Pratt Lindgren Snider Tomcej and Associates

Biography

The firm of Pratt Lindgren Snider Tomcej and Associate Architects began practice in 1954 as Pratt Lindgren and Associate, a partnership between Kenneth Pratt and Stewart Lindgren. Both were graduates of the University of Manitoba School of Architecture, Pratt having completed studies in 1949, Lindgren in 1951. In 1964 this small office added two new partners – Kenneth Snider and Alexander Tomcej – 1951 and 1950 graduates of the same school as Pratt and Lindgren and an associate, M.E. Johnson.

Notable projects by the firm include Leslie Park, a row of over 20 homes designed in distinctive modernist fashion in Winnipeg’s Fort Garry area during the mid-1960s. Developed by B. Leslie Real Estate & Development, the area was marketed in 1965 as such: “From the drawing boards of one of Canada's foremost architects Pratt Lindgren & Associates plus the skill and knowhow of one of Winnipeg's most progressive development companies comes this lovely residential area known as LESLIE PARK. Located in suburban Fort Carry on Thatcher Drive, feature a truly fine concept in modern living.” Other advertisements noted the homes’ contemporary design elements: large glass areas, skylights, and large foyers. The area exists as a small-scale Canadian analogue to California’s famed Eichler neighbourhoods, post-war residential subdivisions with all their homes designed in a modernist style by the same architect.

Leslie Park points to Pratt Lindgren Snider Tomcej and Associate’s interest in the pursuit of modernist aesthetics and design principles. Projects which likewise speak to this commitment by the firm include the Student’s Union Building at the University of British Columbia, Shaftesbury High School, the Assiniboine Park Conservatory, Assiniboia Christian Centre and Hedges Junior High School.