[1] Over his career, Gitterman was responsible for designing low-income public housing, private single-family detached homes, and major suburban subdivisions across Canada.

[3] After four years at McGill, Gitterman graduated at the top of his class and won several scholarships and prizes, including the first Gold Medal awarded by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

[1] In the summer of 1935, immediately after graduating from university, Gitterman was hired by a Montreal architecture firm led by Maxwell Kalman, which focused primarily on designing lower-cost small houses.

[1][6] At the NHA, Gitterman began overseeing a program known as the “Home Conversion Plan”, through which homeowners would be given grants to upgrade the quality of their houses, as an attempt from the federal government to develop nationwide standardization and safety in construction.

[8] The economic boom of the Second World War, a need for new housing near military bases, and a desire amongst Canadians for single-family private homes brought a rapid growth in suburban subdivision development.

Over a five-year period, WHL constructed almost 26,000 rental units to house war workers, along with primary and secondary schools, fire stations, and community centres to support them and their families.

[13] In the mid-1950s, the CMHC was tasked by the Department of National Defense to design the New Town of Oromocto as a residential area for married soldiers stationed at the newly constructed CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick.

Some research projects overseen by Gitterman at the time include an in-house water-recycling machine to make wastewater potable; a prototype house built with a wooden foundation; a new type of toilet; and a pre-assembled plastic bathroom.

His practice oversaw the construction of a number of developments, including MacDonald Manor, a low-income seniors’ estate; the Montclair a mid-rise apartment building in downtown Ottawa; and the Glen Cairn subdivision near Kanata.

[1] Following his move to Ottawa in the late 1930s, Gitterman met his wife, Belle, who was working as a secretary for the Department of Finance in the East Block on Parliament Hill.

[3] For two decades, beginning in 1976, Gitterman served as a volunteer planner and honorary municipal building inspector for Rockliffe Park, alongside his former CMHC colleague Humphrey Carver.

During his retirement, Gitterman was inducted into the Canadian Home Builders' Association Hall of Fame and he received the CMHC Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Housing Industry.