Introduction The Caribbean is a region historically notable for its legacy of colonization and slave labour. As early as the 16th century enslaved Africans were shipped to islands in the West Indies to work on plantations owned and operated by Europeans. In particular, France claimed a substantial amount of territory for its monarchy, and took […]
Forming a portion of the St. Lawrence Market façade in Toronto, its first official city hall is part of a legacy of facadism in Toronto architecture, where buildings are preserved to meet the goal of heritage conservation of facades. As we seek a decolonized society, it is important to question the role our preserved architecture […]
The Shakers were a religious utopian group that moved from Britain to America in the late 18th century. The Shakers originated in Manchester under the leadership of Ann Lee, who proclaimed herself the female incarnation of Christ.1 Delores Hayden describes in her book Seven American Utopias, that Ann Lee came to the religion after experiencing […]
A Brief History of Lawang Sewu Lawang Sewu is an old Dutch colonial building located in central Java island’s north coast city of Semarang in Indonesia and occupies a total space of 23m x 77m. . In Javanese language, one of the many languages in Indonesia, Lawang Sewu can be directly translated as “A Thousand […]
Fort York was built in 1793 along the shore of Lake Ontario and exemplifies British military architecture.[1] The strategic location of the fort protected settler colonialism within the nearby Town of York, now known as Toronto. The architecture and history of Fort York reinforced British colonialism and empire in the early 1800s by providing military defence. While the military […]
Introduction Perched on the North peninsula of Halifax, Nova Scotia is a replica of a vintage church, sitting in solitude, overlooking the bay. The park is deceptively serene, and betrays the violent reality of the landscape’s history. A century before, the site was not a park, but a thriving black community named Africville. Africville, established […]
Displacements and Dispossessions resulting from The Public Lands Act of 1853 The road systems constructed in Ontario as a result of The Public Lands Act of 1853 have historically played a significant role in the processes of displacement and dispossession of indigenous communities from their traditional territories and homes, reinforcing the mechanisms of settler colonialism […]
The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) was built between 1821-9 and designed by Architect John Haviland in the outskirts of Philadelphia. Noticeably atop of a hill, the prison’s feudal-styled walls enclose the 12-acre site and present an ominous symbol to discourage illegal behaviour in the city. The ESP was initiated by the Philadelphia Society for the […]
The Influence of Pre-Contact Native Settlements on the Construction of Good Hope Cannery and Other Newly Established Colonial Fish Canneries Good Hope Cannery is a large gable-roofed structure with two perpendicular, long rectangular wings, creating an ‘L’ shaped plan, surrounded by smaller servicing structures, connected by boardwalks. It rests on wooden pilings and beams, some […]
Constructed in a traditional neoclassical architectural style, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the United States. The permanent collection consists of works of art and artifacts from ancient Egypt, European masters collections, and an extensive collection of American and modern art. It also maintains holdings of African, Asian, oceanian, byzantine, […]