Trent University Pencil Rendering by Ron Thom

hRON THOMContemporary Architects Research Project

the the world around it, whether it world around it, whether it be colour or form, or where the be colour or form, or where the light came in, or the views looking out.”light came in, or the views looking out.”

Elaine Kao, Jessica Cajapin111/2/20101/2/2010

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................2

BIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................................................3

WORKS........................................................................................................................................................7

WEST COAST RESIDENCES.................................................................................................................7

COPP HOUSE.........................................................................................................................8

MAYHEW HOUSE..................................................................................................................9

BENNETT/HAWES HOUSE.....................................................................................................9

1143 EYREMONT DRIVE......................................................................................................10

MASSEY COLLEGE............................................................................................................................11

TRENT UNIVERSITY..........................................................................................................................14

PEARSON COLLEGE..........................................................................................................................17

SHAW THEATRE IN NIAGRA-ON-THE-LAKE......................................................................................19

METROPOLITAN TORONTO ZOO.....................................................................................................20

WESTIN PRINCE HOTEL....................................................................................................................22

ATRIA NORTH OFFICE (PHASE I).......................................................................................................23

OAKVILLE CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS....................................................................................24

EASTERN RESIDENCES.....................................................................................................................25

FRASER HOUSE...................................................................................................................25

FRUM HOUSE......................................................................................................................26

WATCH HILL HOUSE............................................................................................................27

CONCLUSIONS...........................................................................................................................................28

BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................................................29

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INTRODUCTION

Architecture is not always recognized by the world, but it affects everyone living in it. A building

is not like a piece of art. It doesn’t wait for someone to come admire it. We see buildings every day

whether it be our home, work, school, or buildings you walk by along the street.

Architecture is more than designing a “pretty” building or creating functionality, it develops

icons in our world that define our culture. Buildings allow our world to transform along with intelligence

and technology and architects are the ones who make this all happen. An architect is, in a way like God,

who creates life in building form.

The list of qualities that make a person a good architect may be endless but all good architects

are great problem solvers, full of creativity and have a passion to be innovative. They need to combine

different factors, such as the needs of a client and relationship to a site, and use these to develop a

building as its solution. They strive to find new ways to make our buildings more efficient and create a

relationship between Earth and structure. Ron Thom possessed these qualities, and much more. He has

been recognized as a ‘starchitect’ and has changed the lives of many while inspiring the minds of young

architectural students.

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BIOGRAPHY

Ronald James Thom was born on May 15th, 1923 in Penticton, B.C. His family

moved to Vancouver in 1924 where his father, James Thom, found work and

eventually formed his own business as a sheet metal contractor.

He started piano lessons when he was 5 and his mom had great hopes that he

would pursue a career as a concert pianist. She was strict about practicing and

taught him to “always finish what you start.” He became a talented pianist

quickly, following the Toronto Royal Conservatory of Music’s program. He entered competitions at the

regional music festival in Vancouver and won prizes for his performances. Much to his mother’s dismay,

his interests shifted to the visual arts in his high school years. In his last year of high school he

discovered that he could complete his required courses in the mornings, and enroll in afternoon classes

at the Vancouver School of Art to complete his elective requirements. His father agreed and gave him

permission to quit music to study art. As a result, he did not finish the required final exams to obtain a

certificate for his music studies.

In 1941, Thom completed his first year at the Vancouver School of Art. During this first year he

met Bert Binning, his painting and drawing teacher, who became one of his most influential mentors.

Binning had designed his own house, one of the first modernist flat-roof houses, in West Vancouver. He

also introduced a short course on architectural design at the VSA in which students studied house plans

in books and architectural magazines, and then discuss the principles of the planning and designs.

Students also experimented by building models to understand simple structures, and to design

furniture, kitchens and houses. Ron Thom became really interested in architecture after this course.

Later in life he stated,

Figure 1: Ron Thom Age 5

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“Binning taught me to see, and he taught me to think. He was one of the most important

teachers in my life. The strongest thing he taught us, which has had a profound influence on everything

I’ve done in architecture since, was that every aspect of the design had to respond directly to the world

around it, whether it be colour or form, or where the light came in, or the views looking out.”

In 1942 Thom signed up with the Royal Canadian Air Force and took courses to become a flight

engineer and navigator and was posted at various stations around Vancouver, Alaska and American

coastal stations. In 1945 he re-enrolled at VSA to finish his studies.

After graduation, he became a freelance commercial artist for a year while he began building his

house on a lot in North Vancouver. He learned of the Architectural Institute of British Columbia’s

apprenticeship program and started working for Ned Pratt, a partner of Thompson, Berwick, Pratt, one

of the fastest-growing offices in Vancouver at the time.

As an apprentice he learned many things, starting off on smaller residential projects, going on to

larger projects. The partners stretched Thom’s design and planning skills by assigning even larger

projects to him. He needed to search for different forms and materials to use for these projects,

including the Plywood Research Laboratory in North Vancouver and the Automobile Sales Showroom for

Clarke Simpkins. By the mid-1950s Thom’s growing self-confidence was becoming evident in the office.

He was more critical and outspoken about the work around him. He meant well, but he was not tactful

and would not deal with those he considered to be fools. As the field of architecture expanded, and

more talented apprentices were being brought into the office, he started feeling self-conscious and self-

deprecating about his ‘lack of education’ due to the fact that he was mostly self-taught.

In 1957 Thom wrote and passed his final exams and became a registered architect. Of the eight

medals the Thompson, Berwick, Pratt firm had won up till this point, six of them were for buildings

which Thom was the lead designer. The firm finally offered him a partnership at this point. In addition

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to the work he was doing for the firm, he also had over 30 houses in overlapping stages of design and

construction in Vancouver.

The successful design of Massey College was the first step of gaining recognition in Ontario,

leading to the subsequent opportunity to design buildings for the new Trent University. During this

time, TBP set up a branch office in Toronto to accommodate Thom’s work for the firm. It was also

around this time that the tension between Thom and the partners reached a climax, resulting in the end

of his partnership with TBP. The completion of Massey College and Trent University helped give Thom a

high profile in Toronto and he became the principal designer of six prominent buildings in the three

years after his partnership with TBP ended. His firm was now called “Ronald J. Thom, Architects.”

Thom was often asked to attend conferences and seminars, and critic at architecture schools.

He was also invited to sit on juries and write articles and critiques for the architectural press. All this

extra work was in addition to the heavy load of his firm, and the fact that he could not resist people who

wanted him to design their house.

Two of the original four key partners left the firm to establish their own offices when they

realized Ron was unwilling to adapt to the new trends of Post-Modernism and the new concept that

buildings were investment opportunities concerned with maximizing marketability built at the lowest

cost. By the mid 1970s it was clear that the urban center of Toronto would be undergoing major

development of high-density, high-quality, office and commercial buildings done by larger developers.

Two major developers approached the office with unusual projects which Ron decided to accept. These

two projects were Atria North and Confederation Square, which confirmed his doubts about the

development process that was becoming the standard.

In 1979 a branch office was opened in Calgary, the fastest growing city in Canada at the time.

The first project was a highly successful revised version of the Atria North project. Later that year the

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firm decided to work with the Montreal firm ARCOP and merged their two branch offices in Calgary.

Then they opened another office together in Vancouver. The recession due to the federal Liberal

government’s 1981 budget depleted the demand of development in Calgary. Thom’s office was able to

continue until 1982, when both western joint offices had to close.

Thom became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981. In the same year, he was one of five

architects chosen to compete for the commission to design the National Gallery of Canada, and seven

others competed for the National Museum of Man (Canadian Museum of Civilization) project.

Unfortunately his firm’s submission did not win.

Murray Beynon was the partner providing the administrative leadership by this time and he

asked for a restructuring and a name change to reflect his major participation. Thom was supportive of

restructuring but didn’t agree to a name change and after a year of unsuccessful negotiations, Benyon

left the firm. By the fall of 1985 the firm was in danger of bankruptcy but pulled through with the

successful completion of a large shopping centre which had been on hiatus. At this point, Thom was not

leading any of the projects of the firm and the partners felt that he should step down to some associate

relationship instead of holding the position of control. The name was changed to “the Thom

Partnership, Architects and Planners,” passing control on to Dick Sai-Chew and 3 new partners. Ron

took this as an insult, and after a year of his retaliation being so disruptive and potentially damaging, the

partners put him on leave for six months to accept the change. On his leave, he gave a lecture at UBC

and visited some friends in Vancouver, then visited his first wife and children on Hornby Island before

returning to Toronto. Unfortunately he was found dead, 36 hours after he returned, in his old office at

his desk at 7am, October 30th, 1986.

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WORKS

WEST COAST RESIDENCES

In the early days of his apprenticeship Thom spent most of his time in the office rendering

perspective drawings of the architects’ designs. This was a source of frustration to him because he did

not want to spend his life rendering other peoples’ designs. All he could do at this point was to find

spare time to design his own houses. The first houses he designed and built were post-and-beam

constructions with tongue and groove cedar plank roof decks, standard 2x4 stud walls with cedar siding

and glass. Molly Bobak, his friend and neighbour said, “On Peters Road if anybody bought a lot on the

street within view of their two houses, Ron would be over there trying to persuade them to let him design

their house so it would help unify the street. ‘I’ll do it free, just so long as you build it the way I tell you

to.’ He built four houses this way!” Thom’s talent for residential design was recognized by the partners

and they started to assign larger houses to the young apprentice.

As Thom designed house after house, he established certain characteristics that could be

recognized in his architecture. An open plan allowed spaces to flow from one to the other, and to the

outside. A massive fireplace represented the “heart” of the house and was visible from all parts of the

open space. A continuous line at door height was used to locate the heads of most of the windows and

doors. By carefully arranging the structure, it was possible to create corner windows, with the two

adjacent panes of glass glued to form the corner. He used floor-to-ceiling glazing extensively on exterior

walls, and other applications, to give continuity between inside and outside environment. Another

feature was a roof with a wide overhang, providing sun-shading and weather protection, and allowing

the casement windows and sliding doors to be open for ventilation even when it is raining. The

following are a few examples of his West Coast residential designs.

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COPP HOUSE

The Copp house is one of Thom’s earliest designs, which became an icon of West Coast Modern

design. It was built in 1951 and won a Massey Medal in 1952. It was quite similar to the house he built

for himself and reflected his influences from Frank Lloyd Wright, Harwell Hamilton Harris, Richard

Neutra, and Rudolph Schindler.

The site originally contained fifty years of growth between the house and the site which is

probably how Thom would have wanted it. Its open plan design places a massive fireplace that is visible

from every open space, and acts as the “heart” of the house. The lower floor, which consists of the living

area, hugs the sloped terrain and is spread

across the width of the site to give it broad

views. The wood posts with glass between,

takes advantage of the gorgeous view of English

Bay. It contains some original Ron Thom

furniture.

Figure 2: Copp House Entry

Figure 3: Copp House Interior

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MAYHEW HOUSE

The Mayhew house, along with the Copp house, is an example of Thom’s early house designs.

These were bigger, more refined versions of the post-and-beam house that he had built for himself in

1949. It is located in the Uplands neighbourhood in Victoria. One side faces the Olympic Mountains in

the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Thom had studied Richard Neutra’s work intensely and the layout of the

Mayhew house was influenced by Neutra’s Kaufman house. This house was up for sale prior to March

2009 but it was too costly and the price was reduced to a point that some people worried it would be

torn down, making way for the new trend of building huge mansions in the Uplands area.

BENNETT/HAWES HOUSE

The Bennett house was built around a courtyard and was the earliest relatively expensive

houses he worked on. He experimented with the possibilities of using a wide-eaved hipped roof. The

north side of the house faces Burrard inlet and the mountain view. The house was reconstructed as

required to bring it up to 1990 codes but great care was taken to follow the intent of the original

Figure 4: Mayhew House

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working drawings, including detailing. One of the typical features of a Ron Thom house is the all-glass

corner window and the hip-roof with a large overhang.

1143 EYREMONT DRIVE

This house was built in 1962, conforming to the natural contours of a 0.782 acre property valued

at $2,650,000. Floor to ceiling windows provide an unobstructed view of the ocean and city. This house

was recently sold.

Figure 5: Bennett/Hawes House

Figure 6: Eyremont Drive open planning

Figure 7: Eyremont Drive floor-to-ceiling windows

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MASSEY COLLEGE

In 1960 Thom received a personal invitation from the Massey Foundation to participate in a

limited design competition to design a building at the University of Toronto to be called Massey College.

This could be seen as the most catalytic event of his career. The invitation was Thom’s chance to design

a major building and work with a highly prestigious group of people and came at just the right time for

him. He was ready to show off the confidence he had gained from working with TBP.

Thom’s design for round one of the competition was reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s

Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. Its central building had a massive multi-layered hip roof, with soaring

overhangs and highly ornamented doorways; it was a contemporary “Wrightian” roof and decor. The

judges were afraid that this type of style would go out of date and get old as they wanted something to

last forever. The judges called for a round two of the competition because they wanted a few changes

made to each design before they chose the winner.

Figure 8: Massey College panoramic view and interior view

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For round two, Thom’s design was the only one that really took the judges’ considerations into

account. He decided to bring in a new scheme which made him the winner of the competition by

unanimous decision. Thom found his form for the building by replacing the huge hip roofs with flat

roofs. He said his “total concept [was] a quadrangle, secluded on four sides by the building from the

outside noise and confusion, acting as a courtyard common room.” He brought in few materials for

both the interior and exterior to tie the building together.

One of its major components include the grid-like pattern of the window mullions that extend

above the roof. These produce a silhouette and character that is reminiscent of gothic details yet

remains simple. Another is the slot windows along the corridors to some stairs and some rooms which

provide light to the back access. These windows are possible because the outer wall is not completely

straight, but recesses out in different places. There is also the Round Room where special occasions,

discussions, and thesis statements are held. This room consists of curved seating and a dropped circular

portion of the ceiling to accentuate the curved shape.

Figure 9: Massey College dining hall?

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Thom was involved in every aspect and detail of this project. He was always on site and away

from the office for long periods of time just to deal with Massey College. A lot of the ornamentation

they got rid of in round one of the competition ended up coming back in the as-built drawings. It was

said that this design seemed to be ahead of its time because of its roots in the past while still being

modern. There were people who thought that this design was too much in the past, and that it would

get boring, and yet it continues to enrich lives and guide students into their future.

Massey College has uniformity in the school and beauty from its architecture. Being in a building

of fantastic structure inspires students to want to learn more than if the students felt trapped within a

concrete block with no windows.

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TRENT UNIVERSITY

As the new Trent University was being established, Thom won the commission for TBP, which

lead to setting up an office in Toronto. With the completion of this project, it was decided that the firm

would separate from the Toronto office and phase out Thom’s partnership due to rising tensions within

the firm.

The education philosophy of this new university, founded in 1963, was to teach by seminar and

tutorial rather than lecture large classes. This meant the building design was for a high faculty-student

ratio, including many classrooms and a few lecture halls. Trent University is divided into a series of

colleges which are linked together by a master plan. The Trent College Board of Directors saw that

other universities at the time had a focus on graduate studies, neglecting undergraduate programs, and

alienating students and faculty. President Symons stated, “At Trent…undergraduate life and education

were our prime concerns.” The importance of a close relationship between teachers and students had a

direct influence on the planning of the campus and the design of the buildings of the new school.

Figure 10: Champlain College residence

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Prior to the actual design process, President Symons sent Thom and some other people from the

academic and campus planning committees to 8 English universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Sussex, Kent at

Canterbury, East Anglia, Warwick, Lancaster and York) where they examined 17 buildings and met with

the people responsible for them to discuss the building’s performance. Later in the year, Thom and

another committee were sent to visit 8 American campuses (Middlebury College, Dartmouth College,

Wellesley College, and the universities of MIT, Harvard, Boston, Brandeis and Yale) and examined 21

buildings. He learned a lot about space planning and materials from these trips and applied the new

knowledge to the task at hand.

The siting of the university was a well-thought out plan which enabled all sorts of student

activities to take place across campus, with easy access from all buildings to the library, the river, playing

fields, open spaces and a small commercial village. Canadian General Electric donated a damn and an

electrical power station on the river to the university, providing the campus with its own power. As for

the design of the buildings, Thom stated, “No attempt has been made to establish a fully definitive

design of an entire university…Instead, a major framework is being constructed that will allow change

and development. Ideas will modify as buildings are built and lived and worked in…Ultimately the

planning should produce harmony without rigidity.” He made guidelines in the expectation that many

different architects would eventually be involved with the design of the later buildings. Each college

would consist of a residential unit for students and some faculty families, and faculty office-seminar

rooms. Colleges were grouped into 3 clusters which each featured a central space with the library,

auditoria, bus stops and coffee shops. These 3 main centers were then connected by bridges or major

footpaths within a 10-minute walking distance of each other.

Thom also selected a palette of materials for the exterior of the buildings which would allow

some freedom for the architects but also keep a harmonious relationship between all the buildings on

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campus. Concrete was the most practical and versatile material and experimented with different

admixtures of broken stone aggregates and other ways to create different textures.

At the Champlain College the tower, residential buildings and classrooms are linked to the Dining Hall

and stairs to the bridge by a vine-covered wooden trellis. The Bata library features a top-lit central

atrium and stairs connecting all floors help to organize the circulation in the space. On the exterior,

stairs connect the bus stop to the University Court, a central gathering place for the campus. This

outdoor plaza is on the roof of the central power-plant approximately 15 feet above grade, at the level

of the bridge. The oval courtyard at lady Eaton College is private and quiet, away from the main center

of activity at the University Court.

Figure 11: Trent University looking past the bridge

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PEARSON COLLEGE

The office worked on major projects for new post-secondary educational institutions, including

planning and buildings for Lester B. Pearson College in Victoria, and two campuses of Sir Sanford

Fleming College in Ontario.

Pearson College is located in Pedder Bay on the Southern tip of Vancouver Island and opened in

1974. Lester wanted to “make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a

sustainable future.” Ron Thom based his design on what Lester wanted in a college. Since the site was

already in an old growth Douglas fir forest away from the city, Thom wanted the school to blend in with

its surroundings. He designed it to be a type of “village in a forest” and created its own type of

civilization. This allowed students to get away from distractions and focus on their studies.

Since the site allowed for interaction with the forest and the sea, Thom put effort in preserving

as much of the original forest as possible. He accounted for leaving forest with the central area and

throughout campus, to appreciate nature and allow for the studies of the ecosystem. It is mostly built of

native cedar and glass which is what hides it within the forest. The simple and low slung design of it

allows this as well.

Figure 12: Pearson College bird’s-eye view

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To seclude a school and get it away from distractions is a very smart idea from Lester Pearson.

He was thinking about his future students and how he could accommodate and enable them to learn

better. Thom managed to portray Lester’s goal into building form as well as keep his own goal of

responding to the world around it.

Figure 13: Pearson College entrance

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SHAW THEATRE IN NIAGRA-ON-THE-LAKE

Other high profile projects in Ontario included the Prince Hotel in Toronto, the Queen’s

University Social Sciences Centre in Kingston, the Shaw Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the

Metro Toronto Zoo.

The Shaw Festival started in 1962 for the performances of Bernard Shaw’s plays. Before the

Shaw Theatre opened, the Assembly Room in the historic Court House on Queen Street was converted

into a temporary theatre for these performances. Construction of the new festival theatre began in

1972, and on June 20th 1973, the theatre was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. With

this new building, larger scale productions were possible, bringing national and international acclaim to

Niagara-on-the-Lake. The seating capacity of Shaw Theatre was 856, substantially greater than the court

house’s 327 seats. The theatre also has a café and a retail shop as well as gardens by the Festival

Theatre pond.

The large overhang of a hip roof typical of

Ron’s residential designs is also found on public

buildings. Going beyond residential design, he needed

to search for new forms and materials. This theatre

has a steeply pitched floor with curving rows of seating

which functioned to reduce the distance between the

actor and the audience. The material used for the

ceiling and walls was BC cedar. The use of this

material contributed to the quality of the acoustics, as

well as creating a rich and colourful texture in the

whole space.

Figure 13: Shaw Festival Theatre interior

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METROPOLITAN TORONTO ZOO

The Metro Toronto Zoo was completed in 1974 as a joint venture between Ron Thom Architects,

Clifford Lawrie Bolton Ritchie Architects, Crang and Boake Architects and Yolles Engineers. This zoo is

different from your average zoo because it is sorted by a geographical basis instead of by species. Ron

Thom was directly involved with the zoologists and others to help him define an appropriate habitat for

the animals. He set out on this project to create a “home” for the animals, not a “prison” and did so by

creating his space into a non-building-like environment. With the almost completely glazed roof, these

pavilions rely on the natural light to illuminate the animals’ habits, making the animals able to feel like

they’re in the wild, and allow people to get a complete nature experience.

The

pavilions appear to have an extremely complex and abstract idea, but really the concept behind it is

rather simple. They are based on 42 foot squares and rhomboids which only have 90, 60, and 30 degree

angled corners. A hyperbolic paraboloid, makes up the roof structure. This shape allows curves to be

made, in a saddle-type form, by only using straight lines. In the pavilions, these straight lines are made

Figure 14: Metro Toronto Zoo

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up of a triodectic grid, which are equal sided squares or pentagons with diagonals between. This not

only allows the pavilions to take on a shape that coincides with the landform it lies on, but allows the

roof to be carried completely in tension. Therefore, the members can be made of small and light steel

and cause the overall roof sections to be very thin.

The main steel system of the building is made up of hollow section steel beams to support the

triodectic grid. Theses beams are then supported by the cast-in-place concrete tripods, and extend from

the tripods in all different angles. Since the triodectic grid supports the decking of the roofing, there is a

secondary steel system, attached to the main system, to support the mass amounts of glazing. The roof

is topped by 2x6 cedar joists and copper sheathing, which recently replaced the original cedar decking.

To control the heat build up in the pavilions, there are operable vents built along the roof ridges. All the

attachments were designed to be straight forward and exposed to help create an interior architecture of

the space.

The zoo itself is a remarkable

structure that makes a visit almost more worthy to see the architecture than the animals. It opens up

the animals to an environment that is not technically the wild, but acts as their “home away from home”

and could not have been portrayed any better.

Figure 15: Steel structure of the pavilion

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WESTIN PRINCE HOTEL

The Westin Prince Hotel was built as a collaborative effort between Ron Thom’s firm and Reno

C. Negrin Architects. Other companies involved with this building include Seibu Group in Japan, which is

the owner of the Prince Hotel chain. The Prince Hotel chain has hotels throughout Japan, East Asia and

America. Westin Hotels and Resorts are an upscale hotel chain owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Worldwide with over 120 hotels in 24 countries. The hotel is a 21-storey high-rise building. It is situated

on 15-acres of parkland with beautiful views of the Toronto skyline and surrounding park areas.

Figure 16: Westin Prince Hotel east elevation

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ATRIA NORTH OFFICE (PHASE I)

Atria North was one of two projects brought to Ron by two major developers when the architect

was doing his best not to conform to the changing building industry. It was built in 1978 in North York

for Marathon Realty. The owners were aware of the potential demand for prime office space located in

developing suburban centers and commissioned Ron to develop the master plan for four low-rise 4-

storey office buildings with a total floor area of 1.4 million square feet, set in a 22-acre landscaped site.

The buildings had to be connected by two levels of underground parking to accommodate 3200 cars.

Each building had a square plan with a square atrium and a glass roof. This allowed for wide floors with

large windows on both sides which could open to a view into the garden in the atrium. The total area of

this building was 259,173 square feet. This open plan was consistent to Ron’s design principle of

creating a flow between interior and exterior spaces. Unfortunately only the first of the buildings was

built because a Post-Modern high-rise office tower interested the developer’s clients more than the

phase 1 building.

Figure 17: Inside the Atria

Figure 18: Atria North I exterior

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OAKVILLE CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS

The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts was built in 1977 to accommodate the growing

community, providing a venue for live performances. Alastair Grant, a junior architect in Ron Thom’s

firm, designed this theatre. The centre was built as a 485-seat auditorium and a 120-seat cabaret style

studio theatre.

Figure 19: Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts entrance

Figure 10: Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts roof level

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EASTERN RESIDENCES

From 1964-1975 forty-eight house projects were done by Thom’s firm in Eastern Canada. There

were 13 projects listed for the next 6 years despite his deteriorating health. The Fraser house, the Frum

house and Watch Hill House are a few examples from this period. In defense of his partners’ concern

that a lot of time and money was being spent on residential designs he said, “The effect of this work on

the spirit and direction of an architectural office is magic. Because the ingredients of any architectural

project are all there, and because it is a more direct subject to deal with – one client – smaller size – the

process from start to completion is quicker. [Everyone] sees the seed planted and the flower blossom.”

FRASER HOUSE

Thom started developing the schematic design for the Donald Fraser house while working on

Trent University. He turned the project over to Paul Merrick who completed the work with Brian

Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick created several large light fixtures for the house to give it a special interior

environment. The floor of the covered walkway to the front door is 3 feet lower than the lawn area and

completely open to the ravine on the other side.

Figure 111: Fraser House exterior

Figure 12: Fraser House renovation completed 2003

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FRUM HOUSE

This house was designed for Broadcaster Barbara Frum, a client who stayed with Ron for 15

years. She described the experience of the design stage in a eulogy written for Ron’s funeral as follows:

“…Ron was an artist who made a refined aesthetic out of unrefinement, a master of the

difference between complexity and fussiness. He taught us to love raw surfaces and the natural, to

recognize harmonious proportions, how good it is to sleep and eat close to the floor, to be wrapped in a

cocoon of a dark room, punctuated by the sparkle of tiny beams of light, how everything went together if

you knew what you were doing – how many steps made a walk inviting, how many made a destination

too far, and how broad and deep these treads must be – which he’d dance out for us to teach the

difference, striding up and down across the floor.”

Figure 23: Light fixture in Frum House

Figure 24: Lower pond at Frum House

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WATCH HILL HOUSE

The Watch Hill house is in King City, Ontario. The Harding family had never thought they wanted

to set foot in a modern home, but after seeing this residence they could not help but to buy it. The way

Thom was able to design the home to connect to the Earth and sun, and man and the World, warmed

the Hardings’ hearts.

The home captures the sun or moon in the many skylights, and the floor-to-ceiling windows

placed in almost every room creates an interior play of light. The terrace provides views of forest, hill,

and sky which Mrs. Harding never tires of. There is a separation of business and recreation within the

home, while still keeping an open concept. While walking in the home, you get peek-a-boo views into

other spaces within the triangular cut outs Thom designed. Each room has its own vantage and

statement and allows for informality and intimacy.

Figure 25: Watch Hill house pool view

Figure 26: Interior views of Watch Hill house

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Mrs. Harding said herself that she was inspired by living in this home. Living in a home built by

Ron Thom is not only a luxury but a once in a lifetime experience.

CONCLUSIONS

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOK: Shadbolt, Douglas, “Ron Thom: The Shaping of an Architect,” Douglas & McIntyre, Vancouver/Toronto, 1995

OAKVILLE CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTShttp://www.oakvillehistory.org/pdf/newsletters/2008Sept.pdf

PENNY MITCHELL REAL ESTATEhttp://www.pennymitchell.com/Properties.php

MAYHEW HOUSEhttp://architecturewanted.blogspot.com/2009/03/mayhew-house.html

1143 EYREMONT DRIVE-Pictures from Artin Media, photographer.

SHAW THEATRE NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE http://www.shawfest.com/Home/About-The-Shaw/History

http://www.visiting-niagara-falls.com/shawfestival.htmlinterior pic: http://www.torontolife.com/features/shaw-festival-theatre-preview/exterior pic: http://www.governorswalk.ca/neighbourhood.htm

ATRIA NORTH PHASE http://www.310epic.com/Client/EPIC/Property.nsf/AllWebByDocID/A07B354FADD3A8EC8525706700500A54?Open&subform=propertydetails

WESTIN PRINCE HOTELhttp://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&id=westinprincehotel-toronto-canada

METRO TORONTO ZOOhttp://www.architecture.uwaterloo.ca/faculty_projects/terri/steel/zoo.htmlhttp://pc.blogspot.com/2009/03/indomalayan-pavilion-metro-toronto-zoo.html

MASSEY COLLEGEhttp://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005151

PEARSON COLLEGEhttp://racerocks.ca/PCbooklet/booklet.htmhttp://www.pearsoncollege.ca/facilities

WATCH HILL HOUSEhttp://www.marilynharding.com/2009/10/08/ron-thom-architecture/

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http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080711.reArchiMain0711/BNStory/RealEstate

COPP HOUSEhttp://architecturewanted.blogspot.com/2008/10/ron-thom-works-copp-house.htmlhttp://www.arcadejournal.com/public/IssueArticle.aspx?Volume=20&Issue=1&Article=33

FRASER HOUSEhttp://altius.net/2003/10/fraser-house-2/