Wisnicki, Catherine Chard, 1917-

Catherine Chard Wisnicki fonds, ca. 1947, 1995, 1997.

7 items.

Access by appointment only.

The Catherine Chard Wisnicki Fonds contains five original photographs dating from about 1947, and some post-exhibition documentation consisting of one VHS video cassette recording of an interview with Chard Wisnicki (1995), and one textual document (1997), a handwritten thank-you note from the architect to Robert Desaulniers of the CCA Archives Dept. The large b/w photographs by Vancouver photographer Tony Archer show exterior and interior views of the house built for wealthy lumber company executive William S. Brooks. Chard Wisnicki assisted Charles Pratt with the design of the Brooks House while working in the office of Sharp & Thompson, Berwick, Pratt in 1946-1947, and her husband Paul Wisnicki, together with W. Frank Urry were the engineers for the project.

Canadian architect who designed some of the earliest examples of modernist architecture in Canada. Catherine Chard graduated from McGill University in Montréal, Québec with a B.A. in history in 1939. That year she began studies at McGill's school of architecture, and graduated with a B. Arch. in 1943 as the first woman to do so. Between 1941-1946, Chard worked in numerous architectural offices - for the National Research Council in Ottawa, the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) in Montréal, with architect A.J.C. Paine, with architects Lawson & Betts, and for the Canadian Wooden Aircraft Company in Toronto, Ontario. In 1944 she joined the Ontario Association of Architects. Chard moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1946, registered with the Architects Institute of British Columbia, and became a senior designer for the firm of Sharp, Thompson, Berwick and Pratt from 1946-1947. She continued to work intermittently for the office after forming a brief partnership in 1947 with architect John Porter (1915-1993), and marrying engineer Paul Wisnicki. In 1955, Chard Wisnicki returned to Montréal to work for Archibald & Illsley for 10 years, and then she returned to Vancouver to accept a position in the School of Architecture at the University of British Columbia. Chard Wisnicki retired from teaching in 1985.

Wisnicki, Catherine Chard, 1917-
Pratt, C. E. (Charles Edward), 1911-1996.
William S. Brooks House (West Vancouver, B.C.)
Sharp & Thompson, Berwick, Pratt.
Houses Canada British Columbia West Vancouver.
Canadian architects.
Women architects.

Fonds (collections)
Photographs.
Correspondence.
VHS (TM)
Videocassettes.
Video recordings (physical artifacts)
Interviews.

Archer, Tony.
Sharp & Thompson, Berwick, Pratt.

Catherine Chard Wisnicki archive, ca. 1947, 1995, 1997

Location: Library archives collection 261290
Call No.: AP074
Status: Available