Hello readers!  Below is a link to a an interesting blog post with the history of the CMHC and its influence on the mid-century modern housing that was built coast-to-coast in Canada. There is also a great story about the author and her personal connection to the CMHC.  Please visit the blog:  http://www.housestories.ca/2013/11/me-and-cmhc/  

The Bridlewood area of Kanata was begun at the end of the 1970s, and continues to grow even today. The first phases of this area have houses which capture the type of architecture and design that I consider quintessential of the time period. Various materials, textures and colours (usually earth-tone) animate the facades. Inside, changes in levels (sunken and raised rooms) and two-storey expanses create vibrant interiors.   The advertising by the one of the builders, Cadillac Fairview, explains how much thought was put in to the designs: The following are a selection of the plans in Bridlewood which best capture the 1970s spirit of innovation: The raised living room with 2-story ceiling is my favourite feature of the design. This design has vaulted ceilings in three rooms. The raised dining room and kitchen have railings which overlook the rooms below to create a dynamic interior for this pl...

Hello readers! I have just launched a new blog, which is about Bramalea (my hometown and the subject of my Master's thesis research).  Don't worry, as mentioned in my last post, I will continue to update this blog too.  Please check it out:  http://bramaleablog.wordpress.com/ Enjoy!

You may have noticed a slow-down in the frequency of my postings of late. I am in the thick of reading for my PhD comprehensive exams and working on research proposals. This process has been one of re-discovery and re-thinking the suburban landscape. In particular, my chosen research will be on innovative 1970s-era suburban housing and community design. Over the next while, my blog will change focus and become a forum for my love affair with 1970s suburban architecture and community design. I hope to entice my readers with the fruit of my research, thus moving the slider past the mid-century and into 1970s and early 1980s. The 1970s is an era of great creativity and innovation in suburban housing and neighbourhood planning. In many instances, designers sought to re-think housing and community design to create something completely new. The sensual (and sensory) architecture of the 1970s can be seen as a reaction to mass-produced housing of the post-war...