Eva Vecsei facts for kids

Eva Hollo Vecsei, born on August 21, 1930, is a famous architect from Hungary and Canada. She started her work in Budapest. Later, in 1957, she moved to Montreal, Canada. There, she and her husband started their own company, Vecsei Architects, in 1984.

Eva Vecsei's Life and Work

Early Life and Education

Eva Hollo Vecsei was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1930. She studied architecture at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. She finished her degree in 1952. After college, she taught architecture at the same university for a year. She helped students learn about building design. In 1954, she designed homes for miners. She also worked on schools and other housing projects in 1955 and 1956.

Moving to Canada

Eva Vecsei and her husband, André Vecsei, got married in 1952. They moved to Canada in 1957. This was after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. They made their new home in Montreal. Eva became a Canadian citizen in 1962.

In 1958, she started working for an architecture company called Arcop. There, she helped design eight projects that won the Massey Award. This award is given for excellent architecture.

Designing Big Projects

Eva Vecsei was a main designer for the construction of Place Bonaventure. This huge building was built between 1964 and 1967. Place Bonaventure was one of the most important projects in her career. News stories at the time talked about her being a woman in architecture. They also highlighted her new ways of building.

In 1971, Eva left Arcop. She joined another architect's company, Dimitri Dimakopoulos. She worked there until 1973. Then, she opened her own company in Montreal, called Eva H. Vecsei Architect.

Her first big project with her own company was Complexe La Cité. At that time, it was the largest mixed-use project in Canada. It had offices, a hotel, three apartment towers, and shops. It was built from 1973 to 1977.

La Cité's Green Rooftop

La Cité was the first residential building in Montreal with a green rooftop. This rooftop garden was for the people living there. It has a waterfall, ponds with ducks, bridges, and walkways. There are also pine, spruce, and birch trees. Their roots go six feet deep! The idea for a green roof at Place Bonaventure also came up around 1967.

International Work and Family Business

In 1976, another architect, Yasmeen Lari, asked Eva Vecsei to be a consultant. This was for the Karachi Trade and Finance Center in Pakistan. In 1983, the Chinese Government invited ten Canadian architects to China. Eva Vecsei was one of them. She was asked to talk about her La Cité project at the Beijing School of Architecture.

In 1984, Eva and her husband started their own company together, Vecsei Architects. For the next 20 years, they worked on many public buildings. These included schools, libraries, and homes for seniors. They also designed parts of the Beth Zion Synagogue. André Vecsei, her husband and business partner, passed away in 2006.

Awards and Recognition

Eva Vecsei has received many awards for her work. In 1988, she became a fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. In 1990, she was made an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects. She won the Canadian Architect Award of Excellence in 1983. In 2004, she received the Médaille du Mérite from the Order of Architects of Quebec. She was also the only Canadian woman included in the 1980 directory Contemporary Architects.