Atlantic Modern: The Architecture of the Atlantic Provinces, 1950–2000

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 Recommended Practice of

A few exhibitions have been mounted across Canada to record and
celebrate the development of modern architecture. Two were limited to a
single urban area, Vancouver and Calgary. This volume records an
exhibition of 26 projects drawn from the entire Atlantic region.

Curatorial judgment is usually limited to the discernment of a single
individual. In this case, a framework was established to include a
representative range of building types from each province, with a focus
on work by architects from the Atlantic region. The framework resulted
in an unusual balance of works that included several institutional
buildings (one of which was a hospital) that are rarely found in awards
programs. The story of the process, from the initial framework to the
final selection, provides rare insight into curatorial decision-making,
including the tension between an international style and regional
colourings.

The text for each project is limited to a single page, supplemented by
images and drawings, which unfortunately seems to have precluded
discussion of curatorial decisions with regard to specific projects. The
projects are grouped by province, but a clever two-page chart allows the
reader to simultaneously view the projects by decade, building type, and
province. The book’s editor, Steven Mannell, is an associate professor
at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Architecture and Planning.