On November 12, an online event celebrates and honours the legacy of architect, urban planner, educator and activist Blanche Lemco van Ginkel. The event—entitled For Her Record: Notes on the work of Blanche Lemco van Ginkel is jointly organized by BEA Canada, the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto and the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, McGill University.


In 2014, McGill University awarded Blanche Lemco van Ginkel an honorary doctorate. In the past year, she has been awarded the Lifetime Design Achievement award from the Ontario Association of Architects and the Gold Medal from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, reflecting her extraordinary contributions.

As an architect, urban planner, educator, and activist, Blanche Lemco van Ginkel has inspired generations of architects. With H.P. Daniel (Sandy) van Ginkel, she founded the firm Van Ginkel Associates in 1957. The firm’s work is distinguished for its integration of planning and architecture and bold, Modernist solutions. 

Lemco van Ginkel is also distinguished as an architectural educator. Following her graduation in architecture from McGill University (1945) and in city planning from Harvard University (1950), she taught at the University of Pennsylvania (1951-57), Harvard University, Université de Montréal, and McGill University. In 1977, she joined the University of Toronto, where she served as Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Landscape Architecture from 1980-82.

Speakers at the November 12 event include Phyllis Lambert (Canadian Centre for Architecture), Mary McLeod (Columbia University), and Ipek Mehmetoglu (McGill University). The event also includes an excerpt from City Dreamers, a film by Joseph Hillel. The event is moderated by Brigitte Shim (Daniels Faculty) and Laura Miller (Daniels Faculty).