John B. Parkin Associates

John Burnett Parkin (1911-75) graduated from the University of Toronto in 1935. He then went to London and worked for the National Coal Board, the Office of Works, and the office of Howard & Souster. After two years he returned to Canada where he opened his own studio. In 1947, he teamed up with his brother, landscape architect Edmond Thornton Parkin (1912-94), and John Cresswell Parkin (1922-88), to whom they were not related, to form John B. Parkin Associates. For some time, the company was the largest in Canada and built a great number of objects of modern architecture until 1968.

John B. Parkin moved to Los Angeles in 1969, where he founded the company “Architects, Engineers & Planners”. After his death in 1975, his son of the same name continued the firm. John C. Parkin remained in Canada and continued the business under different names. Parkin Architects Limited is still Canada’s leading architectural firm in the healthcare industry. Edmond Parkin took early retirement in 1964.

It is unclear which project was submitted as their Olympic entry. During this period John B. Parkin Associates were commissioned to build several schools in the Greater Toronto Area.