Robert Schofield Morris (14 November 1898 – 5 June 1964) 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 An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and partner at the

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 ...

-based architectural firm Marani & Morris, one of the leading firms in the country from the 1930s-50s. Morris is one of only two Canadian architects in history to have received the prestigious

RIBA Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

from the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

Biography

Morris was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

and studied at

Ashbury College Ashbury College is an independent day school, day and boarding school, boarding school located in the Rockcliffe Park area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was originally founded in 1891 by former faculty of Bishop's College School in Quebec to acc ...

in Ottawa and the

Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to: ;Australia * Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory ;Canada * Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario * Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec ;Indi ...

in Kingston, before joining the Canadian Army to fight during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the War, in 1919, he began studying at the

School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is a professional school or institution specializing in architectura ...

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, graduating in 1923. Upon graduation, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and worked at

Carrère and Hastings Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère ( ; November 9, 1858 – March 1, 1911) and Thomas Hastings (architect), Thomas Hastings (March 11, 1860 – October 22, 1929), was an American list of architecture firms, architecture firm ...

from 1924-1925 and then with

Harrie T. Lindeberg Harrie Thomas Lindeberg (1879 – January 10, 1959) was an American architect, best known for designing country houses in the United States. Among academic eclectic architects Lindeberg found a niche as "the American Lutyens" by working in a vari ...

until 1927, when he returned to Montreal to work as a draftsman for architect and McGill Architecture professor Harold Lea Fetherstonhaugh. In 1929, Morris moved to Toronto to become a partner at Ferdinand H. Marani's new architectural firm, which was subsequently called Marani & Morris and eventually became one of the leading architectural firms in Canada. Morris became the president of the

Ontario Association of Architects The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) is the regulatory body responsible for registering and licensing all architects legally entitled to practice the scope of architecture in the Province of Ontario, Canada Canada is a country in N ...

in 1942, and competed in the

art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics Art is a diverse range of culture, cultural activity centered around works of art, ''works'' utilizing Creativity, creative or imagination, imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an express ...

, where he received an honorable mention. He served as president of the

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is a not-for-profit, national organization that has represented architects and architecture for over 100 years, in existence since 1907. The RAIC is the leading voice for excellence in the built ...

from 1952-1954, and during his tenure, he was nominated as a Fellow of the

by Howard Robertson, who also put Morris' name forward for the

. In 1958, he became the second Canadian in history to win this award, which in the past had been awarded to architects such as

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author, famous for his restoration of the most prominent medieval landmarks in France. His major restoration projects included Notre-Dame de Paris, ...

(1864),

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

(1941),

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

(1953) and

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

(1956). Morris became a member of the

Royal Canadian Academy The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

in 1959. Morris died unexpectedly in Ottawa, Ontario on June 5, 1964, at age 66 while looking over his firm's recent work on the Bank of Canada Building.''Art and Architecture in Canada, Volume 1'', by Loren R. Lerner and Mary F. Williamson, pp. 188

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Robert Schofield 1898 births 1964 deaths Canadian architects Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal Art competitors at the 1948 Summer Olympics McGill School of Architecture alumni Ashbury College alumni