“It (architecture) was something that was talked about at home,” recalls the senior principal of Manasc Isaac Architects. “My parents were keen on the idea and they encouraged it.”
ARCHITECTURE
Staff writer
Edmonton architect Vivian Manasc, president-elect of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), set her sights on a career in the profession at an early age.
“It (architecture) was something that was talked about at home,” recalls the senior principal of Manasc Isaac Architects. “My parents were keen on the idea and they encouraged it.”
Manasc, who obtained a degree in architecture from McGill University in 1979 and an MBA from the University of Alberta three years later, hasn’t looked back.
She set up her current firm, one of Edmonton’s largest architectural practices, in 1997.
Manasc Isaac Architects is considered a leader in cold-climate sustainable design in western Canada.
“I love to do projects with challenging clients, challenging sites and challenging requirements,” she says.
A director of the Canada Green Building Council and founding member of the Sustainable Buildings Symposium, Manasc has designed sustainable buildings for both public and corporate sector clients.
“I do a lot of public consultation, a lot of facilitation and what we call integrated design, which is really integrating the entire architectural, engineering and client team into the design discussion.”
Currently the institute’s first vice-president, Manasc is slated to take over the RAIC helm Friday at the president’s dinner during the 2006 Festival of Architecture in Vancouver. She succeeds Ottawa’s Yves Gosselin. RAIC represents some 3,500 architects across the country.
Manasc, an adjunct associate professor of architecture at the University of Calgary, first became active in RAIC circles in the late 1980s as a founding member of the institute’s healthcare architecture committee.
“I had been doing a lot of healthcare projects,” she said. “I felt that getting involved nationally and with a network of other people who were doing these projects would be a great way to learn about what was going on and to stay on top of ideas.” A LEED-accredited professional and co-author of the book “Agora Borealis: Engaging in Sustainable Architecture,” Manasc also sat on the institute’s sustainable design committee prior to formation of the green building council.
She has identified a number of priorities for her term as president of the RAIC, which functions as the voice for architecture and its practice in Canada.
Paramount among these are advocacy, in terms of promoting fair and transparent processes for hiring architects, a better built environment, and a better understanding of the profession itself.
“This is about talking to both the media and policymakers about the importance of architecture, its role in influencing the quality of life in our communities and the value that architects bring to the table,” Manasc said.
“I think it is important that people recognize that design affects their well-being.”
Manasc also plans to focus attention on the planned renewal of the institute’s syllabus program.
In 2003, the RAIC created a task group to review the program and develop a vision and business case that would allow it to meet the educational demands of the 21st Century.
The program is an alternate path to meet educational requirements for registration as an architect.
One goal is to develop a strategy and recommendations to facilitate assessment, recognition and integration of internationally trained architecture graduates into the Canadian workforce.
On an allied front, Manasc also would like to see an increase in the number of people graduating from architecture schools across the country and becoming registered as architects.
“We need to grow the profession in proportion to the increasing size of the construction industry,” she said. “There is a tremendous amount of building going on right now across the country.”
The Festival of Architecture kicks off today (June 14) and wraps up Saturday.
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