Dufaux, Francois;
(2007)
The origins of Montreal's housing tradition.
Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
For almost 200 years, rental tenure and an original type of small tenement-like buildings have dominated housing in Montreal. This pattern is poorly explained by the existing literature, and has attracted severe criticism for not reflecting the North American preference for home-ownership and single-family houses. From an initial effort to describe the evolution of this residential building type through morphological analysis, this thesis has shifted to a more comprehensive exploration of the city's economic and cultural frameworks, as well as the architectural sources of the housing tradition, through the analysis of building plans. The thesis takes an interdisciplinary approach to the relationship between architecture and society. It presents a hypothesis about Montreal's real estate strategy, as a reflection of the conditions that shape housing production and the expectations of architectural design. Morphological analysis reveals how changes to the French and British colonial and cultural context directly affected the composition and configuration of buildings and dwellings. The extent of hybridisation, as displayed in the composition or imbedded in the configuration, suggests a complex exchange of patterns between two cultural traditions. Montreal's dwellings reflect a unique constellation of cultural references, class aspirations and spatial strategies. Their flexibility and adaptability have permitted them to balance formal concerns of stylistic correctness with an incremental design process, open to innovation and governed by an additive and often opportunistic design procedure. The thesis makes a case for design as encompassing three fields of decision: architectural Order, spatial Structure and construction System. It disputes the typical interpretation of the architect and the architect's designs as agents of novelty, advocating instead a more conciliatory and practical role that brings together figurative patterns, spatial tactics and available means.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Title: | The origins of Montreal's housing tradition |
| Identifier: | PQ ETD:591947 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Thesis digitised by ProQuest. Third party copyright material has been removed from the ethesis. Images identifying individuals have been redacted or partially redacted to protect their identity. |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Architecture |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1444638 |
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