Starting From... Windows
A window can be a void, an aperture, or a glass surface. Existing at the boundary between interior and exterior, windows admit light and air and frame views. The idea of the window, combined with advances in glass as a building material, became central to architectural experimentation during the modern period. This selection from the CCA collection presents a range of(...)
Hall cases
17 June 2010 to 27 September 2010
Starting From... Windows
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A window can be a void, an aperture, or a glass surface. Existing at the boundary between interior and exterior, windows admit light and air and frame views. The idea of the window, combined with advances in glass as a building material, became central to architectural experimentation during the modern period. This selection from the CCA collection presents a range of(...)
Hall cases
Ábalos Herreros constructed landscapes—or, more precisely, assembled them—by crudely juxtaposing a cast of semi-familiar characters. Novel to Spanish architecture in the 1980s, this pragmatic method of appropriation was developed and consistently employed as part of their design process. Borrowing, incorporating and transforming allowed ÁbalosHerreros to absorb the(...)
Octagonal gallery
23 July 2015 to 13 September 2015
Landscapes of the Hyperreal: Ábalos&Herreros selected by SO – IL
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Ábalos Herreros constructed landscapes—or, more precisely, assembled them—by crudely juxtaposing a cast of semi-familiar characters. Novel to Spanish architecture in the 1980s, this pragmatic method of appropriation was developed and consistently employed as part of their design process. Borrowing, incorporating and transforming allowed ÁbalosHerreros to absorb the(...)
Octagonal gallery
Money Matters: A Critical Look at Bank Architecture surveys the history and cultural significance of bank architecture, focusing on bank architecture as a building typology rather than in the context of a single architect or architectural firm. Challenging the standard notion that bank buildings are repetitive, dull and conservative, the exhibition reveals banks as(...)
Main galleries
14 November 1990 to 24 February 1991
Money Matters: A Critical Look at Bank Architecture
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Money Matters: A Critical Look at Bank Architecture surveys the history and cultural significance of bank architecture, focusing on bank architecture as a building typology rather than in the context of a single architect or architectural firm. Challenging the standard notion that bank buildings are repetitive, dull and conservative, the exhibition reveals banks as(...)
Main galleries
2016 Visiting Scholar Cara Rachele presents her research: This lecture investigates the explosion of detail drawings in the Renaissance. It connects the emergence of the detail in the sixteenth century as a canonical drawing type with the evocation of the material antique. The organic evolution of the detail drawing method can be seen in the sketchbooks of everyday(...)
11 August 2016, 6pm
Visiting Scholar Seminar: Cara Rachele
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2016 Visiting Scholar Cara Rachele presents her research: This lecture investigates the explosion of detail drawings in the Renaissance. It connects the emergence of the detail in the sixteenth century as a canonical drawing type with the evocation of the material antique. The organic evolution of the detail drawing method can be seen in the sketchbooks of everyday(...)
research
TD Bank Group-CCA Collection Research Grant recipients Nuria Carton de Grammont (Concordia University); Dwayne Avery (McGill University); Victor Halim Nasr (Université de Montréal); Jenni Pace Presnell (University of British Columbia); Zubin Singh (McGill University); Ana Maria León (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); S. Faisal Hassan (Massachusetts Institute of(...)
May 2010 to December 2010
Doctoral Students Program 2010
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TD Bank Group-CCA Collection Research Grant recipients Nuria Carton de Grammont (Concordia University); Dwayne Avery (McGill University); Victor Halim Nasr (Université de Montréal); Jenni Pace Presnell (University of British Columbia); Zubin Singh (McGill University); Ana Maria León (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); S. Faisal Hassan (Massachusetts Institute of(...)
research
May 2010 to
December 2010
Alongside a growth in decentralized, experimental, and underground cinema at the end of the 1960s and in the early 1970s, many groups operating from inside the field of architecture such as Superstudio, Studio 9999, and Ant Farm explored the short film as a medium to expand architectural discourse, embed their projects with bold reflections and projections of society, and(...)
Octagonal gallery
21 September 2018 to 19 May 2019
Scripts for a new world
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Alongside a growth in decentralized, experimental, and underground cinema at the end of the 1960s and in the early 1970s, many groups operating from inside the field of architecture such as Superstudio, Studio 9999, and Ant Farm explored the short film as a medium to expand architectural discourse, embed their projects with bold reflections and projections of society, and(...)
Octagonal gallery
Sub-series
CI001.S2.D5
Description:
Charles Rohault de Fleury was architect for the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle from 1833 to 1862. His work for the Muséum is represented in the CCA collection by a diverse group of prints and drawings. In addition to documenting his built and unbuilt projects, the inclusion of prints and drawings of museum and zoo buildings by other architects record, if only partially, the resources available to Charles in designing his buildings. This reference material provides insight into the influences on Charles' work as well as the nature of the design process itself. His built works, with the exception of the 1854 addition to the greenhouses, are illustrated in a book of prints with a brief accompanying text - "Muséum d'histoire naturelle: serres chaudes, galeries de minéralogie, etc. etc." (published 1837) (DR1974:0002:004:001; a second copy is held by the CCA library) (1). While prints are included for the Galerie de minéralogie et de géologie, the monkey house and the reservoirs, the majority of the prints are of the greenhouses (serres chaudes) begun 1833 (2). Known for their technological innovations in iron construction, these greenhouses utilized the first multi-storey load-bearing cast-iron façades for the central pavilions as well as space frame roof structures and prefabricated parts. This structural system is well documented in the prints in the CCA collection. The design was apparently inspired by the English greenhouses - a plate of which are included in the book - that Charles saw on a tour of England. The use of prestressed beams and curved roofs in the lateral wings attest to this influence. Charles' greenhouses, in turn, influenced the design of other greenhouses in Europe especially those at the Jardins Botanique in Liège and Ghent, Belgium (3). Although Joseph Paxton saw the greenhouses in 1833, it is unclear if they had an impact on the design of the Crystal Palace constructed 1850-1851 (4). The innovations of Charles' greenhouses continued to be acknowledged into the 20th century. Giedion in "Space, Time and Architecture", while erroneously attributing them to Rouhault (5)(6), refers to the greenhouses as "the prototype of all large iron-framed conservatories" (7). In addition to the greenhouses for the Muséum, the CCA collection includes three proposals (dated 1841) for a private greenhouse designed by Charles Rohault de Fleury (DR1974:0002:002:008 - DR1974:0002:002:013). The designs utilize the same curved roofs as the wings of the greenhouses at the Muséum combined with classically detailed stonework. An different aspect of Charles' work for the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle is represented in the album of unexecuted proposals -the only design drawings for the Muséum in the collection - for a Galerie de zoologie (DR1974:0002:024:001-079). Building on the typology of his earlier classical Galerie de minéralogie et de géologie (constructed 1833 -1841), the proposals, which date from between 1838 and 1862, illustrate a gradual enrichment of Charles' classical architectural vocabulary (8). They vary in their spatial configurations and façade treatments ranging from austere colonnaded designs with little ornament to more elaborate ones with richly encrusted facades, complex rooflines and more dramatic interior spaces characteristic of the Second Empire. The majority of the proposals consist of preliminary drawings illustrating the essential formal, spatial and ornamental aspects of the building. One proposal, dated January 1846, is substantially more developed than the others; in addition to general plans, sections and elevations, more detailed drawings are included for the layout of spaces, the elaboration of the facades, the configuration of the structure and even the designs for the specimen display cases. It is also worth noting that this album includes several plans outlining Rohault de Fleury's ideas for the overall development of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. In 1846, an album of prints of the Museo di fiscia e storia naturelle in Florence (DR1974:0002:005:001-018) was presented to Charles by the Grand Duke of Tuscany in response to his request for tracings of that building. These prints were probably used as reference material for the design of the new Galerie de zoologie described above. The portfolio of record drawings (ca. 1862) of the zoos in Antwerp, Brussels, Marseille and Amsterdam (DR1974:0002:018:001-027) is probably a dummy for a publication on zoological gardens as well as background documentation for the renovation and expansion of the zoo at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris. Both drawings of the facilities for the animals and visitors and general plans of the zoological gardens are included. The Paris zoo project was apparently never undertaken. (1) These prints were reused in the "Oeuvre de C. Rohault de Fleury, architecte" (published 1884) (DR1974:0002:029:001-044). (2) Rohault de Fleury's greenhouses were destroyed in the Prussian bombardments of 1870. The greenhouses, which now stand in their place, are similar in layout and appearance to the original design, but their structural system is different. (3) John Hix, 'The Glass House' (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1981), p. 115. (4) Ibid., p. 115. (5) This error has been repeated by other authors including Henry-Russell Hitchcock, 'Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries' (Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books, 1968), p. 120. (6) Leonardo Benevolo, 'History of Modern Architecture' Volume 1: The tradition of modern architecture (Cambridge, Mass.: The M.I.T. Press, 1971), p. 22. (7) Sigfried Giedion, 'Space, Time and Architecture; the growth of a new tradition' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1941), p. 181. (8) Barry Bergdoll, "Charles Rohault de Fleury: Part two: Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle and Studies on analogous Constructions in Europe", 'CCA Research Report", n.d., p. 1.
[1837-ca. 1862]
Muséum nationale d'histoire naturelle
CI001.S2.D5
Description:
Charles Rohault de Fleury was architect for the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle from 1833 to 1862. His work for the Muséum is represented in the CCA collection by a diverse group of prints and drawings. In addition to documenting his built and unbuilt projects, the inclusion of prints and drawings of museum and zoo buildings by other architects record, if only partially, the resources available to Charles in designing his buildings. This reference material provides insight into the influences on Charles' work as well as the nature of the design process itself. His built works, with the exception of the 1854 addition to the greenhouses, are illustrated in a book of prints with a brief accompanying text - "Muséum d'histoire naturelle: serres chaudes, galeries de minéralogie, etc. etc." (published 1837) (DR1974:0002:004:001; a second copy is held by the CCA library) (1). While prints are included for the Galerie de minéralogie et de géologie, the monkey house and the reservoirs, the majority of the prints are of the greenhouses (serres chaudes) begun 1833 (2). Known for their technological innovations in iron construction, these greenhouses utilized the first multi-storey load-bearing cast-iron façades for the central pavilions as well as space frame roof structures and prefabricated parts. This structural system is well documented in the prints in the CCA collection. The design was apparently inspired by the English greenhouses - a plate of which are included in the book - that Charles saw on a tour of England. The use of prestressed beams and curved roofs in the lateral wings attest to this influence. Charles' greenhouses, in turn, influenced the design of other greenhouses in Europe especially those at the Jardins Botanique in Liège and Ghent, Belgium (3). Although Joseph Paxton saw the greenhouses in 1833, it is unclear if they had an impact on the design of the Crystal Palace constructed 1850-1851 (4). The innovations of Charles' greenhouses continued to be acknowledged into the 20th century. Giedion in "Space, Time and Architecture", while erroneously attributing them to Rouhault (5)(6), refers to the greenhouses as "the prototype of all large iron-framed conservatories" (7). In addition to the greenhouses for the Muséum, the CCA collection includes three proposals (dated 1841) for a private greenhouse designed by Charles Rohault de Fleury (DR1974:0002:002:008 - DR1974:0002:002:013). The designs utilize the same curved roofs as the wings of the greenhouses at the Muséum combined with classically detailed stonework. An different aspect of Charles' work for the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle is represented in the album of unexecuted proposals -the only design drawings for the Muséum in the collection - for a Galerie de zoologie (DR1974:0002:024:001-079). Building on the typology of his earlier classical Galerie de minéralogie et de géologie (constructed 1833 -1841), the proposals, which date from between 1838 and 1862, illustrate a gradual enrichment of Charles' classical architectural vocabulary (8). They vary in their spatial configurations and façade treatments ranging from austere colonnaded designs with little ornament to more elaborate ones with richly encrusted facades, complex rooflines and more dramatic interior spaces characteristic of the Second Empire. The majority of the proposals consist of preliminary drawings illustrating the essential formal, spatial and ornamental aspects of the building. One proposal, dated January 1846, is substantially more developed than the others; in addition to general plans, sections and elevations, more detailed drawings are included for the layout of spaces, the elaboration of the facades, the configuration of the structure and even the designs for the specimen display cases. It is also worth noting that this album includes several plans outlining Rohault de Fleury's ideas for the overall development of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. In 1846, an album of prints of the Museo di fiscia e storia naturelle in Florence (DR1974:0002:005:001-018) was presented to Charles by the Grand Duke of Tuscany in response to his request for tracings of that building. These prints were probably used as reference material for the design of the new Galerie de zoologie described above. The portfolio of record drawings (ca. 1862) of the zoos in Antwerp, Brussels, Marseille and Amsterdam (DR1974:0002:018:001-027) is probably a dummy for a publication on zoological gardens as well as background documentation for the renovation and expansion of the zoo at the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris. Both drawings of the facilities for the animals and visitors and general plans of the zoological gardens are included. The Paris zoo project was apparently never undertaken. (1) These prints were reused in the "Oeuvre de C. Rohault de Fleury, architecte" (published 1884) (DR1974:0002:029:001-044). (2) Rohault de Fleury's greenhouses were destroyed in the Prussian bombardments of 1870. The greenhouses, which now stand in their place, are similar in layout and appearance to the original design, but their structural system is different. (3) John Hix, 'The Glass House' (Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1981), p. 115. (4) Ibid., p. 115. (5) This error has been repeated by other authors including Henry-Russell Hitchcock, 'Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries' (Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books, 1968), p. 120. (6) Leonardo Benevolo, 'History of Modern Architecture' Volume 1: The tradition of modern architecture (Cambridge, Mass.: The M.I.T. Press, 1971), p. 22. (7) Sigfried Giedion, 'Space, Time and Architecture; the growth of a new tradition' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1941), p. 181. (8) Barry Bergdoll, "Charles Rohault de Fleury: Part two: Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle and Studies on analogous Constructions in Europe", 'CCA Research Report", n.d., p. 1.
File 5
[1837-ca. 1862]
In this lecture, Amy Kulper locates architecture’s “digital turn” in 1988, when Thomas Knoll invented Photoshop. Originally developed as an image-editing software, Photoshop fit neatly within the long history of optical correction in the discipline. Yet its ubiquity today also prompts new questions. Does Photoshop simply introduce logics of adjustment, correction, and(...)
Paul Desmarais Theatre
9 June 2016, 6pm
Amy Kulper: Architecture’s Digital Turn and the Advent of Photoshop
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In this lecture, Amy Kulper locates architecture’s “digital turn” in 1988, when Thomas Knoll invented Photoshop. Originally developed as an image-editing software, Photoshop fit neatly within the long history of optical correction in the discipline. Yet its ubiquity today also prompts new questions. Does Photoshop simply introduce logics of adjustment, correction, and(...)
Paul Desmarais Theatre
The New Spirit: Modern Architecture in Vancouver, 1938–1963 looks at key buildings and projects from an exhilarating epoch in Vancouver’s history through design drawings, period photographs, furniture, and decoration. In the years following the Second World War, Vancouver emerged as a city with a particularly vital and progressive architectural culture, adapting the(...)
Main galleries
5 March 1997 to 25 May 1997
The New Spirit: Modern Architecture in Vancouver, 1938-1963
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The New Spirit: Modern Architecture in Vancouver, 1938–1963 looks at key buildings and projects from an exhilarating epoch in Vancouver’s history through design drawings, period photographs, furniture, and decoration. In the years following the Second World War, Vancouver emerged as a city with a particularly vital and progressive architectural culture, adapting the(...)
Main galleries
Learning from... Cairo
Nasser Rabbat challenges the traditional framing strategies of East vs. West or traditional vs. modern, focusing instead on the dialectical relationship of modernity and history in the making of contemporary Cairo. Shaped by distinct waves of modernity from the colonial Napoleonic invasion of 1789 to the revolution and independence in 1952, the city responded with layers(...)
Paul-Desmarais Theatre
15 September 2011 , 7pm
Learning from... Cairo
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Nasser Rabbat challenges the traditional framing strategies of East vs. West or traditional vs. modern, focusing instead on the dialectical relationship of modernity and history in the making of contemporary Cairo. Shaped by distinct waves of modernity from the colonial Napoleonic invasion of 1789 to the revolution and independence in 1952, the city responded with layers(...)
Paul-Desmarais Theatre