Patkau Architects may not be a household name to many, but their influence on Canadian architecture is unmistakable. Once you encounter their body of work across Canada, including the Audain Art Museum, the Polygon Gallery, Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec, the Winnipeg Millennium Library, Tula House, and the Skating Shelters on Winnipeg’s Assiniboine River, you quickly understand why they are known for sculptural, innovative buildings that blur the line between art and structure using timber.
Curator Pantea Haghighi of the West Vancouver Art Museum sits down with Principal Architect John Patkau to explore their guiding philosophy and inventive techniques behind this local Canadian firm’s architectural legacy.
Pantea Haghighi is the Administrator/Curator at the West Vancouver Art Museum and Curator in Residence at the Vancouver Art Gallery in Vancouver, BC. Haghighi is a Doctoral student at Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on modernism in architecture and visual arts in relation to vernacular politics. Her expertise in contemporary art has supported her contribution to community development in Canadian institutions. Haghighi utilizes her experience collaborating with individuals from various cultural backgrounds to bring communities together, creating spaces that encourage discussion and exchanging ideas.
John Patkau, in conjunction with Patricia Patkau, founded Patkau Architects in 1978. He provides design leadership throughout each project from inception to completion. His contributions to architecture practice have been widely recognized by numerous awards, including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medal for lifetime achievement and Membership in the Order of Canada for significant contribution to Canadian culture. Internationally, he has also been made an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and an International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. As a design leader at Patkau Architects, John has instigated and developed the design of a wide variety of project types for a diverse range of clients in Canada, the United States, and abroad.
He has been a visiting professor at several universities, including Norman Foster and Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor at Yale University, Eliot Noyes Professor of Architecture at Harvard University, and Raymond E. Moritz Distinguished Visiting Professor at Washington University. Patkau Architects has received significant national and international awards, including nineteen Governor General’s Medals, four Progressive Architecture Awards, sixteen Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence, two RAIC Innovation in Architecture Awards, four Mies Crown Hall Americas – Outstanding Projects, three RIBA International Awards for Excellence, three AIA/ALA Library Building Awards and four AIA Honor Awards.
This lecture is presented in partnership with the 
- Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
- Registration is required, and seating is general admission with no ticketing.
- No admittance after 7 p.m.
The West Vancouver Memorial Library Foundation generously sponsors the Library’s Big Ideas lecture series.
If you require assistance with a mobility aide, please contact Taren Urquhart at turquhart@westvanlibrary.ca or 604.925.7446 to discuss seating arrangements for this event.