Phyllis Lambert

Born in Montreal, Quebec, she studied at The Study, a premier independent school for girls, and was educated at the liberal arts Vassar College (A.B. in 1948). At the age of nine she was already committed to sculpture and her drawing skills were commented upon as remarkable early on in life. And at eleven she began exhibiting in annual juried exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts and the Société des Sculpteurs du Canada.{{Cite book|title=Building Seagram|last=Phyllis|first=Lambert|others=Bergdoll, Barry.|year = 2013|isbn=9780300167672|location=New Haven, Connecticut|oclc=813392773}} While reading architecture history in New York she became engaged with the connections of art and architecture which would last a lifetime.{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/phyllis-lambert|title=Phyllis Lambert|last=Wagg|first=Susan|date=May 19, 2008|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |publisher=Historica Canada |edition=online}} Her family is of Jewish background.{{Cite web|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2012/04/23/50-of-new-giving-pledge-donors-are-jewish/|title = 50% of New "Giving Pledge" Donors are Jewish}}

On 17 May 1949, in Montreal, she married Jean Lambert, a French-German"Lambert & Co.: 'Some Mistakes'—Head of Investment House Looks Back on Losses", The New York Times, 1 April 1967, pages 31 and 44 economic consultant and the only son of Adolphe Lambert of Elmhurst, Queens, New York."Phyllis Bronfman Wed in Montreal", The New York Times, 18 May 1949, page L-31[http://multiculturalcanada.ca/node/101558/full?display=full Canadian Jewish Review, 16 September 1949, page 18] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194143/http://multiculturalcanada.ca/node/101558/full?display=full |date=4 March 2016 }}Jean Lambert later became a banker, founding Lambert & Company, an investment bank in New York City; he was not Baron Jean Lambert of the Belgian banking family.Jean Lambert married, in 1963, as his second wife, Jacqueline Reille, the former wife of Christian, Count de Fels, per "Jean Lambert, Investor, Marries Countess Reille", The New York Times, 25 November 1963, page L-22 The couple divorced in 1954. After the divorce she decided to remain in Paris, living and working alone in a studio on her art and sculpting.Citizen Lambert: Joan of Architecture, directed by American documentary filmmaker Teri Wehn-Damisch, 2007

In 1951 Lambert's father Samuel Bronfman established Cemp Investments, a holding company for his four children, in which Phyllis was given a 22% ownership stake. It controlled the family's distilling empire, The Seagram Company Ltd., which over time controlled billions of dollars in liquor, real estate, oil and gas, and chemical companies.Nicolas Faith, The Bronfmans: The Rise and Fall of the House of Seagram. St. Martin's Griffin, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0312332204}}. Retrieved 2015-04-22

File:Seagram building - panoramio.jpg in New York.]]

While Lambert was living in Paris, the Seagram Company Ltd was planning a new headquarters in New York City under her father's instructions. During her time in Paris, she had come into contact with the newest artistic and architectural movements of the time. She was vehemently against the building that had already been designed for the plot by Pereira and Luckman Architects. In an eight-page letter to her father (dated June 28, 1954), the 27-year-old Phyllis managed to convince him to re-think the initial project. She was given the mandate to find a suitable alternative and after an extended research lasting six weeks Mies van der Rohe was brought forward as the new candidate. He received the project and became her mentor supporting her in her wish to become an architect. From 1954 to 1958, she was immersed in the process of designing and building the Seagram Building on Park Avenue in New York City. Though she enrolled at the Yale School of Architecture in 1958, she then changed to the Illinois Institute of Technology, which she felt better suited to what she wanted to learn.

Lambert later became the consultant to the Seagram Building, entrusted with its maintenance including the supervision and the curation of all exhibitions and collections, until 2000.

After she obtained her master's degree in 1963, her family commissioned her to design an arts centre in Montreal to be known as the Saidye Bronfman Centre, in honor of her mother. Lambert designed a ‘Miesian Structure’.{{Cite web|url=https://archpaper.com/2017/02/phyllis-lambert-reflects-75-years/|title=Phyllis Lambert reflects on her 75 years in architecture - Archpaper.com|website=archpaper.com|date=21 February 2017|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-24}}

File:Centre Canadien Architecture Montreal.JPG in Shaughnessy Village after advocating for preserving the neighbourhood and saving the building from demolition]]

After the demolition of the Van Horne Mansion on Sherbrooke Street in 1973, 23 citizen groups formed Sauvons Montréal. Lambert became one of the advocates in the efforts to revitalize the struggling Shaughnessy Village district.

In 1975, she founded the heritage preservation group Heritage Montreal.{{cite web|url=http://www.studio-international.co.uk/architecture/lambert.asp|title=Phyllis Lambert and the Canadian Centre for Architecture|publisher=Canadian Centre for Architecture|access-date=21 November 2009|archive-date=26 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226051859/http://www.studio-international.co.uk/architecture/lambert.asp|url-status=dead}} (She served as its first president until 1983.{{Cite journal|last=Scott|first=Marian|date=January 20, 2017|title=Montreal architecture icon Phyllis Lambert helped shape the city|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/phyllis-lambert-looks-back-on-90-years-in-art-and-architecture|journal=Montreal Gazette}}) Héritage Montréal raised funds so that conservation groups could take action. Their tools to stop demolition included marching in the streets, publishing ads and booklets and working with residents. They developed Canada's largest non-profit cooperative housing renovation, Milton-Parc.

Lambert also saved Shaughnessy House from demolition by buying it. In 1989 the 19th century mansion became part of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA).

She considered an investment in renovating low-to medium-income neighbourhoods as important as the conservation of monuments or building anew. Since 1997 she held the Fonds d’investissement Montréal (FIM). It achieved in bringing private sector investment to communitarian housing beyond the limits of government programs.

In 1979, she founded the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA),  an influential museum and research centre in Montreal's Shaughnessy Village neighbourhood, and donated 750,000 shares of Seagram to help fund the Centre. It houses extensive collections of architectural drawings, books, photographs, and archival materials. The guiding belief of the CCA is that "architecture is a public concern," and its collection and activities "are driven by a curiosity about how architecture shapes—and might reshape—contemporary life."{{cite news|url=https://www.cca.qc.ca/en/about-overview|title=Overview|publisher=Canadian Centre for Architecture|access-date=5 February 2022}}

She served on the board of directors of Cemp's subsidiary, Cadillac Fairview for which she later picketed the offices of project developer. Again she suggested working with Mies and supported what was to be known as the Toronto-Dominion Centre."A Personal Stamp on the Skyline, Mark Lamster, New York Times, April 3, 2013

Her work also includes serving as developer on the restoration of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles by architect Gene Summers (architect).

In 1990 she received an honorary DFA in Architecture from the Pratt Institute. In 1992, she was made Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France. She holds honorary degrees from some 26 universities in North America and in Europe.

In 1985 she was made a Member of the Order of Canada, promoted to Officer in 1990, and promoted to Companion in 2001. In 1985, she was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec and was promoted to Grand Officer in 2005.

Lambert was awarded the Vincent Scully Prize by the National Building Museum in 2006. Executive director Chase Rynd stated, "The Museum is honored to present its 2006 Scully Prize to Phyllis Lambert for a lifetime of outstanding achievements in the design of the built environment. From the Seagram Building to the CCA, to her work as a preservationist and educator, Phyllis Lambert has deeply enhanced the world we build for ourselves."{{Cite web |title=All News Releases and Press Releases from PR Newswire |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/news-releases-list/?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/01-19-2006/0004263835&EDATE= |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.prnewswire.com |language=en}}

In 2007, Citizen Lambert: Joan of architecture, a documentary film about Lambert was directed by Teri Wehn-Damisch.

Lambert was the recipient of the Golden Lion at the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale.[http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/architect-phyllis-lambert-awarded-the-golden-lion-for-lifetime-achievement-of-the-14th-international-architecture-exhibition-at-the-venice-biennale-earlier-today-514429441.html "Architect Phyllis Lambert awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 14th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale earlier today"], http://www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2017-09-12 In 2016, she was awarded the Wolf Prize in Arts.{{cite web |title=Israel's 'pre-Nobel' Wolf Prize awardees announced |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-pre-nobel-wolf-prize-awardees-announced/ |work=The Times of Israel}}

Alongside Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, Cornelia Oberlander and Denise Scott Brown, she is one of four prominent female architects profiled in the 2018 documentary film City Dreamers.{{Cite news |date=2019-05-16 |title=Review: City Dreamers: Portraits of four women who shaped the world we live in |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/reviews/article-city-dreamers-portraits-of-four-women-who-shaped-the-world-we-live-in/ |access-date=2024-09-12 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}

In 2023, Phyllis Lambert was awarded the Ada Louise Huxtable prize for her contribution to the wider architectural industry.{{cite web | url=https://www.archdaily.com/995747/kazuyo-sejima-and-phyllis-lambert-are-the-recipients-of-the-2023-jane-drew-and-ada-louise-huxtable-prizes-celebrating-women-in-architecture | title=Kazuyo Sejima and Phyllis Lambert Are the Recipients of the 2023 Jane Drew and Ada Louise Huxtable Prizes Celebrating Women in Architecture | date=31 January 2023 }}

• Member of the Order of Canada (1985)
• Knight of the National Order of Quebec (1985)
• Officer of the Order of Canada (1990)
• Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in Architecture from Pratt Institute (1990)
• Gold Medal from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (1991)
• Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1992)
• Hadrian Award of the World Monuments Fund (1997)
• Companion of the Order of Canada (2001)
• Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2005)
• Vincent Scully Prize from the National Building Museum (2006)
• Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement from the Venice Biennale of Architecture (2014)
• Wolf Prize in Arts (2016)

{{Reflist}}

• Nicholas Faith, The Bronfmans: The Rise and Fall of the House of Seagram (2006).
• {{cite news |last=Kaptainis |first=Arthur |url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=bdd4b9ee-9677-485a-803d-769d25e9578e&k=772 |title=Lambert's landmark birthday |publisher=The Gazette |date=2007-01-25 |access-date=2007-01-26}}

• [http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Phyllis_Lambert.html Profile at greatbuildings.com]
• [http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=bdd4b9ee-9677-485a-803d-769d25e9578e&k=772 Montreal Gazette article on her 80th birthday celebration (includes time line)]
• [http://www.cca.qc.ca/en/ Canadian Centre for Architecture]
• {{imdb title|tt1280503|Citizen Lambert: Joan of architecture}}

{{Wolf Prize in Arts}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Phyllis}}

Category:1927 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century Canadian architects

Category:Anglophone Quebec people

Category:Architects from Montreal

Phyllis Lambert

Category:Canadian women architects

Category:Companions of the Order of Canada

Category:Fellows of the American Institute of Architects

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada

Category:Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec

Category:Illinois Institute of Technology alumni

Category:Canadian Jews

Category:Canadian philanthropists

Category:Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts

Category:Museum founders

Category:Preservationist architects

Category:Vassar College alumni

Category:Wolf Prize in Arts laureates

Category:20th-century Canadian women