Shirley Blumberg

Shirley Blumberg (born February 4, 1952) is a Canadian architect. She is a founding partner of KPMB Architects in Toronto, a Canadian practice. KPMB Architects is recognized for its commitment to city building and architectural excellence. In 2013, Blumberg was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions to architecture and for her commitment to creating spaces that foster a sense of community."^[1] Notable projects include the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) Campus, 2011 which is the recipient of the Royal Institute of British Architects International Award (2012),^[2] the Architectural Record “Good Design is Good Business Award” (2013)^[3] and the Governor General’s Medal for Excellence (2014).^[4]

Biography

Blumberg was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and graduated from the University of Cape Town in 1972. She immigrated to Canada in opposition to Apartheid in her home country in 1974, after spending a year in London, England.^[5] She completed her education in Canada graduating with Honours from the University of Toronto School of Architecture in 1976.

In 1977, she joined Barton Myers Associates, Inc. in Toronto and worked 10 years as an associate until Myers decided to move his office to Los Angeles. This catalyzed Blumberg to join forces with three other associates of Barton Myers – Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne and Marianne McKenna – to form Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB), in 1987.^[6]

Blumberg has focused on projects of architecture that benefit society and has directed a range of projects that speak to issues of pluralism, housing, and community building. This work includes the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Don Mills, Ontario and the Toronto Community Housing, Block 32 and adjacent Fort York Branch Library. Current projects include the Global Centre for Pluralism for the Aga Khan in Ottawa and the Lawrence Heights Redevelopment in Toronto. She is also the partner-in-charge of the Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan (Mendel Art Gallery), the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, and 20 Washington Road for Princeton University. Blumberg is also part of the campus framework planning effort for Princeton University with Urban Strategies and Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates.

Blumberg is a member of the Toronto Community Housing Design Review Panel, and has served on the City of Toronto Design Review Panel.^[7] In 2014 Blumberg served on the design review panel for the memorial to the Victims of Communism. Proposed to be located on one of the last pieces of open land in the parliamentary district of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, Blumberg voted against the design and catalyzed a protest against the initiative and the location.^[8]

Selected Projects

• 1994: The Design Exchange, Toronto, Ontario
• 1997: Ammirati Puris Lintas, New York City, New York
• 2003: James Stewart Centre for Mathematics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario
• 2004: Centennial College Applied Research and Innovation Centre, Scarborough, Ontario
• 2005: Canada's National Ballet School (in joint venture with Goldsmith Borgal & Company Ltd. Architects), Toronto, Ontario
• 2006: Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Ontario
• 2008: SugarCube, Denver, Colorado
• 2008: Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Don Mills, Toronto, Ontario
• 2010: TIFF Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower, Toronto, Ontario
• 2011: Vaughan City Hall, Vaughan, Ontario (LEED Gold)
• 2011: Centre for International Governance Innovation, CIGI Campus, Waterloo, Ontario
• 2012: Block 32, Toronto Community Housing Corporation, Toronto, Ontario (in association with Page and Steele / IBI Group Architects)
• 2013: Library District Condominiums, Toronto, Ontario (in association with Page and Steele / IBI Group Architects)
• 2013: Ponderosa Commons Phase I, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia (in joint venture with Hughes Condon Marler Architects)
• 2013: Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
• 2014: Fort York Branch Library, Toronto, Ontario
• 2015: Ponderosa Commons Phase II, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia (in joint venture with Hughes Condon Marler Architects)

Publications

• George Baird, Thomas Fisher, Mark Kingwell and Mirko Zardini. Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects. Basel, Switzerland: Birkhäuser, 2013.
• Lambert, Phyllis, Detlef Mertins, Bruce Mau and Rodolphe el-Khoury. The Architecture of Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects. Basel, Berlin, Boston: Birkhäuser - Publishers for Architecture, 2004.
• Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg. A monograph in the Contemporary World Architects series. USA: Rockport Publishers Inc., 1998. [foreword by George Baird; introduction by Detlef Mertins]

References