Department of Public Works

George Kodak began work as an architect for the Federal Department of Public Works, Construction Branch in Ottawa, in 1956. In this capacity, working with other architects and at times presenting his own proposals, he worked on federal construction projects across Canada such as: The Area Control Centre in Gander, Newfoundland, a Health Clinic in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Nursing Station for the North West Territories, the Minimum Security Work Force Accommodation Building in Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec, a Ground Floor Design for the Norlite Building (National Press Office) on Wellington Street, Ottawa, RCMP Accommodation Quarters, the Agriculture Research Laboratory and Administrative Building in Swift Current, Alberta as well as numerous projects for Ottawa’s Parliament Buildings. The latter included his design proposals for the railings of the observation balcony in the Peace Tower and the bronze stair case railing in the Memorial Chamber, Centre Block.

G. Kodak’s architectural work for the Department of Public Works gained positive distinction in 1962 when he won a promotion for solving a long-standing design problem of the Vehicle Decontamination Facility at Port aux Basque, Newfoundland, as required by the Department of Agriculture to control for infected potatoes in an inspection and wash facility.

A team of six architects had struggled with the problem of fitting a large building, large enough to accommodate transport trucks, onto a small constricted lot. The problem lot was circumscribed by the Cabot Strait and a high cliff. After months of endeavour by the team, G. Kodak resolved the problem by designing an asymmetric building which fit the site.

In 1963, he also won a  Design Award and a Mention Award for his design of a Standard Post Office. Of his design the judges had this to say:

“The design is clean-cut and by imaginative use of the site has produced a building which inherently would be more impressive than its size would normally present.  The plan is flexible … and would be adaptable to a number of site conditions. This design, in the opinion of the judges, came closest to meeting the program requirements in an imaginative way.”