The university’s oral history collection now contains audio recordings of interviews with prominent Canadian architects who have shaped Canadian architecture in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario between the early 1900s and the late 1960s. Some of these , such as Arthur Erickson have set their mark internationally as well.
There are interviews with Arthur Erickson, John Stevenson, John C. Parkin, Doug Rowland, R. Berwick, C.E. Pratt, John Y. McCarter, William Leithead, G.L.T. Sharp, D. Shadbolt, W. Edgar Noffke, and H.W. Seton. The interviews were conducted between 1972 and 1981 by Jack Peach, a well known Calgary historian and writer; and Michael McMordie and Harold Kalman, emeriti professors of architecture at the University of Calgary and British Columbia respectively.
The historic recordings will be of interest to researchers and students of architecture, urban history, Canadian history as well as the history of the profession of architect in Canada. Being able to listen to the original voices and stories of these architects will enhance an understanding of their motivation, intentions and the prevalent culture of their time. Further, the spoken reflections complement and deepen the understanding of the architectural drawings, models and textual records held at the Canadian Architectural Archives in Special Collections.
The digitization project has been made possible through a grant from the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation administered through the Archives Society of Alberta.
For more information and to access these recordings, please contact archives@ucalgary.ca.