Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1940-2019 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
3.28 liner meters of textual records, 4,260 photographs, 702 architectural drawings, and 1 object
4,260 photographs:
920 prints (250 b&w and 670 col.)
637 inkjet prints (31 b&w and 606 col.)
712 negatives (239 b&w and 473 col.)
93 copy negatives (7 b&w and 86 col.)
62 contact sheets (28 b&w and 33 col. ; ca. 547 frames)
1 inkjet contact sheet (col. ; ca. 6 frames)
1691 35mm col. slides
144 col. transparencies
702 architectural drawings:
663 reprographic copies
39 originals
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Barry Vance Downs was born in Vancouver on June 19th, 1930. Downs was among the leading figures in West Coast Modern design. Raised in Vancouver, his mother was a homemaker and his father was a sales executive. He studied architecture at the University of Washington in Seattle and then returned to Vancouver in 1954 to work at the firm Thompson Berwick and Pratt (TBP). From 1954 to 1963 he designed numerous projects for TBP and met many important colleagues including Ron Thom, Arthur Erickson, Fred Hollingsworth and Richard Archambault. Following his nine years at TBP, Downs left the firm and started a partnership with Fred Hollingsworth. He later left the practice and in 1969 established Downs Archambault & Partners with his former TBP colleague Richard Archambault. Other partners joined the firm including Beans Justice in 1970, David Galpin in 1971, Rob Way in 1972, and Ron Beaton in 1980. The firm was later renamed DA Architects + Planners.
Among the notable projects designed by Downs are the Ladner Library (1958), Downs Residence (1959), Chow Residence (1960), Rayer Residence (1963), Stager Residence (1965), Bowker Residence (1967), Oberlander Residence (1970), Brittania Community Services Centre (1974), Pearson College of the Pacific (1974, with Ron Thom), North Vancouver Civic Centre (1974), Downs Residence II (1979), Canada Place (1986), Kwantlen College (Surrey and Langley, 1988-1993), Concord Pacific Place (1992), Vancouver Library Square (1995, with Moshe Safdie), and Beatty Mews (1997), amongst others. His work in urban planning was influential in the development of Vancouverism. Among his urban design projects were the Champlain Heights, False Creek South and North, Expo Lands, International Village, Concord Pacific Place, and the Yaletown Roundhouse neighbourhood. Downs was also active in heritage preservation with roles on the City of Vancouver Heritage Advisory Committee and the West Vancouver Planning Commission. In 1980 he published a book entitled Sacred Places: British Columbia’s Early Churches on the religious architecture of British Columbia. In 2013, an exhibition entitled Barry Downs: Melding Architecture with Landscape: A Collaboration in Design was held at the West Vancouver Museum. The retrospective of his architectural career also produced an accompanying catalogue that documents his work and features many of the images held in the Barry Downs fonds. In 2014 Downs was appointed a member of the Order of Canada.
In 1955 Downs married Mary Hunter Stewart. They had two children Bill and Elizabeth. Barry Downs died at home in Vancouver on 19 July 2022.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Accession was donated to the Canadian Architectural Archives by Elizabeth Morgans, Barry Downs’s daughter, on February 28, 2025.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Fonds consists of records created and maintained by Barry Downs over the course of five decades documenting his architectural career. Records include photographs, architectural drawings, correspondence, writings, publicity, clippings, copies of reference materials, and copies of Downs’s 36 volume memoir entitled Notes from a Life in Architecture Planning and Design: A Collaboration in 36 Volumes 1950-2016. Downs created the 36 volumes of his memoir over twelve years from 2008 to 2019 as an illustrated commentary on his work, education, collaborations, friends, and colleagues. Each volume is about fifty pages in length and includes text written by Downs as well as copies of photographs, drawings, articles, and publicity relating to the period or project documented in the volume.
The files in this fonds consist of copies of the volumes as well as the records that were used in the creation of the volumes, such as original photographs, clippings, and articles, along with additional materials that were not used in the memoir. The files document many of Downs’s projects, including his two residences, as well as his work at Thompson Berwick Pratt, his work in partnership with Fred Hollingsworth (1963-1967), and his work while principal at Downs Archambault Architects (1969-2000?).
The files have been arranged by Downs and Adrian Archambault, Richard Archambault’s son, according to each volume in the memoir. In 2021, Downs and Adrian Archambault arranged the files to correspond to the index or table of contents of the 36 volumes. The file folders align chronologically with the 36 volumes and include all the items listed in each volume’s index. Prior to 2021, the files were arranged alphabetically.
The fonds does not contain the original architectural drawings for Downs’s work. According to Adrian Archambault, the design drawings, renderings, and presentation boards for Downs’s work were in a large format and were not in Downs’s possession. There are numerous photographs however in the fonds that document Downs’s work. Again, according to Adrian Archambault, Downs was “quite meticulous in photographing materials from each project as a record, for promotion, or making proposals for new work, so there are many original photographs in his files.”
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
No further accruals are expected
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open
Conditions governing reproduction
The University of Calgary fulfills requests for materials in our collections in accordance with Canadian copyright laws. The University of Calgary does not hold the copyright for materials in the Barry Downs fonds. The University of Calgary Libraries and Cultural Resources may provide materials for individual study and research purposes under fair dealing and library exceptions in the Canadian Copyright Act. Permission to publish, copy or otherwise use the content must be obtained for any works under copyright protection. Patrons are responsible for ensuring they use copyright-protected works in accordance with applicable laws.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Accessions: Includes archival material from accessions 2025.10