Building a House in New France: An Account of the Perplexities of Client and Craftsmen in Early Canada

Stephen Fai is associate director of the School of Architecture at
Carleton University in Ottawa.

This is a new edition of Peter Moogk’s intricate account of the house
as a building type and cultural icon. First published in 1977, the book
remains impressive for its historical depth and clarity of language.
Moogk traces the development of an architectural tradition from its
roots in French immigrant culture to a definitive Canadian building
type. While the period under study is the 17th to 19th centuries, Moogk
reveals the act of building as a universal, human endeavour. The author
captures the complex relationships that characterize client desires,
architectural intentions, and the pragmatics of construction, all within
a clearly defined historical context. The book includes a glossary of
French terms, a sample 18th-century contract, a bibliography, and more
than 50 black-and-white illustrations.

Building a House in New France is an excellent work and should be
required reading for students of Canadian history and architecture. The
publisher is to be commended for making this book readily available.