James Strutt

James William Strutt (8 January 1924 – 8 November 2008) was a Canadian architect. Practising between 1950 and 1999 and working primarily in the Ottawa area, Strutt is noted for his role in the development of modern architecture in Canada following World War II.

James Strutt
Born	James William Strutt 8 January 1924 Pembroke, Ontario
Died	8 November 2008 (age 84) Ottawa, Ontario
Alma mater	University of Toronto (1950)
Occupation	Architect
Spouse	Audrey Elizabeth Lett ​ ​ (m. 1949; died 2004)​
Practice	Gilleland and Strutt

Biography

Strutt House in Gatineau

James William Strutt was born in Pembroke, Ontario, and grew up in Ottawa in the Glebe neighbourhood. He had one sister, Esther. After graduating from Ottawa Technical High School in 1942, he enlisted into the Royal Canadian Air Force, becoming a pilot. During the War Strutt served on Canada's east coast as part of RAF Coastal Command.

Following the War, through the Veterans Charter, Strutt enrolled at the University of Toronto to study mechanical engineering. After a single semester he transferred to architecture. During his time at the U of T he met both Buckminster Fuller and Frank Lloyd Wright. On 21 May 1949 at the Bishop Strachan School chapel, Strutt married Audrey Elizabeth Lett of Toronto (d. 2004), who was also attending the University of Toronto. The couple later had four children: Lesley, David, Katherine, and Jocelyn.^[1] James and Audrey both graduated in 1950.

Following his graduation, Strutt returned to Ottawa where he got a job with the firm Lefort and Gilleland. A year later, Strutt and William Gilleland broke off to form their own partnership, Strutt and Gilleland, which lasted until 1960. Throughout the 1950s the firm worked primarily on residential projects. Notable among them was Strutt's own 1956 house in Gatineau, which employed a hyperbolic paraboloid roof. At the house, the Strutts regularly threw parties which included prominent guests such as Pierre Trudeau. After falling into abeyance in the years following Strutt's death, in 2010 the National Capital Commission purchased the house and is in the process of restoring it to original condition.^[2] During the same period, Strutt and Gilleland also received two commissions as part of the Department of Transportation's post-war airport construction programme. The firm designed the Ottawa and Halifax terminals, both of which were done in the international style.

In 1960, with Inigo Adamson, Strutt formed the partnership Strutt and Adamson, which lasted until 1966. That year, Strutt formed a personal practice, J.W. Strutt, Architect, at which he would remain for the duration of his career.

With the Ontario Association of Architects Strutt served as the chairman of the Ottawa chapter (1955-1956), vice president (1958-1959), and president (1959-1960). With the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada he served as honorary treasurer (1963-1964), honorary secretary (1965-1966), and vice-president (1966-1967). Between 1969 and 1986 he taught at the department of architecture at Carleton University, serving as the department director from 1987 to 1988.^[3]

Following his death in 2008, a group of individuals began the Strutt Foundation. The foundation - a non-for-profit which was incorporated in 2013 - seeks to support projects relating to modern architecture in Canada. The foundation also has an archive which includes some papers of Strutt's, papers from Strutt's clients, and papers of various other Canadian modernist architects.^[4]

Strutt's records and held at Library and Archives Canada as the James W. Strutt fonds.

Works

Name	City	Address	Year	Status
Shaefer House	Ottawa	Montreal Road	1949
Palmer House	Ottawa	824 Maple Crest Road	1950
Dowbiggin House	Senneville		1952
Dawson House	Senneville		1953
Geophysical Lab	Ottawa	Experimental Farm	1953
Burke House	Ottawa	Revelstoke Drive	1954
Shore House	Gatineau (Aylmer)	1204 Mountain Road	1954
Waring House	Aylmer	1124 Mountain Road	1954
Seven Islands Airport	Sept-Îles		1954
St. Mark's Anglican Church	Ottawa	1606 Fisher Avenue	1954
St. Peter's Anglican Church	Ottawa	915 Merivale Road	1955
Gibson House	Ottawa	Cunningham Avenue	1955
Halifax Civic Airport Terminal	Enfield		1956
Southam Ski Lodge	Kingsmere, Gatineau Park		1956
Hall House	Ottawa	Dorothea Drive	1956
Strutt House	Aylmer	1220 Mountain Road	1956	Owned by National Capital Commission
Neatby Building	Ottawa	Experimental Farm	1957
Uplands Airport Terminal	Ottawa		1958	Demolished
St. Paul's Presbyterian Church	Ottawa	971 Woodroffe Avenue	1958
Dobell Chalet	Edna Lake		1958
Weiner House	Ottawa	418 Roger Road	1958
Loeb House	Ottawa	225 Minto Place	1958
Geldhart round House [sic Geldart]	Aylmer	170 Edgewood Drive	1958	Demolished
SolenHus	Aylmer		1959
Zarzycki round House	Aylmer		1959
Baldock House	Aylmer	1224 Mountain Road	1959
Van Leeuwen round House	Aylmer		196x
Rothwell United Church	Ottawa	42 Sumac Street	1960
Trinity United Church	Ottawa	1099 Maitland Avenue	1960
Morley House	Aylmer	190 Edgewood Drive	1960
Anderson House	Aylmer	241 Skyridge Road	1960	Demolished
Quain Chalet	Mont Cascades		1961
Hanlan House	Aylmer	145 Chestnut Street	1962
Royal Trust Building	Ottawa	55 Metcalfe Street	1962
Fischer House	Ottawa	339 Pleasant Park Road	1962	Designated Heritage Property
Stopforth House	Chelsea	Mine Road	1962
Kemper House	Ottawa	11 Briarcliffe Drive	1962	Part of Briarcliffe Heritage Conservation District[5]
St. Paul's Anglican Church	Ottawa	194 Prince Albert Street	1963
Camp Fortune Ski Lodge	Gatineau		1963
Merrit House	Deep River	54 Laurier Avenue	1963
Northern Electric Advanced Devises Centre	Ottawa	Moody Drive	1963
Loeb Building, Carleton University	Ottawa	Carleton University	1964
Plaza de las Américas (Expo '67)	Montreal		1967
National Capital Commission	Ottawa	Western Parkway	1965
Bells Corners United Church	Ottawa	3955 Old Richmond Road	1965
Westboro Beach Pavilions	Ottawa	Kitchisippi Lookout	1966
Canadian Nurses Association Headquarters	Ottawa	50 Queen Elizabeth Drive	1967
Borman House	Ottawa	20 Qualicum Street	1968
Gatineau River Yacht Club	Chelsea	1 chemin Summerlea	1976
Rochester House	Almonte	Concession Rd. 7	1976
Meredith House	Aylmer	1203 Mountain Road	1987
Lambert House	Aylmer	1211 Mountain Road	1994
Canadian Embassy	Algiers		1998

References

1. "James Strutt's Obituary on Ottawa Citizen". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
2. Commission, National Capital (2017-06-22). "The Strutt House Featured as the Modern Architecture Pavilion | National Capital Commission". National Capital Commission. Archived from the original on 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
3. "Architect Jim Strutt dies at 84 - Department of Economics". carleton.ca. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 2017-06-22.
4. "Fondation Strutt Foundation – Preserving our Modernist Architectural Heritage". Archived from the original on 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
5. "Briarcliffe Heritage Conservation District: Study and Plan" (PDF).