William Grierson Selected Works

William G. Grierson (1923-2001) was an award-winning architect responsible for the design of schools, including the Toronto French School, and corporate projects, such as the Northwood Pulp and Timber Office in Prince George, British Columbia. He was also a well-known residential architect who designed houses in the Toronto area and cottages in Georgian Bay and other locations in Ontario. In 2015 the Canadian Architectural Archives in Calgary acquired Grierson's complete archive of architectural drawings, a testament to the importance of his work. Focusing on twelve Grierson-designed buildings, this book provides a description of each work illustrated with photographs and drawings. The text sheds light on how his ideas and beliefs - far ahead of his time in responding to the environment - translated into the architectural works that he created throughout his career. Written by architect Joan Grierson and writer Alex Champlin, with an Introduction by David Sisam, who is a Founding Principal, Montgomery Sisam Architects in Toronto. William Grierson Selected Works is an 128 page book that includes a Biographical Timeline and is divided into three sections, Cottages, Houses and Institutions. With over 150 colour and black and white photographs as well as more than forty architectural drawings. "Bill Grierson's architecture was particularly interesting because its qualities were the result of both looking forward and looking back. His look forward resulted in early examples of sustainable design and innovative wood construction, while his look backward reflected his deep understanding of historical Ontario architecture and landscape as well as time-tested construction techniques." - from the Introduction by David Sisam, Montgomery Sisam Architects

About the Author :
Joan (Robinson) Grierson graduated in 1948 from the School of Architecture at the University of Toronto and holds a master's degree in product design from the Chicago Institute of Design. She worked as an architect in Toronto, London (UK), and Montreal before establishing an independent practice in Toronto. As general editor, she was instrumental in the publication of For the Record: The First Women in Canadian Architecture (2008), which grew out of an exhibition at the School of Architecture Gallery, University of Toronto. After the death of her husband, architect William Grierson, she organized his archives and, with the help of many of his former colleagues, published William Grierson: Selected Works (2016). Alex Champlin is a writer and editor living in Toronto, where he spends much of his time buried in a good book or strolling through his leafy Annex neighborhood. Alex holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity College at the University of Toronto but is, at his core, a lifelong student. Growing up in Princeton, New Jersey, he heard the siren song of the north and never looked back. Alex credits his love of words to his mother, mystery author Caroline Llewellyn, and has more than a few stories in him waiting to get out. A Founding Principal of Montgomery Sisam Architects, David has had a particular focus on health in terms of both care facilities and within the broader urban environment. David led the firm's pioneering effort to change the paradigm of long term care homes from a medical model focussed on staff priorities to a more residential model focussed on the quality of life for the residents. More recently, David has been examining the impact of urban form on public health and sustainable design, giving numerous lectures on this subject at a variety of venues, including the Green Building Festival and the International Academy of Health in Design Conference. He has also led the design of a number of non-health-related projects, including the Humber River Bicycle Pedestrian Bridge, the UTSC Arts Administration Building and the Toronto Botanical Garden. David recently coordinated and authored two books: Place and Occasion, showcasing the work of the firm and Jeffery Stinson, Architect, a book on a former Principal of the firm. An Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto's School of Architecture from 1972-1983, David has been a visiting instructor at Dalhousie University in Halifax and a visiting critic at the University of Waterloo, Ryerson University and SUNY Buffalo. David was named a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 1998, and in 2009, he was honoured with the Arbor Award for outstanding volunteer service at the University of Toronto. He currently sits on the City of Toronto Design Review Panel and is on the Executive of the Toronto Society of Architects.