Kam Teo
Kam Teo is the branch manager at the Weyburn Public Library (WPL) in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. He became interested in the work of Kiyoshi Izumi when he discovered that the Regina, Saskatchewan-based architect designed the original 1964 Weyburn Public Library on which the present library is located.
Updated February 2016
Stories from This Author
Kiyoshi Izumi: Saskatchewan Nisei architect - Part 2
Feb. 2, 2016 • Kam Teo
Read Part 1 >> Post Second World War The reintegration of veterans to civilian life after the end of hostilities was a challenge for Canadian society in general and at universities in particular and the University of Manitoba was no exception. In 1947, university president Albert W. Trueman observed that returning veterans taxed the administrative capacity with student registration at the U of M reaching “the unprecedented figure of 6,919.” The presence of “such an army of students” imposed “severe …
Kiyoshi Izumi: Saskatchewan Nisei architect - Part 1
Feb. 1, 2016 • Kam Teo
Kiyoshi Izumi (1921–1996) was an impressively-educated Canadian architect who designed many iconic Saskatchewan buildings during the boom of the 1960s. His personal and professional journey, however, are just as historically important as his architectural contributions. The Japanese Canadian community in Saskatchewan of the 1940s was small, and it is clear that Izumi’s experiences as a Nisei who reached adulthood during the Second World War left an indelible impression. British Columbia Little is known about the early years of Kiyoshi Izumi. …
