Different Forms of Architecture in Alberta

Throughout Alberta’s history architects have found inspiration in styles from around the world. Those buildings constructed before the Great Depression reflect the architectural developments in large cities like New York and Chicago, where reinforced concrete was being used to build the first three- to five-storey buildings.

The new moderne stucco style of the 1920s and the 1930s appeared in Alberta from the 1930s to the 1940s. This style included buildings that had rounded corners, a flat roof, and a white-wash stucco finish on the walls.

The prosperity that followed the 1947 discovery of oil at Leduc brought a long period of sustained development and construction. The International Style, based on Bauhaus ideals, became the model for many new buildings in the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Those buildings designed in this style featured internal steel structures, glass and concrete stripes on the faces of the buildings, and no adornments of any kind.

New forms of architecture have been built in what has been called the postmodern era. The buildings constructed in this period include the geometric shapes of the Muttart Conservatory and Shaw Convention Centre and the naturalistic curving forms of Douglas J. Cardinal’s buildings, like the Grande Prairie Regional College and St. Mary’s Church in Red Deer.