Isadore Coop

In 1984, Coop was appointed as CEO of the North Portage Development Corporation, a corporation created and funded by three levels government (municipal, provincial and federal) in a controversial attempt to redevelop and revitalize the north side of Portage Avenue in downtown Winnipeg. To accept this appointment, Coop retired from Number Ten. The resulting structure, Portage Place, was constructed in 1987. It has significantly altered the vitality of Winnipeg’s downtown core. The enclosed mall, covering three city blocks, with large, naturally lighted indoor atriums and a sky walk system linking Portage Place to the Bay, One Canada Centre, and the Carlton Building, has altered Winnipeg’s cityscape.

Other significant Winnipeg projects on which Coop led design and production include a consortium for the Winnipeg Convention Centre (1972-1974), the Royal Trust Tower, and the Rupertsland Square Complex. He also led the firm’s work on the Canadian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, seven major buildings at the University of Manitoba, two high-rise Sheraton Hotels for Winnipeg and Hamilton, five multiple housing-commercial projects for Lakeview Development of Winnipeg, and two shopping centre projects for Fairweather Properties of Winnipeg.

At Number Ten, Coop led many architecturally significant projects, including the University of Manitoba Student Union Building (also known as University Centre), with Number Ten architect Carl Nelson, Jr. In 1970, he was partner-in-charge of Number Ten’s collaboration with architect Gustavo Da Roza on the Winnipeg Art Gallery. In 1977, Coop would again successfully collaborate with Da Roza on their submission to the National Gallery Competition, for which their entry was awarded second place, after John C. Parkin’s.

In 1964, the firm joined Allan Waisman and Jack Ross of Waisman Ross Architects, to form Waisman Ross – Blankstein, Coop, Gillmor and Hanna. In 1969, when the long firm name proved too unwieldy, it was changed to the more whimsical Number Ten Architectural Group (or “Number Ten”, after the firm’s Winnipeg address at 10 Donald Street).

Coop was elected to the College of Fellows for the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) in 1964 – the youngest fellow ever appointed by the RAIC. He subsequently served on the board of directors of the RAIC Foundation, the RAIC Committee on Education, and the RAIC Legal Documents Committee. In February 1994, Coop was awarded an Honorary Life Membership in the MAA.

Coop was elected president of the Manitoba Association of Architects (MAA) in 1963, and served as Chairman or Member of many MAA committees (Committee on Metropolitan Planning and Codes, Fees Committee, Professional Usage Committee).

In 1962, the expanded firm won a national competition for the Mendel Art Gallery and Conservatory in Saskatoon (constructed in 1965), a major creative cultural centre for that city. It also won an award for the Canadian Housing Design Council for a multi-housing development at the corner of Grant and Centennial.

In 1961, he was appointed a member of the Building Commission of the City of Winnipeg, a volunteer position which he held from 1961 to 1969, where he also served as its Vice-Chairman. He also served as a volunteer member of the Part 3 Committee for the Manitoba Building Code. Such service reflected his interest in improving the quality and functionality of architecture, as did his volunteer service on three committees for the National Building Code – the Standing Committee for Use and Occupancy (Member), the High-Rise Subcommittee (Chairman), and the Associate Committee (Member). It further reflected Coop’s appreciation of the important role played by legislation in establishing standards to protect the public and ensure its safety.

In 1959, Blankstein and Coop were joined by architects Alan Hanna and R. Douglas Gillmor to form Blankstein, Coop, Gillmor and Hanna.

In 1957, Blankstein Coop came second in an Alcan competition for a Toronto office building. In 1958, the firm competed against 90 other architects in a national competition for the new Winnipeg City Hall, for which they received an honourable mention.

However, in 1956 he struck out to create his own architectural partnership with his colleague at GBR and schoolmate at IIT, Morley Blankstein. The firm Blankstein Coop was born.

From 1951-53, Coop attended the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), studying with the famed architectural Modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. He graduated with a Masters of Science in Architecture. The Miesian aphorisms “less is more” and “God is in the details” would influence Coop’s work his entire career.

In 1947, Coop was awarded the Manitoba Association of Architects Scholarship and the Isbister Scholarship in Architecture. In 1948, Coop obtained his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Architecture. Upon graduating, Coop apprenticed with the architectural firm of Green, Blankstein, Russell (GBR). In 1951, he registered with the Manitoba Association of Architects.

Isadore “Issie” Coop (1926–2003) was a Canadian architect and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, with a reputation for highly functional, cost-effective architecture. A student of the famed American-German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Coop brought the Miesian style to Winnipeg, and changed the face of Winnipeg architecture, according to one writer.

Coop was born in Winnipeg in 1926. His father died when Coop was 12 years old. As a result, his family lived in poverty for many years, behind a corner grocery store run by his mother in the north end of Winnipeg. Coop delivered bread on a bicycle to help make ends meet.