Energy and intensity: OAA design excellence winners showcased

Performing arts centres in Sudbury and New York City, a number of community centres and a climate change research facility are among the 10 recipients of the Ontario Association of Architects’ 2024 Design Excellence Awards.

They will be celebrated at the OAA’s Housing: Pushing the Envelope conference, which will be held in Niagara Falls in May.

Scott Norsworthy – Churchill Meadows Community Centre and Sports Park in Mississauga, Ont. turned a 50-acre site into richly textured parkland, with a 74,000-square-foot community centre as its focus. The canopy that runs along the facades makes visible the building’s mass timber structure, which is an array of glulam columns that provide structural and curtainwall framing, states the OAA.

Held biennially, the award program is intended to showcase the work of Ontario architects. While the projects can be anywhere in the world, the architects have to be based in the province.

A panel of design experts selected the winning projects, first narrowing 100 submissions to 20 finalists using criteria such as creativity, context, sustainability, good design/good business and legacy.

Submissions also required the inclusion of energy use intensity. That requirement reflects the OAA’s commitment to pursuing climate stability in the public interest and ensuring that sustainable, resilient design is a critical component of any successful project, says its president, Settimo Vilardi.

Nic Lehoux – The Center for Computing & Data Sciences at Boston University is a new landmark for the campus that puts sustainability at the forefront. Imagined as a vertical campus, cantilevered volumes create ascending academic neighbourhoods.

“We are incredibly proud to announce the winners,” says Vilardi, noting the recipients exemplify the apex of creativity, sustainability, and community impact.

The 10 winners are:

Canadian Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation (St. Peter’s Bay, P.E.I.), by Baird Sampson Neuert Architects (now a part of WF Group Inc.), in association with SableARC Studio;
Centennial College A- Building Expansion (Toronto) by DIALOG Ontario Inc.;
Center for Computing & Data Sciences at Boston University (Boston, Massachusetts) by KPMB Architects;
Churchill Meadows Community Centre and Sports Park (Mississauga) by MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, Ltd. (MJMA);
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center (New York City, New York) by Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc. (Master Plan and Concert Theatre) and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects Partners (Public Spaces);
Neil Campbell Rowing Centre (St. Catherines) by MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, Ltd. (MJMA) in association with Raimondo + Associates Architects Inc.;
Ontario Court of Justice Toronto (Toronto) by NORR Architects & Engineers Ltd. in association with Renzo Piano Building Workshop S.A.S.;
Place des Arts (Greater Sudbury) by Moriyama Teshima Architects and Bélanger Salach Architecture in a joint venture;
Toronto Public Library–Albert Campbell Branch (Scarborough) LGA Architectural Partners Ltd.; and
Virgin Vineyard House (North Hatley, Quebec) by LAMAS Architecture Ltd.

As part of the conference, the projects and their design teams will be recognized at a Celebration of Excellence at the Niagara Falls Convention Centre on May 23 at 5:30 p.m. It will be recorded for on-demand viewing on the OAA’s YouTube channel.

At that event, the OAA will also announce which projects have won its Michael V. and Wanda Plachta Award and the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Design Excellence in Architecture. 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.

The audience will also learn which of the 10 recipients is the winner of the People’s Choice Award. This special category allows members of the public to choose their favourite project through a two-week online poll which began on April 4. Votes can be cast on the OAA website, https://oaa.on.ca/.

Doublespace Photography – LGA Architectural Partners’ sensitive renovation of Toronto Public Library’s Albert Campbell Branch reinstated the library as a welcoming community hub, saving the 1971 brutalist building from demolition.

Another highlight of the evening will be showcasing Lanescape Architecture Inc. as the winner of the Best Emerging Practice. This is a biennial award for newer firms that demonstrate “a clear vision, well-articulated goals and proven effective strategies.”

Earlier on that day the following OAA award winners will also be honoured at a special luncheon event:

Deborah Wing, architect, curator and artistic director of the DesignTO Festival, will be presented with the Medal of Service for her “outstanding dedication and leadership” as an OAA member.
Barry J. Hobkin will receive the Lifetime Design Achievement award for his half-a-century commitment to design excellence.

In addition, three prominent architects will be posthumously added to the OAA’s Honour Roll.

They include A.J. (Jack) Diamond who established, what is now, Diamond Schmitt Architects; Raymond Moriyama, who co-founded Moriyama & Teshima Architects with Ted Teshima; and Adrienne Tam, an associate at Moriyama Teshima Architects.