The firm of Patkau Architects, founded in 1978 and based in Vancouver, British Columbia, has achieved international renown for work that draws on the principles of modern architecture and is simultaneously inspired by the traditions and often spectacular landscape of the Pacific Northwest.

The office is known for a straightforward, multifaceted expression of material and detail as well as a focus on the sculpture that is inherent in architecture. This comprehensive monograph includes cultural and institutional projects, such as the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, the National Library of Quebec in Montreal, and a major addition to the Winnipeg Centennial Library; schools, notably the Seabird Island School and the Strawberry Vale School; and a series of residences, including the Shaw house, with a dramatic elevated lap pool, and the inventive Petite Maison du Weekend (Small Weekend House), a prototype for a self-sufficient holiday house for two.

Kenneth Frampton is the Ware Professor of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. Among his numerous influential books is Modern Architecture: A Critical History.