Lennox Grafton (3 December 1919 – 24 March 2017) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 one of the first women to be trained as architects in Canada. She completed her undergraduate education in

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...

during 1938-1941 and graduated from the architectural program in

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

in 1950. Grafton's early works during the same decade focused on schools, churches, and commercial building. These works were complete while she worked in several of

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architectural firms. In 1960 she started her own architectural practice, but had to eventually shutter it due to the lack of available funding to scale the business to acquire larger projects. Following her entrepreneurial venture, Grafton joined Public Works Canada in 1967 and in the following decade was responsible for designing residential schools for the Canadian government most notably for

Attawapiskat Attawapiskat may refer to: * Attawapiskat Airport, an airport adjacent to the Attawapiskat First Nation in Ontario, Canada * Attawapiskat First Nation, a First Nation located in Kenora District in northern Ontario, Canada ** Attawapiskat 91, form ...

and

Kashechewan The Kashechewan First Nation (, cr, ᑫᔒᒋᐗᓐ ᐃᓕᓕᐗᒃ, kêšîciwan ililiwak) is a Cree First Nation band government located near James Bay in Northern Ontario, Canada. The community is located on the northern shore of the Albany ...

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. As a design and project architect, her work can be found in many communities throughout Ontario. Grafton indicated that the work was quite challenging but interesting. She was pivotal in the overall design the Attawapiskat school and overcoming the technical challenges of constructing the building posed by the location's soil structure, weather and temperature.

Activism

During the 1980s and 1990s, Grafton actively participated in "For the Record", a project organized by the Ontario Women Graduates and funded by the

Ontario Heritage Foundation The Ontario Heritage Trust (french: link=no, Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien) is a non-profit agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the built, natural and cultural herita ...

, which sought to document women architects graduating from the University of Toronto architectural program between the 1920s and 1960s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grafton, Lennox 1919 births 2017 deaths Canadian women architects People from Brooks, Alberta University of Toronto alumni 20th-century Canadian architects University of Alberta alumni 20th-century Canadian women