Article

Gordon Ryan Arnott

Published Online August 15, 2007

Last Edited December 14, 2013

Gordon Ryan Arnott, architect (b at Winnipeg 1 Aug 1926; d at Banff 7 May 1996). Gordon Arnott received, along with a bachelor of architecture from the University of Manitoba in 1948, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada's Gold Medal.

Gordon Ryan Arnott

Gordon Ryan Arnott, architect (b at Winnipeg 1 Aug 1926; d at Banff 7 May 1996). Gordon Arnott received, along with a bachelor of architecture from the University of Manitoba in 1948, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada's Gold Medal. In 1951 he completed a post-graduate degree in regional planning at the University of British Columbia. As a leader in architecture and urban planning, Gordon Arnott, in his work over 43 years with various firms, left his stamp on his adopted province of Saskatchewan.

Arnott established a practice in Regina in 1953 with his classmate Kiyoshi Izumi. Among the firm's most important buildings were the Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery (1958 Massey Medal runner-up), the Saskatchewan Centre for the Arts (1971), the Credit Union Central (1976), and the Kramer Imax Theatre (1991). In Saskatoon he designed the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan (1970). His involvement with urban planning is represented by plans for Uranium City (1956), Yorkton (1966), and Saskatoon's Midtown Plaza (1971), all in Saskatchewan.

Arnott's awards included the Vincent Massey Award for Excellence in Urban Environment (1971) for the Midtown Plaza project in Saskatoon, and the Queen Elizabeth II 25th Anniversary Medal (1977) for outstanding service to the profession. He received the Premier's Award of Merit in Community Planning and in Architecture for the Air Terminal Building in Regina and his firm was awarded the City of Regina Municipal Heritage Award for Union Station. The Saskatchewan Association of Architects honoured Gordon Arnott with its Award of Merit for the Saskatchewan Pavilion in Vancouver at Expo '86, and for the T.C. Douglas Building in Regina the firm received the 1981 Canadian Consulting Engineering Award. In 1991 the City of Saskatoon awarded Arnott's firm the Municipal Heritage Award for the Midtown Plaza Expansion. The firm also won the Saskatchewan Association of Architects Award of Excellence for the Saskatchewan Science Centre.

Gordon Arnott served as president of the Saskatchewan Association of Architects in 1961 and as president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Architects in 1970-71. He acted as dean of the College of Fellows 1968-71, and in an advisory role to the University of Regina, Wascana Centre Authority, Public Works Canada, the National Gallery and the National Capital Commission.