Ontario architect Charles Simon (1936 – 2026) has passed away in Guelph on February 19, 2026, at the age of 89.

As a visionary in Canadian architecture and planning, and widely regarded as the “Grandfather of Green Architecture in Canada,” he pioneered environmentally conscious building design before sustainability became mainstream.

His work ranged from private residences to large housing communities and new towns, always guided by the principle that architecture must serve people, honour its landscape, and tread lightly on the earth.

 Born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1936, Charles and his Swiss German family escaped to England to flee the persecution of Jews in Hitler’s regime. He earned an architecture degree from the University of Manchester, and a master’s in urban planning from the University of Illinois. He moved to Canada in 1967, maintaining his practice until 2020.

Over six decades he worked simultaneously as an architect, planner, and landscape architect. In its early years, the practice’s sensibility ran against the grain of an era dominated by energy-hungry construction and sprawling suburban development. Simon began building a practice rooted in what he called “contextual design”—buildings that fit their natural and built surroundings rather than imposing upon them.