Award-winning architectural writer and cultural journalist Adele Weder discusses the work of prominent Canadian architect Ron Thom.

After the lecture, there will be a book signing for Ms. Weder’s new biography: Ron Thom: Creative Modernist.

One of the greatest Canadian architects of the 20th century, Ron Thom, never went to architecture school but instead trained in music and art. An ambitious new biography, informed by coast-to-coast archival research and personal interviews, reveals a remarkable life shaped by his innate artistic brilliance and challenged by changing times and the demons that dogged him.

A reception will follow the lecture to kick off Ottawa Architecture Week. Hosted by the Ottawa Regional Society of Architects, it takes place in Woodside Hall at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre.

ABOUT ADELE WEDER
Adele Weder is an award-winning architectural writer and cultural journalist. Her deep dive into the world of Ron Thom began with her University of British Columbia master’s thesis, an analysis of the design approach of Thom’s mentor, artist B.C. Binning. Since then, she has authored and co-authored several books on West Coast architecture past and present. From 2013-2015, she curated and produced the nationally traveling exhibition “Ron Thom and the Allied Arts.” In addition, Weder is the founding director of the non-profit West Coast Modern League society and a member of the advisory board of the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. She lives in Vancouver and Haida Gwaii, British Columbia.