Architecture Canada 2004: The Governor General's Awards for Architecture

James A. Love is a professor architecture and associate dean (Research
and Outreach) in the Faculty of Environmental Design and an adjunct
professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Calgary. His
latest publication is the Illuminating Enginee

Every two years, a group of prominent architects is convened to decide
the Governor General’s Awards for Architecture. Of the five members of
the 2004 awards jury, one was Australian and one Finnish, bringing an
international perspective to the adjudication. Nine projects received
awards, which is a tiny fraction of two years’ worth of Canadian
building.

Dana Cuff in Architecture: The Story of Practice argued that the best
architecture could be achieved only through a serendipitous concurrence
of client disposition, architectural talent, and site and program
opportunity. That five of the award-winning projects in 2004 were houses
suggests that this is difficult to achieve in more complex projects.
Almost all the winners had been recognized with Governor General’s
medals in earlier competitions. Given that the jury includes different
people for each of the biennial competitions, the talent of these repeat
winners is recognized by a broad range of peers and is reflected in the
exquisite projects, documented in plans and photographs.

Architecture Canada 2004 opens with an essay by the editor, who
comments on common themes in the projects submitted. The book has a
bilingual text.