Alexandra Dmitrievna Biryukova

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Alexandra Dmitrievna Birjukowa ( Russian Александра Дмитриевна Бирюкова * June 28 jul. / 10. July  1895 greg. In Vladivostok ; † 9. February 1967 in Richmond Hill (Canada) ) was a Russian - Canadian architect .

Life

Biryukova's father, Dmitri Biryukov, worked as an engineer in the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway . Birjukowa studied architecture at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg from 1911 to 1914 .

After the October Revolution , the Biryukov family emigrated to Rome via Hong Kong . There Birjukowa studied 1922-1925 at the new Scuola Superiore di Architettura di Roma . 1924–1929 she practiced with the architect Arnaldo Foschini .

After the death of her parents Biryukova traveled with her younger sister, the artist Julija Dmitrijewna Biryukova (1897–1972), to Toronto , where relatives lived. Biryukova immediately founded her own architectural office there and, thanks to her sister's acquaintances, quickly became known among artists and architects, especially among the members of the Group of Seven . Biryukova received her first and only contract for the construction of a villa from the leader of the Group of Seven Lawren Harris , who originally wanted to commission Douglas Kertland . Deviating from the traditional construction method in Toronto, Biryukova planned a three-story villa in Art Deco style in 1930 , which was built in 1931.

When, according to the Architects Act of 1931, all architects working in Ontario had to belong to the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) , Birjukowa was accepted as the first woman to join the OAA after her application, supported by Douglas Kertland and Ferdinand Herbert Marani. However, as a foreigner with modern style ideas , she was probably not given any commissions because of the global economic crisis . She resigned from the OAA in 1934, and Lawren Harris left Toronto that same year. She trained as a nurse and then worked at the Tuberculosis Clinic in Toronto until she retired in the 1960s.

In 1975 the Lawren Harris Villa was recognized as a cultural monument of the city of Toronto.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Лейкинд О. Л .: БИРЮКОВА Александра Дмитриевна . In: Искусство и архитектура Русского зарубежья . July 21, 2014 ( [1] [accessed April 9, 2020]).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Ontario Association of Architects: Ontario's First Female Architects (Part 2): Alexandra Biriukova (accessed April 9, 2020).
  3. ^ A b Canadian Women Artists History Initiative ( Concordia University ): Biriukova, Alexandra (accessed April 9, 2020).
  4. ↑ a b c Bibliographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada: Biriukova, Alexandra (accessed April 9, 2020).
  5. ^ Enrico Del Debbio : Regia Scuola Superiore di Architettura di Valle Giulia (accessed April 9, 2020).
  6. ↑ a b c d e KAITLIN WAINWRIGHT: Historicist: A Building of Her Own . In: Torontoist . May 28, 2016 ( [2] [accessed April 9, 2020]).
  7. ↑ CAROLYN IRELAND: Lawren Harris' Forest Hill masterpiece . In: The Globe and Mail . March 31, 2009 ( [3] [accessed April 9, 2020]).
personal data
SURNAME Birjukowa, Alexandra Dmitrijewna
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Бирюкова, Александра Дмитриевна (Russian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian-Canadian architect
DATE OF BIRTH July 10, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Vladivostok
DATE OF DEATH February 9, 1967
Place of death Richmond Hill (Canada)