Page 56 - 06_July-Aug-2025

This emphasis on nature is a defining detail of
Wallbridge and Imrie homes. In addition to modern
finishes, like kerfed windows, the duo also designed
houses that favoured backyard views. Looking out
the window into Jacknisky and Robertson’s backyard,
you feel as if you are in a forest retreat rather than a
city neighbourhood.
When it came time to renovate, the couple added
new flooring and other changes consistent with the
home’s character. The house was built to feel open
and free; they didn’t want to change that. They
removed one wall between the kitchen and the
living room, and they stripped out some carpet on
the upper level. They remodelled built-in cabinetry
with bamboo that complemented the mid-century
design. Decades later, the architecture has also been
complemented by the couple’s eclectic collection of
paintings, prints, carvings and ceramics.
“You want to surround yourself with beautiful
things,” Robertson told me.
Some of the art comes from people Jacknisky, a
nationally renowned photographer, has met during
his career (including a sketch Alex Janvier made of
Jacknisky’s camera during a portrait sitting), but
Robertson gets credit for sourcing most of the pieces.
“I never go out looking for something in particular,
but the good things seem to find me,” she said.
The same could be said of their home. ED.
56 EDify. JULY•AUGUST.25
THE REAL
STORY
BEHIND THE
ARCHITECTS
In the mid-twentieth century, Edmonton-
based architects Jean Wallbridge and
Mary Imrie became trailblazers in a field
dominated by men. The pair studied
architecture separately, becoming the
third (Wallbridge) and fifth (Imrie) women
to register with the Alberta Association of
Architects. When they opened their own
firm in 1950, they were the first all-female
architectural partnership in Canada.
Like many female architects of their
era, much of the work they completed
was domestic (larger, more lucrative
projects typically went to male-run firms).
Imrie and Wallbridge excelled at working
with residential clients, both because they
took pleasure in their work and because
they listened to their clients, building
homes that suited their needs.
Their projects were often defined by
signature details — clean lines, open
spaces and elegant and unassuming
finishes. The pair also created homes
that prioritized the rear of the house,
emphasizing natural spaces rather than
street views.
In their time, their legacy was critically
overlooked, but Quiet Modernism, a new
book by Sarah Bonnemaison, an architec-
ture and planning professor at Dalhousie
University, hopes to change that.
According to Bonnemaison’s research,
part of their story was kept hidden during
their lifetimes out of necessity. In addition
to their professional partnership, Wall-
bridge and Imrie were romantic partners
— a fact they kept secret from many in
their lives. The pair worked at a time when
queer sexuality was illegal; they had to be
careful with whom they were open.
As architects, Wallbridge and Imrie
designed for ease of movement. They had
successful careers and travelled frequently,
and one can’t help but wonder if open-
ness was of interest in part because it was
something they were denied in their per-
sonal lives — if the necessity of secrecy
led them to create freedom and openness
in each home they built.
Architects Jean
Wallbridge and
Mary Imrie