Architecture, Town Planning, and Community: Selected Writings and Public Talks by Cecil Burgess, 1909–1946

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Cecil Burgess lived for 101 years; his influence on Canadian
architecture will have a much longer life. Burgess single-handedly ran
the school of architecture at the University of Alberta from 1913 to
1940. He was a methodical person who prepared for his lectures and his
many professional and radio talks by writing out his speeches in full.
The result is a considerable body of work available in the University of
Alberta and other archives from which this collection was drawn.

The volume starts with a substantial introduction that sketches a
portrait of Burgess’s life and summarizes his philosophy of
architecture. This overview places the selected lectures and talks in
the context of his lifetime of work devoted to architecture and town
planning as well as providing numerous insights into the influences that
shaped his philosophy.

The selected lectures and talks give us, in Burgess’s own words, many
of his ideas on the role of architecture. For example, he stressed the
importance of craftsmanship in buildings and the idea that architecture
was not only a technical activity but a socially useful undertaking that
influenced character and behaviour. He had firm opinions on what was
required to make a house a home, and insisted that families with
children should live in houses, not apartments. He believed that hygiene
and health were central influences on architectural design and that good
design recognized that sunlight is the most valuable article that enters
a house because it kills germs. He valued tradition, by which he meant
British conventions, was strongly influenced by the arts and crafts
movement, and was a passionate advocate of town planning.

Numerous sketches by Burgess and lots of archival photos illustrate the
work. As Burgess’s writings were intended to be delivered as lectures
or talks, he used a light, informal tone, making them delightful reading
even half a century later.