ALBARDA, Jan Horatius (1910-1993), a talented young Dutch architect who emigrated to Canada in 1951 and was active in the Toronto suburb of Weston from 1952 until c. 1966. In 1954 he formed a partnership with Eric W. Hounsom (1904-74), and they collaborated on several projects in the Toronto area before their business was dissolved in 1957. Albarda then continued to work under his own name until c. 1966. Born in The Hague on 7 June 1910, he was educated there and trained in the office of Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud (1890-1963), an outstanding figure in the modernist movement in Europe. While working there, he assisted Oud with preparing drawings and supervising construction of the Shell Oil Co. Headquarters building in The Hague (1938-42). After WWII, Albarda worked under his own name before emigrating to Canada. In Toronto he found a position in the office of Allward & Gouinlock, and later opened his own office in 1953. He was also an accomplished musician and an expert in the design and fabrication of harpsichord instruments. Albarda later died at Elora, Ont. in 1993 (biog. and port in Globe & Mail [Toronto], 24 March 2017, p. G4 and G10, illus.). .
ALBARDA & HOUNSOM
WESTON, ONT., Municipal Town Hall, Main Street, 1956-57; demol. (Times & Guide [Weston], 9 Aug. 1956, 1 & 8, descrip.; R.A.I.C. Journal, xxxvi, Feb. 1959, 57, illus.)
RICHMOND HILL, ONT., a new Parish Hall for St. John's Anglican Church, Yonge Street opposite Jefferson Side Road, 1957-58; still standing as of 2020 (The Liberal [Richmond Hill], 21 Nov. 1957, 9, illus. & descrip.)
J.H. ALBARDA
WESTON, ONT., Weston Lions Outdoor Swimming Pool & Change Rooms, Hickory Tree Road overlooking the Humber River, 1959; still standing as of 2020 (Times & Guide [Weston], 22 Jan. 1959, 1, descrip.)
ETOBICOKE, ONT., St. Andrew's Anglican Church, Markwin Drive at Wardlaw Crescent, Thistletown, 1960; demol. (Times & Guide [Weston], 21 July 1960, 2, illus. & descrip.)
ETOBICOKE, ONT., Royal York Medical Arts Building, Royal York Road at Summitcrest Drive, 1965-66; still standing as of 2020 (Globe & Mail [Toronto], 24 March 2017, G 4, illus.)
COMPETITIONS
TORONTO, ONT., Toronto City Hall, 1958. Albarda was one of over 500 architects from around the world who submitted a design in this international competition. His submission, labeled Entry No. 206, was not among the finalists, but a photograph of his architectural model is now held at the City of Toronto Archives. The winner was the Finnish architect Viljo Revell