Context and Content

"A deeply personal memoir from one of Canada's most celebrated architects. A.J. Diamond is rightly recognized as a leader in modern architecture. In this highly personal account of his life and work, Diamond shares how he came to be the founder of the leading architecture firm Diamond Schmitt. From hitchhiking two thousand kilometres at age sixteen from South Africa to Rhodesia; to heading off to university, where he had considerable rugby success, first closer to home in Cape Town, then at Oxford and the University of Pennsylvania; to landing in Toronto, where he founded Diamond Schmitt, one of Canada's largest and most successful architecture firms, Diamond has led an extraordinary life. Context and Content provides insights into some of Diamond's seminal architectural projects, including the new Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, the most significant building in Russia in decades; Jerusalem's City Hall; and Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, which has some of the best acoustics in the world. Diamond's work and influence can be seen from New York to Texas, Vancouver to Montreal, where context and content interplay in his buildings. A world-renowned architect, his memoir is evidence of a life well spent."--