The Globe and Mail

There I was, choking on the thick patchouli cloud at a well-loved Annex bookstore, when I saw a book I'd been wanting for some time. It had no author, no story, but to me, a modern architecture geek, it was as compelling as the new John Grisham would be to someone else. It was a 1965 soft cover called Small House Designs, "prepared by Canadian architects for Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation." There was little in the way of introductory text except a note to say it contained "more than 100 house designs" and that plans -- which were available to homeowners and builders -- had been "periodically revised" since 1947.