 In 1965 he also donated 15 works by the Group of Seven which became the nucleus of the permanent collection.The modernist building, which opened on October 16, 1964, was designed by the Winnipeg architectural firm Blankstein, Coop, Gillmor and Hanna of Winnipeg (now numberTEN architectural group), led by partner-in-charge Al Hanna and design architect Doug Gillmor, who won the design contest.The Civic Conservatory was built as part of the same project, at the suggestion of the then mayor, S. L. Buckwold.