Abstract

During the latter part of the 18th century, a large number of Scottish emigrants settled in areas located on the east coast of Canada. Among their number were individuals skilled in stonemasonry who went on to design and construct significant stone houses, with specific examples still surviving in the town of Pictou. During the early part of the 19th century, those settlers went on to construct still intact stone buildings, many of which drew directly on knowledge and experience of architecture in Scotland. Of particular interest to this paper is a specific example of a granite townhouse built in Halifax by a successful businessman and trader who originally came from Aberdeen in Scotland. The research reported in this paper deals specifically with the visualisation of both physical (architectural) and socio-historical data. It was possible during a field visit to Halifax to collect detailed information regarding the social history of the case study property. This included gaining access to detailed measured drawings of the front elevation in addition to evidence of key dates and the likely source of construction material. What is also illustrated in the paper is the distinct and obvious aesthetic connections between the design of the case study building in Halifax and contemporary architecture located in Aberdeen itself. The authors undertook a detailed high definition survey of a similar granite urban square in Aberdeen that was constructed at almost exactly the same date as the Nova Scotian townhouse. By utilising the drawn survey data (from Halifax) and the high definition scan data (Aberdeen), it has been possible to juxtapose otherwise remotely located properties to directly compare architectural scale, detail and proportion. Associated with that study is a timeline analysis which visually presents the development of both sites, and when appropriate, provides hyperlinks to externally available data. The manner in which we understand and value heritage within the constructed environment is often affected by the depth of our knowledge of what that heritage may represent. Ultimately, the paper argues that an understanding of such case studies is significantly aided through the application of electronic visualisation techniques.