The past year saw an abundance of new books of interest to Canadian architects—many of them authored by Canadian designers. As the holidays approach, we’re rounding up this year’s best books.

You may also be interested in this round-up’s companion post, our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide.

All Things Move—Learning to Look at the Sistine Chapel by Jeannie Marshall ($35 CAD)

In her book All Things Move: Learning to Look at the Sistine Chapel, Marshall makes a unique case for considering the Chapel as something other than a religious enclave, scholarly artifact, or checklist tourist attraction. It’s all those, of course, but its otherworldly qualities transcend religious, academic, or tour-bus affiliations. Find out more here.

An Inimitable Rogue by Storefront Manitoba ($45 CAD)

This tribute to the late David Penner features contributions by many Winnipeg area friends, family, and colleagues. It also presents Penner’s work—from the poetic expression of the rainwater collection at the Manitoba Electrical Museum to the transparent, translucent, and transcendent qualities of the Penner Cottage. Find out more here.

Manitoba Women in Design by Marieke Gruwel ($35 CAD)

Manitoba Women in Design tells the story of women’s contributions to Manitoba’s built environment during the twentieth century. These women worked as architects, interior designers, landscape architects, planners, and engineers, and their legacies can be traced across the province. Many of these women and their contributions have been erased from architecture and design histories. This book aims to begin the process of addressing these exclusions by showcasing their lives and careers. Find out more here.

100 Women—Architects in Practice by Harriet Harriss, Naomi House, Monika Parrinder, and Tom Ravenscroft ($90 CAD)

This sampling of work by women architects is, according to its authors, “a snapshot of innovative architectural practice from across the globe.” Contesting the male- and Global North-dominated canon, it includes interviews with women from almost 80 countries, and prioritizes place-sensitive approaches, and equity-minded processes. Find out more here.

Platform.Middle—Architecture for Housing the 99% by 5468796 Architecture ($79 CAD)

Winnipeg architecture firm 5468796 is known for working outside of the norm—the puzzle-box Bloc 10, the flying-saucer-like 62M—and their first publication is no exception. Rather than a traditional monograph, platform.MIDDLE is a box set of four volumes. Together, the publication’s components distill lessons learned from 5468796’s portfolio of missing middle housing projects, offering context and practical tools for architects to address housing affordability. Find out more here.

Fundamentals of Planning Cities for Healthy Living by Avi Friedman and Alexandra Pollock ($46 CAD)

The book highlights the disparity in health outcomes observed in underinvested urban neighbourhoods. The lack of access to recreational spaces, healthy food options, and safe pedestrian routes exacerbates issues like obesity, diabetes, and mental health disorders, especially in lower-income neighbourhoods. The authors call for a multidimensional approach that includes strategies like food security, active mobility, green spaces, and inclusive public places. The book also stresses the need for greater cooperation between government, private and healthcare sectors, nonprofits, and more effective public awareness campaigns, underlining the procedural tactics necessary to move the needle for healthier outcomes for our cities and urban populations. Find out more here.

Constructing Health: How the Built Environment Enhances Your Mind’s Health by Tye Farrow ($84 CAD)

In this book, architect Tye Farrow invites readers to reframe their understanding of what buildings can do by posing a series of questions, such as: “How do buildings make us feel, and how can they make us feel better?” A guiding concept is salutogenesis—a term proposed by sociologist Aaron Antonovsky to describe the factors and conditions that promote health and well-being, rather than focusing solely on the causes and treatment of disease. Find out more here.

Designed Landscapes—37 Key Projects by Alan Tate and Marcella Eaton ($57 CAD)

Designed Landscapes: 37 Key Projects, by Alan Tate and Marcella Eaton, is a profusely illustrated exploration of a series of outstanding landscapes, all designed by human hand—though many are located within, and skillfully exploit or complement, the natural or vernacular landscapes in which they are located. Find out more here.

Reside—Contemporary West Coast Houses by Michael Prokopow ($55 CAD)

A decade ago, Greg Bellerby’s book The West Coast Modern House: Vancouver Residential Architecture chronicled key developments in West Coast Modern architecture, including several contemporary practices continuing that legacy. The present volume is positioned as a continuation, foregrounding new voices in a selection curated by architect Clinton Cuddington. Find out more here.

The Suicide Magnet—Inside the Battle to Erect a Safety Barrier on Toronto’s Bloor Viaduct by Paul McLaughlin ($20 CAD)

In 2003, the Luminous Veil—a suicide barrier designed by Dereck Revington Studio along Toronto’s Bloor Viaduct—opened. Revington’s full vision did not come to completion until a full 12 years later, when the steel strings were finally illuminated with a ribbon of 35,000 LEDs. As it turns out, the journey to erect the barrier in the first place was also long and hard-fought. Find out more here.

Habitat—Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Climate edited by Sandra Piesik ($65 CAD)

Vernacular architecture is generally understood as referring to domestic, native and Indigenous structures. So it is perhaps of little surprise that in our contemporary scape—dominated by forms of monolithic scale and proportion—methods of producing vernacular architecture have often been overlooked and marginalized. Habitat: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Climate, assembled by architect-author Sandra Piesik, offers an insightful overview of age-old methods of production, and supports and celebrates present-day efforts that follow in their wake. Find out more here.

Livre Valoriser les bâtiments existants by Collectif ($40 CAD)

Co-written by Écobâtiment and architects André Bourassa and Richard Trempe, this book argues for the retention and rehabilitation of existing buildings as a key tool in fighting and adapting to climate change. Intended as a resource for AED professionals as well as building owners, it takes a deep dive into multiple aspects of the issue: from discussing the upfront and operational energy of buildings, to considering the regulatory environment around adaptive reuse in Quebec, to outlining key design principles for retrofitting building envelopes, structures, foundations, and mechanical systems.

Architect, mother, cyclist, partner: Buffalo architect Louise Bethune was all of these and more. And although she was the first professional woman architect in the United States, her story has remained largely untold. In a notable new book—one of two biographies of Bethune to appear in the past decade—architect and Canadian ex-pat Kelly Hayes McAlonie offers a comprehensive and compelling account of Bethune’s life and career. What may at first glance seem like a minor story in a minor place is, in fact, an inspiring history of everyday professional determination and ethics, situated in a region that was a centre of innovation and wealth at the time. Find out more here.

Related:

Best books for Canadian architects: 2024 Edition, Part 1

2024 Holiday Gift Guide

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