The top architects in Toronto play a wildly important role in shaping the city. While many of these firms are also engaged in international work, so many of the condos, educational buildings, and even residences that surround us were designed by local outfits. And some, of course, are much better at delivering inspiring designs than others.
Here are my picks for the top 15 architects in Toronto.
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West Don Lands, an industrial area currently being redeveloped as a mixed-use neighbourhood in Toronto’s downtown east end, was named one of thirteen winners in the Urban Land Institute’s 2017- 2018 ULI Global Awards for Excellence.
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For the past three years, New York based Metropolis magazine has been conceni Think Tank, a series of discussions with industry leaders on issues surrounding human-centered design. On June 8, 2017 Susan S. Szenasy, Director of Design Innovation at Metropolis was joined in Toronto by architects and planners including ZAS Principal Peter Duckworth-Pilkington, Ann-Marie Nasr, Manager, Strategic Initiatives, City of Toronto, City Planning
Division and Dean Richard M. Sommer, Professor of Architecture and Urbanism, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto.
Together they discussed the role of the residential high-rise in increasingly dense urban environments and how this density will affect families. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation. The full transcript of the conversation can be found here.
Toronto is a city on the rise - literally - and it's looking to establish public spaces for all the new condo residents.
The newest project, a community centre that's part of the Canoe Landing Campus in City Place, is already impressing with its massive 160,000 square foot structure.
The city commissioned architect firm ZAS Architects to create buildings that feature sustainable design elements like an expansive green roof that will help reduce the complex's carbon footprint. The complex will include an elementary school, a child care centre, fitness facility, indoor play areas, a community kitchen, basketball courts and gardening plots.
The Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, and City of Toronto & Childcare Services will be establishing new facilities inside the complex. Photo courtesy of ZAS Architects.
One of the most stunning design features has to be the sloping roofs. Some are fitted with live vegetation that's incorporated into the overall landscape while others use photo-voltaic panels to generate renewable sources of energy. The campus buildings form a "C" shape to better soak up the solar rays that help power the facilities and allow for more overall park space.
After over two decades of planning, the space will now be dedicated for public use. Photo courtesy of ZAS Architects.
The new greenspace will be a welcome addition to the downtown core and surrounding condo community in anticipation of the new Rail Deck Park that's set to be built nearby. Portions of the project are set to be completed by 2019.
Curtiss All Ranks Kitchen and Dining Facility is one of two new kitchen and dining facilities commissioned by the Department of National Defence for the Canadian Forces Base in Borden.
Built to replace four aging and inadequate dining facilities that dated back to the 1950s these replacement facilities are strategically placed on a pedestrian focused campus. The Curtiss facility is focused on providing a pleasant, efficient and enduring building with plenty of natural light and optimized interior traffic flows
Read MoreRepresenting Ontario’s best emerging new talent and some of the province’s most established architecture firms, River City Phases 1 and 2 is one of 10 projects that have been recognized with the prestigious Design Excellence Award this year.
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