CAMBRIDGE CITY HALL

Cambridge City Hall

Cambridge City Hall

The architecture of Canada is, with the exception of that of Canadian First 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.

Victorian styles of architecture dominated in Canada from the mid-nineteenth century up to the First 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 the Gothic 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. Some of the most prominent Gothic Revival structures are the original Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, by noted architect Thomas Fuller who in 1881 was appointed Chief Dominion Architect.

Other revived styles also became prominent. Romanesque Revival buildings such as the British Columbia Legislature, Old Toronto City Hall, and Langevin Block were erected in this period. Neoclassicism became popular for banks, and for train station such as Toronto's Union Station. Several Second Empire Style structures were erected such as the National Assembly of Quebec, Manitoba Legislative Building, Montreal City Hall, and the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. In the 1890s Queen Anne Style architecture became the dominant one for upper and middle class houses across Canada. Early in the twentieth style the Tudor Style became quite popular, especially on the West Coast.

Contemporary architectural design

One of the challenges to critics of architecture is to identify design trends, common characteristics in building form, plan, or programme and to synthesize these mto a discussion of style Making these connections is often much easier when architecture is seen from a historical perspective, where time clarifies some characteristics and makes other influences less prominent An attempt to undertake such an analysis of the contemporary scene IS, as a consequence, more difficult and not without risk This may, in part, explain the lack of many comprehensive reviews of post-war architecture in Canada It may also be that, because of the chaotic and rapid growth of this country since 1950, the focus has been on reporting trends, rather than examining the tendencies in any depth or detail Contemporary Canadian Architecture by William Bernstein and Ruth Cawker IS an attempt to make order from the multitude of buildings erected in Canada since the end of World War Two ...