Gordon Sinclair Adamson (19 May 1904 – 8 January 1986) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

architect. Practising from 1928 to 1971 and working mainly in

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and

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, he operated his own practice from 1934 until his retirement. Adamson's major contribution to architecture came following

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when his firm became one of the leaders in the development of the

Mid-Century Modern Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present in all the world, but more popular in North America, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 197 ...

style in Canada. Adamson was known for designing high schools in the former

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Biography

Gordon Sinclair Adamson was born and grew up in

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. In 1924 he moved to Toronto, the city in which he would spend the remainder of his life, where he entered the architecture programme at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. Upon graduation in 1928, Adamson got his first job with F. Hilton Wilkes, where he worked on the

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. In November 1929 Adamson left Wilkes and took a position with the firm Sproatt and Rolph, where he would remain until September 1930. In June 1932 he left his job with Sproatt and Rolph to work for Edwin Kay, with whom he would remain until October 1933. After that time, Adamson moved to

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to work for

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supervising the construction of a housing unit. In July 1934, Adamson, now 30 years old, moved back to Toronto where he opened his own practice. For the remainder of his career, Adamson would run his own operation. Initial projects of Adamson's were relatively conservative. By the end of the War, however, he had begun to transition to working in the

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

, which would dominate the architectural practice for well over a decade. The best example of Adamson's early modern work is the "Sun House," a Rosedale home designed for Clare Wood in 1944. From 1943 to 1945,

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joined Adamson as a partner, and during this time the firm was known as "Adamson and Morgan." After Morgan left, the firm returned to its original name. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Adamson's firm - along with John B. Parkin Associates and Peter Dickinson Associates - was one of Toronto's dominant architectural institutions and was responsible for the city's aesthetic transition into the modern era. Significant projects of the era included the Savoy Plaza Apartments - for which in 1953 he won his first

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- and the James Crothers House - a sprawling Lawrence Park mansion. Gordon Adamson retired from the architectural practice in March 1971, and died on 8 January 1986 at the age of 81. Adamson's records are all held at the

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as the Gordon Adamson fonds.

Works

References

* Armstrong, Christoper. ''Making Toronto Modern: Architecture and Design 1895-1975''. Montréal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2014. * Hill, Robert G. "Adamson, Gordon Sinclair." In ''Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950.'' Retrieved online: http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/15 {{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Gordon 1904 births 1986 deaths People from Orangeville, Ontario Canadian architects University of Toronto alumni