Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1900-2018 (predominantly 1950-2018) (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
5.25 m of textual records, 2635 photographs, and other materials.
2635 photographs:
1734 col. slides
738 prints : 337 b&w and 401 col.
ca. 28 contact sheets
135 negatives : 120 b&w and 15 col
Other material includes:
212 postcards
25 posters
12 stereoscope cards
53 stereoscopic reels
1 stereoscope viewer
27 architectural drawings
1 flash drive
1 plaque
6 certificates
7 drawings
2 DVD-R
2 CDs
10 objects
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Renowned architect, critic, educator, and author, George Baird was born August 25, 1939, in Toronto, Ontario. He was raised in Toronto and attended East York Collegiate. He graduated with his B. Arch from the University of Toronto School of Architecture in 1962. While a student, he had fellowships in Finland and Sweden, and his postgraduate research was at University College in London, England. He returned to Canada in 1967 to teach at the University of Toronto School of Architecture, where he was professor from 1967 to 1993 and dean from 2004 to 2009. In 1993 Baird left the University of Toronto to join the faculty at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design as the G. Ware Travelstead Professor of Architecture, where he taught design studio and architecture theory until 2004.
Baird established George Baird Architect and Associates in Toronto in 1972. His firm employed many of his University of Toronto students, including Bruce Kuwabara, Martin Kohn, Donald MacKay, Detlef Mertins, Barry Sampson, and John van Nostrand. In 1982 the office became Baird/Sampson Architects and in 1998 became Baird Sampson Neuert Architects Inc. Award winning projects include Cloud Garden Park in Toronto, the Erindale Hall on the campus of the University of Toronto at Mississauga, the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory, and the French River Visitor Centre. The firm also specialized in urban design, and in its early years produced the first urban design plan for the City of Toronto, onbuildingdowntown.
Awards received by Baird include the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Architectural and Design Award in 1992, the order of Da Vinci Medal from the Ontario Association of Architects in 2001, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medal in 2010, and the Topaz Medallion of the American Institute of Architects for Excellence in Architectural Education in 2012. Baird was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2016.
Baird’s published works include Meaning in Architecture with Charles Jencks in 1968, Alvar Aalto in 1969, The Space of Appearance in 1995, Queues, Rendevous, Riots with Mark Lewis in 1995, Public Space, Cultural/Political Theory: Street Photography in 2011, and Writing on Architecture and the City in 2015. A book of essays about Baird’s thought and writings was published in 2019, entitled The Architect and the Public: On George Baird’s Contribution to Architecture.
In 1963 George Baird married Elizabeth Davis, who became one of Canada’s most well-known food writers. The couple was married for close to 60 years. George Baird died on October 17, 2023, in Toronto.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Fonds was donated to the Canadian Architectural Archives by George Baird between 2013 and 2019.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Fonds consists of personal and professional records created or maintained by George Baird. The records document his activities as a renowned Canadian architectural studies teacher, critic, and writer. The files consist of correspondence, writings, photographs, presentations, awards, posters, research, and teaching files. The majority of the records are from 1950 to 2018, spanning his activities as a professor and dean at the University of Toronto (1967-1993, 2004-2009), professor at Harvard University (1993-2004), a visiting lecturer at schools and events around the world, and as an influential critic and writer on architectural theory. The fonds includes records relating to Baird’s many writings on architecture, his education at the University of Toronto (1957-1962), his service on associations, and his travels both personal and professional over the years. The fonds has been divided into ten series: 1. Correspondence, 2. Education, 3. Photographs, 4. Teaching, 5. Associations, 6. Awards, 7. Lectures, Talks, and Exhibitions, 8. Reference, 9. Work, 10. Writings.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
Further accruals are expected
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
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 the George Baird 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
The project records of George Baird’s work as an architect are held in the Baird Sampson Neuert fonds at the Canadian Architectural Archives.
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of fonds.
Note
Accessions: Includes archival material from accessions 339A/13.03, 2016.109, 2017.78, 2017.84, and 2019.64