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While the number of women studying architecture increased in the last quarter of the 20th century, women have historically been underrepresented in architectural education and the profession. Regardless of barriers within education and the field of architecture, several women have had successful careers and advocated for future female students and practitioners. This list overviews the academic accomplishments and the career highlights of some of Canada’s pioneering female architects.
Esther Marjorie Hill
Esther Marjorie Hill, architect (born 29 May 1895 in Guelph, ON; died 7 January 1985 in Victoria, BC). Hill received her BASc from the University of Toronto in 1920, becoming the first woman to graduate in architecture in Canada. Despite this accomplishment, the chairman of architecture absented himself from her convocation. Hill registered as an architect in Alberta in 1925 and found work with architectural firms based in the United States and Canada.
Wallbridge and Imrie
Jean Louise Emberly Wallbridge, architect (born 25 October 1912 in Edmonton, AB; died 30 September 1979 in Edmonton, AB) and Mary Louise Imrie, architect (born 29 August 1918 in Toronto, ON; died 11 April 1988 in Edmonton, AB). Jean Wallbridge completed her studies at the University of Alberta and registered with the Alberta Association of Architects in 1941. Mary Imrie graduated from the University of Toronto in 1944 and registered as an architect that same year. Wallbridge and Imrie were among the first women in Canada to form their own architectural firm in 1950.
Catherine Wisnicki
Catherine Mary Wisnicki (née Chard), architect (born 19 September 1919 in Winnipeg, MB; died 21 October 2014 in Naramata, BC). Wisnicki was the first woman to graduate from McGill University’s School of Architecture in 1943. In 1945, she became the fourth woman member of the Ontario Association of Architects and in 1946 the second woman to register with the Architectural Institute of British Columbia. Wisnicki worked with Sharp, Thompson, Berwick & Pratt and taught at the School of Architecture at the University of British Columbia (see Thompson, Berwick, Pratt and Partners).
Blanche Lemco van Ginkel
Blanche van Ginkel (née Lemco), CM, FRAIC, architect, planner, educator (born 14 December 1923 in London, England; died 20 October 2022 in Toronto, ON). Blanche Lemco van Ginkel graduated in architecture from McGill University (1945) and in city planning from Harvard University (1950). She and her husband, H.P. Daniel van Ginkel, founded van Ginkel Associates in 1957. In addition to teaching and breaking many professional boundaries, she was the first woman to hold the title of dean at the University of Toronto’s school of architecture.
Phyllis Lambert
Phyllis Barbara Lambert (née Bronfman), CC, GOQ, FRAIC, FRSC, architect, philanthropist, curator (born 24 January 1927 in Montreal, QC). Phyllis Lambert earned her master’s degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1963. In 1975, she founded the Héritage Montréal in an effort to preserve buildings in Montreal’s Old Port and Golden Square Mile (see Old Montreal). She is also responsible for establishing the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in 1979.
Eva Matsuzaki
Eva Matsuzaki (née Pupols), FRAIC, architect (born 27 February 1944 in Latvia). Matsuzaki graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University in 1966 and started her career in the United States. In 1972 she moved to Vancouver and by 1998 formed Matsuzaki Architects. In 1998 she also became the first woman to hold the position of president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.
