[2] Helga Plumb studied architecture at the Technische Hochschule in Austria for one year before moving to Toronto, Canada.
Female architects such as Plumb have openly discussed the alienation that occurred studying as a woman in the Ontario classroom during the 1960s and 70s.
[7] While developing her skills and working her way up to larger projects, Plumb also began being involved in the academic side of her field.
This building took over ten years of planning to create; this was due to a number of bureaucratic circumstances that caused many problems for the architects and builders.
[8] Plumb once stated, “I’m not sure I would get jobs if clients didn’t know I had a male back-up.” It was not uncommon for people in Ontario to believe women needed a male-presence to make an impact in architecture.
[13] Female architects based out of Ontario commonly noted that they felt intimidated by the extremely male-dominated field.
On the other hand, many female architects based out of Quebec said they did not and would often get offended by any suggestion that they needed to rely on their male co-workers to make it in the industry.
[16] The Oakland Condominium is a large housing complex built in 1981, two years after becoming partners with Macy Du Bois.
This building located on 315 Avenue Road and 20-40 Oakland's Ave Summer Hill, Toronto is made up of six floors and 65 different apartments.
[18] The restaurant's space is divided so that people can enjoy a casual dinner downstairs or fine dining upstairs.
Reviews of this restaurant continue to praise Plumb's design, stating it creates the perfect atmosphere for relaxing.
[18] Another famous project from the Du Bois Plumb Partnership is the Tom Longboat Elementary School erected in 1978.
[16] This school is located at 37 Crow Trail in Scarborough Malvern and is named after the long-distance runner and Onondaga Aboriginal, Tom Longboat.
To lock a kid up inside is unbelievable.” [21] A specific moment that altered the way Plumb saw the classroom was when a butterfly fluttered through her window while teaching one day.
After her attempt to redirect her students’ attention failed, she gave up and spent the rest of her class talking about and watching the butterfly.