First volume of the Building Arguments series conceived and co-published with Concordia University Press, Arthur Erickson on Learning Systems curates a selection of writings, conserved in the CCA collection, by an architect advocating for interdisciplinarity in his approaches to education and methods for sharing knowledge. 

The writings selected are put into dialogue as outlining the evolution of Erickson’s thinking, starting with his vision for the development of his mid-1960s masterpieces, the Simon Fraser University campus, his considerations of the evolution of the campus decades later, together with, in a broader scope, his vision on the evolution of education.

Nuances to Erickson’s thinking are brought to light in an introduction by Melanie O’Brian, who discusses his approach to learning spaces by drawing parallels with the experience of campus users following the university expansion and increased specialisations among the disciplines.

Building Arguments is a series of short pamphlets presenting a voice of Canadian architects on the built environment. Introduced by contemporary scholars or practitioners, the series deploy the CCA's rich and deep holdings of mid- to late twentieth-century architectural archives and cast new light on Canadian architects' contributions in the field of architecture writ large. 

With an introduction by Melanie O’Brian

Design by Sean Yendrys

Co-published with Concordia University Press

11 x 18 cm, 88 pages