Ernest J. Smith

Ernest Smith
FRAIC RCA
Born(1919-12-17)17 December 1919
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Died22 October 2004(2004-10-22) (aged 84)
The Pas, Manitoba, Canada
Alma materUniversity of Manitoba
OccupationArchitect
SpouseMarjorie Smith
Children3
AwardsRAIC Gold Medal
Buildings

Ernest John Smith RCA[1] was a Canadian architect.

Both he and his partner Dennis Carter, with whom he founded Smith Carter, were, according to Jeffrey Thorsteinson, among several "significant modern architects" who graduated from the University of Manitoba's architecture program prior to 1946,[2] and who were "vital to the rise of a notable regional strain of Canadian architecture" referred to as Manitoba modernism.[3]

Architectural historian Kelly Crossman remarks that in the 1950s Manitoba architectural firms "consistently ranked among the best in the country" and that the provincial capitol Winnipeg "played a significant role as an early centre of architectural modernism in Canada",[4] identifying Smith Carter as one of two "especially" important Winnipeg design firms.[5] Their work included "major projects, public and private."[6] One of the most "prolific and influential" design firms in Winnipeg,[7] they earned a reputation in the 1950s and 1960s for "slick, understated, lucid, refined and experimental architecture keyed directly into site and landscape"[8] which "changed the urban character" of the city.[6]

  1. ^ "ERNEST JOHN SMITH M.ARCH, FRAIC, RCA". The Winnipeg Free Press. 27 October 2004. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  2. ^ Thorsteinson, Jeffrey (2019). "A forgotten figure: Milton S. Osborne and the history of Modern architecture in Manitoba". In SSAC, [Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada] (ed.). Heritage, Diversity, and Belonging: 45th Annual Conference Halifax, NS May 28–31, 2019 (abstract). Dalhousie Architectural Press. p. 14. Retrieved 21 July 2019. A number of significant modern architects graduated from the University of Manitoba's architecture program prior to 1946, among them Harry Seidler, John C. Parkin, Douglas C. Simpson, Harold Semmens, James Donahue, Ernest Smith, and Dennis Carter.
  3. ^ Thorsteinson, Jeffrey (2015). "Two forgotten figures: Arthur A. Stoughton, Milton S. Osborne and the University of Manitoba School of Architecture". Network (2015). Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  4. ^ Crossman, Kelly (1999). "North by Northwest: Manitoba Modernism, c. 1950" (PDF). Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada. 24 (2): 61–69. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  5. ^ Crossman, Kelly (7 February 2006). "Architectural History: 1914-1967". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b Thompson, William P. "Ernest John Smith". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  7. ^ Peterson, M. (January 2018). 83 DAFOE ROAD: JOHN A. RUSSELL BUILDING (ARCHITECTURE) – UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA (PDF). [Winnipeg, Man.]: City of Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee. p. [9]. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  8. ^ Enns, Herb (1 September 2004). "Brave New World". Canadian Architect. Retrieved 18 July 2019.