Isadore (Issie) Coop

Isadore "Issie" Coop (1926–2003) was a Canadian architect and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, with a reputation for highly functional, cost-effective architecture. A student of the famed American-German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Coop brought the Miesian style to Winnipeg, and changed the face of Winnipeg architecture, according to one writer.

Coop was born in Winnipeg in 1926. His father died when Coop was 12 years old. As a result, his family lived in poverty for many years, behind a corner grocery store run by his mother in the north end of Winnipeg. Coop delivered bread on a bicycle to help make ends meet.

Coop received a non-secular Jewish education at the I. L. Peretz Folk School in Winnipeg. This, and the poverty of his childhood, influenced his values for his entire life. Coop was always caring for the needs of the disadvantaged in our society.

Coop also attended Isaac Newton School in Winnipeg, excelling in science and mathematics. It was also at Isaac Newton that Coop discovered his love of art and drawing. The combination of science and art would naturally draw him to architecture.

In 1947, Coop was awarded the Manitoba Association of Architects Scholarship and the Isbister Scholarship in Architecture. In 1948, Coop obtained his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Architecture. Upon graduating, Coop apprenticed with the architectural firm of Green, Blankstein, Russell (GBR). In 1951, he registered with the Manitoba Association of Architects.

From 1951-53, Coop attended the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), studying with the famed architectural Modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. He graduated with a Masters of Science in Architecture. The Miesian aphorisms "less is more" and "God is in the details" would influence Coop's work his entire career.

Coop returned to Winnipeg and continued his work at GBR for several years, where he was involved with such projects as the new Winnipeg General Post Office on Graham Avenue and the Manitoba Power Commission Building on Portage Avenue.

However, in 1956 he struck out to create his own architectural partnership with his colleague at GBR and schoolmate at IIT, Morley Blankstein. The firm Blankstein Coop was born.

In 1957, Blankstein Coop came second in an Alcan competition for a Toronto office building. In 1958, the firm competed against 90 other architects in a national competition for the new Winnipeg City Hall, for which they received an honourable mention.

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