Main entry:

Robbie, Roderick G. (Roderick George), creator

Title & Author:

Roderick Robbie Katimavik project records, 1966-2017

Description:

93 photographic materials

Restrictions:

Please contact ref@cca.qc.ca to make an appointment to access this collection

Notes:
When citing the collection as a whole, use the citation: Roderick Robbie Katimavik Project Records, Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture/Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal. When citing specific collection material, please refer to the object’s specific credit line.
For copyright information or permission to reproduce material from the fonds, please contact the CCA (reproductions@cca.qc.ca).
Materials related to Roderick Robbie's work as an architect more generally can be found at Library and Archives Canada (under the reference number R11569-0-1-E), where the rest of his archive was transferred in 2005 and 2016. Records related to Robbie at Library and Archives Canada cover the dates 1944-2010.
Primary in English, some in French

Summary:

The Roderick Robbie Katimavik project records describe Robbie's collaboration with his architectural partners at the Toronto-based firm Ashworth Robbie Vaughan and Williams to create Katimavik, an entry for the competition for the design of the Canadian Government’s pavilion at Expo 67. The records in this fonds relate to the project's design process, the reception of the completed structure in Canadian and international architectural discourse, reporting on the project to the Canadian government, and Expo 67 memorabilia.

Biographical note:

Expo 67 was a category 1 World’s Fair hosted in Montreal and planned to celebrate Canada’s centennial in 1967. The Canadian pavilion, one of many themed national exhibits part of the Expo, comprised of an 11-acre site on the man-made Ile-Notre-Dame, which was built on the Saint Lawrence Seaway for the event. The general theme of the Expo was "Man and His World," a reference to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book, focused on humanity's role in society, science, and nature. The pavilion, an inverted nine storey pyramid structure designed by architectural firm Ashworth Robbie Vaughan and Williams and named Katimavik, after the Inuit word for "gathering place," was a focal point of the Canadian Pavilion's many attractions. The structure hosted a rotating, multi-screen cinema beneath the base of its inverted pyramid structure and four themed exhibits on its sloping inner walls: "The Land of Canada," "The Growth of Canada," "The Challenge to Canadians," and "Canada and the World". The pyramid itself featured a 768-foot walkway at its summit for panoramic views of the Expo grounds. The architectural firm responsible for the design of Katimavik, Ashworth Robbie Vaughan and Williams, was active in Toronto, Ontario, between 1961-1974. Founding partners were Roderick Robbie, Fred Ashworth, Richard Williams, and Colin Vaughan. The firm continued after the departure of Fred Ashworth as Robbie Vaughan and Williams until 1972, and then as Robbie Williams Partnership until 1974. Roderick (Rod) Robbie (1928-2012), the primary collector of the materials in this fonds, was a British-born Canadian architect and planner. Born in Poole, England on September 15, 1928, Robbie later studied architecture and town planning at Regent Street Polytechnic School in London before serving in the British Army (Engineer Regiment) between 1947-1949. From 1951-1956, Robbie was a partner at Parnell + Robbie. Emigrating to Ottawa in 1956 with his wife Enid Robbie (née Wheeler), he briefly worked for the federal government in Public Works before transitioning to the private sector to work for the firm of Belcourt & Blair. By 1959, he had moved to Peter Dickinson Associates, where he participated in projects such as the New Town at Frobisher Bay (Iqaluit). From 1961 to 1965 he worked as a partner at the Toronto-based firm Ashworth Robbie Vaughan and Williams. Robbie's design for the Canadian Pavilion's Katimavik at Expo 67 would come to define his career. Other notable Canadian and International projects that Robbie contributed to include: Rogers Centre SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with Michael Allen (1985); NY Mets, New Shea Stadium, New York, USA (1996); Taipei City Sports Dome, Taipei, Taiwan (1996); Schulich School of Business, York University, North York, Ontario, Canada (2003); Sharp Centre for Design, OCAD University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2004).

Resources:
Finding aid

Subject:

Expo (International Exhibitions Bureau) (1967 : Montréal, Québec)
Architecture Canada 20th century.
Exhibition buildings Québec (Province) Montréal.
Architecture Canada 20e siècle.
Expositions Constructions Québec (Province) Montréal.
Montréal (Québec) Buildings, structures, etc.

Form/genre:

fonds (collections)

Added entries:

Ashworth, Robbie, Vaughan and Williams

Holdings:

Location: Library archives collection 321531
Call No.: AP225
Copy: 1
Status: Available