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Description area
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History
Jeremy Howard Moutrie Sturgess was born December 12, 1949 in Montreal, Quebec. His family moved to Toronto in 1959, and then to Calgary in 1964 following a year spent back in Montreal. Sturgess was admitted to the University of Toronto in 1969, graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1974.
Following graduation, Sturgess moved back to Calgary and worked for Bill Boucock and Jack Long. Sturgess formed the Architectural Alliance with Bob Mitnick from 1977 to 1978 before becoming the principal of The Sturgess Partnership (1978-1987). Between 1987 and 1993 Sturgess was principal of Jenkins and Sturgess Architects Ltd. In 1993, Sturgess formed Sturgess Architecture, of which he is principal, partnering with his wife, Leslie Beale, and Bob Horvath.
Sturgess became a member of the Alberta Association of Architects in 1977, and the same year he joined the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC). He was elected a Fellow of RAIC in 1994. In 2002, Sturgess was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy.
His architectural portfolio includes numerous single-family and multi-unit residences, primarily in Calgary and surrounding areas, but also in British Columbia. Sturgess’s larger designs include the Chuzenji Kanaya Hotel in Nikko, Japan, the Yukon Visitors Reception Centre in Whitehorse, Post Hotel, Calgary Water Centre, and Banff Town Hall.
Sturgess is among the leading architects and experts in urban design in Western Canada. He has won numerous awards including two Governor General’s Medals in Architecture for Yukon Centre in 1997 and Glacier Skywalk in 2016. He received the Canadian Architect Award of Excellence for the Chuzenji Kanaya Hotel, the Alberta Award of Excellence for Affordable Housing (1993), and awards for The Bridges Master Plan from the Canadian Institute of Planners Award of Excellence and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (2001). His design is marked by stylistic wit, unusual geometries, whimsy, colour, humour, references to classicism, and regionalism.
Sturgess has been active in promoting urbanism and architectural education throughout his career. He co-founded the Calgary Architecture and Urban Students Alliance (CAUSA) in 1978 with Stephanie White and Trevor Boddy; Sturgess served as Director until 1990. CAUSA created a lecture series with the purpose of engaging designers, students and the public in conversations on building and landscape architecture and urban design. Sturgess is also an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary.
Sturgess was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for his significant contributions and achievements.