At its recent annual conference in Niagara Falls, the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) focused on Canada’s housing challenges.
Approximately 700 architects, urban planners and construction professionals participated in a series of seminars and workshops as part of the Housing: Pushing the Envelope event.
But the association also took the time to recognize some of its members’ achievements. Two of the 10 recipients of the OAA’s 2024 Design Excellence Awards, announced earlier this spring, received additional accolades.
DIALOG Ontario Inc. in collaboration with Smoke Architecture Inc. received the People’s Choice Award for the Centennial College A-Building Expansion which integrates Indigenous teachings with sustainability.
The People’s Choice Award is a special category that allows the public to choose its favourite project of the design award winners through an online poll on the OAA website. There were 1,196 total votes cast.
MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, Ltd. (MJMA) was the second recipient and it had the distinction of receiving two awards.
They included the Michael V. and Wanda Plachta Award for the Neil Campbell Rowing Centre and the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Design Excellence in Architecture for the Churchill Meadows Community Centre and Sports Park.
The first award is for projects under $8 million, while the Lieutenant Governor’s Award recognizes projects completed in Ontario within the preceding six years.
Another conference highlight was naming Toronto-based Lanescape Architecture + Construction as the Best Emerging Practice. This is a biennial award that recognizes young firms that have been in practice for six years or less and “demonstrate a clear vision, well-articulated goals and proven effective strategies that provide a competitive advantage.”
“It’s very heartwarming to receive this award,” says Lanescape principal Craig Rice, who founded the practice in 2018 with partners Alex Sharpe and Andrew Sorbara.
Specializing in the design and construction of laneway and garden suites in Toronto, the practice actually began as advocacy group who lobbied the City of Toronto to implement a laneway housing bylaw, says Rice.
As for the conference itself, OAA president Settimo Vilardi deemed it a success.
“There were lots of great educational sessions, including a spirited plenary panel discussion to examine the issue of housing affordability and the growing inequity between housing costs and incomes. I think some of the insights and discussions from this conference will help shape the future of architecture in our province for years to come.”
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