The aim of building as an art is also to achieve beauty or to create places that express our most important values. Architecture, therefore, requires that an architect show imagination as well as having skill as a builder.

Architecture is one of the most familiar forms of art. Those who live in cities are surrounded by a great variety of buildings, from skyscrapers to shopping malls and neighbourhood houses. Architecture shapes the environment around us. It also gives pleasure, expresses our values, and leaves a heritage for future generations.

Houses built by the First Nations made use of local building materials. In Ontario and Quebec the Iroquoian peoples built multi-family dwellings known as longhouses - made of parallel rows of saplings bent towards one another, tied down the centre and covered with bark. Hunter-gatherers like the Algonquians needed portable dwellings. Their wigwams, light frame conical or domed structures which were covered by bark, skins or reed mats, could be dismantled and moved. The nomadic plains tribes, including the Cree and the Blackfoot, built even more portable shelters (called tipis) based on a structural system of three or four poles. First dog- and then horse-travois were used to transport tipis from one site to another. The structural members - the poles - were considered by the Plains tribes to be trails taking prayers from the earth to the great spirit.

The groups living on the west coast such as the Haida and the Tsimshian lived in permanent settlements. Their houses, made of split cedar logs (plank houses), were often painted on the outside and associated with elaborate and symbolic totem poles. Exterior decoration announced the relative social standing of the inhabitants.

Perhaps the best known dwelling of a Canadian indigenous group is the snowhouse of the Inuit. The Inuit also made summer dwellings, but the simple elegance of the igloo form and the unique technology associated with its building have made it a justly celebrated example of how to adapt to a harsh climate.

Two important buildings in the Baroque style were the Archbishop's palace in Quebec City and the Château de Vaudreuil in Montreal. They included in their designs columns, sweeping double staircases, and steep roofs alive with tiny windows and tall chimneys.

The church was the most important patron of architecture in New France. (A patron is one who orders and pays for a building.) The earliest churches in New France were simple wood and stone chapels. As skilled builders and craftsmen arrived in the colony from France, more ambitious churches were built in Quebec City and Montreal. The largest by far was the Jesuit church in Quebec City (1666), which recreated the style of the Jesuit churches of Europe. For over 150 years, this church, with its tall spire, dominated the centre of the city.

In 1669 Bishop Laval set in motion a plan to build a series of churches to serve the people of the countryside. By 1700, about 15 had been built. They were smaller than the town churches. These parish churches were plainer than the churches in Quebec. They also had to make use of local materials, such as fieldstone.

One of the grander churches is Ste-Famille on Île d'Orleans, near Quebec. First built by Laval in 1669, it was replaced in 1745 and is still standing. It has two towers in the front and a spire atop the steeply pitched roof. Inside, these parish churches were full of colourful and richly carved decorations.

The gentlemen immigrants from England, on the other hand, preferred a colourful movement called the Picturesque. Inherited from England, the Picturesque was not really a style. Rather it showed itself in a taste for dramatic natural settings and unusual houses, built to be viewed as if they were Romantic paintings. A surviving example is Colborne Lodge in High Park, Toronto (1836). The house was placed to command a fine view. Its tall chimneys and verandah give it an exotic look.

The most popular architecture in Britain for government buildings and churches was the Palladian style. It took its name from the 16th-century Italian architect Andrea Palladio. It is also called Georgian, after the four British kings named George who ruled England from 1714 to 1830.

The principles of Palladian architecture were balance and harmony. It included such features as a central pediment, columns, and well-proportioned windows and doors. The best example of Palladian architecture in Canada is Province House (1818), in Halifax, N.S. Its carefully arranged columns and windows give a sense of balance and order.

St Paul's Church (1750) in Halifax was one of the first churches in Canada to be built in the Palladian style. In 1804, Holy Trinity, the Anglican cathedral in Quebec City, was also built in this style. It was a symbol of the law, customs, and religion of Quebec's new rulers.

The Palladian style did not influence French-Canadian architecture until the 1820s and 1830s. Thomas Baillairgé, who was Quebec's greatest church architect, successfully combined the French and Palladian traditions, as in his St Joseph parish church (1832) in Lauzon, Que. The main doorway, with its stone columns, resembled the Palladian style. By this time, however, Palladian was being abandoned by English Canada for several new styles.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, interest in ancient architecture was sparked by archaeological discoveries in Greece and Italy. Buildings in "the Greek style" or "the Roman style" became very popular in Europe. The style was later called Neoclassical, "Neo" meaning new, and "Classical" referring to the time of ancient Greece and Rome.

The Neoclassical style was brought to Canada by architects who had trained in Britain. Its smooth stone walls, monumental domes, well-proportioned windows, and stately columns recalled the harmony and beauty of ancient temples.

These new buildings were grander and more sophisticated because of the presence of trained architects in Canada after 1830. A larger population meant that more buildings had to be constructed and communities were willing to pay more money for impressive new buildings. This is true, for example, for the outstanding Neoclassical building in Canada - the City Hall in Kingston, Ont. It was built (1844) on a large scale, in the hope that Kingston would become the capital of Canada. It displayed the columns and round dome of the "Roman style."

Other Neoclassical buildings, such as St Andrew's Church at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. (1831), were more in the "Greek style." Bonsecours market, in Montreal (1852) is decorated in the Greek style.

The Neoclassical style was very popular among bankers. They liked to think of their banks as "temples of commerce," which would inspire confidence in their customers. One of the most influential banks in the Neoclassical style was the Bank of Montreal (1848) at the Place d'Armes in Montreal, which was the financial heart of Canada. The Neoclassical style remained popular for banks for almost 100 years.

Late 19th-century architecture (called the Victorian Era for Queen Victoria of Britain) was a confusing array of styles. There was increasing interest in rediscovering the architecture of the past and using it as models for new design. Architects felt free to borrow and blend elements from several different styles. A continued interest in the Picturesque was shown in the flair for drama, colour, and irregular designs.

These tastes were first introduced in a style called Gothic Revival, which took as its model the Gothic architecture of Europe during the Middle Ages.

The first important building in the new Gothic style was Notre-Dame Cathedral in Montreal (1829). Its pointed arches and soaring towers were in stark contrast to the pure, restrained taste of the Palladian and Neoclassical.

Because many of the magnificent cathedrals of Europe were erected in the Gothic style, it was considered to be appropriate to the Christian faith. Gothic architecture sought to instil a sense of awe with its towers, high ceilings, and pinnacles. The Gothic also tried to astonish and delight with detail and ornament. It was brought to Canada by a number of architects trained in Britain, such as the Irish architect James O'Donnell, who designed Notre-Dame. (This angered many French Canadians, who considered the style too English and too Protestant.)

Gothic Revival quickly became the favourite style for church architecture in Canada, especially for Anglican churches. Gothic features, such as pointed arches, spires, and a variety of ornaments, are found in Christ Church Cathedral in Fredericton, N.B. (1853), designed by two well-known British architects. It was the largest church in North America when it was completed.

A humbler version of Gothic Revival, called "Carpenter's Gothic," was also adapted for churches in wood, as in St John's Church (1753) in Lunenburg, N.S.

The Gothic Revival style was also used for the first Parliament Buildings, constructed in Ottawa between 1859 and 1866. The new Houses of Parliament in London, England, had been built in this style a few years before. In choosing the same style, Canada declared its strong ties with Great Britain. The liveliness of the Canadian Parliament Buildings was unmatched even in Britain. Unfortunately, the buildings burned down in 1916. The buildings which replaced them are far less flamboyant. Only the original library remains.

Gothic Revival was also used for many early university buildings in Canada. University College in Toronto (1859), for example, was designed by F.W. Cumberland, who had come out from England in 1847. Gothic features were also found in Ontario farm houses and in homes of the wealthy in Montreal and Toronto. The style later spread to Western Canada (for example, in St Paul's Cathedral in Regina, 1895).

A number of other styles, also modelled on the past, reflected the Victorian taste. The Second Empire style originated in France and took Canada by storm in the 1870s. It was named for the "second empire" of Napoleon III and is also called "the French style," although many of its elements may be traced to Renaissance Italy. Its main feature is the mansard roof, named for François Mansardt, the 17th-century French architect. The mansard roof begins with a steeply sloping section with dormer windows, then rises to a flat or more gently sloped top section. It included columns and elaborate decorations. The Montreal City Hall (1878) is built in this style. Second Empire was the preferred style for public buildings in the 1870s and early 1880s, as shown in the Legislative Building at Fredericton, N.B. (1882) and the Custom House at Saint John, N.B. (1881).

In the mid-1880s, Canadian architecture began to take its lead from the United States, rather than from Britain or France. For example, the rugged wall surfaces, huge rounded arches, square or rounded towers, and squat columns of Toronto City Hall (1890) were strongly influenced by the work of the well-known American architect Henry H. Richardson. Richardson's style was inspired by yet another past era, the Romanesque.

An American architect was directly responsible for a style that is considered particularly Canadian, the Château style. The Canadian Pacific Railway invited architect Bruce Price to design the new Banff Springs Hotel (1888). His design drew inspiration from 16th-century French castles, or châteaux, with their steeply pitched roofs, and numerous towers and turrets. Several other hotels were built across Canada in this style. The most dramatic example is the Château Frontenac, perched atop the cliff overlooking the St Lawrence River at Quebec City (1892).

In the early years of the 20th century, architects began to reject the excesses of 19th-century design. They were influenced by the Beaux-Arts movement from Paris, which urged a return to more clearly organized designs. The details, such as domes, columns, and pediments, were drawn from history and were usually classical in origin. The Beaux-Arts style resulted in several imposing railway stations in Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Ottawa. Most impressive of all was Toronto's Union Station (1920, designed by Canadian John Lyle and others), with its massive vaulted hall, classical columns, and sculptured decorations on Canadian themes. The legislature buildings in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba were all designed in the Beaux-Arts style. Each included an impressive portico and a massive central dome.

The greatest change in architecture in the 19th century was the raising of office buildings to a status once held only by palaces and churches. Business replaced the church and government as the chief patrons of architecture. This new type of building first emerged in Chicago and New York in the 1890s. For several years these buildings were limited to four or five storeys. Then several technical advances, such as steel beams, reinforced concrete, and the Otis elevator, made it possible to build these office buildings higher and higher, giving them their familiar name of "skyscraper." The skyscraper also helped a business get the most profit from expensive downtown real estate.

Skyscrapers had an important effect on architectural style. Tall, multi-storey buildings had no historical precedent. At first, architects continued to try to adopt historical styles to clothe them. Later, the remnants of the old styles were simply used as decoration (such as "pillars" carved into the stone wall but serving no purpose).

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce building, in Toronto (1931), was for over 30 years the tallest building in Canada at 34 storeys. Designed by New York architects, it has a massive, solid base. Like other tall buildings of the time, its tower is stepped back at the top. The arches and sculptures are in a Romanesque style.

Some of the early skyscrapers were built in a style called Art Deco, which was popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Art Deco buildings usually had stepped storeys - creating a "wedding cake" effect - and geometric decoration that was often bold and jarring. The lobby of the Marine Building in Vancouver (1930) is one of the best examples with its rich ornamentation.

Few large buildings were erected during the Depression years of the 1930s and the war years of the 1940s. The houses of this era, from 1925 to 1945, were modelled on various styles of the past. The Neo-Tudor home looked like picturesque mansions of Elizabethan England. Other styles copied Spanish villas; still others went back to the Georgian style of the early 19th century.

Along with the birth of the skyscraper came a new generation of architects in Europe and the United States who transformed the shape of our cities. In many ways they returned to the principles of the architecture of the early 1800s. They preferred simple, geometric forms. They wanted their buildings to stand alone, like the temples of earlier days. They avoided details and ornament. They rejected direct references to the past, such as pointed arches or columns. They relied on basic materials, such as steel, concrete, and glass. By the 1940s their work was so widespread that it was known as the International style.

Peacetime brought prosperity in the 1950s and a building boom. Countless buildings rose in Canadian cities, more and more of them in the International style. The Toronto Dominion Centre (1968) in Toronto, for example, was designed by the German architect Mies van der Rohe, one of the foremost designers in the International style. The dark, imposing towers rely for their effect on precise detail and simple shape. Among other notable skyscrapers are Place Ville Marie (1965) in Montreal, as well as Canada's tallest building at 72 storeys, First Canadian Place (1975) in Toronto. The International style was used for high-rise office towers, apartment buildings, hospitals, airports, and schools in every city in Canada. While many of these buildings were "boring boxes," some were more imaginative. The new Toronto City Hall (1965), for example, is a daring design, with two tall curved towers cradling the council chambers. The architect was Viljo Revell of Finland, who won an international competition for the design.

Centennial Year in 1967 and Expo 67 gave a tremendous boost to architecture in Canada. All across the country, governments commissioned cultural buildings to commemorate the occasion. Among these buildings were the Fathers of Confederation Memorial Building in Charlottetown, the Grande Théâtre in Quebec City, the Ontario Science Centre and Ontario Place in Toronto, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and the Centennial Planetarium in Calgary. In Montreal, the Expo 67 site was studded with original and exuberant pavilions in the shapes of domes, tents, building blocks, and mirrored boxes. Many of these buildings were designed by Canadian architects, such as Arthur Erickson, who went on to an illustrious career in Canada and abroad. One of the most interesting projects connected with Expo 67 was Moshe Safdie's Habitat, a modular housing scheme which was intended as a model for housing developments in the future.

The 1960s and 1970s were also years of prosperity and optimism in Canada. In architecture, this was reflected in the high-rise development of the downtown core of the large cities. Some of these were complex structures which served many purposes. In Montreal, for example, Ray Affleck designed Place Bonaventure (1968) as a self-contained city block which housed offices, shops, restaurants, a trade centre, and a hotel, all connected internally with parking garages and the subway system. The building boom was also seen in the expansion of universities across the country. Architects Ronald Thom and Arthur Erickson, in particular, planned university campuses which are among the best modern works in Canada.

In the midst of this activity and enthusiasm, several architects turned away from the International style, which many people found impersonal and boring.

The buildings of the recent past show so much variety that they cannot be categorized under any one style. Their most common characteristic is that they have rejected the International style; hence they are often called Post-Modern. Some architects, especially in western Canada, work in a sculptured style of building, in wood, concrete, and brick. The moulded shape of Douglas Cardinal's St Mary's Church in Red Deer, Alta (1968), stands in bold contrast to the flat suburban landscape around it. The curves of his Canadian Museum of Civilization (1989) in Hull, Que., blend with the banks of the nearby Ottawa River.

J. Michael Kirkland and Edward Jones included buildings in the shape of a pediment, a pyramid, a tower, and a drum in their design for the Mississauga City Hall near Toronto (1986). Robson Square (1979) in Vancouver, designed by Arthur Erickson, includes the provincial art gallery and law courts as well as a government office building and several restaurants. The raised square creates a separate landscape from the neighbouring streets by its tiers of staircases and waterfalls. In Edmonton, the Muttart Conservatory (1976) provides a colourful botanical garden all year round. Four glass pyramids of varying size have been designed by Peter Hemingway to cover a series of buried concrete chambers which house plants from tropical, temperate, and arid zones.

Finally, some Post-Modern architects have turned back to the past. In his design for the Canadian Centre for Architecture (1989) in Montreal, architect Peter Rose showed a renewed interest in the Beaux-Arts. Vancouver-based architect Richard Henriquez often designs buildings which evoke historical memories. The Environmental Sciences Building at Trent University (1988) and the Capilano College Library (1990) are two buildings which are intended to create this effect.

There are some signs in contemporary architecture that modernism is being renewed. Ron Keenberg of IKOY in Winnipeg has designed the National Archives of Canada (Hull, 1997) so that it accommodates complex interior functions and yet looks sleek and sculptural on the outside. In Montreal, Saucier and Perrotte's Cinématheque québecoise (1997) is a functional but striking building. These are two among many works which demonstrate an ongoing development of Canada's strong architectural traditions.

Related Articles: BARNS; GRAIN ELEVATORS; HERITAGE CONSERVATION; HOUSE; PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS; and biographies of RAYMOND AFFLECK; BAILLAIRGÉ FAMILY; DOUGLAS CARDINAL; ARTHUR ERICKSON; JOHN LYLE; RAYMOND MORIYAMA; JOHN B. PARKIN; FRANCIS RATTENBURY; MOSHE SAFDIE; RON THOM; EBERHARD ZEIDLER. See also entries on individual buildings: CANADIAN MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION; CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL; CN TOWER; KINGSTON CITY HALL; PROVINCE HOUSE.