CSLA, CIP, and RAIC Announce Winners of 2022 National Urban Design Awards
OTTAWA March 11, 2022 –Thirteen projects across Canada—each with a tremendous impact on the surrounding built environment—have been selected for the 2022 National Urban Design Awards.
The winning projects range from public spaces, social housing research, community plans and more.
The awards are a part of a two-tier program held in cooperation with Canadian municipalities.
The National Urban Design Awards program judged winners of the 2022 municipal awards and entries submitted at large.
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CLSA) are pleased to announce the
2022 National Urban Design Award winners in the following categories:
Civic Design
Award of Excellence
University of Toronto Scarborough Valley Land Accessible Trail (Toronto, ON)
Schollen & Company Inc., Brown & Company Engineering, Moon-Matz Ltd., GeoTerre Limited
This precedent-setting project exceeds the requirements of provincial accessibility legislation, providing an important link between the University Campus and the Highland Creek Valley corridor, a highly biodiverse Environmentally Significant Area. The trail offers all people access to nature in an equitable manner. The media has described the trail as “breathtaking” and a “new landmark” within the City of Toronto. The surrounding natural setting of the ravine is considered a “living laboratory” by the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) and supports natural sciences-based curricula. The trail establishes an environmental and accessibility legacy for the UTSC and greater community.
Community Initiatives
Award of Excellence
Corner Commons (Toronto, ON)
Perkins&Will
Jane/Finch Community and Family Centre
Coordinated by the Jane/Finch Centre, Corner Commons is a temporary, free, and accessible public space. Installed for summer 2021, Corner Commons hosted a wide range of activities with local artists, resident leaders, grassroots groups, and various community organizations from the neighbourhood.
As part of Perkins&Will’s Social Purpose program, employees were given the chance to contribute to our communities in direct and personal ways. The members of the Toronto studio helped design, paint, and repurpose the corner of the Jane Finch Mall parking lot into a thriving community hub.
Student Projects
Award of Excellence
Mobile Support as Shelter Support Infrastructure (Toronto, ON)
Yongmin Ye, Michelle Li, and Edward Minar Widjaja
Integrated Urbanism Studio
Professor: Drew Adams
Mobile Support as Shelter Support Infrastructure is an urban design project with the goal of constructing a mobile support system to serve the unhoused and precariously housed populations of Toronto. Homelessness is a dynamic issue where transportation is a major barrier to access services. Mobile Support as Shelter Support Infrastructure proposes a mobile support network accompanied by community-oriented interventions. The goal of this project is to provide people who are perceived as invisible and with no sense of dwelling in society a place with a permanent address.
Certificate of Merit
Filling Pieces - Hall's Lane Creative Studios (Kitchener, ON)
Vincent Chuang and Zihao Wei
Design Studio
Professor: Rick Haldenby
This project envisions the future of Hall’s Lane, in downtown Kitchener, as an active cultural corridor where artists can exhibit and create their work while the community engages and learns. Eight artist studios of varying types are located between Queen Street and Gaukel Street providing community building activities through workshops, tools, and events. The laneway in this proposal is re-explored as a pedestrian space where the process of creating art is unfolded through the architecture. By partnering with local grassroots organizations, this project builds from, and emboldens, the existing arts and cultural infrastructure in downtown Kitchener.
Urban Architecture
Award of Excellence
True North Square (Winnipeg, MB)
Perkins&Will
Capturing the unique spirit of Winnipeg, True North Square addresses its location with a climate-responsive design for a community-focused development. Creating towers of modest height responding to a central public square, the project prioritizes the pedestrian and seeks to repair the long-neglected fabric in which it is located. Product of a national competition, the project is active year-round, specifically focusing on transforming the character and lifestyle of the downtown. The ambitious public realm provides a myriad of amenities and open space to create a vibrant, 24/7, urban experience. The pedestrian-centric design also provides improved access to public transit and encourages active transportation.
Certificate of Merit
Montauk Montréal (Montreal, QC)
Cohlmeyer Architecture
A highly invested client and enthusiastic design team convinced a reluctant authority to proceed with this daring showroom retrofit. Open space and natural light are integral to the project. Four storeys were opened to a green courtyard by carving out forty feet from the building. Each long showroom floor is bookended by either a full height glass wall overlooking the garden or a four-storey light well to the north. A reclaimed brick façade and subtle detailing reinforce an idea of reimagined architectural ruin. With deceptive simplicity this project convincingly rejuvenates an otherwise forgettable building into a beautiful showroom gallery and urban jewel.
Urban Design Plans
Award of Excellence
Saugeen First Nation GZHE-MNIDOO GI-TA-GAAN (Creator's Garden and Amphitheatre) Master Plan (Southampton, ON)
Indigenous Design Studio / Brook McIlroy Inc. and Saugeen First Nation
The Saugeen First Nation Amphitheatre and Creator’s Garden Master Plan will strengthen the community’s long-term economic viability while supporting the recovery of land-based knowledge known to Indigenous Peoples for millennia. The project is a co-design between community members and an interdisciplinary team led by Indigenous architects and designers. The restoration of Saugeen First Nation’s land surrounding the Amphitheatre is integral to the future success of the site, and supports the Garden’s emphasis on medicine knowledge, land-based learning and traditional storytelling. This emphasis heightens the potential for future programming based around medicine knowledge from a health, healing, and a horticultural perspective.
Certificate of Merit
Plaza of Nations (Vancouver, BC)
James KM Cheng Architects Inc
Canadian Metropolitan Properties Corp.
The project is centrally located in the False Creek waterfront area of Vancouver as part of the designated Entertainment District. It is also one of two last remaining undeveloped waterfront sites in Vancouver. The goal of the project is to provide a much-needed waterfront gathering place for a world-class waterfront city. The project serves many roles: as a destination, a connector, a portal, a foreground, as well as a backdrop to the skyline of Vancouver. Therefore, the project is designed to be experienced at various scales as a unique, lively destination with a diverse public realm.
Urban Fragments
Award of Excellence
PARK PARK (Calgary, AB)
Public City Architecture
PARK PARK is a surface parking lot in Calgary transformed into a multi-use space for people and vehicles. A two-year tactical intervention, it views the vehicle as a guest in an otherwise neighbourhood-oriented urban room. The pedestrian-focused park/parking lot features a phone charger, bike pump, library, basketball hoop, hockey targets, skateboarding elements, and a hand-warming area. The space also offers places to sit, eat, gather, or trade goods during community events. Meanwhile, revenue generation is maintained as only five of the original thirty parking spots were surrendered to the reconfigured urban park… park.
Certificate of Merit
Place Monique-Mercure (Montreal, QC)
Civiliti
Place Monique-Mercure celebrates the landmark Art Deco architecture and interior design of the prestigious Théâtre Outremont in Montreal. Taking advantage of the removal of several parking spaces, the new design offers a small urban landscape with signature seating and lighting features. The seating is composed of a continuous band of granite and stainless-steel inserts that honour a typical Art Deco geometrical line motif, as do the simple sculptural volumes that create the different spatial nooks. Three stainless-steel lightboxes create a warm night ambiance. Their floral design reinterprets a pattern found in the interior of the main theatre.
Certificate of Merit
CF Toronto Eaton Centre Bridge (Toronto, ON)
WilkinsonEyre, Design Architect; Zeidler Architecture, Executive Architect
Located near the busy intersection of Yonge and Queen Street, the CF Toronto Eaton Centre Bridge is a striking public landmark that replaces an inaccessible bridge from the 1970s. The new structure seamlessly links two contrasting buildings— the Romanesque Revival Hudson’s Bay Building at its south end, and the postmodern CF Toronto Eaton Centre to the north. Encased in floor-to-ceiling glass and bronze panels with spiraling angles, the bridge’s dynamic sculptural form gently hovers over busy Queen Street. It is a prominent reminder of the importance of creating infrastructure that is accessible and functional, yet graceful and eye-catching.
Special Jury Awards
Sustainable Development
Award of Excellence
Lakeview Village (Mississauga, ON)
Lakeview Community Partners Limited
Lakeview Village is a 177-acre development combining high-quality housing, office and retail space, dedicated arts and cultural facilities, and recreational areas including trails for walking and cycling. The 15-minute city also includes local access to a portion of Lake Ontario that was once occupied by a coal-fired power plant. Lakeview Village integrates greenspace, transit accessibility, and sustainable low-carbon green technologies such as District Energy and vacuum waste collection. The site’s natural environment serves as an outstanding feature of the development through the remediation of Serson Creek, a 600-metre pier on Lake Ontario, and access to the adjacent Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area.
Small or Medium Community Urban Design Award
Award of Excellence
Yarmouth Main Street Redevelopment Phase 2 (Yarmouth, NS)
Fathom Studio
This project re-imagines the relationship between people and their ‘Main Street’. The project highlights the town’s unique setting for visitors and the local community in the public realm. The region-specific design language reinforces Yarmouth’s sense of place and creates an unforgettable experience. This project brings to life the community’s needs and aspirations through clever and carefully considered design details. Yarmouth’s Main Street is an example of what other municipalities can do to instill a sense of pride within their community and attract people and business to their region and downtowns.
Marc Boutin, AAA, FRAIC, RCA
Audrey Farias, RPP, MCIP, PMP, MUDS, BARCH, LEED AP
Emeka Nnadi, MALA, SALA, CSLA, ASLA, LEED AP
Karen Russell, MEDes, RPP, FCIP, Professional Advisor
About NUDA: The RAIC, CIP, and CSLA established the National Urban Design Awards in 2006 to promote awareness of the important role of urban design in maintaining and enhancing the quality of life in Canadian cities. The awards recognize the contributions of individuals, organizations, firms, and projects. NUDA is a biennial program and the only national awards program that exclusively recognizes urban design achievement.
About the RAIC
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is a not-for-profit, national organization dedicated to representing architects and architecture since 1907. The RAIC is the only national voice for excellence in the built environment in Canada focused on providing Canada’s architectural community with the tools, resources, and education to elevate their practice. The RAIC is committed to showcasing how design enhances quality of life, while advocating for important issues of society through responsible architecture. The RAIC’s purpose is to create a better world for all by empowering Canada’s architectural community. Through our work, the organization envisions a strong architectural community that is valued and empowered to create change. The RAIC’s national office is based in Ottawa with a growing federated chapter model. Current chapters and networks are based in British Columbia, Alberta, and Nova Scotia. https://www.raic.org/
About the Canadian Institute of Planners
The Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) works on behalf of over 7,500 planning professionals nationally. Members work in both the public service and the private sector, across fields such as land use planning, environmental resource management, land development, heritage conservation, social planning, Indigenous communities planning, transportation planning, and economic development. https://www.cip-icu.ca/
About the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects
The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) is a professional organization with over 2,800 landscape architects as members represented by provincial and territorial associations plus academic programs across the nation. As the voice of the profession in Canada, the CSLA is an advocate for its members on issues such as urban design, urban renewal, sustainable development, human health and well-being, climate change, cultural heritage, reconciliation, and justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. https://www.csla-aapc.ca/csla-aapc
For more information:
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
Katie Russell
844-856-7242 Ext. 2016
Canadian Institute of Planners
Lori Barron-Munteanu, Manager, Communications
800-207-2138 Ext. 507
Canadian Society of Landscape Architects
Michelle Legault, Executive Director
613-668-4775
executive-director@csla-aapc.ca
Katherine Velluso, Communications Coordinator
coordinator@csla-aapc.ca