Architecture

The architect Thomas FULLER’s 1859 design of Canada’s Parliament Buildings in Ottawa received critical praise at home and abroad. In 1881 Fuller succeeded Thomas Seaton SCOTT as chief architect of the Dominion of Canada, and designed a number of important buildings for the federal government including, the Langevin Block on Parliament Hill:

“The building types and styles developed for the federal government under Fuller, as well as his office organization, continued to influence the work of the chief architect’s branch until well into the 20th century. Through Ewart, assistant under both Scott and Fuller, and himself chief architect from 1897 to 1914, and Fuller’s son, Thomas William, who served as chief architect from 1927 to 1936, the high standard of federal design along dignified, traditional lines that Scott had initiated and Fuller had consolidated was maintained until the eve of World War II. Thus, besides a career as a designer of churches and public buildings in Britain, the West Indies, and North America, Fuller, beginning with his design for the Parliament Buildings in 1859, was a formative figure in shaping the architectural expression of Canada’s nationhood.”

For more information on the development of a Canadian architecture, consult the following biographies: