A Brave New World? How to decipher the Canadian built environment

New and young countries seem like children blessed with hope, unrestricted by historical legacies and holders of a better future. 

But how free they are between what is expected from them, and what they intend to achieve to join the more developed societies?
This seminar explores a set of interpretations about the Canadian built environment. It addresses notably its relationship with the Nordic environment and its specific impact and resources.  Construction offers as much rational answers than delusional utopias, which are similarly found in architectural composition and programme. The legal and financial conditions on the other hand remain faithful grounded in a neo-colonial framework.
How much is expected from Architects, and how much they do understand their contribution to their environment remains the key issue framing the design process and production.

About François Dufaux

François Dufaux is an architect and professor at Laval University School of Architecture in Quebec City. He completed a PhD at the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies about Montreal housing typology. His teaching and research evolve around the themes of professional practice, housing design and the evolution of the built environment, historical and modern.