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Peter Coffman

@petercoffman

Architectural Historian; Supervisor of History & Theory of Architecture program @carleton.ca‬. https://carleton.ca/aah/people/peter-coffman/ Photographer. Pilgrim. Occasionally a writer. Chief of Staff to two cats. Photos mine unless otherwise credited.

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18.11.2023
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Latest posts by Peter Coffman @petercoffman

Preview
Strikes on Iran Damage Cultural Heritage Sites, Infuriating Iranians

“What happened to their claims that this was war on the regime and not on Iran and its people?” asked Laleh, a 36-year-old from Tehran, reached by telephone. “They are lying.”

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/w...

11.03.2026 17:55 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Leading during wartime will show us who Trump really is War is one of the most challenging presidential responsibilities, and one that amplifies personality in leaders

What a bizarre piece of fluff. The war has not - and will not - show us anything about Trump that wasn’t already blindingly obvious.
www.theglobeandmail.com/world/us-pol...

10.03.2026 23:56 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 2 📌 0
Post image Post image Post image Post image

🤔 In case you didn't know - here's a bit more about me and my work, my values, my hopes and fears as a creative in today's world: www.digest.andymarsh... - please share if you can. Thank you. ☺️

09.03.2026 07:32 👍 34 🔁 9 💬 0 📌 1
Image of the text of an essay outlining problems and solutions to Ottawa's transit issues, page 1. The full text can be found on the CollegeWard website.

Image of the text of an essay outlining problems and solutions to Ottawa's transit issues, page 1. The full text can be found on the CollegeWard website.

Image of the text of an essay outlining problems and solutions to Ottawa's transit issues, page 2. The full text can be found on the CollegeWard website.

Image of the text of an essay outlining problems and solutions to Ottawa's transit issues, page 2. The full text can be found on the CollegeWard website.

Some excerpts from my piece about the state of Ottawa's public transit. Read it in the images or at www.college-ward.ca/out_of_servi...

Since 2022, I’ve been wrestling with myself over a feeling of powerlessness about OC Transpo, in conflict with my ability as a decision maker to affect change.

09.03.2026 18:02 👍 16 🔁 7 💬 6 📌 0

Normally when someone is this deluded, you'd ask them to name the president to see how far they're really gone

09.03.2026 21:47 👍 3294 🔁 608 💬 109 📌 17

😳

09.03.2026 22:32 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Thanks Marta!

09.03.2026 19:59 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A white, wooden church tower with sharp pinnacles shimmers in the distance through the fog while the foreground is clogged with a picturesque grouping of dark rooflines that creates a pattern of interlocking triangles.

A white, wooden church tower with sharp pinnacles shimmers in the distance through the fog while the foreground is clogged with a picturesque grouping of dark rooflines that creates a pattern of interlocking triangles.

For #MistyMonday: Lunenburg, NovaScotia.

09.03.2026 15:47 👍 10 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
A dense crowd waving Iranian flags fills the street in front of the glass, cliff-like facade of the US embassy in Ottawa.

A dense crowd waving Iranian flags fills the street in front of the glass, cliff-like facade of the US embassy in Ottawa.

Demonstration in front of the US Embassy this afternoon in Ottawa.

08.03.2026 19:27 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Heritage Ottawa - The Abbot of Kingsmere: Mackenzie King and his Ruins
Heritage Ottawa - The Abbot of Kingsmere: Mackenzie King and his Ruins YouTube video by Heritage Ottawa - Patrimoine Ottawa

The practice even extended beyond the Victorian era - and even came to Canada!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S85b...

07.03.2026 23:59 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
A board-and-batten wall with white boards ornamented by light yellow battens is pierced by a dark Gothic arch, within which a colourful bouquet of flowers seems to float.

A board-and-batten wall with white boards ornamented by light yellow battens is pierced by a dark Gothic arch, within which a colourful bouquet of flowers seems to float.

Saint Andrews United Baptist Church, St. Andrews, New Brunswick, 1865.

#MarchArch

07.03.2026 16:54 👍 11 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
A curving wooden staircase rises from a wooden floor within a teardrop-shaped opening to several floors above.

A curving wooden staircase rises from a wooden floor within a teardrop-shaped opening to several floors above.

Calgary Central Library, Snøhetta and DIALOG, 2013-18.

#StaircaseSaturday
#SaturdayStairs

07.03.2026 14:08 👍 28 🔁 9 💬 0 📌 1

Make that 303 years ago today.

07.03.2026 12:40 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

I think the late, great Robbie Robertson wrote a song about him without even realizing it:

🎶
Life is a carnival, believe it or not
Life is a carnival, two bits a shot

Hey, buddy, would you like to buy a watch real cheap?
Here on the street
I got six on each arm and two more round my feet
🎶

06.03.2026 14:58 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Done!

06.03.2026 13:19 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
A life in pictures: Remembering Bruno Schlumberger Bruno Schlumberger's six National Newspaper Awards were the most any Canadian photographer received.

A lovely obit of Bruno Schlumberger, a photographer so many of us had the pleasure of working with as reporters. Thanks, Bruce Deachman. @ottawacitizen.com #ottnews ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...

05.03.2026 23:21 👍 5 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 4

Are ‘foreigners’ allowed to sign? or would it be counterproductive to do so?

05.03.2026 18:52 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
Ottawa city councillor found guilty of impaired driving charges | CBC News Orléans East-Cumberland Coun. Matthew Luloff has been found guilty of impaired driving and having a blood alcohol level exceeding the legal limit within two hours of ceasing to drive. A judge fined hi...

The right decision. And I note that although he says he “accept[s] responsibility” for his actions, both he and his lawyer did everything possible to evade that responsibility until they ran out of options. I would really like him to address *that*.
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

05.03.2026 18:24 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Very sad to learn of the death of Robert Hill, author of 'The Biographical Dictionary of Canadian Architects 1800-1950’. We had many pleasant correspondences about architecture, architectural writing, and especially architectural photography. He made a huge contribution and will be greatly missed.

04.03.2026 13:47 👍 6 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Nature can’t wait. Canada’s plan to restore and protect nature has fallen dangerously off track — and funding is about to dry up. 🧵

03.03.2026 20:55 👍 9 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0

If ‘covfefe’ could speak….

02.03.2026 19:57 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Me too. Having seen it, I now can’t even watch the trailer without weeping!

02.03.2026 00:55 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
HAMNET - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters This Thanksgiving
HAMNET - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters This Thanksgiving YouTube video by Focus Features

I finally saw Hamnet this weekend at the @mayfairtheatre.bsky.social. Superb. Pulls together a few very loose historical threads to weave a story of fantastic beauty and emotional virtuosity. 💔❤️
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYcg...

02.03.2026 00:47 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0

If it happened today, they’d conduct an internet poll about whom to vote off the island!

02.03.2026 00:42 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

An odd comparison, given that I assume he must have seen a few English cathedrals by then. If he wanted a true historical precedent, he’d have mentioned Roman baths.

02.03.2026 00:40 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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After the Great Toronto Fire of 1904, the decision was made to build a new train terminal in the city. It took two decades before the building was open. Today, it is the second busiest train terminal in North America.
This is the story of Toronto's Union Station.

🧵 1/10

01.03.2026 14:00 👍 104 🔁 25 💬 3 📌 2

Actually, he died three years before the group was formally founded. Had he lived, he would certainly have been part of the group.

02.03.2026 00:17 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Glad you like it! It’s a building that richly deserves a good photograph or two.

01.03.2026 18:19 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
A large room in a mosque with a beautifully mosaic-ed vaulted ceiling, carpet on the floor, and most notably stained glass windows which cast vibrant colours on the interior, including the visitors

A large room in a mosque with a beautifully mosaic-ed vaulted ceiling, carpet on the floor, and most notably stained glass windows which cast vibrant colours on the interior, including the visitors

Stunning!
And allow me to brag about the famed stained glass windows in the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, which I was so privileged to visit in 2019.

01.03.2026 14:11 👍 11 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0

😍

01.03.2026 14:36 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0