Fred Hollingsworth

Fred Thornton Hollingsworth, born on January 8, 1917, in Golborne, Lancaster, England, was a Canadian architect who gained prominence in the late 1940s. His fame grew as he designed simple yet elegant post-and-beam homes in North Vancouver. These homes featured built-in cabinets, funky brick fireplaces, sunken living rooms, and clerestory windows to bounce light into the house. Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian houses and pursuing the idea of low-cost housing, Hollingsworth aimed to make modernism and creative living accessible to regular people, not just the wealthy.

Despite lacking an architectural degree, he apprenticed and entered the profession through a program, becoming a registered architect in 1959. Hollingsworth worked at Vancouver's top architectural firm, Sharp and Thompson, where he became close friends with architect Arthur Erickson. Together, they played a pivotal role in developing the West Coast school of architecture, importing ideas from the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright into the rugged Pacific Northwest.

Throughout his career, Hollingsworth designed numerous homes, particularly the Neoteric houses, for schoolteachers, electricians, and young professionals. His passion for bringing affordable modernism to everyday people left a lasting legacy. Hollingsworth's dedication to architecture was complemented by his earlier achievements as a national model airplane champion and a musician playing sax and singing in his jazz band, the Fred Hollingsworth Orchestra. He continued his architectural journey until his passing, leaving behind a profound impact on the architectural landscape of North Vancouver.