Architecture of Quebec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The architecture of Quebec, Canada is characterized by the juxtaposition of the old and the new and a wide variety of architectural styles, the legacy of two successive colonizations by the French, the British, and the close presence of the architecture of the United States to the south.
Famous for its religious heritage, Quebec has some of the most beautiful Roman Catholic churches you can find in North America. Quebec has 122 religious buildings listed as historical monuments. The most well-known ones would be Saint Joseph's Oratory, the Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, the Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica, and the Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral.
Quebec is not lacking in significant pieces of secular architecture. It has hundreds of surviving heritage homes which have been built in the particular style of New France. This style is an adaptation to the colder climes of Quebec of ancient 17th and 18th century house forms of Normandy and other traditional lands of the North of France.
As the only fortified city still existing north of Mexico, Quebec City, the capital of Quebec was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985. The city of Montreal also had some fortifications, but they were destroyed between 1804 and 1817.
In the way of modern architecture, the Montreal metro is widely known for its design; with Moscow and Stockholm, it pioneered the idea of transit networks with different designs for each station, and the integration of art into transit station architecture.
Other particularly significant works of modern architecture in Montreal include Moshe Safdie's Habitat 67 and Buckminster Fuller's American Pavilion (now the Biosphere), both built for Expo '67; Ieoh Ming Pei's Place Ville-Marie; and Roger Taillibert's Stade Olympique.
[edit] See also
- List of Quebec architects
- Canadian Centre for Architecture
- Culture of Quebec
- Ernest Cormier
- Percy Erskine Nobbs
- Quebec City
