Phyllis Lambert may not be a household name, but she is a key figure in modern architecture in North America. An architect and philanthropist, she is also an heir to the Seagram fortune and responsible for getting Mies van der Rohe the commission to design the Seagram Building in New York, which remains one of that city’s most important modernist structures. The Canadian Centre for Architecture is another of Lambert’s legacies. Founded in 1979, it is housed in a 19th-century mansion and a more recent addition, designed by Peter Rose in conjunction with Lambert. The approximately 130,000 square feet of space include gallery spaces, lecture halls, a library, and a gift shop. Even if you are not a practicing architect, the temporary exhibitions are engaging and the shop includes not just tomes on architecture but also unusual gifts by local artists and designers.
