Czeslaw Peter Brzozowicz (June 28, 1911 - November 24, 1997) was a consulting engineer for the

CN Tower The CN Tower () is a communications and observation tower in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Completed in 1976, it is located in downtown Toronto, built on the former Railway Lands. Its name "CN" referred to Canadian National, the railway co ...

Toronto-Dominion Centre The Toronto-Dominion Centre, or TD Centre, is an office complex of six skyscrapers in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of downtown Toronto owned by Cadillac Fairview. It serves as the global headquarters for its anchor tenant, ...

, first Toronto subway line, among many other construction projects in Canada.

Biography

Born in

Sokolow Malopolski As a surname, Sokolow may refer to: * Nahum Sokolow (1859-1936), Jewish Hebrew language writer and Zionist leader * Americans: ** Anna Sokolow (1910 – 2000), dancer and choreographer ** Tobi Sokolow (born 1942), bridge player ** Fred Sokolow (b ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, in 1911, Brzozowicz graduated in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

from the University of Lwow in Poland only months before the

Nazi invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

. He served with the Polish army in Poland and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for three years before obtaining a Canadian visa in 1942 under an agreement with the government-in-exile to send engineers for Canada's war industries. Like many immigrants, he arrived in Canada with a few dollars and his professional training. His first job was as a surveyor, laying out the highway between Prince George and Prince Rupert in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. In 1944, Brzozowicz joined Marathon Paper Mills in Toronto, designing their

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

plants. At the end of the war, sensing Canada was about to boom, he launched a private practice as a consulting engineer. His first client was Canadian Breweries Ltd., whose expansion plans - typical for the time - called for several reinforced concrete structures in Toronto, Waterloo, Windsor and Montreal. Brzozowicz made a name for himself designing concrete structures reinforced with embedded steel bars. It was a relatively uncommon practice in Canada, since the short construction season was considered unfavourable for poured concrete walls. In this respect, Brzozowicz was at the forefront of an engineering trend that would become enormously popular. Brzozowicz designed grain elevators and other industrial structures in Toronto, Winnipeg and Montreal. Working with Pigott Construction, he contributed to such Canadian landmarks as the A.V. Roe aircraft facility and one of the world's largest automobile factories, General Motors' Autoplex in

Oshawa, Ontario Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

. Brzozowicz also consulted extensively on Toronto's first subway line, which ran under Yonge Street from Union Station to Eglinton Avenue. C.P. Brzozowicz Ltd. supplied engineering expertise for the construction of the Commonwealth's tallest building in the 1960s,

Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pionee ...

's Toronto-Dominion Bank Tower. His expertise was also used in the design of the world's first tower with a revolving restaurant, the

Skylon Tower The Skylon Tower, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is an observation tower that overlooks both the American Falls, New York, and the larger Horseshoe Falls, Ontario, from the Canadian side of the Niagara River. History Construction of the Skylon b ...

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

, Ontario. He was later involved in the crucial shoring of the

, the world's 9th tallest freestanding structure - and one made of reinforced concrete.

Personal life

Brzozowicz was married to his wife Danuta for 48 years, and together they raised three daughters and three sons, dividing their time between their north Toronto home, a ramshackle cottage on Georgian Bay and an apple farm near

Collingwood, Ontario Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay. Collingwood is well known as a tourist destination, for its skiing in the winter, and limestone caves along the Nia ...

. He made sure each of his children received a traditional Catholic education. The Brzozowicz family home was one of the more than 700 projects designed by Brzozowicz's firm in his lifetime, dressed in warm red brick, and built in 1957. Brzozowicz died of pneumonia in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1997. It serves as a legacy to the man that when the family home was sold and demolished some 10 years after his passing, the stoutly built residence proved difficult to raze.

References

*Lives Lived, Globe and Mail, January 27, 1998. Author: Mark Toljagic. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brzozowicz, Czeslaw Canadian civil engineers Polish emigrants to Canada 1911 births 1997 deaths Structural engineers