Phyllis Lambert - Biography

Phyllis Barbara Lambert CC, GOQ, OAL, FRAIC, FRSC, RCA (née Bronfman, born January 24, 1927) is a Canadian philanthropist and member of the Bronfman family.

Born in Montreal, she studied at The Study, a premier independent school for girls, Vassar College (BA in 1948). She moved to France in 1949 and married Baron Jean Lambert, a banker and Rothschild cousin, but they divorced in 1954.

She moved to New York City in 1954 and became involved in architecture; she graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1963. In the 1960s, she designed the Saidye Bronfman Centre in Montreal, named after her mother. As Director of Planning for the Seagram Building, she was influential bringing Ludwig Mies van der Rohe onto the project, also recommending him for the Toronto-Dominion Centre design.

In 1975, she founded the heritage preservation group Heritage Montreal.

In 1979, she founded the Canadian Centre for Architecture, a museum and research centre in Montreal's Shaughnessy Village neighbourhood, and donated 750,000 shares of Seagram to help fund the Centre. Lambert has also been an advocate in efforts to revitalize the struggling Shaughnessy Village district.

In 1990 she received an honorary DFA in Architecture from the Pratt Institute. In 1992, she was made Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres de France. She holds honorary degrees from some 26 universities in North America and in Europe.

Her work also includes serving as developer on the restoration of the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles by architect Gene Summers as well as designing the Saidye Bronfman Centre in Montreal with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

In 1985 she was made a Member of the Order of Canada, promoted to Officer in 1990, and promoted to Companion in 2001. In 1985, she was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec and was promoted to Grand Officer in 2005.

Lambert was awarded the Vincent Scully Prize by the National Building Museum in 2006. Executive director Chase Rynd stated, "The Museum is honored to present its 2006 Scully Prize to Phyllis Lambert for a lifetime of outstanding achievements in the design of the built environment. From the Seagram Building to the CCA, to her work as a preservationist and educator, Phyllis Lambert has deeply enhanced the world we build for ourselves."

In 2007 a documentary film about Lambert, Citizen Lambert: Jeanne d'architecture, was released by Filmoption International. The movie was directed by Teri Wehn-Damisch.

See also

• Bronfman family

• Nicholas Faith, The Bronfmans: The Rise and Fall of the House of Seagram (2006).

External links

• Profile at greatbuildings.com
• Biography at The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Montreal Gazette article on her 80th birthday celebration (includes time line)
• Canadian Center for Architecture