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209:, which focused primarily on designing lower-cost small houses. The designs developed by Gitterman and other architects at Kalman's firm tended to have more consistency in size and appearance than many of the homes that were being built in Montreal into the 1930s: The firm almost always constructed wooden-framed houses that were 1,000 to 1,500 sq. ft. in size, being either one-and-a-half or two stories. During his time at Kalman's firm, Gitterman also designed some larger and more expensive homes costing at times as much as $ 10,000 per house (around three times the cost of an average home during the Depression).
412:. In this role, Gitterman's responsibilities shifted from overseeing planning to researching and developing for new housing technologies. Each year, beginning in the mid-1950s, a budget of around $ 10 million per year was set aside for housing research, allowing CMHC research team the luxury to develop a wide variety of prototypes with the goal of improving housing quality and construction methods while reducing long-term costs. Some research projects overseen by Gitterman at the time include an in-house
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377:, a British urban planner based at McGill, Gitterman oversaw the planning of four 500-unit neighbourhoods. In total, 2,000 units were constructed in Oromocto for military families, along with five elementary schools and two junior high schools, additional units for non-military families, and a town centre containing stores and recreational facilities.
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their designs included in a catalogue, receiving prize money and royalties for each copy of the design sold. Controversially, on a handful of occasions, from the 1930s into the 1960s, Gitterman also submitted his personal house designs to the competition and won, despite "having a definite say in what plans should be published in the CMHC cataloguesâ.
293:, the director of the NHA, approached Gitterman about the possibility of creating a community planning department within the NHA that could provide a âsound scientific, statistical baseâ for both wartime military, civilian and war worker housing and the expected need for low- and moderate-income post-war private developments. In the same year, the
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270:, a federal crown corporation, took over many of the responsibilities from the National Housing Administration and began to rapidly develop subdivisions for war workers and their families near military sites across Canada. Over a five-year period, WHL constructed almost 26,000 rental units to house war workers, along with
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was published, providing for the first time, formal rules for the standardization and safety of construction. In 1943, the NHA established a Town
Planning Division and appointed Gitterman as the department head. In this role, Gitterman's focus shifted from creating architectural plans for individual
244:
that provided loans for owner-occupied house construction across Canada. At the NHA, Gitterman began overseeing a program known as the âHome
Conversion Planâ, through which homeowners would be given grants to upgrade the quality of their houses, as an attempt from the federal government to develop
314:
Immediately following the end of the Second World War, the
Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation (today called the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) was developed out of the National Housing Administration and other federal crown housing corporations, including Wartime Housing Ltd., to
248:
In addition to his primary responsibilities at the NHA, Gitterman also became a judge for the organization's annual small house design competition, which ran for four decades. Hundreds of
Canadian architects and architectural students submitted designs to NHA's competition and winners would have
401:. This includes his use 'housing groups' within neighourhoods, developed through cul-de-sacs and walking paths between and at the rear of homes, as well as public recreational spaces, schools, and churches to spur the development of neighbourhood community, culture, and safety.
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After 5 years on the CMHC research advisory group, in 1959, Gitterman left the CMHC to open a private architecture and planning firm in Ottawa. His practice oversaw the construction of a number of developments, including MacDonald Manor, a low-income
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In 1965, Gitterman returned to his advisory role at the CMHC, where he remained until experiencing a heart attack in 1974 and entered retirement. In the 1970s, Gitterman continued to consult on contracts for the
Ministry of State for Urban Affairs,
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Hall of Fame and he received the CMHC Award for
Outstanding Contribution to the Housing Industry. Gitterman passed away on January 3, 1998 at the age of 87. Following his passing, Rockliffe Park planted a tree in his memory in the town square.
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For two decades, beginning in 1976, Gitterman served as a volunteer planner and honorary municipal building inspector for
Rickliffe Park, alongside his former CMHC colleague Humphrey Carver. During his retirement, Gitterman was inducted into the
176:. Gitterman took another year of high school, completed additional examinations, and gained admission to the university in 1930. Gitterman's studies at McGill were supported by an interest-free loan provided to low-income Jewish students by
31:
233:. Unlike traditional houses, these âpre-fabsâ, used by the military, consisted of standardized components that could fit together like a puzzle, be constructed in 36 hours, and easily be dismantled and reassembled elsewhere if need be.
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in suburban subdivision planning. Gitterman recognized planning as essential to ensuring safe and organized communities, where residents could "live and make a living" in comfort. Gitterman's larger subdivision plans, including for the
216:
A design for a small semi-prefabricated house for the
Department of National Defense. Although the authoring architect of this particular design is unknown, Gitterman created many similar small house designs on behalf of the DND.
153:. His father, Abraham, who had become a successful customer peddler, died in 1924 when Samuel was only 13 years old. His mother, Pearl, lost much of what she had earned from investing in local apartments during the
315:
provide a single federal entity for providing loans and overseeing publicly-funded development. In 1946, Gitterman was transferred to the CMHC and appointed as the
Corporation's first Chief Architect and Planner.
265:
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.
649:
Teodorescu, Ioana. 2012. âBuilding Small Houses In Postwar Canada: Architects, Homeowners And Bureaucratic Ideals, 1947-1974â. Ph.D. Dissertation, School of Architecture, McGill University, Montreal.
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In addition to his primary responsibility overseeing development, as Chief Architect and Planner, Gitterman wrote and lectured on planning principles for the CMHC, such as the importance of the
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A newsletter advertisement for a Wartime Housing Limited-built and CMHC-administered development in Ajax, Ontario. The later-stages of planning for Ajax were overseen by Samuel Gitterman.
330:
Despite working for the new organization, Gitterman's role at the CMHC remained similar to his previous work, and he continued to oversee the development of military housing for the
408:
appointment to President of the CMHC, Gitterman was chosen as the Advisor on Housing Construction (technology advisor) for the newly created Advisory Research Group, headed by
493:
neighbourhood northeast of Ottawa's downtown, in a house hand built by Gitterman. In the 1960s, Gitterman designed another house for his family, this time in the nearby
180:. 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
956:
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Oberlander, H. Peter, and Arthur L. Fallick. 1992 June. "Housing a Nation: The Evolution of Canadian Housing Policy." Government of Canada. ISBN 0-88865-391-3.
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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
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to make wastewater potable; a prototype house built with a wooden foundation; a new type of toilet; and a pre-assembled plastic bathroom.
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172:. Despite his excellent high school grades, Gitterman initially did not qualify for enrollment at McGill due to the university's strict
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Journal of the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada / Le Journal de la Société pour l'étude de l'architecture au Canada
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In the summer of 1935, immediately after graduating from university, Gitterman was hired by a Montreal architecture firm led by
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After two years at the DND, Gitterman transferred to the position of Assistant Architect at the Land Planning Division of the
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110:(1911â1998) was a Canadian architect and urban planner, who served as the first Chief Architect and Planner of the
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across Canada. Gitterman also played a central role in early Canadian housing research and the development of
326:. This subdivision was one of Gitterman's first urban plans, undertaken while at the NHA in the early 1940s.
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neighbourhood, with a student population dominated by Jewish first- and second-generation immigrants.
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Wade, Jill. 1986. âWartime Housing Limited, 1941 - 1947: Canadian Housing Policy at the Crossroads.â
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489:. The couple married in the mid 1940s and had two sons, Allan and Lawrence. The family lived in the
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houses to planning entire subdivisions, most notably, La Cité-jardin du Tricentenaire in Montreal's
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In the mid-1950s, the CMHC was tasked by the Department of National Defense to design the
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Holmen, Linden. 1994. âInterview with Samuel Gitterman.â Phase 2 Report on the Project:
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Holmen, Linden. 1994. âInterview with Samuel Gitterman.â Phase 2 Report on the Project:
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Richert, Evan D. and Mark B. Lapping. 1998. âEbenezer Howard and the Garden City.â
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McInness, Graham. 1943. âWartime Housing.â Film. The National Film Board of Canada.
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as a residential area for married soldiers stationed at the newly constructed
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After completing high school in 1928, Gitterman applied for a position at
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A line of small single-family houses in the Crawford Park Extension, in
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Auger, Antonie. 1992. âLa CitĂ©-Jardin Du Tricentenaire.â Pp. 47â49 in
114:. Over his career, Gitterman was responsible for designing low-income
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Keeping to the Marketplace: The Evolution of Canadian Housing Policy
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688:, edited by J. M. Wolfe. Montreal: McGill School of Urban Planning.
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following major emergencies and natural disasters on behalf of the
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Gitterman, Samuel. 1947. âObjectives of Community Planning.â
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Inquiry@Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings
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Brown, David. 1992. âCrawford Park in Verdun.â Pp. 50-54. in
624:. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press.
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Evolution of Post World War II Canadian Housing Technology
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Evolution of Post World War II Canadian Housing Technology
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in 1911 to Pearl (née Zolotareva) and Abraham Gitterman,
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nationwide standardization and safety in construction.
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to it so that it can be listed with similar articles.
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Work at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
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561:. Clayton Research Associates Ltd.
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601:. January 12, 2022.
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