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Phyllis Barbara Lambert (née Bronfman; born January 24, 1927) is a Canadians architect, philanthropist, and member of the Bronfman family.
On 17 May 1949, in Montreal, she married Jean Lambert, a French-German"Lambert & Co.: 'Some Mistakes'—Head of Investment House Looks Back on Losses", The New York Times, 1 April 1967, pages 31 and 44 economic consultant and the only son of Adolphe Lambert of Elmhurst, Queens, New York."Phyllis Bronfman Wed in Montreal", The New York Times, 18 May 1949, page L-31 Canadian Jewish Review, 16 September 1949, page 18 Jean Lambert later became a banker, founding Lambert & Company, an investment bank in New York City; he was not Baron Jean Lambert of the Belgian banking family.Jean Lambert married, in 1963, as his second wife, Jacqueline Reille, the former wife of Christian, Count de Fels, per "Jean Lambert, Investor, Marries Countess Reille", The New York Times, 25 November 1963, page L-22 The couple divorced in 1954. After the divorce she decided to remain in Paris, living and working alone in a studio on her art and sculpting. Citizen Lambert: Joan of Architecture, directed by American documentary filmmaker Teri Wehn-Damisch, 2007
In 1951 Lambert's father Samuel Bronfman established Cemp Investments, a holding company for his four children, in which Phyllis was given a 22% ownership stake. It controlled the family's distilling empire, The Seagram Company Ltd., which over time controlled billions of dollars in liquor, real estate, oil and gas, and chemical companies.Nicolas Faith, The Bronfmans: The Rise and Fall of the House of Seagram. St. Martin's Griffin, 2007. . Retrieved 2015-04-22
Lambert later became the consultant to the Seagram Building, entrusted with its maintenance including the supervision and the curation of all exhibitions and collections, until 2000.
After she obtained her master's degree in 1963, her family commissioned her to design an arts centre in Montreal to be known as the Saidye Bronfman Centre, in honor of her mother. Lambert designed a ‘Miesian Structure’. After the demolition of the Van Horne Mansion on Sherbrooke Street in 1973, 23 citizen groups formed Sauvons Montréal. Lambert became one of the advocates in the efforts to revitalize the struggling Shaughnessy Village district.
In 1975, she founded the heritage preservation group Heritage Montreal. (She served as its first president until 1983.) Héritage Montréal raised funds so that conservation groups could take action. Their tools to stop demolition included marching in the streets, publishing ads and booklets and working with residents. They developed Canada's largest non-profit cooperative housing renovation, Milton-Parc.
Lambert also saved Shaughnessy House from demolition by buying it. In 1989 the 19th century mansion became part of the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA).
She considered an investment in renovating low-to medium-income neighbourhoods as important as the conservation of monuments or building anew. Since 1997 she held the Fonds d’investissement Montréal (FIM). It achieved in bringing private sector investment to communitarian housing beyond the limits of government programs.
In 1979, she founded the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), an influential museum and research centre in Montreal's Shaughnessy Village neighbourhood, and donated 750,000 shares of Seagram to help fund the Centre. It houses extensive collections of architectural drawings, books, photographs, and archival materials. The guiding belief of the CCA is that "architecture is a public concern," and its collection and activities "are driven by a curiosity about how architecture shapes—and might reshape—contemporary life."
She served on the board of directors of Cemp's subsidiary, Cadillac Fairview for which she later picketed the offices of project developer. Again she suggested working with Mies and supported what was to be known as the Toronto-Dominion Centre."A Personal Stamp on the Skyline, Mark Lamster, New York Times, April 3, 2013
Her work also includes serving as developer on the restoration of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles by architect Gene Summers (architect).
In 1985 she was made a Member of the Order of Canada, promoted to Officer in 1990, and promoted to Companion in 2001. In 1985, she was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec and was promoted to Grand Officer in 2005.
Lambert was awarded the Vincent Scully Prize by the National Building Museum in 2006. Executive director Chase Rynd stated, "The Museum is honored to present its 2006 Scully Prize to Phyllis Lambert for a lifetime of outstanding achievements in the design of the built environment. From the Seagram Building to the CCA, to her work as a preservationist and educator, Phyllis Lambert has deeply enhanced the world we build for ourselves."
In 2007, Citizen Lambert: Joan of architecture, a documentary film about Lambert was directed by Teri Wehn-Damisch.
Lambert was the recipient of the Golden Lion at the 14th Venice Architecture Biennale. "Architect Phyllis Lambert awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 14th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale earlier today", http://www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 2017-09-12 In 2016, she was awarded the Wolf Prize in Arts.
Alongside Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, Cornelia Oberlander and Denise Scott Brown, she is one of four prominent female architects profiled in the 2018 documentary film City Dreamers.
In 2023, Phyllis Lambert was awarded the Ada Louise Huxtable prize for her contribution to the wider architectural industry.
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