Richness of the origins
The historic site of l'Anse aux Meadows, on the island of Newfoundland, is home to the remains of an 11th-century Viking settlement. Excavations have shown that the settlement consisted of a wooden frame with a gable roof, covered with clods of peat extracted from the surrounding peat bogs. But this first European presence should not obscure the fact that Canada's first inhabitants were the aboriginal peoples, whose traditions go back thousands of years. For them, it was not a question of taking control of nature, but of living with it. Habitat also has a very strong symbolic dimension, with structural forms corresponding to cultural values and spaces designed to represent the cosmos. Peoples belonging to the Iroquois nation were organized in villages surrounded by palisades of sharpened stakes, the largest of which could number several hundred inhabitants. The traditional dwelling was the longhouse, with its bent cedar frame covered in bark. The Plains peoples, on the other hand, developed wigwams. These circular, elongated, dome-shaped dwellings were composed of vertically planted young trunks, interconnected by root strips and reinforced by horizontal membranes. The whole structure was covered with woven mats and bark leaves. Tipis were also widespread. These sloping cone-shaped portable houses were made of wooden poles and covered with buffalo hides held together by stones or stakes. An inner lining of buffalo hide, known as a "ghost screen", was added to protect against draughts and humidity, while preventing shadows from being cast on the outer wall. With the disappearance of the bison, the hides were gradually replaced by canvas.
On the Pacific coast, indigenous peoples developed a more "sedentary" architecture. The most important element here is the totem pole. Ranging in height from 10 to 30 m, carved from red cedar, these masts are adorned with animal and human forms recounting the history of the clan. More often than not, the houses of these villages are made of planks skilfully cut and arranged using a notched system, and impress with their structures of beams and posts carved in the clan's colors. At the same time, these peoples have also devised semi-subterranean houses, with a structure composed of a system of rafters arranged concentrically, so as to support logs fitted and caulked with thick layers of grass. Alongside the semi-subterranean winter house, with its stone walls and load-bearing structure often made of whalebone, the Inuit and peoples of the Far North developed the igloo, whose vault is not supported by any external structure, and whose interior is covered with skins and the tunnel entrance protected by a rampart of earth or snow to keep out the cold. The Heritage Villages and Heritage Parks dotted around the country bear astonishing witness to this native habitat. The meeting of these millennia-old traditions with European influences has also given rise to an astonishing syncretism, as illustrated by the Kateri Tekakwitha church in Gesgapegiag, a tepee made of aluminium and decorated with crosses and dreamcatchers, or the igloo-shaped churches in Nunavut.
On an air of France
Sainte-Marie-among-the-Hurons is the reconstruction of a settlement founded by the Jesuits in Huron country in 1639. The village, surrounded by a wooden palisade, was separated into two sectors: one for the French with a chapel and workshops, the other for the Hurons with the traditional longhouses. The Jesuit missionaries brought craftsmen from France to build the village. The settlers also developed a defensive architecture, establishing numerous defensive posts, such as the fort of Castle Hill or the fortress of Louisbourg. Quebec City is the only city in North America to have preserved its original ramparts, which include numerous bastions, gates and defensive works that surrounded the city at the time, divided into two sectors: Upper Town, the religious and administrative center at the top of the cliff, and Lower Town with its ancient suburbs. In order to establish the prestige of their king in the New World, the master builders trained in France adopted the codes of classical Grand Siècle architecture. Alongside public buildings and castles, a rich religious architecture developed. The church of Notre-Dame des Victoires in Quebec City, a sober stone building, the church of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré with its double drum and domes, and the monasteries of the Récollets and the Ursulines bear witness to this French classicism.
The town of Tadoussac is home to one of the oldest wooden churches in the country, a testament to the need for settlers to adapt to the climate and environment. This evolution can also be observed in the residential habitat. At first, the French settlers developed a habitat entirely based on the styles and forms they knew... This is how Quebec in particular saw the birth of an architecture with Breton accents (double slope roofs and gable walls), Basque (half-timbering) or Norman (gable roofs). These houses are made of stone or a mixture of stone and earth, and consist of an apparent frame covered with a thatched roof, and a floor made of earth or covered with boards. But these models were not made to resist the Canadian climate. From then on, the settlers adapted their architecture, inspired in particular by shipbuilding, by favouring wood, double partitions and the use of insulating materials (foam, rags). The floor is now made of stone and the roofs are very sloping to avoid the accumulation of snow. At the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, however, numerous fires prompted the municipalities to adopt urban planning laws. Wood was forbidden and ashlar houses were favored. The double-sloped roof was carried by a lighter framework and above all was removable in case of fire. A way to freeze and transmit through time the image of this New France. Finally, it is impossible to talk about this French influence without mentioning the particular case of the Acadians. Their achievements are of French inspiration but immediately adapted to the climate. Wooden frames, stone foundations and then using the technique of earthen posts to reinforce the walls and create crawl spaces, a clever system of tenons and mortises, cob walls and thatched or shingled roofs characterize these houses. The church, a key element of the Acadian communities, is usually built of stone and has very beautiful decorative ornaments. To discover this beautiful heritage, visit the Village Historique Acadien de Rivière Nord in New Brunswick.
British influence
Old Lunenburg is a fine example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America. Founded in 1753, it retains its original checkerboard pattern. Originally, this urban core was surrounded by fortifications. In terms of style, there is a harmony of scale, layout and use of materials (mainly wood). This search for harmony is a constant in British architecture of this period. The style favored at the time was a clever mixture of borrowings from ancient codes (monumental Ionic columns, pediments, pilasters, royal coats of arms) via the Palladian and Georgian styles, as well as from the codes of colonial architecture as it developed in the United States with its large plantation residences that looked like Greek palaces, then, from the 19th century, to Victorian eclecticism, notably favoring neo-Renaissance in the commercial streets with houses with cornices connected in braces, and brick neo-Gothic for the public buildings. Religious architecture was not to be outdone, as shown by the imposing Holy Trinity Cathedral in Quebec City, the first Anglican cathedral built outside the British Isles. Its sober and symmetrical lines make it an example of the Palladian colonial style. The cities developed, seeing the birth of new suburbs linked by large commercial streets to the city centers that had become institutional centers. At the same time, new individual housing was developed, notably in the form of row-houses, terraced houses with uniform facings and refined decoration. With its star-shaped citadel, its Historic Properties, elegant stone buildings along the waterfront, its Government House, its clock tower and its elegant Province House, the oldest legislative building in Canada, Halifax is a must-see. If its star-shaped plan was designed by the French royal engineer Vauban, the Citadel of Quebec was entirely built under the direction of Colonel Dunford. Don't miss the Residence of the Governor General with its double central staircase and its marble vestibule. In addition to these imposing citadels, the British also built many forts across the country. In the Great Lakes region, Fort George shows how, under the shelter of an enclosure of earth and wood, a real small town developed with barracks, guardhouses, officers' quarters... Fort Wellington and Old Fort Henry are among the other famous British forts. Alongside these military outposts, another type of fort developed: the Hudson's Bay Company's trading posts. Initially simple warehouses protected by a palisade, these trading posts became true forts containing warehouses, workers' housing, forges, workshops and sometimes even a hospital. Fort Albany in Ontario and Lower Fort Garry in Manitoba are good examples.
Bubbling nineteenth century
Boomtowns or boomtowns were created around the new logging, mining and coal mining operations. Created ex-nihilo, they are characterized by a very particular style that always follows the same steps. First, a cubic wooden building with one or two stories and a nearly flat roof was built to minimize the loss of space, then a false front was added that extended beyond the roofline, giving each building a unique style. Dawson City in the Yukon is the most famous. In the major metropolises, the federal government imposed its new power. At first, the style widely used was Romanesque Revival with its large arched buildings. Then gradually the neo-Gothic and neo-classical styles appeared, as shown by the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa, made of hand-cut sandstone and limestone with green-grey domes, Kingston City Hall with its Tuscan columns, or the Ontario Parliament in Toronto with its neo-Romanesque façade. Religious buildings are also adorned with neo-Romanesque trappings. The Presbyterian Church of Niagara on the Lake with its Doric colonnades is a perfect example of Greek Revival, while the Basilica of Mary Queen of the World in Montreal, a copy of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, is the quintessential neo-Baroque. The University of Toronto is a perfect example of British campus fashion with its neo-Gothic Soldier's Tower and its very neo-Romanesque University College. The country also saw the development of commercial architecture with the Hudson's Bay Company erecting large stores with neo-baroque facades, while the large cities built buildings inspired by American skyscrapers, such as the Henry Birks building in Vancouver, one of the first 10-storey buildings. But this 19th century was also and above all the century of the railways. In addition to superb stations, the all-powerful Canadian Pacific Railway financed the construction of real castles. In Quebec City, Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, designed by Bruce Price, was modeled after the Loire Valley castles and imposed a Renaissance style tinged with a form of English romanticism that would be called the "château style. Mixing neo-Renaissance and Victorian neo-Gothic, the Banff Springs Hotel and the Château du Lac Louise illustrate the development of this tourist architecture. Both are the work of Francis Mawson Rattenbury, who worked mainly in British Columbia. He was responsible for important public buildings such as the Parliament Building in Victoria and the former Vancouver Courthouse. He was also responsible for an astonishing residential architecture of which Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria is the most famous example. A mixture of Romanesque and Gothic, this real fake Scottish castle is impressive, as is the Casa Loma in Toronto, designed by E.J. Lennox, which mixes the Norman, neo-Gothic and late Romanesque styles in an ensemble inspired by Balmoral Castle! More rustic and intimate with its red brick decorated with pretty molded ornaments, the Queen Anne style is very popular with the wealthy, who are building homes that look like castles everywhere. Mixing the sobriety of the Arts and Crafts and Craftsman styles, the simplicity of the California bungalows (all these styles sublimating wood), and the extravagance of the neo styles, the architect Samuel Mclure imagined Shingle Style beach cottages. These superb homes are inseparable from the West Coast, just like the more modest houses on stilts on Vancouver Island, which are recognizable by their bright colors. These colors are also found on the very picturesque small houses with colored wooden boards of the coastal fishing villages. Picturesque and rustic are also the prerogative of log cabins. These "cabins" range from simple log structures, with a single room of square or rectangular plan, a gable roof whose overhanging gable is supported by wooden posts creating a sort of porch, and stone foundations, to more elaborate multi-story structures. This style is also found in Quebec's outfitters, former private hunting clubs that have now been transformed into tourist structures.
Between tradition and modernity
The turn of the 20th century saw a renewed interest in parks and green spaces, as illustrated by Mount Royal Park in Montreal, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect of Central Park in New York. Neo styles are still very fashionable, especially in the large Ukrainian community in Ontario and Saskatchewan, as evidenced by the neo-Byzantine cathedral of St. Josaphat in Edmonton or St. Mary's Church in Yorkton with its amazing dome and beautiful icons and paintings. The romantic wave also continues in the architecture of hotels and resorts that look like castles. On the other hand, commercial and public buildings turned to a more classical style. It was the advent of the Beaux-Arts style, combining rigor, elegance and monumentalism. The Royal York Hotel and Union Station in Toronto with their Doric colonnades, porticos and imposing facades are superb examples. Fervent defender of an openly Canadian architecture, the architect John Lyle advocated a mixture of European classicism and regionalism, particularly in the addition of frescoes, mosaics and sculptural motifs illustrating the history of the country.
Then, in the 1930s, this style became more refined and we begin to speak of "stripped classicism" to describe the evolution towards geometric forms announcing modernity, starting with that of Art Deco. With its facade playing on verticality and recessed effects, its large vaulted portal and its spectacular richly decorated hall, the Marine Building in Vancouver is the quintessence of this sober style, which does not hesitate to draw on a more exotic register for its ornamentation. At the same time, "ordinary" buildings also inspired the moderns: the grain elevators and silos of the Great Plains, nicknamed the cathedrals or sentinels of the Prairies. Le Corbusier himself praised the simplicity of their structure, their pure geometric form and their way of making form and structure coincide perfectly. Cylindrical in the nineteenth century, they became square, and then had a pyramidal roof with a dome or a gable roof.
Art Deco then gave way to Modernism with its massive buildings and clean lines, then to Functionalism with its flat surfaces, giving pride of place to glass and advocating a design where utility and function took precedence over ornamentation. The BC Electric building (Electra Tower) in Vancouver, with its exterior wall covered with a layer of immense glass panels held together by a thin metal grid - the famous curtain wall - is one of the most famous skyscrapers of the time. This functionalism will also develop in Toronto. John B. Parkin and Viljo Revell designed the new City Hall, impressive with its two curved towers and its exterior alternating between large glass surfaces and ribbed concrete. The legendary Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe designed the first two towers of the Toronto Dominion Centre here, and in his last major project, he expressed his style of sobriety, lightness and modularity, combining concrete, steel and glass. The 1940s and 1950s saw a sharp increase in the number of suburban developments organized according to geometric plans, while a new type of housing emerged. The bungalow was still very popular, but a new style was added: the West Coast Style, a vernacular version of modernism, which is found a lot on the West Coast of course, but also all over the country. This style borrows both from the international style in the "interlocking boxes" aspect, but also from Japanese architecture and from Frank Lloyd Wright's organic architecture in its way of trying to integrate the building into the environment. In the industrial suburbs, a practical and inexpensive type of housing was also developed, recognizable by its box-like structure with a very low roof... A style that was quickly criticized as repetitive and soulless, a criticism that Moshe Safdie did not escape. In 1967, as part of EXPO 67 in Montreal, the young student presented his final project: Habitat 67, a reflection on large-scale housing projects in the form of prefabricated concrete cubic modules that could be stacked and assembled in staggered rows. This rendering was intended to be an original response to the usual monotony of standardized housing projects. But the real fantasy of the time can be seen in the balconies of Montreal. In order to gain more living space in the multi-unit houses, each apartment had a balcony connected to the street by wrought iron staircases of various shapes. This sober expressiveness heralds postmodernism, as do the curved designs of Uno Prii in Toronto, such as the Vincennes Building with its elegant canopy.
Contemporary architecture
In the early 1970s, Ieoh Ming Pei was chosen to redesign Montreal's Place Ville-Marie, whose cross-shaped plan and towers gave the city a decidedly North American look. In 1976, architect Roger Taillibert designed the new Montreal stadium, with an elliptical shape and a framework made up of 34 brackets composed of 1,500 pieces supported by 50-metre cantilevers. A true architectural feat. Just like Calgary's legendary Saddledome, the "column-free amphitheater" with its saddle-shaped roof... Calgary is the rodeo capital of the country! In 1988, the city hosted the Winter Olympics, for which the Olympic Oval was built, the first fully covered ring structure that can be admired from the top of the 191 m Calgary Tower. Two years earlier, it was Expo 86 in Vancouver that made its mark on the country. Understanding historical heritage, preserving it and integrating it into new creations were among the main objectives of the new architecture promoted by the exhibition. The Northwest Territories Pavilion with its glacier-like reflective glass and the Canada Pavilion with its 5 large sails were sensational, as was the Classical Chinese Garden, a recreation of a Ming Dynasty garden created by more than 50 artisans from Suzhou, China's garden city. A masterpiece that shows the importance of the Chinese community in Canada. Every major city has a district called Chinatown. Vancouver's is particularly beautiful with its elegantly curved roofs and ornate painted wooden balconies. At the same time, great names in architecture continue to make their mark through the construction of skyscrapers, such as the TD Canada Trust Tower and the Bay Wellington Tower in Toronto, both designed by SOM and Santiago Calatrava, or the Bow in Calgary, a 236-meter-high curved tower designed by Norman Foster. Leaving behind his "living boxes", Moshe Safdie imagines an architecture more rooted in history. His work includes Vancouver's Library Square, whose elliptical shape encompasses the historic library building. An astonishing dialogue between past and present is found in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, a steel structure clad in aluminum and punctuated with large windows designed by Daniel Libeskind. Toronto native Frank Gehry transformed the Art Gallery of Ontario with his titanium-blue New Gallery, with its undulating roof covered in glass panels and supported by curved beams. Toronto's new courthouse, a 20-metre high bay window, is nearing completion and will be the first Canadian project by renowned architect Renzo Piano. Like many other projects in the country, this project is resolutely ecological. In Gaspésie, the Route des Belvédères impresses with its surprising structures integrated into the landscape, such as the Belvédère des Deux-Rivières, an astonishing twisted wooden tunnel. A pioneer in high-density urban development with an approach that blends skyscrapers, low-rise buildings and green spaces, Vancouver is also a pioneer in wood architecture. Specializing in laminated wood construction, a solid, fire-resistant material that can storeCO2, Michael Green's firm is multiplying projects, the most famous of which is the Brock Commons Tallwood House, a 54-meter-high student residence that was, at its inauguration in 2017, the tallest laminated wood tower in the world. At the same time, many cities are choosing to preserve and rehabilitate industrial sites in particular, while imagining ever greener spaces accessible to all, like Vancouver, which, with its Arbutus Corridor project, is dreaming of transforming 9 km of disused railroad tracks into a large green corridor. And many residents are protesting against pharaonic projects that distort the heart of cities, such as the "Phare" project in Quebec City, renamed Humaniti, which consists of several large towers... but which has still not been built. Canadians will do anything to defend the unique beauty of their cities!
