Brigitte Shim, FRAIC, OC,

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

, Hon. FAIA, OAA (December 8, 1958) is a Canadian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and a founding partner of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, established in 1994 with her husband, Howard Sutcliffe. She is also a professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. Shim and Sutcliffe formed Shim-Sutcliffe Architects to pursue their shared interest in the interrelation of architecture, landscape, interior design, and industrial design. Over the last 30 years, the firm has completed projects for public, private, non-profit, and residential clients.

Education and Early Career

Born in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, in 1958, Shim’s family immigrated to Canada in 1965. She began her post secondary education at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

, graduating with a degree in environmental studies in 1981. Upon completion of her first degree, she enrolled in architecture at Waterloo, graduating in 1983. It was also at the University of Waterloo where she met Sutcliffe and the couple began working on projects together. Between 1981 and 1987, Shim worked in the offices of

Arthur Erickson Arthur Charles Erickson (June 14, 1924 – May 20, 2009) was a Canadian architect and urban planning, urban planner. He studied at the University of British Columbia and, in 1950, received his B.Arch. (Honours) from McGill University. He is kn ...

and Baird Sampson Neuert Architects, before launching her academic career in 1988, accepting a teaching position at the University of Toronto. That same year, Shim and Sutcliffe completed their first notable built project, Garden Pavilion and Reflecting Pool, a concrete and steel structure located in Toronto’s

Don Mills Don Mills is a mixed-use neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was developed in the 1950s and 1960s to be a self-supporting "new town" and was at the time located outside Toronto proper in the suburb of North York. Consisting of residenti ...

neighbourhood.

Professorship

Shim joined the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design,

in 1988, where she remains a tenured professor. The courses that Shim teaches range from core, advanced, and thesis design studios, to more specialized courses that explore her areas of expertise, like History and Theory of Landscape Architecture, or studies in laneway housing and urban intensification. Shim’s other notable academic appointments include: * Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor of Architectural Design, Yale University School of Architecture (2005, 2010, 2014) * Invited International Visiting Professor, Ecole d’Architecture,

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (, EPFL) is a public university, public research university in Lausanne, Switzerland, founded in 1969 with the mission to "train talented engineers in Switzerland". Like its sister institution E ...

(2002) * Canadian Bicentennial Visiting Professor at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

(2001) * Visiting Professor, Department of Architecture,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

(1993, 1996)

Involvement in Architecture Community

Throughout her career, Shim has been a member of committees, locally and internationally, dedicated to the advancement of urban design and advocacy within the industry. She was a member of the architectural advisory board of Canada’s

National Capital Commission The National Capital Commission (NCC; , CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), including administering most lands and build ...

for 8 years, is an active member of

Waterfront Toronto Waterfront Toronto (incorporated as the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation) is an organization that oversees revitalization projects along the Toronto waterfront. Established in 2001 as a public–public partnership between the City ...

’s Design Review Panel, and has been a member of both the Master Jury and Steering Committee of the

Aga Khan Award for Architecture The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the fie ...

. She is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (FRAIC) as well as an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon. FAIA).

Awards

Beyond the awards earned by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects as a firm, Shim herself has been honoured with several accolades that recognize her work in the field of architecture and design over the course of her career. * Royal Architecture Institute of Canada Gold Medal (2021) * Invested Member of the Order of Canada (2013) * Recipient of The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013) * Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs Lifetime Achievement Award (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shim, Brigitte 20th-century Canadian architects Canadian women architects 1958 births Living people Academic staff of the University of Toronto Jamaican emigrants to Canada 21st-century Canadian architects People from Kingston, Jamaica University of Waterloo alumni Governor General's Award winners 20th-century Canadian women