Przygoda, Zdzislaw, 1913-1996

• Przygoda, Dick

Dr. Zdzislaw Przygoda was an architect and structural engineer working mostly in Ontario with some work in Alberta and Saskatchewan

Dr. Zdzislaw Przygoda was born February 25, 1913 in Warsaw, Poland to Jewish parents. His father Wladyslaw, a doctor and army officer, and his mother Helena, a philanthropist and nurse, were underground members of the Polish Socialist Party. Zdzislaw graduated from the Technical University of Danzig, Germany (1935) in architecture and, prior to World War II, he worked on architectural and engineering projects under the German and Soviet occupation zone administrations in Poland, passing as a Christian in German-occupied Warsaw. Przygoda earned his doctorate from the Technical University of Munich (1947) in engineering, writing his thesis on prefabricated homes as a replacement for those destroyed by the war.

In 1942 Zdzislaw Przygoda was arrested for being a member of the Polish Underground and was incarcerated in Auschwitz and Dachau. He escaped to the American army lines in 1945 and later worked for the American and French occupation zone administrators in Germany, documenting war crimes, repatriating stolen Polish machinery and equipment, and designing sports arenas. In 1947, Zdzislaw Przygoda emigrated to Israel with a group of Jewish engineers. There he was City Engineer for Kfar-Saba and also worked in private practice in the city of Haifa.

Zdzislaw Przygoda arrived in Canada in 1953, working for several architectural firms before establishing his own engineering consulting firm in Toronto in 1954. He worked with several architectural firms on projects for new buildings, as well as for alterations and additions to existing ones. With the firm of Roy Orlando Architects, Przygoda worked on over 40 school and church buildings throughout southern Ontario. He also worked consistently with Venchiarutti and Venchiarutti Architects and Scott D'Wonnick Architect. In addition, Przygoda worked directly with clients, designing structures and equipment, including fallout shelters, carports, farm buildings and elevators. For several clients, including Maple Leaf Mills, Ltd., Toronto Elevators Ltd., the Ministry of Agriculture of Food, and the University of Guelph, he designed multiple projects for building sites at several locations. The most prestigious project with which he was associated was the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario.

From the 1950s onward, he was also a leading figure in the Polish-Canadian community and belonged to the Association of Polish Engineers, as well as the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. He was the winner of the Canadian Centennial Medal, the Professional Engineers of Ontario Citizenship Award in 1972 and the Sons of Martha Medal in 1977.

Zdzislaw Przygoda died in Toronto on November 30, 1996.

Added Apr/12.