Fonds PP - Rudolf Paul Friesen fonds

Rudolph Paul Friesen was born in 1942 in Winnipeg, MB, to Heinrich and Justina Friesen. Rudy commenced a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Manitoba in 1960, graduating five years later. Early post-graduation work for Friesen came in 1966 with the prominent Winnipeg firm Smith Carter Searle & Associates, where he had worked during the summers as he completed his degree. This position was followed, in 1966, by a stint traveling in Europe and a role at the firm of Ellsässer & Keller in Stuttgart, Germany. Upon his return to Manitoba, Friesen worked for two years as a Project Architect in the offices of Moody Moore & Partners. He registered with the Manitoba Association of Architects in 1969. This was followed by six years working with the firm Libling Michener & Associates, where he became a principal and was deeply involved in the enormous redevelopment project known as Lakeview Square. In 1975 Friesen started his own firm, in his basement. Early success came with several school projects in south-western Manitoba. Later work during this period came with several church projects built across Canada. Over time the firm grew and, with the addition of partner Brian Tokar, and later other new partners, the group adopted the name Friesen Tokar Reynolds Rhoda Neufeld Architectural Partnership in 1986. This practice now operates under the name ft3, with offices in Winnipeg and Calgary. With the firm Friesen has designed churches, schools, health care facilities, seniors’ housing and museum projects.
In the early 1960 he married Irene Rempel and they had three children together.
Rudy Friesen’s parents immigrated to Canada from Russia in 1926, which gave Rudy a profound interest in architectural history, particularly that of the Mennonite community in Russia. Starting in 1978, he has frequently visited eastern Ukraine/Southern Russia to do research on former Mennonite places and buildings to help fellow travelers find their roots, and guide restoration and building projects. Rudy has written more than 90 articles on this subject for Der Bote. Friesen, with Sergei Shmakin, was also the author of the 1996 book "Into the Past: Buildings of the Mennonite Commonwealth." After the archives in Russia/Ukraine became accessible to the public, Rudy used the new information to write a second book along with his second wife Edith Elisabeth Friesen (nee Friesen) called "Building on the Past: Mennonite Architecture, Landscape and Settlements in Russia/Ukraine." In 1994 he led a tour to Russia, Ukraine, and Poland for Assiniboine Travel. Starting in 1995 (the first year of the cruise), Rudy was a regular resource leader on the Mennonite Heritage Cruise, which was a chartered annual cruise that allowed people, especially those with genealogical connections to Russia/Ukraine, to explore and learn more about the lives of Mennonites in Russia/Ukraine. Rudy went on each of these annual cruises where he was able to conduct his own research as well as to be a tour guide for other travelers. From 1995 to 2018 there were 17 cruises with two in 1997.
Rudy Friesen served on the Board of the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach, Manitoba. In 1986 he served as President of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and is a past president of the Manitoba Association of Architects. Rudy Friesen is an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.