Winnipeg Free Press

How would you describe the architecture of the Manitoba Theatre Centre? Heavy, cold, grey and hulking? Actually, the building on Market Avenue isn't as austere today as when it opened in 1970, because it has acquired an electronic marquee. Does the flashy billboard compromise the power and impact of the deliberately stark "Brutalist" design? It's something I never would have thought about, until I began reading and writing about architecture. MTC is not the only Winnipeg landmark made of imposing -- some would say bunker-like -- concrete. Think of the Public Safety Building, the Manitoba Teachers Society building and the Pan Am Pool. What got me musing about such structures this week was the video/DVD release of a revealing and moving documentary, My Architect. Nominated last year for the Academy Award for best documentary, it traces the quest of filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn to understand the father he barely knew, 25 years after his death.