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Building a History: Highlights of 20th Century Canadian Architecture
Museum of Contemporary Art Calgary
Friday, September 9 - Wednesday, October 12

More in: Visual Arts

Highlights from a century of Canadian architecture providing insight on the unavoidable art will take Calgarians on a historic tour. In conjunction with the Connections to Collections series, the Triangle Gallery has teamed up with the Canadian Architectural Archives (CAA) to showcase 100 years of the very best in architectural artwork with Building a History: Highlights of 20th Century Canadian Architecture.

The exhibition is curated by the University of Calgary’s Linda Fraser, chief curator of the CAA, and Dr. Geoffrey Simmins, associate dean of research and planning in the faculty of arts.

Fraser says the original concept was to create an exhibition of the highlights of the CAA, but the collection was so rich it turned into highlights of Canadian architecture over the past century. “We tried to find a balance between showing material of local historical interest, and projects that were more significant nationally and internationally,” she says.

Fraser says particular pieces, such as Thomas Mawson’s 1912 plan for the City of Calgary, achieve both goals. Another goal for the curators was to show materials reflecting the architectural design process and how it evolved over the past century.

“We chose a wide range of drawings, objects and artifacts, hoping to re-create a sense of what architects do when they design buildings,” explains Fraser. “We think that we have curated a show that will be engaging to a highly diverse audience, ranging from professionals to the general public.”

The architectural artwork displayed ranges from the utilitarian to the sublime, and Simmins encourages the public to come see such artifacts as the gargoyles carved for the Parliament buildings in Ottawa.

The CAA is one of the few Canadian institutions dedicated to preserving architectural records in addition to promoting architecture a defining factor of society.

“We hope to excite people about architecture and make them ask questions about buildings that they visit and live in,” says Simmins. “I’d like them to be intrigued. I’d like them to get a sense that they want higher quality for their own buildings and higher quality for what they see around them.”

Simmins believes good architecture is good architecture, regardless of the era, and can be viewed as a social art explaining society’s values.

“I think if you’re around good architecture it can be uplifting, it can make you soar and really make you feel like your life is a better place.”

Fraser points out that most tourism is related to outstanding architecture, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, while badly designed architecture can have the opposite effect, contributing to people feeling depressed by their surroundings.

“Architecture is the unavoidable art and in many respects it is our testament in stone,” she adds.

Fraser would like audiences to discover the concept of the richness of architecture in the way it shapes their everyday lives, and to inspire dialogue about architecture’s pivotal role in society.

“I think the most interesting thing about looking at historical architecture is to see how it reflects social and cultural changes over time,” she says. “A viewing of the drawings and artifacts will show how the architectural process has changed over the past century, as well as how tastes have changed.”

Through the drawings displayed, audiences will see changes in economic fortunes, and societal building trends in housing, educational, public and corporate buildings, which Fraser says encompasses the history of Canada.

“More than just a record of how a building was designed and built, the drawings document the development of our towns and cities, societal and cultural trends, power structures, economic forces and artistic endeavours.”