During the last 15 years, there has been a renaissance in Canadian architectural publishing, supported by the efforts of the Canada Council and other funding agencies, private sponsors, and numerous dedicated journalists, scholars, curators and architects. In particular, the intrepid publishers must be commended. This includes stalwarts such as Douglas & McIntyre, newcomers like Figure 1 Publishing, and international houses such as Princeton Architectural Press.
One of the key players in this vital landscape is Dalhousie Architectural Press, established over 35 years ago in Halifax, originally as TUNS Press. Landmark books by the press include Patkau Architects: Selected Projects 1983-1993 (1994), which did much to put Canadian architecture on the map. In 2013, the press began a series called Canadian Modern, overseen by Michelangelo Sabatino. Numbering six books to date, the series is effectively a set of exhibition catalogues that concentrate on archival material. George Thomas Kapelos?s Competing Modernisms: Toronto?s New City Hall and Square (2015) and Steven Mannell?s ?Living Lightly on the Earth?: Building an Ark for Prince Edward Island, 1974-76 (2018) provide detailed documentation of two crucial, and yet opposite, buildings in Canadian history. Kapelos?s book, which complements an exhibition held at Ryerson University in 2015, comprehensively presents the Toronto City Hall competition of 1958. He includes a fine essay on the history of design competitions in Ca...