Canadian National Institute for the Blind Building (1951)

1609 Blanshard Street

Architects: Nichols and Di Castri

One of the first Victoria commissions by this California trained architect, the CNIB building demonstrates John Di Castri's interest in the modernism of Frank Lloyd Wright. The curvilinear forms united by the strong horizontality of the roof planes are intersected by window and brickwork courses. This commission introduced an architect to Victoria whose work remains distinctive for its West Coast expression: a rich mixture of materials and complex, eccentric forms.