Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Terrace Galvin, Ph.D., MRAIC, is a professor of architectural history, theory and design at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Canada. He studied architecture at the University or Toronto and the Technical University of Nova Scotia (BEDS 1985, M.Arch 87), followed by post-professional degrees in architectural history and theory (McGill, 1990) and a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania (PENN, 2002), where he wrote on the architectural traditions of the English Enlightenment.
Beginning with a study of the traditional technique of “quincha” construction in Peru (a project funded by the IDRC in partnership with the Catholic University of Peru and TUNS) during 1987-88, he has been interested in how local technologies and cultural traditions may be translated to address the problems of contemporary development. In much of his design research, Mr. Galvin has addressed the complementary problems of balance and harmony in an architectural as well as a cultural sense, doing work in squatter towns in India and Thailand while collaborating with the McGill MCHG. In addition to a series of publications with McGill professor Vikram Bhatt, entitled Patterns of Living (1992, 1994) and most recently Reconstruction and Cultural Expression (2002), Mr. Galvin worked with the Royal Insititute of Canada (RAIC) in granting several research projects to Canadian Schools of Architecture in partnership with host institutions abroad. Publications and exhibitions of work done abroad have formed part of a shared methodology in disseminating architectural research. He has been a team member of research grants awarded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), International Development Research Council (IDRC), the Quebec FCAR, and the Canada Council for the Arts.
At Dalhousie, Professor Galvin teaches thesis methodology and supervises M.Arch thesis projects that often deal with questions of bridging tradition and modernity through architectural recording and design. His work in the area of architecture and sustainability has been equally informed by the study of Renaissance and Baroque architecture as by the works of John Turner or Hassan Fathy, which has led to recent lecturing and writing on the concept of proportion. Mr. Galvin has been a member of several research groups in design, including the ‘Circle for Research on Proportionality’ (CROP), and has recently published an article in the U.S. entitled “The Meaning of Proportion.” Mr. Galvin has been a Visiting Lecturer or Guest Critic at Carleton University, Concordia University, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Dalhousie University, Harvard University, McGill University, Philadelphia College of Textiles, Temple University, Universite de Montreal, Universite de Quebec a Montreal (UQAM), University of Nottingham (UK), & University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Galvin is also a partner in the Montreal atelier PRAXIS: Studio4architecture (www.praxistudio.com).
terrance.galvin [at] dal.ca (Email)