In November 2010, I decided to start a blog to share my passion for mid-century modern housing design in Ottawa and as a way to share my collection of floor plans, site plans and old  advertisements. In just 5 short years, I have reached a milestone of over 200,000 page views of my blog!  I want to take the opportunity to thank all of my readers. Over the years I have enjoyed receiving emails and comments with questions and suggestions for blog posts. 2016 will be an exciting year for the blog - I will continue my usual posts, but have some new ideas in store. So, stay tuned for more mid-century modern Ottawa! Many thanks, Saul Svirplys

As always, I take requests for blog postings. A while ago I was asked to post on the Bel-Air Heights neighbourhood built by Campeau in the 1950s and 1960s. Below are the pages from a brochure that Campeau produced around 1959 for both Bel-Air Heights and Queensway Terrace. 

Readers of my blog will know that 1970s is one of my favourite periods in architecture, and I love to highlight exactly why whenever possible.   During the 1970s Ottawa went through its first condominium building boom with a series concrete towers built across the city. These buildings are typically very straightforward in design, with few design frills, and almost seem utilitarian in style. Yet, upon closer inspection, many of these buildings have strikingly modern lines that create a rhythm of solids and voids, and it is common for the balconies to take on a sculptural quality. Most of these buildings have rectangular footprints, but some were built as squares or even in Y-formation.   Inside the units are typically rectangular in shape, but are notable for their size, especially the large living spaces - one of the advantages of concrete construction is that it allows for large spans without needing a support post. During this era...

Another blog post by request!   Located south of Hazeldean Road east of Stittsville Main Street is a very special "adult-lifestyle" neighbourhood begun in the late 1970s. The original phases of Amberwood Village consist of a series of houses built in clusters along the edges of the Amberwood Golf Course.   The development was originally built by a company called Jaric Developments Ltd. The architect of this original portion of the area was W.G.Mohaupt - who also designed the "courtyard singles" in Hunt Club (see my old post  Favourite Plans South and scroll down to see these designs) - and also used to design houses for Minto.   The clusters of attached houses are grouped on dead-end lanes and units are attached is a variety of arrangements. Some designs have an attached garage, while others have detached garages clustered together with others. The result is a very interesting streetscape with a lot of open spac...