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(...)
Visiting Scholar Katie Lloyd Thomas presents her research: In the United Kingdom, the naming and selection of building products—or ‘shopping’ on behalf of the client—only became part of the architect’s role during the vast expansion of mass manufacturing in the 1930s. These radical transformations, largely overlooked today, were enthusiastically embraced and debated by(...)
Shaughnessy House
20 July 2017, 6pm
Visiting Scholar Seminar: Katie Lloyd Thomas
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Visiting Scholar Katie Lloyd Thomas presents her research: In the United Kingdom, the naming and selection of building products—or ‘shopping’ on behalf of the client—only became part of the architect’s role during the vast expansion of mass manufacturing in the 1930s. These radical transformations, largely overlooked today, were enthusiastically embraced and debated by(...)
Shaughnessy House
Architectural historian Barbara Penner traces the evolution of Niagara Falls – from its 19th-century honeymoon tourism to its state of post-industrial kitsch to its recent rebirth as a honeymoon destination. The photographer Alec Soth, whose work is the starting point for this lecture, compellingly portrays a ruined post-industrial landscape of love in his series Niagara(...)
Paul Desmarais Theatre
23 April 2009
Learning from... Niagara Falls
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Architectural historian Barbara Penner traces the evolution of Niagara Falls – from its 19th-century honeymoon tourism to its state of post-industrial kitsch to its recent rebirth as a honeymoon destination. The photographer Alec Soth, whose work is the starting point for this lecture, compellingly portrays a ruined post-industrial landscape of love in his series Niagara(...)
Paul Desmarais Theatre
Visiting Scholar Irene Sunwoo presents her research: During the 1970s and 1980s, the Architectural Association (AA) in London tested a “marketplace” model of architectural education that supported an array of theoretical investigations. Exploring issues including politics, phenomenology, semiotics, sustainability, literature, and third-world housing, the school became a(...)
Shaughnessy House
27 July 2017, 6pm
Visiting Scholar Seminar: Irene Sunwoo
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Visiting Scholar Irene Sunwoo presents her research: During the 1970s and 1980s, the Architectural Association (AA) in London tested a “marketplace” model of architectural education that supported an array of theoretical investigations. Exploring issues including politics, phenomenology, semiotics, sustainability, literature, and third-world housing, the school became a(...)
Shaughnessy House
Marking the 10th anniversary of the CCA’s public opening, the exhibition spotlights and juxtaposes acquisitions from its first decade. Over 350 prints, drawings, photographs, rare books, manuscripts, toys, and models spanning five centuries of architectural history reflect how the built world has been imagined, conceived, and reflected upon. Dedicated to the many donors(...)
Main galleries and hall cases
24 November 1999 to 30 April 2000
En chantier: The Collections of the CCA, 1989-1999
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Description:
Marking the 10th anniversary of the CCA’s public opening, the exhibition spotlights and juxtaposes acquisitions from its first decade. Over 350 prints, drawings, photographs, rare books, manuscripts, toys, and models spanning five centuries of architectural history reflect how the built world has been imagined, conceived, and reflected upon. Dedicated to the many donors(...)
Main galleries and hall cases
Learning from... Los Angeles
Los Angeles-based historian and tour guide Richard Schave examines developments in Los Angeles in the 35 years since the landmark urban tour film Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles (UK,1972). Schave, a former student of Banham, elaborates on his professor’s research by showing excerpts of the film in comparison with his own documentary photography. In particular, he explores(...)
Paul Desmarais Theatre
28 May 2009
Learning from... Los Angeles
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Los Angeles-based historian and tour guide Richard Schave examines developments in Los Angeles in the 35 years since the landmark urban tour film Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles (UK,1972). Schave, a former student of Banham, elaborates on his professor’s research by showing excerpts of the film in comparison with his own documentary photography. In particular, he explores(...)
Paul Desmarais Theatre
Visiting Scholar Seminar: Gregorio Carboni Maestri
Portugal: Architecture, Tendenza, Revolution
Visiting Scholar Gregorio Carboni Maestri presents his research. From the 1930s to the late 1980s, Portuguese architecture was formed through a frustrated relationship with modernity and through a crucial dialogue with Italy. This talk addresses how Portuguese architecture observed and reacted to Italian models such as rationalism in the 1930s, postwar neorealism, and(...)
Shaughnessy House Keyword(s):
Gregorio Carboni Maestri, Visiting Scholar, Portugal, Tendenza
3 August 2017, 6pm
Visiting Scholar Seminar: Gregorio Carboni Maestri
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Visiting Scholar Gregorio Carboni Maestri presents his research. From the 1930s to the late 1980s, Portuguese architecture was formed through a frustrated relationship with modernity and through a crucial dialogue with Italy. This talk addresses how Portuguese architecture observed and reacted to Italian models such as rationalism in the 1930s, postwar neorealism, and(...)
Shaughnessy House Keyword(s):
Gregorio Carboni Maestri, Visiting Scholar, Portugal, Tendenza
articles
An Ever-Changing Landscape
Sub-series
Opera Houses
CI001.S2.D3
Description:
Charles Rohault de Fleury's sustained involvement with the design of opera houses began with his appointment in 1846 as official architect of the existing Salle Le Pelletier, home to the *Paris Opera, and continued until an open competition was called in 1860 (Charles Garnier won this competition). During this period Rohault de Fleury submitted numerous proposals to replace theprovisional Salle Le Pelletier with a structure more appropriate to the grandeur and importance of France's national opera company. The CCA collection contains four projects related to his work for the Paris opera: two early projects (1846 and 1847) and one later one (1859) for a newopera house, and a portfolio of lithographs and drawings related to alterations and repairs to Salle Le Pelletier (1850-1854). The collection also includes Charles' earliest theatre project, a comprehensive plan for an opera house and surrounding infrastructure for the Theatre Royal Italien opera company (1838-1840), and an album containing drawings and prints of antique and contemporary theatres (1839-1854?). Charles' first project was for the Theatre Royal Italien opera company whose previous home, the Salle Favart, had burned down on the night of January 14 1838. The CCA collection contains an album of presentation drawings for a new theatre located on rue de la Paix with boutiques in the adjacent 'passages' (DR1974:0002:019:001-023). A second album consists of site plans including proposed 'maisons à loyers' (apartment buildings) and documents relating to the cost estimates and rental income for the entire project (DR1974:0002:036:001-016). The architectural style and interior arrangement of the theatre is heavily indebted to Francois Debret's Salle Le Pelletier. Charles' originality lies more in his conception of the social and economic role of the theatre in relation and integration, to its surrounding urban fabric. An explanation of the entire Theatre Royal Italien project, and Charles' role as architect in it, is found in two proposal letters (located in the Avery Library, Columbia University, NY) written by the entrepreneur Eugene Lecomte to the Minister of the Interior, Comte Duchatel, on May 15 and October 31 1839 (1). Charles' album of drawings at the CCA for the theatre and some of the cost and rental estimates are probably presentation copies directly related to the first letter, and most likely submitted to the Minister of the Interior. Charles' project was never executed, and the Italian opera company eventualy found a permanent home in the existing Salle Ventadour (1841). However, the inclusive nature of the Théâtre Royal Italien proposal, with its stress on urban development and contextuality, continued to play a seminal role in his later Paris Opera projects. Upon replacing Francois Debret as architect of Salle Le Pelletier in 1846, Charles proposed nine possible locations (site plans) for a new opera house for the Paris Opera (*Academie Royale de Musique) and, in the following year (1847) prepared a portfolio of drawings for the actual structure with an accompanying seven-page manuscript describing the project. Although executed in successive years, the site plans and 1847 drawings are conceptually related. Both components were undertaken in response to offical interest in a public competition that was never implemented (2)(3). The CCA has two sets of the nine site plans proposed in 1846 (DR1974:0002:036:001-016), one containing transfer lithographed site plans with a written analysis and cost estimate for each of the proposed locations, and the other with only the site plans (similar sets are located in the 'Archives Nationales' in France). They indicate that Charles, (heavily influenced by his Théâtre Royal Italien project) preferred the Rue de la Paix location (siteplan #3) for the new opera house. Although site plan number six, Boulevard des Capucines, was not favoured at this date, it is highly prophetic as it was the location officially chosen in 1860 for the new opera house. Apparently unique to the CCA collection is the 1847 manuscript and portfolio of drawings for the proposed opera house (DR1974:0002:036:001-016). The manuscript is both an indepth review of the requirements for a national opera house and a guide to his portfolio of drawings. Charles' conception and design continued to be strongly influenced by Debret's Salle Lepelletier, as well as his own Théâtre Italien project, and various antique and contemporary opera houses and theatres. Many of the French and Italian sources mentioned in the manuscript are collected in an album (DR1974:0002:010:001-048) as references for his own designs (4). As official architect of Salle Le pelletier, Charles was also responsible for repairs, restorations, and alterations to the existing structure. The drawings and transfer lithographs in the CCA collection (DR1974:0002:036:001-016) are primarily dated 1854, and relate to documented repair and restoration projects undertaken during this period (5)(6). The CCA collection has the presentation drawings and lithographs for the later 1859 project (DR1974:0002:027:001-027) for the Paris opera (*Theatre Imperiale de l'opera) that were sent to Achille Fould, the Minister of State. This project is probably a counterpart to a similiar one that he submitted to the Prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann, in the same year (7). Site plans show the opera house on an irregular polygonal site facing Boulevard des Capucines. The placement of the 'maisons à loyers' on the rear of the site reflects Charles' continued emphasis on integrating his opera projects into the surrounding urban context. In 1859, it appeared that Charles was favoured to build the new opera house. But late in the following year, a public competition was called in which Charles Garnier emerged as the victor. Although Charles did not build the final structure, his numerous projects, as exemplified in the CCA collection, were of prime importance in determining the location, configuration, and plan of the Place de l'Opera (8). * The 'Paris Opera' was France's national opera, and thus its name changed numerous times throughout its history according to altering perceptions of its role in French culture and/or changes in political regimes. For reasons of clarity, the national opera will be referred to as the Paris Opera. The names indicated in brackets with a star refer to the proper name of the opera company at the date of the project. (1) Eugene Le Comte, "Projet de Salle rue de la Paix, pour le Théâtre Royal Italien: Lettres à Monsieur le Ministre de l'Intérieur, en date des 15 mai et 31octobre 1839" (Paris: P. Dupont, 1839). (2) Christopher Curtis Mead, "Charles Garnier's Paris Opera and the Renaissance of Classicism in Nineteenth century French Architecture", 3 vols. (PhD thesis; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1986), p. 234 and p. 956, fn. 30. (3) Monika Steinhauser, "Die Architektur des Pariser Oper" (Munich: Prestel Verlag, 1969), p. 45, fns. 143 and 144. (4) Barry Bergdoll, "Charles Rohault de Fleury: Part Three: Theatres and the Opera house", 'CCA Research Report', n.d., p. 3. (5) Larousse XIXth Century, s.v. "Rohault de Fleury, Charles". (6) Mead, p. 238. (7) Oeuvres de C. Rohault de Fleury, architecte" (Paris: Librarie centrale d'architecture, 1884).. (8) Macmillan, s.v. "Rohault de Fleury Familly".
1717-1868
Opera Houses
CI001.S2.D3
Description:
Charles Rohault de Fleury's sustained involvement with the design of opera houses began with his appointment in 1846 as official architect of the existing Salle Le Pelletier, home to the *Paris Opera, and continued until an open competition was called in 1860 (Charles Garnier won this competition). During this period Rohault de Fleury submitted numerous proposals to replace theprovisional Salle Le Pelletier with a structure more appropriate to the grandeur and importance of France's national opera company. The CCA collection contains four projects related to his work for the Paris opera: two early projects (1846 and 1847) and one later one (1859) for a newopera house, and a portfolio of lithographs and drawings related to alterations and repairs to Salle Le Pelletier (1850-1854). The collection also includes Charles' earliest theatre project, a comprehensive plan for an opera house and surrounding infrastructure for the Theatre Royal Italien opera company (1838-1840), and an album containing drawings and prints of antique and contemporary theatres (1839-1854?). Charles' first project was for the Theatre Royal Italien opera company whose previous home, the Salle Favart, had burned down on the night of January 14 1838. The CCA collection contains an album of presentation drawings for a new theatre located on rue de la Paix with boutiques in the adjacent 'passages' (DR1974:0002:019:001-023). A second album consists of site plans including proposed 'maisons à loyers' (apartment buildings) and documents relating to the cost estimates and rental income for the entire project (DR1974:0002:036:001-016). The architectural style and interior arrangement of the theatre is heavily indebted to Francois Debret's Salle Le Pelletier. Charles' originality lies more in his conception of the social and economic role of the theatre in relation and integration, to its surrounding urban fabric. An explanation of the entire Theatre Royal Italien project, and Charles' role as architect in it, is found in two proposal letters (located in the Avery Library, Columbia University, NY) written by the entrepreneur Eugene Lecomte to the Minister of the Interior, Comte Duchatel, on May 15 and October 31 1839 (1). Charles' album of drawings at the CCA for the theatre and some of the cost and rental estimates are probably presentation copies directly related to the first letter, and most likely submitted to the Minister of the Interior. Charles' project was never executed, and the Italian opera company eventualy found a permanent home in the existing Salle Ventadour (1841). However, the inclusive nature of the Théâtre Royal Italien proposal, with its stress on urban development and contextuality, continued to play a seminal role in his later Paris Opera projects. Upon replacing Francois Debret as architect of Salle Le Pelletier in 1846, Charles proposed nine possible locations (site plans) for a new opera house for the Paris Opera (*Academie Royale de Musique) and, in the following year (1847) prepared a portfolio of drawings for the actual structure with an accompanying seven-page manuscript describing the project. Although executed in successive years, the site plans and 1847 drawings are conceptually related. Both components were undertaken in response to offical interest in a public competition that was never implemented (2)(3). The CCA has two sets of the nine site plans proposed in 1846 (DR1974:0002:036:001-016), one containing transfer lithographed site plans with a written analysis and cost estimate for each of the proposed locations, and the other with only the site plans (similar sets are located in the 'Archives Nationales' in France). They indicate that Charles, (heavily influenced by his Théâtre Royal Italien project) preferred the Rue de la Paix location (siteplan #3) for the new opera house. Although site plan number six, Boulevard des Capucines, was not favoured at this date, it is highly prophetic as it was the location officially chosen in 1860 for the new opera house. Apparently unique to the CCA collection is the 1847 manuscript and portfolio of drawings for the proposed opera house (DR1974:0002:036:001-016). The manuscript is both an indepth review of the requirements for a national opera house and a guide to his portfolio of drawings. Charles' conception and design continued to be strongly influenced by Debret's Salle Lepelletier, as well as his own Théâtre Italien project, and various antique and contemporary opera houses and theatres. Many of the French and Italian sources mentioned in the manuscript are collected in an album (DR1974:0002:010:001-048) as references for his own designs (4). As official architect of Salle Le pelletier, Charles was also responsible for repairs, restorations, and alterations to the existing structure. The drawings and transfer lithographs in the CCA collection (DR1974:0002:036:001-016) are primarily dated 1854, and relate to documented repair and restoration projects undertaken during this period (5)(6). The CCA collection has the presentation drawings and lithographs for the later 1859 project (DR1974:0002:027:001-027) for the Paris opera (*Theatre Imperiale de l'opera) that were sent to Achille Fould, the Minister of State. This project is probably a counterpart to a similiar one that he submitted to the Prefect of the Seine, Baron Haussmann, in the same year (7). Site plans show the opera house on an irregular polygonal site facing Boulevard des Capucines. The placement of the 'maisons à loyers' on the rear of the site reflects Charles' continued emphasis on integrating his opera projects into the surrounding urban context. In 1859, it appeared that Charles was favoured to build the new opera house. But late in the following year, a public competition was called in which Charles Garnier emerged as the victor. Although Charles did not build the final structure, his numerous projects, as exemplified in the CCA collection, were of prime importance in determining the location, configuration, and plan of the Place de l'Opera (8). * The 'Paris Opera' was France's national opera, and thus its name changed numerous times throughout its history according to altering perceptions of its role in French culture and/or changes in political regimes. For reasons of clarity, the national opera will be referred to as the Paris Opera. The names indicated in brackets with a star refer to the proper name of the opera company at the date of the project. (1) Eugene Le Comte, "Projet de Salle rue de la Paix, pour le Théâtre Royal Italien: Lettres à Monsieur le Ministre de l'Intérieur, en date des 15 mai et 31octobre 1839" (Paris: P. Dupont, 1839). (2) Christopher Curtis Mead, "Charles Garnier's Paris Opera and the Renaissance of Classicism in Nineteenth century French Architecture", 3 vols. (PhD thesis; Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1986), p. 234 and p. 956, fn. 30. (3) Monika Steinhauser, "Die Architektur des Pariser Oper" (Munich: Prestel Verlag, 1969), p. 45, fns. 143 and 144. (4) Barry Bergdoll, "Charles Rohault de Fleury: Part Three: Theatres and the Opera house", 'CCA Research Report', n.d., p. 3. (5) Larousse XIXth Century, s.v. "Rohault de Fleury, Charles". (6) Mead, p. 238. (7) Oeuvres de C. Rohault de Fleury, architecte" (Paris: Librarie centrale d'architecture, 1884).. (8) Macmillan, s.v. "Rohault de Fleury Familly".
File 3
1717-1868
The exhibition Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness presents a series of photographs by Canadian artist Robert Burley, documenting the decline of traditional photographic equipment manufacturing brought on by new technologies. Since 2005, digital photographic technology has increasingly displaced its analog predecessor, resulting in a plummeting demand for(...)
Hall cases
11 September 2009 to 15 November 2009
Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness
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Description:
The exhibition Robert Burley: The Disappearance of Darkness presents a series of photographs by Canadian artist Robert Burley, documenting the decline of traditional photographic equipment manufacturing brought on by new technologies. Since 2005, digital photographic technology has increasingly displaced its analog predecessor, resulting in a plummeting demand for(...)
Hall cases