John Di Castri

John Di Castri was born in Victoria and was one of the original architects of the West Coast Style, which included B.C. Binning, Arthur Erickson, and Doug Shadbolt in Vancouver and Peter Cotton, John Wade, and Alan Hodgons in Victoria. Born in Victoria, John Di Castri showed an interest in the Arts from an early age, becoming a talented architect, writer, musician and skillful painter. As a young man, Di Castri admired the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and went to study with the formers most eminent pupil, Bruce Goff, at the University of Oklahoma. Returning to Victoria and opening a practice in 1951, Di Castri became the architectural brains behind the modernist movement, displayed in some of Victoria's most well-trodden landmarks; including the addition to the Royal B.C. Museum, Centennial Square, the CNIB building, several local churches, and University of Victoria campus buildings. Committed to the fulfillment of man's need for a significant environment, Di Castri injected modernism, low profile, and organic design into Victoria's architectural landscape. Di Castri returned to Victoria in 1952 and started his own practice. He designed shops, churches, private homes, and public buildings. Besides architecture, he was an accomplished painter in the modernist tradition. He chaired the Community Planning Association of Canada from 1958-68 and the Canadian Housing Design Council from 1976-80. He designed many houses of distinction, including the award-winning Trend House for Gwendoline Cash in 1954 and Colin and Sylvia Graham's home in 1953, which is featured here in model form. His public works include the Canadian National Institute for the Blind building in Victoria (1951), and the Student Union Building (1963) and the Interfaith Chapel (1985) at the University of Victoria. The city granted heritage status to Di Castri's 1957 home in 2002.