tienne Gaboury, architect behind some of Winnipeg's most iconic buildings, dead at 92

tienne Gaboury, the renowned Franco-Manitoban architect behind some of Winnipeg's most iconic structures, has died.

Structures designed by Gaboury, whose family saidhe died Friday at age 92, includethe Royal CanadianMint, the Esplanade Riel, the St. Boniface Cathedral and the spiral-roofed Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church in St. Boniface.

Gaboury, who has been described as "Manitoba's greatest architect," was "a great man," said his son-in-law,Ibrahima Diallo, who spoke with Radio-Canada on behalf of the family on Saturday.

"tienne Gaboury was not only an architect but he was also a human being with a lot of empathy, a lot of soul," said Diallo, a University of St. Boniface microbiology professor who is married to Gaboury's daughter,Lise Gaboury-Diallo, an authorandUniversity of St. Boniface literature professor.

Gaboury's death is "a big loss for us as a family, but also it's a big loss for Manitoba and for Canada, because he has built defining buildings" across Canada and beyond, said Diallo.

"Obviously, when you look at his architectural legacy, it's very impressive," Daniel Boucher, executive director of the Franco-Manitoban Cultural Society, said in an interview with Radio-Canada.

"I think we all know what a Gaboury building is. He was really a great architect, but he was also a great person in the Franco-Manitoban community."

'An emotional force'

In spite of his success and stature as an architect, Gaboury who was named a member of both the Order of Manitoba and the Order of Canada remained "a humble man," said Boucher.

Gaboury was born in 1930, the youngest of 11 children, and grew up in Bruxelles, a small community in southwestern Manitoba, where his parents were farmers, he saidin a 2014 interview with CBC's Terry MacLeod.

He completed a bachelor's degree in architectureat the University of Manitoba in 1958, according to his biography on the Winnipeg Architecture Foundation's website.

One of his first major projects in the city came when he was asked to design Precious Bloodin the St. Boniface neighbourhood. Built in 1969, the church on Kenny Street, with its distinctive "corkscrew" cedar roof, became Gaboury's"most identifiable work," according to the architecture foundation.

"That was the point of departure in my career in a way," Gabourytold CBC in his 2014 interview.

"In every building that I designed after thatI had that sort of image in my mind" of architecture that "must move you. It's got to be an emotional force that will change you by experiencing it."

That sense of the artistry of architecture carried into all of his work, according toGuy Prfontaine, a Winnipeg architect who was a colleague of Gaboury's.

"tienne was a consummate artist,"Prfontainesaid in a Saturday interview with Radio-Canada. "He was not a businessman. He actually almost deplored the idea of business, because [architecture] was art, in his view."

WATCH | Winnipeggers reminisce ontienne Gabouryand his impact:

tienne Gaboury, renowned Franco-Manitoban architect, has died

2 years ago

Duration 1:54

Gaboury died Friday at age 92.

A devotion to artistry was more important to Gaboury than following any particular style, saidPrfontaine.

"He didn't go for postmodernist or modernist or some of the trappings that you see of regular architecture," he said.

It was essential to Gaboury that design "spoke of place, it spoke of culture, it spoke of art, it spoke of the human spirit. Itdidn't speak of styles."

'A life well lived'

Another major project came when Gaboury was awarded the contract to design a new St. Boniface Cathedral, after the original structure was mostly destroyed by a fire in July 1968.

Gaboury's new structure, whichopened inJuly 1972,featured a smaller cathedral built withinthe surviving stone walls of the original a design that also became a Winnipeg landmark.

Another major project followed in 1975, with the construction of the Royal Canadian Mint in southeast Winnipeg.

He also designed the Esplanade Riel, which crosses the Red River and connects Winnipeg's downtown with St. Boniface.

The bridge, which opened in late 2003, hasbecome anotherdistinctive element of Winnipeg's skyline, although the space on the bridge has struggled to maintain tenants (originally designed as a restaurant, it is now home to the not-for-profitManitoba Technology Accelerator).

Gaboury's work extended beyond Manitoba's capital among his many other designs were aschool in Norway Housein northern Manitoba and the distinctive library building in the southern Manitoba community of St-Pierre-Jolys.

He designed buildings abroad as well, including theCanadian embassy in Mexico, according to the architecture foundation.

"You can go many, many places and you will seetienne Gaboury's work," said Boucher.

"And for the [Franco-Manitoban] community, that'svery important. Itgives us an identity.We are so proud to say, 'We knowtienne Gaboury. He isone of ours.'"

That's a legacy that will live on, said Boucher.

"We celebrate a life well lived," he said."Hereally left his mark."