McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
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H3A 0C9
Arthur Erickson fonds
Fonds
1485 architectural drawings
102 photographs
26 slides
4 models
52 bound volumes
cm of textual records
Canadian architect Arthur Charles Erickson was a native of Vancouver, BC, who studied architecture at McGill University (B.Arch 1950). Erickson's training at McGill primed him in the architectural principles set forth by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and Le Corbusier. Erickson formulated his own personal architectural aesthetic which proceeded from the influence of the Moderns as well as from extensive travel in Europe and eastern Asia. Erickson formed a partnership with Geoffrey Massey in 1963 and, with him, built Simon Fraser University in Vancouver (1969). In 1972 the firm of Arthur Erickson Architects was formed. The firm executed such major commissions as the Museum of Anthropology (1974-1976) and the Provincial Government offices (1974-1979), both in Vancouver. The firm completed the design of the New Canadian Chancery in Washington in 1990. Erickson also worked extensively on projets in the Middle East.
Arthur Charles Erickson, né en 1924 à Vancouver (Colombie-Britannique), a étudié l'architecture à l'Université McGill. La formation que Erickson a reçue à McGill l'a initié aux principes architecturaux mis de l'avant par Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer et Le Corbusier. Erickson a formulé sa propre esthétique architecturale sous l'influence des grands du modernisme de même qu'à l'issue de nombreux voyages en Europe et en Extrême-Orient. Il s'est associé à Geoffrey Massey en 1963 et a construit avec lui l'Université Simon Fraser de Vancouver (1969). En 1972, le cabinet d'Arthur Erickson Architects a été formé et a exécuté des commandes importantes comme le musée d'Anthropologie (1974-1976) et les bureaux du gouvernement provincial à Vancouver (1974-1979). En 1990, le cabinet a terminé la nouvelle chancellerie canadienne à Washington.
Material from Erickson's Middle East projects was given to the CAC in 1989 by Arthur Erickson Architects.
Le matériel se rapportant aux projets moyen-orientaux d'Erickson a été remis à la CAC en 1989 par le cabinet Arthur Erickson Architects.
The fonds consists chiefly of architectural drawings, photographs, reports, and other records relating to Erickson's architectural projects in the Middle East. Beginning in 1975, Erickson undertook some forty projects in the Middle East, most of them large-scale public projects. He created masterplans and designed universities, museums, office buildings, residential complexes and diplomatic compounds in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria, among others. Some were built, others remained at a competition and project stage. Most provide an important insight into the challenges of designing buildings and cities in an environment and culture radically different from our own. The materials document Erickson's involvement with building projects in the Middle East. Erickson's concern for bold masses, indigenous forms and contextuality can be seen in designs for the Islamic University of Madinah in Saudi Arabia (1983) and the Abu Nuwas Conservation and Development Project in Baghdad, Iraq (1981). These designs are better understood as small-scale cities rather than buildings and reflect Erickson's humanist approach to the problems of Modern design. The majority of the architectural drawings in the fonds date from 1976 to 1986 and include 1,468 multimedia drawings. These include drawings for over a dozen Middle East competitions and projects such as designs for the Islamic University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia (1983), King Faisal Air Force Academy and Mosque in Al Kharj (1980) and the Etisalat Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (1986). An additional seventeen drawings were created before 1950 and include nine drawings for an office building and eight drawings for an arts centre for Vancouver. These executed while a student at the McGill School of Architecture. The fonds also contains 102 photographs and 26 slides also dating between 1976 and 1986 as well as 4 three-dimensional scale models. These models are for the Islamic University of Madinah (1983), the Abu Nuwas Conservation and Development Project (1976), Sancst Science Halls (1981) and Etisalat Headquarters (1986). The fonds also contain competition submissions and project development documentation (1976-1987), bound in 43 volumes. Nine copies of three published books also included contain surveys of Erickson's work and career. The fonds also contains Erickson's correspondence and other papers, as well as some projects from his student years.
Le fonds se compose principalement de dessins d'architecture, de photographies, de rapports et d'autres documents relatifs aux projets architecturaux d'Erickson au Moyen-Orient. Ces documents témoignent de l'implication d'Erickson dans des projets de construction au Moyen-Orient. L'intérêt d'Erickson pour les masses audacieuses, les formes indigènes et la contextualité se retrouve dans les projets de l'Université islamique de Médine en Arabie saoudite (1983) et du projet de conservation et de développement d'Abu Nuwas à Bagdad, en Irak (1981). Ces projets sont davantage considérés comme des villes à petite échelle que comme des bâtiments et reflètent l'approche humaniste d'Erickson face aux problèmes du design moderne. La majorité des dessins d'architecture du fonds datent de 1976 à 1986 et comprennent 1 468 dessins multimédias. Ils comprennent des dessins pour plus d'une douzaine de concours et de projets au Moyen-Orient, tels que le plan de l'Université islamique de Médine, en Arabie saoudite (1983), l'Académie de l'armée de l'air du roi Fayçal et la mosquée d'Al Kharj (1980) ainsi que les quartiers généraux d'Etisalat à Abou Dhabi, aux Émirats arabes unis (1986). Dix-sept autres dessins ont été réalisés avant 1950, dont neuf dessins pour un immeuble de bureaux et huit dessins pour un centre d'art à Vancouver. Ces dessins ont été exécutés alors qu'il était étudiant à l'école d'architecture de McGill. Le fonds contient également 102 photographies et 26 diapositives datant également de 1976 à 1986 ainsi que 4 maquettes en trois dimensions. Quatre projets sont documentés par des maquettes tridimensionnelles : l'Université islamique de Madinah (1983), le Projet de conservation et de développement d'Abu Nuwas (1976), les Sancst Science Halls (1981) et les quartiers généraux d'Etisalat (1986). Le fonds contient également des soumissions de concours et de la documentation sur le développement de projets (1976-1987), reliés en 43 volumes. Neuf exemplaires de trois livres publiés contiennent également des études sur le travail et la carrière d'Erickson. Le fonds contient également la correspondance et d'autres documents d'Erickson.
For conservation reasons, dra;_,ings, photographs, slides, models, and project documents in the
CAC are grouped and stored separately. An artificial system has been imposed on these items;
however, for the remaining material the objective has been to keep the original order intact
whenever possible. Series are analyzed and identified or, if necessary, created artificially. Each
container has a call number representing this intellectual structure. For example CAC 57/B/1.3:
CAC Canadian Architecture Collection
57 Arthur Erickson
B B Series: Professional Literature (Architectural Operations)
1 Box #1
.3 3rd item in box
A graduate of McGill, Arthur Erickson divided the archives of his work among several Canadian repositories, The Canadian Architecture Collection of McGill University, the Canadian Architectural Archives of the University of Calgary, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture among them. The archival material documenting the Middle East projects of Arthur Erickson was first deposited in the Canadian Architecture Collection (CAC) of McGill University in 1988, in keeping with the CAC's mission of collecting the work of prominent figures associated with the McGill School of Architecture. The presence, at McGill, of the Institute of Islamic Studies and the project involvement in the region by the School of Architecture provided a strong context for this particular donation.
The first series contains materials relating to Erickson's Middle East projects arranged in chronological order, and the second series contains auxiliary material such as project reports (subseries A), vertical files and audiovisual material (subseries B). Two additional series contain material classified as other projects, notably student work, and projects still in storage which are unprocessed. Please note, archival terminology has been modified from the version found in the CAC publication, Arthur Erickson: The Middle East Projects, A Guide to the Archives (1999), but the overall arrangement has been maintained.
For further information see the CAC's publication, Arthur Erickson: The Middle East Projects, A Guide to the Archives - les projets du Moyen-Orient, guide du fonds. Montreal: Canadian Architecture Collection, Blackader-Lauterman Library of Architecture and Art, McGill University, 1999.
Correspondence and other papers require additional processing and description.