Spring On The Prairie: Kiyoshi Izumi And The Work Of Izumi Arnott And Sugiyama

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Kiyoshi Izumi, “Regina Public Library Central Building,” 1962

(courtesy of the Gallery)

Spring on the Prairie: Kiyoshi Izumi and the work of Izumi Arnott and Sugiyama celebrates the understated modernism of their buildings, highlighting the blend of durable materials and human-centric designs. The exhibition also features a selection of artwork from the MacKenzie’s Permanent Collection by significant Saskatchewan modernist artists—a selection that offers historical context and enriches the dialogue around Izumi’s architectural legacy. 

Kiyoshi Izumi is the earliest known Canadian architect of Japanese descent. His design firm Izumi Arnott and Sugiyama was responsible for many important civic buildings in Saskatchewan during the 15 years of its existence from 1954 to 1969. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia to Japanese immigrant parents, Izumi’s personal journey from Vancouver to Regina following the introduction of Canada’s War Measures Act in 1942 is remarkable. He avoided the internment camps of British Columbia and settled in Regina with the aid of its small Japanese Canadian community. He went on to become one of the brightest graduates from the School of Architecture at the University of Manitoba in 1948, a testament to his perseverance.

Taking advantage of postwar economic expansion, Izumi bolstered the development of modernist and civic architecture in Saskatchewan. He excelled as an architect, establishing a reputation based on talent and vision despite lingering racism following the war. In 1954, Kiyoshi partnered with his former classmate Gordon Arnott and structural engineer James Sugiyama to open the design firm Izumi Arnott and Sugiyama. With Izumi’s design sensitivities, Arnott’s business skills, and Sugiyama’s in-house structural expertise, it was a team that flourished! 

In Regina, the firm was responsible for a cultural hat trick: the expanded Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, the Regina Public Library Central Branch, and the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts (now Conexus Arts Centre.) At the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, the firm created the second master plan that guided the postwar expansion of the campus, including Marquis Hall, the W. P. Thompson Biology Building, and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. 

At the height of his practice, Izumi worked with British psychiatrist and psychedelic researcher Humphry Osmond and Canadian biochemist and psychiatrist Abram Hoffer to develop a new design for psychiatric hospitals in Saskatchewan, the first of which was constructed in Yorkton. In order to create a plan that would be sympathetic to patients, Izumi experimented with psychedelics to fully understand the effects of his design. His unconventional research method has attracted the attention of critics and scholars both then and now.