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The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been, and remains, an integral player in the development of urban forms in Canada. Not only does the CMHC provide recommendations for viable domestic space planning, it also promotes the use of safe, affordable, and sustainable constructive principles, and stimulates the creativity of developers, contractors, municipal officials, planners, and architects. In the same vein, the CMHC has produced numerous publications focused on social, technical, and economic research that have contributed to the enhancement of Canada's architectural culture. The planning of domestic spaces has been further advanced by Habitat magazine. The magazine served as an enlightening guide for residential architectural projects from the 1950s until the 1980s. Additionally, La construction à ossature de bois is a book that has been regularly republished since its first publication in 1967; many consider it the authority on housing construction in Canada. One could say that it is the Canadian/US Vitruvius of the North American home. [...] more

Consciously engaging ourselves in a meaningful debate, we present two competitions organized by private investors eager to raise the stakes when it comes to architecture, all the while, being mindful of their responsibility to create public space: 91 residential high-rises from near and far, for the 2005 Absolute Ideas Architectural Competition in Mississauga and four projects for the Caisses populaires Dejardins of Drumondville from 1991. [...] more