John Bland Canadian Architecture Collection

Heritage

The Canadian Architecture Collection (CAC) was established in 1974 by Professor Emeritus John Bland, director of the McGill School of Architecture for 31 years. The origins of the collection can be traced to the measured drawings and photographs of Quebec buildings made by Ramsay Traquair during his tenure as the Macdonald Professor of Architecture, 1913-1939. In 1987, the collection was made accessible to students, researchers and architects.

This special collection of approximately 200,000 plans, drawings, models, photographs, slides and textual documents dating back to the 19th century is comprised of the work of past and present architects who have studied and/or taught at the McGill Schools of Architecture and Urban Planning. In addition to supporting the teaching and research of these and other departments at McGill, as well as the wider art and architecture community, the CAC provides services to practicing architects, art and architectural historians, and independent researchers.

Collections from the practices of Percy Nobbs, Ramsay Traquair, John S. Archibald, Edward and W.S. Maxwell, Moshe Safdie and Arthur Erickson, among others, and fonds representing the evolution of the McGill campus and the City of Montreal, are also available for study and research.