George Fuller

Biography

George Fuller grew up in Brantford, Ontario. As a child, he enjoyed drawing and colouring. A neighbour who owned a furniture store supplied him with pictures of furniture, which sparked Fuller’s interest in interior design. By grade 10, his interest had grown and he knew he wanted to pursue a career in interior design. He studied at the University of Manitoba, as suggested by a family member, and graduated with a Bachelor of Interior Design in 1964. Fuller continued his studies and went on to obtain a Master of Fine Arts in Industrial Design at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, followed by a PhD in Art and Architectural History from Ohio University. He was the first graduate from the Interior Design programme at the University of Manitoba to obtain a PhD.

In the second half of the 1960s, Fuller moved to Ontario where he worked at the architectural firm A-Plan and taught in the Department of Textiles and Design at the University of Guelph. Fuller then went on to work for National Heritage in Toronto beginning in 1972. While there, he worked on the rebuilding of Fort William. Every building required documentation to justify its design and Fuller was responsible for this task.

In 1974, he accepted an offer to teach in the Department of Interior Design at the University of Manitoba. Four years later, in 1978, Fuller was appointed Head of the Department, a title he held until 1983. During this time, Fuller kept up a professional practice but did not actively seek out work, accepting projects only on a referral basis. Fuller often partnered with Randy Gilbart on house designs. One of their projects, a 4,400 sq ft home in Victoria, B.C., completed in 1990, won the Builder of the Year award from the Island Home Builders Association.

Fuller was a former Chair and member of the accreditation team of the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research and served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Winnipeg Art Gallery.