre of the roof.
Some of the most impressive First Nations architecture was that of the settled people of the west coast such as theHaida. These people used advancedcarpentry andjoinery skills to construct large houses ofredcedar planks. These were large square, solidly built houses. The most advanced design was the six beam house, named for the number of beams that supported the roof. The front of each house would be decorated with aheraldric pole, the pole and sometimes the house would be brightly painted with artistic designs.
In the far north, where wood was scarce and solid shelter essential for survival, several innovative architectural styles were developed. One of the most famous is theigloo, a domed structure made of snow, which has highly insulative properties. In the summer months, when the igloos melted, tents made of seal skin, or other hides, were used. TheThule adopted a design similar to the pit houses of the BC interior, but because of the lack of wood they instead usedwhale bones for the frame.
The first Europeans to inhabit what would become Canada were the French settlers of theNew France settlements ofAcadia andCanada. The initial settlements atPort Royal andQuebec City were mostly concerned with defence. Quebec City was divided into the Upper Town, which housed the fortress, Intendant's house, and churches made of stone in imitation ofBaroque architecture, while the Lower Town consisted of densely packed structures on narrow streets. In Acadia, buildings were generally more functional, with wood framed walls filled with wattle and daub. This type of construction was common throughout both Acadia and New England in the 17th century.[2]
The settlers of the rural areas along the St. Lawrence largely came fromNormandy, and the houses they built echoed their roots. The surroundings forced enough differences that a unique style developed, and the house of the New France farmer remains a symbol of French-Canadian nationalism. These were rectangular structures of one storey, but with an extremely tall and steep roof, sometimes almost twice as tall as the house below. This roof design perhaps developed to prevent the accumulation of snow. The houses were usually built of wood, though the surviving ones are almost all built of stone. Landmarks in the rural areas were the churches and the mansion of theseigneurs. The seigneurs built much larger homes for themselves, but rarely were the manors ornate. Each parish had its church, often smaller copies of major churches in Quebec City or Montreal. A unique style of French-Canadian church thus developed.
The first English settlements in what would become Canada were in Newfoundland, growing out of the temporary fishing settlements that had been established in the sixteenth century. The first English settlement in the Maritimes was in Halifax, and then along theSouth Shore. The style that developed in the Maritimes was very close to the architecture ofNew England. Trade links between the two areas were close, and many of the settlers in the Maritimes were from there. Some of the first houses erected in Halifax were actually prefabricated structures assembled in Boston or New York and shipped to the new settlement.Cape Cod style cottages were built throughout the region. However, the influence of theForeign Protestants was also felt as the architecture of the region also borrowed some techniques and styles from Germany and Switzerland, notably atLunenburg. Even today, these influences can be seen in modern architecture on the Shobac Campus in Kingsburg, Nova Scotia.
The English speaking population of Canada grew dramatically with the influx ofUnited Empire Loyalists after theAmerican Revolution. This doubled the population of the Maritimes and brought the first significant European population to what was soonUpper Canada. One of the most popular styles in the pre-revolutionary United States wasGeorgian, after the revolution this style fell out of favour due to its association with the colonial regime, but the Loyalists embraced the style as an overt symbol of their loyalty. The style had also, however, fallen out of style in Britain, and Canada was alone in embracing Georgian architecture for much of the early nineteenth century.
In Lower Canada the Georgian style was employed by the English minority, but this minority dominated the commercial and political class. French-Canadian architecture kept many of its traditional forms, but also adopted some English styles. Throughout British North America the Georgian style was mostly used by the middle and upper classes, and also for institutional buildings such as churches and government structures. In rural areas, and among the urban poor, simpler styles dominated. In the Maritimes the New England style cottages continued to be popular. For the first settlers in Ontario thelog cabin was the standard first house. Logs were a byproduct of the need the clear the land, and log cabins were cheap and easy to build. After a few years of farming it was typical to build a more elegant farmhouse. The most common design was theOntario Style House, which consisted of a rectangular wood building with the maingable over the short sides, and a smaller gable over the main entrance.
The pattern of building in the west was very different. The first settlements in much of the West were the forts of theHudson's Bay Company andNorth West Company and the cabins of theMetis. The next important presence was that of theCanadian Pacific Railway. The railway needed to build stations every 13 km of its 4200 km route in order to rewater the steam engines. Many of these stations became a nucleus of towns. These stations were built to standardized designs, with a number of different sizes for stations of differing importance. Other important monuments throughout the prairies were thegrain elevators, and the banks which competed with each other by building ever more ornate structures.
While there is little wood native to the prairies, the railway enabled it to be imported at relatively low cost. It was still common to build a first temporary home out ofsod. For those who were unsure of how to build a home, an industry of predesigned and prefabricated homes sold by catalogue developed. A settler could simply order plans for a few dollars, or also order the precut lumber, and premade doors and windows. TheEaton's catalogue of 1910 offered homes from a shack for $165 to a nine-room house for $1,025. These structures were erected across the prairies.
For some immigrants to the prairies, most notably the Ukrainians, there was not enough capital to buy a predesigned home, but since the immigrants were highly experienced with farming on the very similar Ukrainian steppe, houses identical to the peasant cottages of Eastern Europe were built across theprairies. These cottages had characteristic flared thatched roofs and white plaster walls. Even more notable were theonion domed Ukrainian churches built across the prairies. Other groups such as theHutterites andDoukhobors also built unique structures. In the long run, however, the second and third generation immigrants tended to embrace the more British styles: the churches remained distinctly Eastern, but the houses largely conformed to the rest.
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Victorian styles of architecture dominated in Canada from the mid-nineteenth century up to theFirst World War. Unlike during the previous centuries there was now easy communication between Canada and the architectural centres of the United States and Britain. It was common for Canadian architects to travel, study, and work in these other areas, and it was also increasingly common to hire foreign architects. This meant that ideas and styles developed elsewhere were quickly adopted in Canada. These were diverse styles, but one common element were attempts to revive ideas of the past. The first such style to come to prominence was theGothic Revival style, which first came to Canada in the 1830s. This became the dominant architectural style for churches, especially Anglican and Roman Catholic ones, which both embraced Gothic Revival as evidence of their conservatism. It also was used for scholastic structures, such as universities and some houses. Thebay-and-gable was a housing form that emerged in 19th century Toronto, that incorporated Gothic Revival elements throughout its front façade.[4] Some of the most prominent Gothic Revival structures are the originalParliament Buildings in Ottawa, by noted architectThomas Fuller who in 1881 was appointed Chief Dominion Architect. The Chief Dominion Architect(s) designed a number of prominent public buildings in Canada including post offices, armouries and drill halls:Thomas Seaton Scott (1871–1881);Thomas Fuller (1880–1897);David Ewart (1897–1914); Edgar L Worwood (1914–1918);Richard Cotsman Wright (1918–1927);Thomas W. Fuller (1927–1936),Charles D. Sutherland (1936–1947); andJoseph Charles Gustave Brault (1947–1952)[5]
Other revived styles also became prominent.Romanesque Revival buildings such as theBritish Columbia Legislature,Old Toronto City Hall, andLangevin Block were erected in this period. Several landmarkSecond Empire Style structures erected include theNational Assembly of Quebec,Montreal City Hall, and theLegislative Assembly of New Brunswick. In the 1890sQueen Anne Style architecture became the dominant one for upper and middle-class houses across Canada. Early in the twentieth style theTudor Style became quite popular, especially on the West Coast.Neoclassicism andBeaux-Arts architecture became the dominant style for banks and government buildings, with the latter style being frequently used from the turn of the twentieth century to the 1930s for monumental public buildings such as Toronto'sUnion Station byJohn M. Lyle and structures like the massive Princes' Gates atExhibition Place in Toronto.
In the period after theFirst World War,Canadian nationalism led to attempts to proclaim a unique Canadian architecture, distinct from that of Britain and the United States. One style promoted as distinctly Canadian was theChâteau Style, also known as Railway Gothic. This style first appeared in the late nineteenth century with grandiose railway hotels such as theChâteau Frontenac andBanff Springs Hotel. It was a mix of Victorian Gothic Revival with castles of theLoire Valley in France. The railways were seen as symbols of Canada, and the mix of French and English ideas was also considered distinctly Canadian. During the Interwar years the Château style was used in several prominent public structures, such as theSupreme Court building. Prime MinisterWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King was a prominent supporter of the style. The third and currentHotel Vancouver, the last of the great Gothic railway hotels, was also completed after the start of theSecond World War, though it had been under construction until 1929 (its predecessor was Italian Renaissance, a common style in late Victorian and Edwardian British Columbia).
The desire for a unique Canadian style also led to a revival of theNeo-Gothic style during the interwar period. In part because of the prominence of theParliament Buildings in Ottawa and the CPR's "railway Gothic", Gothic architecture had become closely associated with Canada and while the United States embracedArt Deco Canadian architects returned to the Middle Ages for inspiration, by way ofJohn Ruskin's writings on Neo-Gothic, the most Victorian of all styles. When theCentre Block of the Parliament Buildings burnt down in 1916 it was rebuilt in a similar Gothic style to that that had been used fifty years earlier. At the same time, Modernism inspired the Gothic style employed, and the Neo-Gothic buildings of the era often saw more sparse ornamentation and incorporated steel frames in their construction.
At the same time developments, especially those in United States, were not ignored. Toronto closely followed Chicago and New York as the home of skyscrapers employing new steel framed construction andelevators. In the latter half of the twentieth century, Toronto's influence on other Canadian cities, largely because of the control of capital (especially banks) meant that Western Canadian cities, particularly Vancouver, became filled with lesser versions of their counterparts in Toronto (e.g.TD Tower (Vancouver),Bentall Centre (Vancouver)) which displaced the city's older and distinctly Edwardian flavor.
Modernism appeared in a number of guises. In the 1920s and 1930s the banks and insurance companies embracedModern Classicism. ThePrairie Style, well suited to the Canadian terrain, became a popular one for homes and other structures, especially the designs ofFrancis Sullivan. In British Columbia, thebungalow style popular in British India became a fixture in local house design, and styles such asArts and Crafts,Queen Anne and emulations of Californian Spanish and other distinctly western North America styles were common.
In Vancouver during the 1950s and 1960s, Modernist architectures inspired byFrank Lloyd Wright and fostered by the unique building materials and physical setting resulted in various daring new styles of housing, particularly on Vancouver's ritzyNorth Shore, featuring open beams, glass walls, and innovative floor plans. Vancouver architectArthur Erickson, more known for grandiose exercises in institutional concrete such asRobson Square andSimon Fraser University, pioneered the British Columbia version of the "West Coast style", variations of which are also common in Washington, Oregon and California. Erickson-designed houses are prized for their intimacy and taste, as well as their advantageous use of natural settings. A lesser, though much more common, form of Modernist architecture developed during the 1960s was theVancouver Special, a two-story stuccoed box which took up most of a city lot, and typically featured two suites, one upstairs and one downstairs.
The movements and styles popular in the United States and Britain were not totally ignored in Canada. Several landmarkArt Deco structures were erected, such as theVancouver City Hall and theMarine Building also in that city andCommerce Court North in Toronto. TheGeorgian revival that was underway in the United States also made some incursions to Canada, as did diverse styles such asEgyptian Revival andSpanish Colonial styles.
After the Second World War, the desire for unique Canadian styles faded as theInternational Style came to dominate the Canadian scene in the 1950s through 1970s. Many of the most prominent Canadian projects of this period were designed by foreigners, who won open contests.Prominent Modernists such asLudwig Mies van der Rohe andI.M. Pei designed major works in Canada. At the same time top Canadian architects did much of their work abroad. One of the first and most prominent Modernist structures wasLudwig Mies van der Rohe'sToronto-Dominion Centre. The T-D Centre was one of the most prominent of the early glass and steel panelled office towers, which would be imitated around the world. The International Style period coincided with a major building boom in Canada, and few restrictions on massive building projects. International Style skyscrapers came to dominate many of Canada's major cities, especially Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Toronto. In Montreal fewer such buildings were erected, but those that were such asPlace Ville-Marie andPlace Victoria, were large enough to dominate the skyline.
The first phase of theToronto subway was completed 1954 as the first subway line in Canada, with sleek but austere and repetitive station architecture, influenced by the International Style. Yet the opening of theMontreal Metro opened in 1966 proved to be more architecturally significant in Canada because its individual stations each contained unique Modernist architecture with expressive uses of colour, form, and materials by different architects and incorporated works of art to enhance the experience of using the system. This influenced Toronto to take a similar course with its Spadina line by 1978, commissioningArthur Erickson and several Canadian firms and artists. Montreal continued upon its legacy of unique station architecture in expanding its system. Vancouver'sSkytrain rapid transit system relied on modern minimalist designs from its beginning in 1985, with some design variation and artwork in terms of the stations in the system which have been added since its opening.
The Modernist styles had mixed results when applied to residential structures, such as the largehousing projects constructed in this era. Massive Canadian housing projects, such asSt. James Town, were more successful than their counterparts in the United States. The postwar period saw the rise of massive and low densitysuburbs surrounding most Canadian cities, withDon Mills being Canada's first community constructed on rigidly Modernist lines. One important development was the rise ofshopping malls that became the commercial, and often social, centres of these suburban areas. TheWest Edmonton Mall was the world's largest mall for a 23-year period from 1981 until 2004.[6]
While the glass towers of the International Style skyscraper were at first unique and interesting, the idea was soon repeated to the point of ubiquity. Architects attempted to put new twists into such towers, such as theToronto City Hall. By the 1970s an international backlash was underway against Modernism, and Canada was one of its centres. Prominent critics of Modern planning such asJane Jacobs andGeorge Baird were based in Canada.
The 1970s represented a turning point away from the International Style and Modernist planning.Brutalist architecture had been seen in Canada prior to the decade, but became more dominant in the 1970s with the backlash against the International Style. The style emphasized the reflection of the functional components of the interior in the exterior, along with geometric and sculptural uses of concrete on the interior and exterior of the building. It was a style used focally for institutional buildings for government, academic, and cultural uses, but also for high-rise residential and commercial buildings. At the same time, urban activists, architects and governments increasingly moved to influence development in favour of heritage preservation, historic view, corridor preservation, and contextual sensitivity in scale and materials.
The new Canadian architecture once again turned to the past. A prominent heritage preservation movement developed, and most cities today have heritage districts of restored structures. Old factories and warehouses, rather than be demolished, have been refurbished, such as theQueen's Quay Terminal, a former warehouse at a prominent central location on the Toronto waterfront that was rebuilt into a mix of stores, residential condominiums, and a theatre. New buildings have also begun to echo the past.Ronald Thom'sMassey College is a notable early example completed in 1963. It adds strong Gothic influences to a Modern concrete, brick, and glass aesthetic. The CAMH Research Centre byKPMB Architects, proposed to be completed by 2027, echoes the past of Queen Street West and Shaw Street, revitalizing the site that was originally known as the Provincial Lunatic Asylum from the mid-19th century until 1976.
Postmodern architecture was the mainstream style in Canada by the 1980s. Postmodernity in architecture is generally thought to be heralded by the return of "wit, ornament and reference" to architecture in response to the formalism of the International Style of Modernism and perceived problems with the style. The functional and formalized shapes and spaces of the Modernist movement were replaced by unapologetically diverse aesthetics: styles collide, form is adopted for its own sake, and new ways of viewing familiar styles and space abound. Architects produced what they perceived to be more meaningful buildings with pluralism, double coding, flying buttresses and high ceilings, irony and paradox, and contextualism. Skyscrapers like1000 de La Gauchetière in Montreal,Brookfield Place in Toronto, andBankers Hall in Calgary define the style in terms of high-rise corporate architecture. These towers feature combinations of International Style design features with ornamental and potentially symbolic references to past architectural styles such as Art Deco, with pronounced base, middle, and top sections, and prominent atrium common spaces.
TheMississauga Civic Centre, completed in 1987, is an important example of public architecture in the style. It makes reference to local farm architecture around the suburban area of Mississauga as well as a clocktower—a feature associated with traditional city centres. It exhibits references to past architectural ideas, yet is decidedly untraditional. TheVancouver Public Library similarly evokes Postmodern aesthetic ideals, though references a different architectural past, demonstrating the eclectic nature of the style in Canada.
TheEmbassy of Canada, Tokyo, completed in 1991, and designed by Raymond Moriyama, is an example of government architecture located outside of Canada.
Postmodernism visibly declined by the 2000s, when architecture in Canada became more varied. Lowrise residential subdivision architecture became more strongly focused on imitating traditional styles from the likes of the Georgian and Victorian eras, though low-rise infill projects in cities demonstrated an increased popularity of the Modern aesthetic. High-rise architecture generally turned to new variations on the International Style.Starchitects received commissions to design a small number of prominent urban landmarks. For instance,Norman Foster designedThe Bow in Calgary, while Toronto saw the completion of theDeconstructivist Michael Lee-Chin "Crystal" at theRoyal Ontario Museum byDaniel Libeskind, and the thorough renovation and expansion project byFrank Gehry of theArt Gallery of Ontario.
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