The Ontario Association of Architects announces the finalists of the 2016 OAA Awards

The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) have announced the finalists of the 2016 OAA Awards, which will take place on May 13th in Toronto. These annual awards recognize the country’s most prestigious and best designed projects by Ontario architects.

Out of 200 submissions, the OAA revealed 20 finalists for the prestigious Design Excellence Award. Other categories include Concepts, Landmark Designation, Best Emerging Practice, G. Randy Roberts Service Award, Honour Roll, Lifetime Design Achievement Award, and the Order of da Vinci. The winners of these awards will be announced in April 1st.  

Every submission was judged by a panel of industry professionals based on the following criteria: Creativity, Context, Sustainability, Good Design/Good Business, and Legacy. A few of these are kind of vague, so let’s break it down.

Creativity is kind of self explanatory; innovation is always key to coming up with a unique and noticeable building design. Context relates to how the building benefits the neighbourhood and community in which it’s built. Sustainability is important when it comes to both the production of the design as well as the building’s functions. Construction and the manufacturing of materials should not be too impactful on the environment and the building should operate efficiently.

Good Design/Good Business refers to how the design and finished product represents and supports the client’s business and vision. And Legacy - perhaps also self explanatory - is based on whether or not the design raises the bar of excellence for architectural design or sets a new standard of what is considered a high quality building.

The OAA Celebration of Excellence Awards and Dinner will wrap up the 2016 OAA Annual Conference. All the winners of the categories mentioned above will be honoured and the winners of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award, Michael V & Wanda Plachta Award, and People’s Choice Award will be announced.

Toronto Public Library: Ben Rahn /A-Frame

Listed below are all the finalists of the 2016 OAA Awards, courtesy the OAA:       

Design Excellence Finalists

Aga Khan Museum - Moriyama & Teshima Architects in association with Maki and Associates - Toronto, ON

Borden Park Pavilion -  gh3 architecture - Edmonton, AB

Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre - MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects Ltd. and HIP Architects in joint venture - Edmonton, AB

Curtiss Kitchen and Dining Facility - ZAS Architects and Jean-Christian Koch Architecte in joint venture - Borden, ON

Daniels Spectrum - Diamond Schmitt Architects Incorporated -Toronto, ON

George Brown College, Waterfront Campus -Stantec Architecture Ltd. and KPMB Architects in joint venture -Toronto, ON

Go Home Bay Cabin - Ian McDonald Architect Inc. - Georgian Bay Township, ON

Grange Triple Double - Williamson Chong Architects - Toronto, ON

Harbord Towns - Superkül Inc. Architect - Toronto, ON

Old Main Academic Building Addition, Thompson River University - Diamond Schmitt Architects Incorporated and Stantec Architecture Ltd. (Associate Architect) - Kamloops, BC

Prince Arthur’s Landing, Thunder Bay Waterfront - Brook McIlroy Inc. - Thunder Bay, ON

Redstone Winery - Sweeny &Co. Architects Inc. - Beamsville, ON

Richard Ivey Building, Ivey Business School, Western University - Hariri Pontarini Architects - London, ON

Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, University of British Columbia - KPMB Architects & HCMA Architecture + Design in joint venture - Vancouver, BC

Skygarden House - Dubbeldam Architecture + Design - Toronto, ON

Stade de soccer Montréal - Saucier + Perrotte Architectes/Hughes Condon Marler Architects (now HCMA Architecture + Design) - Montréal, QC

Surrey Operations Centre and Works Yard Redevelopment - Taylor Kurtz Architecture + Design Inc. & Rounthwaite Dick & Hadley Architects Inc. (Design Architect) - Surrey, BC

The Mississauga Public Library Project - Rounthwaite Dick & Hadley Architects Inc. - Mississauga, ON

The Waterdown Library and Civic Centre - Rounthwaite Dick & Hadley Architects Inc. - Waterdown, ON

Toronto Public Library Scarborough Civic Centre Branch - LGA Architectural Partners Inc. and Phillip H. Carter, Architect in joint venture - Toronto, ON

Design Excellence, Michael V. and Wanda Plachta & Lieutenant Governor’s Award:

CHAIR – David Covo, Associate Professor & Past Director (1996-2007) of the School of Architecture at McGill University

Thomas Burns, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Allied Properties REIT

Brigitte Desrochers, Program Officer, Architecture Canada Council for the Arts

Glenn O’Connor, Landscape Architect, Past President of OALA, Partner of FORREC, Designers of Entertainment Environments

Vladimir Popovic, Partner, N45 Architecture Inc.

Concepts:

CHAIR – Patrick Saavedra, University Architect & Director, Planning, Architecture and Renewal Projects, York University

Karen Bromley, Production Designer

Jonathan Friedman, Partner, PARTISANS

Jill Stoner, Director, Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism at Carleton University

Landmark, Honour Roll, G. Randy Roberts Service Award, Order of da Vinci & Best Emerging Practice:

CHAIR – Leslie Klein, Co-Founder & Principal, Quadrangle Architects

Toon Dreessen, OAA President 2016

Jason Dobbin, Chair, Toronto Society of Architects

Diana Osborne, Architect, Osborne Architects

Congratulations to all the finalists! We can’t wait to see who wins the prestigious Design Excellence Award!

Feature image: Aga Khan Museum: Gary Otte