Up North

by Lisa Rochon

The legacy of Canadian architecture grows out of the landscape, a landscape that is mythic in its scale and power. Up north, architecture rarely competes with the awe-inspiring forces of nature. It digs into the side of a hill or a mountain, or it rises up to match the temper of the land. In Canada, there is an unabashed intimacy between architecture and landscape.How do award-winning Canadian architects continue to distinguish themselves in the worlds hyper-market of design? By doing what theyve been doing since the 1940s: making meaningful, authentic sense of modernism. The award-winning architecture that Canadians are producing today is not a concoction brewed up to suit the globalized aesthetic of design. It belongs to a legacy of intelligence in architecture that began on the West Coast: human-scaled, finely crafted architecture that heightened the sense of place. Over the past several decades, the best Canadian architects have developed a modern design language that never abandoned a strong sense of place.Original analysis and insights are drawn from the authors extensive experience as the national architecture critic and her in-depth interviews with the gurus of Canadian architecture: Frank Gehry, Eberhard Zeidler, Raymond Moriyama, as well as the younger superstars such as Bruce Kuwabara, the Patkaus and Shim-Sutcliffe Architects.Foreword by Lise-Anne Couture, Asymptote Architects A Conversation with Frank Gehry 1.Canadian Architecture: A Manifesto Essay: Suburbia and the Big Box 2.The West Coast Modernists 3.Ecstasy and the Landscape Essay: The Structural Audacity of St. Marys Church / Douglas Cardinal 4.Leonard Cohen, Margaret Atwood, and the Big City Essay: The Evolution of the Frum House / Ron Thom and Shim-Sutcliffe Architects 5.Liberating Form from Concrete Essay: Arthur Erickson and Canadas Civil Society 6.Between the Earth and the Sky Essay: The Art of Architecture in Canada and Abroad / The Patkau Architects Notes Selected Bibliography Index Visit Lisa's personal website at: http://www.lisarochon.com/

Genres: Architecture

304 pages, Hardcover

First published August 10, 2004

Reviews

[Scott Benowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I worked in an architectural office in the suburbs of New York City from 2004 through 2017. I purchased this book for two reasons:
Firstly, I'm interested in out- of- the- box architecture, and secondly, I'm an amateur photographer and I'm interested in architectural photography. This book is very well researched, this book includes detailed descriptions of some of the most interesting residences in Canada as well as beautiful color photos of them.
However, you don't need to be familiar with modern architecture and different architectural styles to enjoy this book, you only need to be curious about people who enjoy designing homes which are based on some very out- of- the- box unconventional thinking.
You also don't need to be familiar with Canada to enjoy this book. Even if you've never traveled to Canada, you'll still be able to appreciate the descriptions of the design processes that various architects had been utilizing when they'd designed the buildings which are featured in this book as well as the color photos of the houses.

[Paolo Z · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars.
I've had this on my shelf for more than 15 years. Finally got around to reading it and ... it was fine. The photos are way too small to truly appreciate the beautiful architecture being described. Like ridiculously tiny. I actually took photos of some of the pictures with my phone just so I could zoom in and see better. Also, the stories were ... fine. A few interesting anecdotes. But overall very dry.