Wisnicki, Catherine Chard, 1917-

Canadian architect who designed some of the earliest examples of modernist architecture in Canada. Catherine Chard graduated from McGill University in Montréal, Québec with a B.A. in history in 1939. That year she began studies at McGill's school of architecture, and graduated with a B. Arch. in 1943 as the first woman to do so. Between 1941-1946, Chard worked in numerous architectural offices - for the National Research Council in Ottawa, the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) in Montréal, with architect A.J.C. Paine, with architects Lawson & Betts, and for the Canadian Wooden Aircraft Company in Toronto, Ontario. In 1944 she joined the Ontario Association of Architects. Chard moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1946, registered with the Architects Institute of British Columbia, and became a senior designer for the firm of Sharp, Thompson, Berwick and Pratt from 1946-1947. She continued to work intermittently for the office after forming a brief partnership in 1947 with architect John Porter (1915-1993), and marrying engineer Paul Wisnicki. In 1955, Chard Wisnicki returned to Montréal to work for Archibald & Illsley for 10 years, and then she returned to Vancouver to accept a position in the School of Architecture at the University of British Columbia. Chard Wisnicki retired from teaching in 1985.