Ernest J. Smith

Ernest John Smith was a Canadian architect.

Both he and his partner Dennis Carter, with whom he founded Smith Carter, were, according to Jeffrey Thorsteinson, among several "significant modern architects" who graduated from the University of Manitoba's architecture program prior to 1946, and who were "vital to the rise of a notable regional strain of Canadian architecture" referred to as Manitoba modernism.

Architectural historian Kelly Crossman remarks that in the 1950s Manitoba architectural firms "consistently ranked among the best in the country" and that the provincial capitol Winnipeg "played a significant role as an early centre of architectural modernism in Canada", identifying Smith Carter as one of two "especially" important Winnipeg design firms. Their work included "major projects, public and private." One of the most "prolific and influential" design firms in Winnipeg, they earned a reputation in the 1950s and 1960s for "slick, understated, lucid, refined and experimental architecture keyed directly into site and landscape" which "changed the urban character" of the city. He won the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medal, and a postgraduate fellowship to attend the MIT, where he earned a Master of Architecture degree. Smith finished his thesis in September 1947 and came home to honour a commitment he made with fellow alumni Dennis Carter (another RAIC Gold Medal winner) and Walter Katelnikoff that they three would start their own firm upon his return to Winnipeg. Smith also taught design at the University of Manitoba while the practice was being established. several schools. At the same time, the firm grew on the strength of commissions for large schools in rural Manitoba and Western Canada where modern centralized facilities were replacing one-room schools.

Westworth United Church

Westworth United Church features a finely wrought modernist architectural vocabulary. Well-considered proportions, materials, and such details as the projecting decorative brick cross-pattern on the east wall make this a noteworthy ensemble. Architectural thought was even extended to the diminutive original church signage, which is framed in brick. — Winnipeg Architecture Foundation designed by Green Blankstein Russell in 1950. The additions, a central narthex and towering sanctuary, needed to "tie in with the existing building and yet give the sanctuary a dominating position."

Transformation of Portage and Main During the 1960s and 1970s, Smith served in a number of industry association senior positions, including president of the Manitoba Association of Architects (1956–1961) and chairman of the National Joint Committee on Construction Materials (1963–1965). Significant or large scale works during this period include the Canadian Wheat Board and Grain Commission buildings (1962 and 1970, respectively), the Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Canada buildings (1965 and 1971), the Pan Am Pool (1967), and the Manitoba Centennial Centre (1967–1972).The Centre consists of the Centennial Concert Hall (1960), the Plantetarium (1968) and Manitoba Museum (1970, as part of a consortium), It forms the anchor of the Lombard Place development, which includes the Winnipeg Inn (1970, currently the Fairmont Hotel) and the underground concourse later connected to Trizec's Winnipeg Square shopping mall (1979) Other large scale projects included the Woodsworth Building on Broadway (1973), The Great-West Life Assurance Company (1983), and the Air Canada building (1985).

Canadian Grain Commission Building

Smith, the principal architect of the Canadian Grain Commission, was also closely involved in the process of obtaining a suitable sculpture for its exterior (No. 1 Northern, bottom left). Nicknamed the "mushroom building", the structure itself is a "notable example" of a Canadian skyscraper displaying Brutalist elements. Smith was the principal architect of the Grain Commission building. In April 1973, Smith met with the Regional Committee member, Kenneth Lochhead, and they "mutually agreed" that the building required a major contemporary work of art for the forecourt, determining a budget of $50,000, with Smith to follow up with a list of artists and in July 1974, a competition was proposed between ten invited artists. designed by Nugent to represent Canada's hardy top grade, red spring wheat hybrid of the same name There is colourful artwork by Bruce Head, contrasting with the steel and glass of the building.

Apex and final stages Smith retired in 1985 and moved into a retirement home he designed himself, Meanwhile, Smith Carter's reach extended to high-level biomedical research facilities. Early examples included the St. Boniface Hospital Research Centre (1986–1987) and the John Buhler Research Centre at the Health Sciences Centre (about 1990). The project considered to be "seminal" by Smith Carter was the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health (1992–1998), one of only two Level 4 laboratories in Canada, establishing the firm as a leader in the design of highly secure laboratory facilities for disease research. Smith designed his family home in East Kildonan, off Kildonan Drive.

The general plan, a strict rectangle with a central core appendage for entry along with a breezeway and garage on the north side of the house, keeps day- and night-time activities separate. The ground level entry also eliminated the need for outside steps, which in Winnipeg must be kept clear of snow and ice in winter, the house levels split at this entry point into the upper level (living areas) and lower level (sewing, workshop and heating). Royal Canadian Academy of Arts • Council Member Manitoba Association of Architects • President (1953–54, 1956–1961) • Life Member (2000)

Select publications (with John A. Russell) "School of Architecture, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg." Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Journal 37 (8) (August 1960): 317–328.