Casino Hotels · 4

Ile Notre-Dame is a made island in the St Lawrence River, built for Expo 67 and reached by bridge. Water surrounds the site on every side, and the ground itself was placed there rather than found. The pavilions left on the island were designed as exhibition buildings, not as places to stay.

The Expo pavilions were kept and converted rather than cleared. Their stacked, angled forms now hold several levels linked by internal stairs and voids, with restaurants and a performance space among them. Glazing on the outer faces takes in the river and the city skyline across it, and a hotel was added beside the pavilions on the same island.

You cross water to arrive, and the parkland of the island stands between the bridge and the door. The building still looks like a pavilion from the outside, and the upper levels look back at the city across the river.

Niagara Falls stands on a steep bank above the gorge, and the ground between the town and the water drops sharply away. Building near that edge means working across a slope with protected parkland below it. The river is the reason the town exists, and every site along the rim is measured against it.

The resort, opened in the early 2000s, is set into the slope so its lower levels sit within the bank and its upper floors clear the rim. The long faces are turned towards the gorge and glazed, and the theatre, spa and restaurants are stacked behind them rather than spread out. Arrival happens on the town side, well above the water.

You enter at street level and find that the floor you came in on is already high above the river. The glazed side is one long wall of water and mist, and the town behind you disappears from view.

Richmond sits on the flat delta of the Fraser River, low ground crossed by channels and dyked against the water. The site is on the riverbank itself, close to Vancouver but separated from it by the arm of the river. Land here is level, soft and only just above the tide.

The resort is laid out along the bank rather than turned inland, with a marina built at its edge so boats can come to the property. The buildings are kept broad and low against soft delta ground, and the show theatre, restaurants and spa are gathered under one roofline. The waterfront side is given over to a promenade and moorage.

From the road it reads as a long horizontal building with parking in front. Walk round to the river and the scale changes: the water is right there, with boats tied up and the delta flat in both directions.

The site lies on the lands of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, on the shore of Lake Couchiching in central Ontario. The surroundings are lake, woodland and small settlements rather than a town centre. Most people arrive by road across open country, and the water forms one whole side of the property.

Everything a visitor needs was gathered into one connected complex, because there is no street of shops next door. A concert hall, restaurants, a spa and a golf course sit on the same grounds and are reached under cover or on foot. The buildings are kept low against the treeline, and the plan is turned towards the lake and the woodland edge.

The drive in is through farmland and trees, and the complex appears as a low group of roofs. Once inside, you can cross the whole place without going out again, and the lake is a short walk from the doors.