Vivian Manasc has made an outstanding contribution to Alberta’s architecture. She is an advocate for sustainable, adaptive design and strives to preserve the fundamental connection between communities and buildings. Through her unique architectural approach and responsiveness to Indigenous Peoples, she has introduced a new creative diversity to Canadian architecture, according to edmontonka.com.
First Steps in Architecture
Vivian was born in 1956 in Bucharest, Romania. In 1962, her family immigrated to Canada via the Port of Montreal. Her father was an engineer, and her mother—who balanced a medical career with raising children—served as a major inspiration for Vivian.
In 1977, Manasc graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from McGill University. At that time, while Montréal had few architecture jobs following the 1976 Olympic Games, Alberta was experiencing an oil boom. So Vivian traveled west for temporary work, soon landing a construction job. After a year, she fell in love with Edmonton, a city brimming with opportunities for emerging architects. She also met Bill Dushenski, and they were married before long. After that, Vivian stayed in Edmonton, earning an MBA at the University of Alberta and starting her architectural career.
Career Development
Throughout the 1980s, Vivian worked on public buildings and schools in the Northwest Territories and Yukon. This gave her hands-on experience in cold-climate design with community collaboration. Understanding that everything is interconnected—people, the land, water, sky, and the choices we make—helped her shape buildings that truly serve communities. Her projects were fully carried out in partnership with local residents, an approach that empowered these communities to take on further projects themselves.
Seeking to create buildings that are safe for people and the planet alike, Vivian became a vocal proponent of green buildings. She developed a unique approach to collaborative “integrated design,” which is crucial for realizing sustainable structures. She co-founded the Alberta Sustainable Building Symposium, running for over 20 years now, and contributed to the Canada Green Building Council, thereby helping bring the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system to Canada in the 1990s.
Manasc transformed how architecture is seen in Alberta and across Canada, designing alongside communities. A prime example is Calgary’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). Although the proposed EOC would be built on the existing EOC site, residents opposed the plan for various reasons. In response, Vivian invited neighbors to mark on architectural plans with colored pens, indicating where they wanted green space and parking. The result was a LEED Gold structure built partly below ground, an important community asset. During Calgary’s 2013 flood, EOC neighbors brought baked goods for the hardworking emergency crews, who essentially lived in the facility for about six days. Internationally hailed as a model for high-load operations, the EOC in Calgary exemplifies how modern buildings can adapt to climate change.
Major Contributions to Architecture
Vivian also established the Manasc Isaac Architects firm, launching it in 1997 with Richard Isaac. The company grew quickly, gaining wide acclaim across Canada. It offers employees free transit passes as part of its eco-friendly travel policy, along with a shared company car for meetings. Staff can use a music room, a yoga space, an in-house chef, and a gardener.
In the early 2000s, as president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Vivian advocated making architecture education more widely accessible. Thanks to this effort, anyone—regardless of geography or circumstance—could pursue an architecture background. Soon, Athabasca University harnessed distance-learning technology to build an accessible online architecture program, meeting strong demand among Canadians. As a result of this pioneering work, Vivian and her colleagues were named to the Order of Athabasca University in 2012.
Many organizations and publications have recognized Vivian Manasc as a visionary architect and leader, with her projects consistently winning awards for design excellence and innovation. Celebrated for her forward-thinking leadership, she was named one of Alberta Construction’s top “movers and shakers,” as well as being included among the “100 Top Edmonton Women in Business” by Wanderer Online. The unwavering passion of Vivian Manasc for art, architecture, the environment, and the well-being of communities defines both her professional and personal life.