Skip to main content

Reading list: The writing of John Bentley Mays, Globe and Mail architecture critic

Newsletters Subscribe Register My account My account AdChoices
appreciation

Reading list: The writing of John Bentley Mays, Globe and Mail architecture critic

Globe Staff

John Bentley Mays wrote a weekly column on residential architecture for The Globe and Mail for 13 years until his death last week. In hundreds of stories, he spoke to the people who designed the homes and buildings that have refashioned Toronto at a rapid pace.

What follows is a small taste of his keen observations and graceful delivery. Additionally, you can read Alex Bozikovic's obituary of the respected critic here.

Love Toronto? Insist on better design Heightened population density in the city’s inner core isn’t the problem. Tolerance for mediocre projects and tired formulas is
A modern cottage, like a wedge in the wilderness Steven Fong’s backwoods cabin takes steel and glass to the woods
It's time to rock the boat The disquieting silence on architecture is not justified and needs to be upended
A heated battle between traditional and modern While Britain's star architects joust in public, Toronto's debate plays out behind closed doors
Putting back alleys on the front burner A U of T student project looks at new ways to use Toronto's laneways for living space
Expensive hat with shabby shoes One St. Thomas adds new mediocrity to a part of town with quite enough already
Report an error Editorial code of conduct
Comments

Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Click here to subscribe.

If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. Readers can also interact with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter .

Subscribe to comment Why do I need to subscribe?

Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Click here to subscribe.

If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. Readers can also interact with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter .

I'm a print subscriber, link to my account Subscribe to comment Why do I need to subscribe?

Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff.

We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate. That means:

  • All comments will be reviewed by one or more moderators before being posted to the site. This should only take a few moments.
  • Treat others as you wish to be treated
  • Criticize ideas, not people
  • Stay on topic
  • Avoid the use of toxic and offensive language
  • Flag bad behaviour

Comments that violate our community guidelines will be removed. Commenters who repeatedly violate community guidelines may be suspended, causing them to temporarily lose their ability to engage with comments.

Read our community guidelines here

Discussion loading ...

Read most recent letters to the editor.

Due to technical reasons, we have temporarily removed commenting from our articles. We hope to have this fixed soon. Thank you for your patience. If you are looking to give feedback on our new site, please send it along to feedback@globeandmail.com. If you want to write a letter to the editor, please forward to letters@globeandmail.com.