Gustavo Uriel da Roza II, OC (24 February 1933 – 24 April 2022) was a Canadian architect best known for his work on the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
Upon graduation, Da Roza spent two years working on a number of government and institutional projects – first for R. Gordon Brown and later in a partnership with J.R. Firth.
This firm was established by former Bauhaus head Walter Gropius; there, amongst other projects, Da Roza he worked on designs for the Philips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.
Responding to the gallery concept prepared by Dean John A. Russell in 1966, the winning design had to be "good architecture–not merely well built and adequately equipped, not merely functionally planned, not merely aesthetically attractive both within and without," but a safe, public structure in harmony with its environment.
The building is also accommodates a rooftop sculpture garden (with facilities for outdoor performances), an auditorium, a library, gift shop and studio and lecture space.
With its imposing shape, windowless mass and landmark location, the WAG has attracted a wide range of reaction and comment; generally it has been hailed as bold and imaginative.
Local journalist Val Werier expressed the awe and appreciation of many Winnipeggers and hoped that the WAG could use the new gallery to make great art accessible to the public, as the architect himself wished.
He has argued that other northern nations have adapted better to the extremes of climate, a dearth of which – he suggests – is partly to blame for a lack of a distinctive Canadian style.
The jury’s comments complemented the architect on a successful integration to an existing neighborhood and for breaking down the scale of the project by using a variety of materials and forms.
In 1977, Da Roza, again in another collaboration with Number TEN Architectural Group, was a finalist in the National Gallery Competition, coming second only to John C. Parkin’s entry.
Other notable projects of by Da Roza include the Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. Michael, Tyndall, Manitoba (1964) and the former Mountain Avenue Bank of Montreal, Winnipeg (1971).