Architectural Styles in North America

Architecture in Canada
The architecture of Canada is, with the exception of that of Canadian First Nations, closely linked to the techniques and styles developed in Canada, Europe and the United States. However, design has long needed to be adapted to Canada's climate and geography, and at times has also reflected the uniqueness of Canadian culture. Canada's geography is highly diverse, and there are thus important differences in architecture. In most of Canada building materials are abundant, and the price of lumber and stone are low. The major exception are the prairie and the far north, where wood is in short supply. In the far north transportation costs of all goods are extremely high, and any construction project is expensive. For the most part Canada is secure from major natural disasters that affect the architecture of other nations. However, the Canadian climate needs to be taken into account for every structure. All buildings need to be well insulated to protect their inhabitants against the extreme cold of the long winters. Buildings must be designed to survive the repeated cycle of freezing and thawing that can shatter stone and move buildings off their foundations. In most of Canada, buildings must also be able to survive the heavy weight of snow, which can collapse certain structures. In coastal British Columbia, the region's heavy rainfall is a factor in weatherproofing buildings,  and   ignoring it can have expensive consequences.    

Architectural styles in AmericaExterior styles and related building forms and floor plans are in part a product of cultural tastes and values that reflect a particular place, time, and population. Styles are somewhat analogous to clothing fads, which come and go over time, and sometimes return. Back when the spread of cultural ideas and fashions across the country was slower, certain architectural styles remained in vogue for multiple decades or longer, and often revealed a distinctly regional identity. By the Victorian Era of the mid-to-late nineteenth century, multiple styles became simultaneously popular and readily available throughout the United States, ushering in what historians refer to as the "Eclectic Era" of architecture, when Americans had their choice of numerous modern or revival styles. This co-existing fascination with so-called "period styles" and early modernism continued unabated until the Great Depression. Relatively little building construction took place between 1929 and 1945.

 

Not until after World War II did America see another national building boom, by which time automobile suburbs, modern-era housing and office towers were the rule. America's modern era of functionalism and a general aversion to historic references dominated the built environment from the 1940s through the 1980s. The familiar "glass box" office tower and ubiquitous suburban ranch house are still powerful symbols of this anti-stylistic era when "form followed function". Changes were brewing by the 1970s, however, leading America to react against modern architecture and planning practices. Historic styles became gradually popular once again, coinciding with the now-booming historic preservation movement. Colonial Revival elements adorned otherwise modern ranch houses, and by the 1990s a vague "postmodern era" was in full swing.

Postmodern architecture is generally characterized by an unrelated and exaggerated use of historical styles, or imitatated reproductions of older buildings. The current rise of postmodern historicism has coincided with a revived interest in traditional town planning practices known as "neotraditional" development, or more generally, the New Urbanism. A return to city centers in high-rise, mixed-used lofts and condos is now occuring, and hundreds of neotraditional neighborhoods are under construction or are already completed, with designs that variously emphasize walking, mass transit, mixed uses, community livability, public space, and -- hopefully -- affordability. What will be America's next major cultural interest, and how will the built environment reflect that interest?

North American Influence
The oldest surviving structures on the territory that is now known as the United States were made by the Ancient Pueblo People of the four corners regionWhen the Europeans settled in North America, they From the 1840s on, the Neogothic style became popular in the United States, under the influence of Andrew Jackson Downing (1815–1852). He defined himself in a reactionary context to classicism and development of romanticism. His work is characterized by a return to Medieval decor: chimneys, gables, embrasure towers, warhead windows, gargoyles, stained glass and severely sloped roofs. The buildings adopted a complex design that drew inspiration from symmetry and neoclassicismbrought their architectural traditions and construction techniques for building. The oldest buildings in America show surviving examples. Construction was dependent upon the available resources: wood and brick are the common elements of English buildings in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and coastal South.Spanish colonial architecture was built in Florida and the Southeastern United States from 1559 to 1821. The conch style is represented in Pensacola, Florida, adorning houses with balconies of wrought iron, as appears in the mostly Spanish-built French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. In the late 18th century, the Spanish founded a series of presidios (forts) in the upper Las Californias Province to resist Russian and British colonization there, the Presidio of San Diego, Presidio of Santa Barbara, Presidio of Monterey, and Presidio of San Francisco were established for this and to support the occupation by new missions and settlements.

Excavations at the first permanent English speaking settlement, Jamestown, Virginia (founded 1607) have unearthed part of the triangular James Fort and numerous artifacts from the early 17th century. Nearby Williamsburg was Virginia's colonial capital and is now a tourist attraction as a well preserved 18th century town.  The oldest remaining building of Plymouth, Massachusetts is the Harlow House built 1677 and now a museum. The Fairbanks House (ca. 1636) in Dedham, Massachusetts is the oldest remaining wood frame house in North America. Several notable colonial era buildings remain in Boston [1]. Boston's Old North Church, built 1723 in the style of Sir Christopher Wren, became an influential model for later United States church design.In 1776, the members of the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies. After the long and distressing Revolutionary War the 1783 Treaty of Paris recognized the existence of the new republic, the United States of America. Thomas Jefferson, who was the third president of the United States between 1801 and 1809, was a scholar in many domains, including architecture. Having journeyed several times in Europe, he hoped to apply the formal rules of palladianism and of antiquity in public and private architecture and master planning.The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. is an example of uniform urbanism: the design of the capitol building was imagined by the French Pierre Charles L'Enfant. This ideal of the monumental city and neoclassicism . The Homestead Act of 1862 brought property ownership within reach for millions of citizens, displaced native peoples, and changed the character of settlement patterns across the Great Plains and Southwest. From the 1840s on, the Neogothic style became popular in the United States, under the influence of Andrew Jackson Downing (1815–1852). He defined himself in a reactionary context to classicism and development of romanticism. His work is characterized by a return to Medieval decor: chimneys, gables, embrasure towers, warhead windows, gargoyles, stained glass and severely sloped roofs. The buildings adopted a complex design that drew inspiration from symmetry and neoclassicism.