The Life and Works of Roy Izen

Biography

Julius Roy (Roy) Izen was born to Sarah (née Batkis) and Abraham David Izen on July 10th, 1936. Roy grew up in the heart of Winnipeg’s North End, at 710 Selkirk, 407 Alfred, and 353 Magnus Avenues.¹ As a child Roy lived with his parents and his aunt and uncle, Bertha and Harry Nemerovsky. He attended King Edward School.

By the time Roy was a teenager, his artistic ability and ambition were apparent. In the late 1940s Roy landed a job with Phillips-Gutkin Associates Ltd., one of Canada’s first animation studios, doing background character work and design.²

Roy worked hard to earn several scholarships to the University of Manitoba. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1960, and according to the Brown and Gold (the University of Manitoba’s yearbook), Roy “won many design awards.³” The yearbook also notes Roy’s special interest in painting, and that he believed his future lay in South America.⁴

Roy’s future did not in fact lie in South America, however he did go South! Somewhat. In 1961 he was awarded a Canadian Council Scholarship to obtain his master’s degree in architecture at an American university. He selected the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology, and while living in Boston he was employed by the firm of Salzberg and LeBlanc. Roy returned to Winnipeg in 1963.

Roy’s initial roles as a designer/architect working in Winnipeg were held at Blankstein Coop Gillmore & Hanna Architects, the LM Architectural Group, and TEN Architectural Group, throughout the early 1960s.

In addition to his work as an Architect, Roy also occasionally served as a set designer for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. It was usual during the mid-twentieth century that architects would be hired to create sets for stage productions. At this time, the “Artistic Direction” of a ballet referred not its choreography or to the interpretation of the story, but rather to its costuming and set design.⁵ In 1963, Roy contributed sets to two ballets, Chiaroscuro and Mayerling.⁶⁷ The Winnipeg Free press noted Roy’s collaboration with the costume designer as emphasizing the drama of Chiaroscuro through color contrast.⁸ To accomplish this, Roy and his partner Grant Marshal submitted 82 proposed designs!⁹

In 1968 Roy became a founding partner of IKOY, a renowned architectural firm founded by partners Roy Izen (I), Ron Keenberg (K), Stan Osaka (O), and Jim Yamashita (Y).¹⁰ That same year, IKOY designed Winnipeg’s “first high-income, large-suite, high-rise apartment,” the award-winning Hampton Green building, as well as a new interior for the University of Manitoba’s Student Union Building.¹¹ The firm won dozens of awards throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta in its first years of operation.¹² Roy left the firm to pursue other opportunities in 1973.

After leaving IKOY, Roy worked for ten years as a Senior Design Associate for Moody Moore and Partners Architects. He then worked for the Federal Government from 1984 to 1997, working first as a Design Architect for the Department of National Defense, then as Chief Design Architect for Public Works and Government Services Canada/Building Product Sector, and finally as Chief of Architectural Services for Public Works and Government Services Canada/Real Property Services. In 1997, he opened his own firm, J. Roy Izen. He served as Principal Architect until his retirement in 1999.

Roy married Barbara Galpern at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue in April of 1961.¹³ The couple had three sons; Michael, Steven, and Jon. The family was raised in Winnipeg, living at 359 Ash Street in a home filled with artworks painted by Roy. His son Jon remembers him working at the dining room table late into the night, covering the table completely in designs. He was often working intently on a seemingly minor detail, as he believed firmly that “The Devil is in the details” and often said that “The last thing you do is the first thing you see.”¹⁴

Roy’s appreciation for architectural details carried on into a love of photography. He often took long walks through cities, snapping pictures of unassuming fragments of the urban landscape like “staircases, loading docks, and sections of buildings that folded over one another.”

Another passion of Roy’s was painting. He loved to create colour studies, and if he saw a painting that he enjoyed at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, he rented it, brought it home, and painted a copy.

When Roy’s sons grew up and moved away, he kept in touch with them via letters which he sealed in envelopes decorated with drawings and collages. The envelopes are arresting works of art, some psychedelic, some moving, and often featuring funny texts. Mail carriers commented that they looked forward to seeing each new envelope.¹⁵ The envelopes number in the hundreds and attest to Roy’s creativity, visual artistry, as well as to his devotion to his sons. Upon their retirement, Roy and Barbara moved to British Columbia to be nearer to their sons.

Throughout his life, Roy’s love of art helped him to process periods of suffering. In 2012, Roy’s son Michael was diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer. Determined to find the funny side to a sad situation, Michael chose to write a book about his experience living with terminal cancer, which is filled with frank, unflinching humor. Roy and his youngest son Jon contributed the illustrations to the book, called “Finger Up the Bum: A Guide to My Prostate Cancer.” Roy is credited on the cover of the book as J. Roy “Sneeze” Izen. Although Roy was hesitant about the project at first, the Izens collaboration on the book brought them much needed levity during a challenging time. Michael passed away on August 26th, 2018.

Michael’s death and the onset of illness prompted Roy and Barbara to move into the home of their youngest son, Jon, in Gibsons, British Columbia. Here Roy once again combatted suffering through art, filling his new home with artworks and expressing himself through drawing as his dementia progressed.

Roy died on January 26th, 2024, at 88 years old.

“My Dad was Brilliant. He had a crazy sense of humour, a super sharp wit, a love of Jeanne’s birthday cake and a strange ability to sing any song published in the 1950s. As well, and perhaps obviously, he was ENDLESSLY obsessed with architecture and design.¹⁶” – Jon Izen, Roy’s son.

Peguis Pavilion

Blankstein Coop Gillmore & Hanna, 1965

In the wake of the second World War, Winnipeg experienced a population boom and sought to upgrade its public infrastructure. Investment in Winnipeg’s park system increased.¹ At the time, Kildonan Park featured a pavilion (built in 1915) which complimented the English Landscape style of the park.² This style, executed by Park Superintendent George Champion, accounts for Kildonan Park’s gardens and curvilinear pathways³, which suggest that the landscape was arranged by nature.⁴

The original pavilion sustained significant structural damage in the flood of 1950.⁵ In 1964, the structure was torn down to make room for a brand new pavilion which would be a major departure in style, trading in the picturesque for the modernist. The new pavilion was designed by Morley Blankstein and the architectural firm Blankstein Coop Gillmor & Hanna, for whom Roy Izen worked at the time.⁶

The Pavilion was built in 1965 for $152,000.⁷ At the same time, the Lord Selkirk Creek was expanded to create a pond adjacent to the Pavilion, hemmed by a limestone retaining wall.⁸

The Peguis Pavilion is considered “an excellent example of elements of two of the major post-War modern architectural styles: Brutalist and International.⁹” It features a concrete waffle roof and dramatic long, low lines. Clerestory windows and pilotis-style columns give the impression from a distance that the building is floating, a style borrowed from North European and Asian fishermen’s huts.¹⁰ The main building material used was concrete, and in 1969 an image of the Peguis Pavilion was featured in an advertisement by Canada Cement Company Ltd. The advertisement’s text read “Given a versatile, strong, durable, economical material such a concrete, the architects can adapt it to his ideas, the engineer can tailor it to his needs and the contractor can mold it into an attractive, fire-safe structure boasting low-maintenance cost, or into a smooth, rigid and safe ribbon of pavement.¹¹”

The Peguis Pavilion was intended to serve as a year-round facility and attraction to Kildonan Park.¹² The building features a restaurant on the ground floor, public change and washrooms on the lower-level. Both floors feature fireplaces. The Pavilion restaurant space was vacant for several years beginning in 2008, and in 2012 a $2 million dollar renovation project was undertaken.¹³ In 2019, a light installation (Bokeh) was erected on the pond adjacent to Peguis Pavilion.¹⁴

Peguis Pavilion received the designation of municipal heritage site in 2024.¹⁵

Hampton Green

IKOY Partnership, 1970

The Hampton Green apartment tower at 323 Wellington Crescent is among the most luxurious buildings that Izen helped to design. The building was constructed in 1970, a collaboration between Akman Construction, the IKOY Partnership (the “I” in which stood for Izen), and Anita Interiors Ltd.¹

Hampton Green has been referred to as Winnipeg’s “first high-income, large-suite, high-rise apartment.²” The building is 19 storeys tall, and while it was initially designed to hold between six and seven suites per floor, it was ultimately designed to divide each floor between only four suites, ensuring privacy for tenants and that suites rivaled stand-alone homes in terms of square footage. At the time of it’s opening, Hampton Green employed ten full-time employees to conduct the security, valet, and concierge services offered to tenants.³

In 1971, the Canadian Housing Design Council awarded Hampton Green a prize at the National level in the multiple housing category.⁴ It was the only Manitoba building to be awarded that year. In 1972, it won a Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation award for best in housing.⁵

The building was constructed from local materials: Tyndall stone and concrete aggregate from Seddon’s Corner, Manitoba.⁶ It’s set on a large, landscaped lot (60,000 square feet) on the South bank of the Assiniboine River and is set back 150 feet from the street.⁷ The landscaping of Hampton Green includes fountains at the front of the building, which were redesigned in 2005 by HTFC Planning & Design.⁸ Another notable decorative feature is the awning which extends from the front entrance. The awning is built almost like a marquee, lit on the underside by a string of light bulbs and featuring the name “Hampton Green” in the original groovy 1970s font.

Westdale High School

Moody Moore Duncan Rattray Peters Searle Christie, 1972

No doubt one of Roy Izen's most unconventional undertakings was the design of Westdale High School. The school itself is not very remarkable; it has “plain walls” and “external stimuli was kept to a minimum because the classrooms were already bustling places,” however the process of designing the school was so notable that it was covered by the Winnipeg Tribune.¹

Westdale High School was a Winnipeg pioneer of “project management,” meaning the design and construction of the school were accomplished through sequential tendering. To put it plainly, contractors bid on jobs as they came up. This was done so that the school could be built quickly in time for the upcoming school year. Because of this method, Roy Izen, who designed the building, also worked in stages and designed parts of the school after other elements had already been built.²

The Tribune Article, published in 1972 just ahead of the school’s completion, opens with “Tradition has insisted that a building be built after the architect has completed his plans, but not so with the new Westdale High School.³” Much of the article references the architect, emphasizing that project management allows for the reassessment of budget without forcing architects to redesign in order to accommodate.

Westdale High School has low, long lines which are reminiscent of the prairie landscape. Light enters the building through a “strong of clerestory windows,” and the library features a spiral staircase. In 1974, an additional wing was added, though it is uncertain if Roy Izen was involved in the project at that time.⁴

University of Manitoba Student Union Building

Number TEN Architectural Group, 1969

Roy Izen’s involvement in the creation of the University of Manitoba Student Union building was two-fold: he was charged with the conceptual design of the building while working for the Number TEN Architectural Group, and he designed the interiors of the building with the IKOY Partnership.

IKOY’s design of the UMSU building’s interiors were so hotly anticipated that in March of 1969 Roy Izen and Ron Keenberg were invited to give a lecture on their process. The Winnipeg Tribune advertised this event, promising attendees that Roy and Ron would “analyze the design process, illustrating their presentation with designs for the interiors of the University of Manitoba Student Building.¹” The interiors are done in warm tones, wood paneling and red brick.

The building itself is in the Brutalist style, five storeys of “poured and pre-cast” concrete arranged in the “Inverted ziggurat” shape, meaning that the building resembles an upside-down cone. This gives the visual impression that the ground floor has the smallest footprint, but in fact that ground floor is sunken to below ground level so as to allow for more space. Deceptively expansive space is the name of the UMSU Building’s game, as it also serves as the nexus building from which the University of Manitoba’s network of climate-control tunnels extend.

The building “marks a critical shift in modern campus architecture in the 1960s.²” From the construction of the UMSU building onwards, architectural emphasis was no longer on palatial buildings which reflected the University’s grandeur. Instead, the desire was for spaces which were “multi-purpose and flexible.³” The UMSU building surely was designed to be multi-purpose; it houses 7 businesses and several student services kiosks.⁴

Customs Examining Warehouse / Parks Canada Building

David Ewart, 1910

145 McDermot was originally designed in the early 1900s by Chief Dominion Architect David Ewart.¹ Conceived as a new Customs Warehouse, the building was designed to hold and examine the belongings of the increasing number of newcomers traveling to Winnipeg by rail.² As such, the building was carefully designed to be fire-proof, climate-controlled and sturdy. The four-storey structure is industrial in nature but due to its half-moon windows, cheerful red brick (interspersed with decorative dots of white), and lacy cornice, it would not be out of place on a jigsaw puzzle.

The Renaissance Revival era Commercial Style warehouse was opened in 1910 and ultimately cost nearly $500,000 to build. Pretty steep! However, the building was “widely heralded as the best structure of its kind in Canada” and “drew comparisons to the United States customs facility in New York City.³”

The building served its purpose for many years, however as immigration to Winnipeg slowed down through the 20th century, the scale of the building became excessive. When it came time to update the facility in the late 1900s, it was decided that the building should be retrofitted to accommodate additional government departments. The retrofit was undertaken in 1992 by Environment Canada and Parks Canada.⁴ At this time, Roy Izen was Chief of Architectural Services for Public Works and Government Services Canada.

This retrofit divided the building into the Customs and Excise Department on the ground floor and Parks Canada facilities on all the floors above. In addition to creating modernized offices, the retrofit included a media unit, climate controlled holding facilities for artifacts, and modern laboratories for the use of Parks Canada’s conservationists. All that was left of the original layout are the lobby on the ground floor and the building’s stairwells.⁵

The retrofit was a success; Izen’s work received a Heritage Award. In 2024, 145 McDermot was awarded municipal heritage status.⁶ This designation is restricted to the building’s footprint (the exterior, the original Ewart design), however Izen’s contributions to the interior of the building allowed for the continued use and preservation of 145 McDermot.

W.M. Ward Technical Services Laboratory/ J.C. Wilt Infectious Diseases Research Centre

745 Logan Avenue, Moody Moore and Partners

The W.M. Ward Technical Services Laboratory, today known as the J.C. Wilt Infectious Diseases Research Centre, was opened in 1980 and designed by Moody Moore and Partners, for whom Roy Izen served as a Senior Design Associate at the time.¹ This facility was state-of-the-art and a major governmental bid for MMP. The complex cost over 10 million dollars to build, as was described at the time of opening as “one of the safest and most modern laboratories on the continent.²”

The enormous (70,000 square foot) structure centralized 4 different laboratories which had previously been spread throughout Winnipeg, and required many unique considerations by its architects.³ Among the design features tailored to the building’s use are
● a firewall which runs the length of the building and which dissects it,
● soundproof walls and “floating” floors which keep sound and vibrations from traveling,
● temperature controlled areas, and
● a custom “dilution system” to protect Winnipeg’s general sewage system from toxic waste.⁴

Nothing to sneeze at. While 745 Logan Avenue is not the only laboratory that Roy Izen worked on throughout his career, it was certainly the most expensive lab with the most elaborate floor plan! From the exterior, the W.M. Ward Technical Services Laboratory is sprawling and low to the ground, very industrial. Smooth walls and blocking give this building more corners than you would expect.

Technological advancement is rapid, and even 15 years is too long for a laboratory to remain on the cutting edge. In 1996, the Province moved out of the building and began leasing the complex to Enviro-Test, a private water-testing company.⁵ Enviro-Test also abandoned the facility and the building was vacant for several years beginning in 2006. Soon after, 745 Logan Avenue was sold by the Province to the Public Health Agency of Canada and the building took on a new life.⁶ In 2009 Smith Carter Architects were hired to update the building to the tune of 40 million dollars. The new and improved J.C. Wilt Infectious Disease Research Centre opened its doors in 2014.⁷

National Research Council Building

Green Blankstein Russell, 1983

One of the most recognizable building’s Roy Izen ever worked on is the National Research Council Building at 435 Ellice Avenue. The building is a pearlescent mauve colour, with rounded corners and a tower of mirrored windows above its awning which culminates in a semi-circle. Inside of this semi-circle a ring has been placed, and the highest panes of mirrored glass emerge from this ring at an angle so that the top of the mirrored tower is arranged to look like the rising sun.

435 Ellice Avenue was constructed in 1983 amidst major economic confusion. Purpose-designed to house a branch of the National Research Council, a recession and a change in Government delayed the opening of the facility and resulted in scarce tenancy when it eventually opened in 1985.¹ Two years after opening, the building was only occupied to half-capacity.² The economy eventually recovered enough that tenancy increased and a second matching structure was constructed on the grounds of the NRC Building in 2006, however by 2012 the cost of the facility once again became too much to bear. The Government announced in 2012 that 435 Ellice was to be sold.³

Or was it! The process of offloading government buildings is a slow one, and the architectural lay-out of the NRC Building was customized for laboratory research which further limited marketability. However, there was one interested party; the Manitoba Métis Federation. The Government was deep in talks with the MMF about their procuring 435 Ellice Avenue when the Covid-19 Pandemic hit Winnipeg. Abruptly, the Government found the money to invest in laboratory space wherein necessary pandemic work could take place.⁴ The Government reneged so suddenly on its not-quite-sealed deal with the MMF, that many consider it to be an injustice. When Roy Izen worked on the design of this building, he likely did not foresee such a spotty future!⁵

Worker’s Compensation Board of Manitoba Building

Smith Carter Searle and Associates, 1961

Among Roy Izen’s earliest work is his contribution to the Workers Compensation Board Building (formerly the Monarch Life Assurance Headquarters) at 333 Broadway. Built in 1961, this project is “acknowledged and celebrated as one of Western Canada’s finest modernist buildings.¹” Monarch Life Assurance commissioned the building and engaged local architecture firm Smith Carter Searle and Associates to design it.

333 Broadway stands six-storeys tall and emerges from a granite platform which fills most of the city block on which the building sits.² The building is reversible; its front and back facades are nearly identical.³ The ground floor is almost wholly encased in glass and houses the lobby which boasts an 18-foot high ceiling. This ceiling is Winnipeg’s only remaining luminous ceiling, meaning the ceiling itself is a light fixture.⁴ All the top floors are clad in panels of Manitoba’s own Tyndall limestone and granite, narrow windows, and the entire building is caged by thin protruding columns. The panels of glass and stones between the columns are angled slightly to give the impression of bay windows.

Monarch Life Assurance was one of the first companies to kick off the post-war revitalization of Broadway Avenue into a business district, and they kicked it off in a big way! Being that Monarch Life Assurance was such a business giant, there existed curiosity about their new headquarters. Smith Carter Searle and Associates obliged the curious public by installing bleachers at the construction site so that they could watch the building come up, and compare it to a scale model which was also mounted for spectator enjoyment.

The building has undergone several small renovation projects over the past 66 years, but it remains largely faithful to Smith Carter Searles and Associates (and Roy Izen!)’s original design. Today the building is occupied by the Worker’s Compensation Board of Manitoba. In 2014, the building received Conservation Award from Heritage Winnipeg for its subtle renovations.⁵ In 2021, the building received municipal designation as a historic site.⁶