Canadian Building Abstracts

Canadian Architecture: Evolving a Cultural Identity surveys the country's most accomplished architectural firms, whose work enhances cities and landscapes across Canada's geographically varied expanse. Author Leslie Jen explores a number of significant projects in urban and rural environments--private residences, cultural and institutional facilities, and democratic public spaces--that profoundly influence our interactions with each other and the communities in which we live. Accompanied by stunning photography, Canadian Architecture is a testament to a thriving, diverse and innovative design culture that continues to play an integral role in shaping our national identity.

The legacies of theaters, hotels, fire stations, flour mills, and more -- torn down, burned down, and otherwise lost -- are uncovered in this bittersweet collection. Using archival photographs, blueprints, and written reports, Raymond Biesinger has rendered a selection of Canada's most iconic lost buildings in his signature minimalist style. Accompanying Biesinger's illustrations are Alex Bozikovic's descriptions which capture each building's historical, cultural, and architectural significance. Bozikovic draws on local histories, archived building permits and his own extensive knowledge of the Canadian urban architectural landscape and its history -- from the letters passed through Kelowna's unlikely art deco post office to the destruction of a home in Halifax's Africville -- to offer fascinating, sometimes forgotten stories about each building and its significance. An impossible architectural walking tour, 305 Lost Buildings of Canada spans the country, its cities and countryside, and its history. Cities change, buildings come and go, but in this fact-filed compendium, you'll find the lost wonders of Canada's architecture.