Isadore Coop

As a result, his family lived in poverty for many years, behind a corner grocery store run by his mother in the north end of Winnipeg.

[3] From 1951 to 1953, Coop attended the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), studying with the famed architectural Modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

In 1962, the expanded firm won a national competition for the Mendel Art Gallery and Conservatory in Saskatoon (constructed in 1965),[7] a major creative cultural centre for that city.

[3] In 1977, Coop would again successfully collaborate with Da Roza on their submission to the National Gallery Competition, for which their entry was awarded second place, after John C. Parkin’s.

The enclosed mall, covering three city blocks, with large, naturally lighted indoor atriums and a sky walk system linking Portage Place to the Bay, One Canada Centre, and the Carlton Building, has altered Winnipeg's cityscape.

During his early years Coop worked as a part-time lecturer and design and thesis critic at the School of Architecture at the University of Manitoba.

It further reflected Coop's appreciation of the important role played by legislation in establishing standards to protect the public and ensure its safety.

[3][13] Coop served on the boards of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and was involved with the YMHA and the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews.

[3] Coop also provided pro bono architectural services for the replanning of four departments at the Manitoba Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, and to various charities, such as the St. Amant Centre for children with disabilities, run by the Grey Nuns of Winnipeg.

It is awarded each year to a student who shows promise of continued outstanding work in the Master of Architecture program and who has demonstrated financial need.