About Us
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Vision
To develop and maintain a facility that explains architecture to the public.
Overview
The Canadian Museum of Architecture was founded by Peter Brueckner in 2015 and is incorporated as a non-profit entity with a federal charter. It has been granted Charitable Status by the Canada Revenue Agency (819385592 RR0001). At this time it is in the process of developing its initial permanent exhibits and establishing a physical museum of architecture in Toronto for the general public to enhance understanding of this discipline and its role in our society.
The operational principles adopted for the current stage of the Museum’s development are to:
- deal primarily with western architecture and Canadian Indigenous works,
- not be a collecting institution and consequently not formulate plans to acquire rare artifacts or documents nor to establish archives,
- use the English language for displays and operations now with a long-term plan to render the institution bilingual (English-French),
- serve the needs of students by implementing programs that have educational purposes,
- foster the growth of a community of stakeholders within the general public, schools of architecture, other educational institutions and the architectural community,
- develop working relationships with other museums, and
- establish a fundraising program.
Architecture is associated and works in conjunction with a broad array of disciplines such as urban planning, landscape architecture, art, engineering, building technology, interior design, resource management, social science, environmental and climate studies and so on. The Museum will illustrate some of these interdependencies in its exhibits and explain the function of architecture in daily life.
Education
A specific effort will be made to serve the needs of students with the design of displays taking this objective into account. Presentations and, where appropriate, programs will be developed for educational purposes. The Canadian Museum of Architecture will endeavour to be seen as a resource in the learning process.
Governance
The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the Museum and deals with organizational, financial and legal matters.
An Advisory Committee comprised of individuals with experience in architecture, museum operations, public relations and fund raising is to be formed to bring high-level expertise to Museum’s operations. It will provide advice on fulfillment of the institution’s mission and objectives, curatorial activities and the maintenance of cultural diversity.
Management and development of the Museum is the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer.
Exhibits
Four exhibits will comprise the initial program of the Canadian Museum of Architecture.
- “The Nature of Architecture”, explains how architecture works by taking the viewer from the initial expression of a need for a structure through its conceptual development and construction to the completed building and its impact.
- “A History of Architecture”based on the introduction, over time, of architectural concepts, materials, ideas and technology.
- “A Survey of Canadian Buildings” provides a perspective of the development of our nation’s built environment and the factors that have shaped it, progressing from pre-contact Canadian Indigenous works to contemporary designs.
- “Architecture and the Environment” describes the profound effect of the built environment on our natural environment and the architectural design strategies that can mitigate these adverse.
Museum Content
To fulfill its goal to be an educational resource, the Canadian Museum of Architecture’s will present exhibits at a secondary school level. The dual technological and artistic aspects of the discipline will be emphasized. Displays will be based on:
- Scale models, to illustrate external form, the relationships of building components to each other and to their surroundings, the nature of the structure and, where applicable, engineering concepts and internal structure. Use of appropriate scales will permit comparisons of buildings to each other and to the human dimension.
- Text and graphics to explain the exhibit and provide pertinent information for their understanding. Particular care will be taken to ensure that the material can be understood by the general public and students and that graphic depictions are clear, illustrating the key features of each display.
- Interactive displays, where possible, to illustrate principles and help elucidate abstract ideas while heightening interest in the material and posing challenges.
- Computer-based data, to supplement the information and to provide more specialized details. Animation and video clips will explain more complex aspects and interactive programs will enhance the user experience.
Care will be taken to make the displays coherent so that individual components relate properly and logically to each other and that an overall theme is followed. Describing the connection of the subject matter to other disciplines will be important, as will the illustration of its relationship to everyday experience.
As the Museum is not a collecting institution, displays will be purpose built for all exhibits.
Development
Development Plan
The development of the Canadian Museum of Architecture in its entirety is a long-term endeavour, expected to be accomplished in phases. At this time the Museum is in Phase One. This is a prototype or proof-of-concept stage encompassing the establishment of an infrastructure and the creation of four exhibits. Phase One will provide a basis for further development and yield experience to guide the evolution of the Museum.
Subsequent phases are anticipated to see the expansion of the number of exhibits, a more sophisticated service delivery model, a strong fundraising effort and more intensive public-relations activities. Further effort will be devoted to integrating the Museum with its various communities, establishing relationships with other museums and sponsoring special exhibitions.
The Changing Role of Museums
Driven increasingly by information technology, our way of life has undergone a great deal of disruption and change in the past few years. The role of museums is shifting in conjunction with many other aspects of our social and cultural environment. It is not possible to predict the course of this trend for museums.
The inception of the Canadian Museum of Architecture will provide an opportunity to observe the relative success or failure of various approaches to museum structure, organization and operations. Effort will be made to gather information about these factors and use them to guide the development of the institution.
The Relevance of Architecture
Though our natural surroundings have been extensively modified with the creation of built environments, we seldom pause to consider the impact that these have on the lives of individuals at all levels. In fact, who we are as a people is reflected in our architecture and, in turn, that architecture is a key factor in shaping us.
The origins of architecture date to prehistoric times and, even as a formally organized discipline, it has a lengthy history. Architecture has undergone rapid evolution in recent decades with the development of technology, new materials and dramatically changing societal needs.
Building and maintaining the structures for living, working and leisure activities consume a large share of the world’s resources. In turn, the deployment of those resources and optimization of their use is a function of architectural design.
In Canada, some 40% of energy consumption is directed to the heating and cooling of buildings. Accommodating to our changing climate and bringing about necessarily related conservation measures will require modifications to our built environment and hence to our architectural approach.
Population growth is likewise exerting pressure on our urban centres with increasingly severe and deleterious effects on our environment. Adequate housing is considered to be a human right. Architecture is a key tool with which to address these complex issues.
Architectural aesthetics are a function of culture and play a fundamental role in defining the stature of countries, affecting the well-being of their populations. This is particularly important to cities and their suburbs. Pleasing, well designed and attractive buildings have the potential to foster innovation and productivity.
The architecture of an age or a people reflects their technology, historical events, artistic styles, political processes, social organization and much more. Consequently, the study of architecture is integral to understanding the human condition.
Current Status
Following an initial planning stage, development of the museum content began in 2019. This generally involves research and the design and construction of models and then the composition of explanatory narratives and the manufacture of display units.
At this time, most progress has been made on the development of models for “The Nature of Architecture” and “A History of Architecture” exhibits. Work is also underway on “Architecture and the Environment”. “A Survey of Canadian Buildings” has been commenced but is in its early stages. Experience to date reveals that going from the initial conceptualization of a complex model to its completion may take more than a year.
The design and acquisition of exhibition units has not been started at a large scale and will need to take place concomitantly with the specific configuration envisioned for each display.
A venue has not yet been identified as the location for the physical Museum.