June 27, 2008

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada

New RAIC president Paule Boutin preserves the past, plans for the future

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

Montreal architect Paule Boutin, the incoming president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), set her sights on a career in the profession when she was 14 years old.

“I was in Paris with my parents,” she recalled. “I realized when we were walking around admiring the architecture that this (designing buildings) was what I wanted to do. I made that decision right then and there.”

Boutin never looked back.

Since graduating from Laval University, the Quebec City-born Boutin has spent her entire career working as an architect in private practice in Montreal. In 1986, she co-founded the firm Boutin Boisse.

Four years later, after her partner retired, she set up Paule Boutin architecte. A sole proprietor, Boutin specializes in church restoration projects. In 1986, she won an Orange Prize from Heritage Montreal for her work in this field.

“This (niche market) likely is a uniquely Quebec situation,” she said.

“There are a humungous number of churches that were built in the 19th century. Little upkeep has been done since church revenues started to decline in the 1960s.”

A number of these buildings now require “serious” restoration work, Boutin said.

The Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications is making grants available through a foundation, funding 70 per cent of the costs.

Boutin, who shares office space with another architectural firm, said that while being a sole proprietor has its share of challenges, “it is less of a headache running a small firm than a large one.

“For one thing, you don’t have to worry constantly about having enough work on hand so that you don’t have to lay off staff,” she said. “When I look at my colleagues who are partners in larger firms, I think their stress levels are much higher than mine.”

When the need arises, Boutin retains architectural technologists or young architects to produce computer-aided design (CAD) drawings.

In addition to church restoration projects, she also undertakes smaller projects in other sectors including institutional, industrial and residential.

One of her current clients is the Department of National Defence.

A member of the Quebec Order of Architects since 1984, Boutin has been active in professional circles at both the provincial and national levels.

She has served several terms on the order’s board, most recently as vice-president and treasurer.

Boutin has also headed the organization’s continuing education committee. In 1999, she represented the order on a joint task force charged with defining a national framework for continuing education for Canadian architects.

She was elected a regional director of RAIC in 2003. Currently first vice-president, Boutin assumes office today during the institute’s joint conference in Fredericton with the Architects’ Association of New Brunswick.

“I became involved in the institute because I realized it was doing important advocacy work on behalf of Canadian architects,” Boutin said.

“It was also providing good practice support services. I thought it was time I supported the organization.”

She succeeds Vancouver architect Kiyoshi Matsuzaki as head of RAIC, which represents almost 3,700 architects across Canada.

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