RAIC National Urban Design Award winners highlight climate change, equity, justice

OTTAWA — The recipients of the 2024 National Urban Design Awards by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), awarded every two years, recognize the link between architects, planners and landscape architects in achieving successful urban design.

This year’s recipients have been announced by the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects.  

The National Urban Design Awards strive to raise awareness of the role urban design plays in maintaining and improving the quality of life in Canadian cities. They also acknowledge the efforts of individuals, organizations, firms and projects in this field, a release indicates. 

Twelve recipients have been selected from the six National Urban Design Award categories: 

• Esplanade Tranquille, Les architectes FABG (Civic Design Projects) 
• sθәqәlxenәm ts’exwts’áxwi7 – Rainbow Park, DIALOG BC Architecture Engineering Interior Design Planning Inc. (Civic Design Projects) 
• Kids Reimagine School Streets, SPECTACLE Bureau for Architecture and Urbanism (Community Initiatives) 
• Fields and Flows: Harmonizing Township Development with Riverine Health Through the Local Industrial Use and Cycling of Sedimentary Materials, Preston Stronach (Student Projects) 
• Maisonneuve Library Restoration and Extension, EVOQ Architecture + civiliti (Urban Architecture) 
• Stadium Station, GEC Architecture (Urban Architecture) 
• Queen’s Marque, MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects (Design Architects) in association with FBM (Prime Consultants), (Urban Architecture) 
• Downsview Framework Plan, Henning Larsen, KPMB Architects, SLA, Urban Strategies Inc., Northcrest Developments, Canada Lands Company (Urban Design Plans) 
• Exchange: Realizing RiverWalk West, groundcubed + HEREBY (Urban Design Plans) 
• Skeena Terrace Community Plan, Perkins&Will (Urban Design Plans) 
• Bentway Staging Grounds, SHEEEP in partnership with Agency—Agency, and The Bentway Conservancy (Urban Fragments) 
• The Ring / L’Anneau, CCxA Architectes paysagistes Inc. (Urban Fragments) 

“The submissions were consistently very high quality, and focused on many of the topics we as designers are all focusing on in our ever-changing world – justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, on climate change, on resiliency and as always – on high quality design for the many end users we strive to serve,” the jury stated. “Projects were described in the submissions with high quality graphics, photos of built projects and evidence that these projects have made significant changes to the quality of life of Canadians across the country.”