The Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence is an annual awards program open to all architects registered in Canada and to Canadian architectural graduates for buildings designed in Canada and abroad. Foreign architects are permitted to submit, provided they have partnered with a Canadian registered architect.
Projects must be in the design stage, scheduled for construction or under construction but not substantially complete by September 25, 2015. All projects must be commissioned by a client with the intention to build the submitted proposal. All building types and concisely presented urban design schemes are eligible.
Awards are given for architectural design excellence. Jurors will consider the scheme’s response to the client’s program, site, and geographic and social context. They will evaluate its physical organization, form, structure, materials and environmental features.
Winners will be published in a special issue of Canadian Architect in December 2015.
Submissions will be accepted in PDF format, up to 12 pages with dimensions no greater than 11” x 17” and with a total file size of 25 MB or less.
Early-Bird Deadline: Friday, September 4, 2015 at 11:59pm EST (entry fee $115)
Regular Deadline: Friday, September 25, 2015 at 11:59pm EST (entry fee $150)
To submit your entry to the 2015 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence, please visit http://www.canadianarchitect.com/awards/submit/
The jury for this year’s awards has been finalized, and is comprised of: Maxime-Alexis Frappier, principal and lead designer at ACDF Architecture in Montreal; Pat Hanson, founding partner of gh3 in Toronto; and Johanna Hurme, cofounder of 5468796 Architecture in Winnipeg.
Maxime-Alexis Frappier graduated in 2000 from the School of Architecture at the Université de Montréal, winning the prestigious Canadian Architect Student Award of Excellence for his thesis work. Since starting ACDF Architecture in September 2006, Maxime has been involved with numerous projects across Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia as well as outside the country. ACDF Architecture counts on a balanced team of 40 experienced architects and related professionals that merges the quality of a young and dynamic design methodology with rigour and experience. As the firm’s lead designer and president, Maxime tackles each project as a new narrative; the proposed solutions, while responding in an efficient way to functional requirements, often go much beyond initial expectations. Frappier translates each project, large or small, into a clear, articulated and dynamic proposition where architecture is seen as a source of social, cultural and economic wealth. Maxime’s projects have appeared in more than 30 national and international publications such as Canadian Architect, Azure, Canadian Interiors, Hinge HK, Ottagono Italy, Architecture Highlights China, SS44 SkyScrapers Korea and many others. Throughout the years, Maxime and ACDF have received several prestigious awards including the Ordre des architectes du Québec and a Governor General’s Medal in Architecture. In 2012, ACDF was selected to compete against top firms as Mecanoo, Asymptote Architecture, and Neil Denari Architects for the Keelung Harbor Terminal International Competition in Taiwan. More recently, Maxime was awarded with the RAIC 2013 Young Architect Award. He was invited to head the design team of a major mixed-use project in Vancouver where he has also been commissioned to design a 40-storey downtown apartment building (ongoing), and is also currently working on two major mixed-use projects in downtown Montreal and on a new 35-storey hotel and apartment tower in Surrey, BC.
Pat Hanson is a founding partner of gh3, a practice based on a new paradigm that explores the overlap of architecture, landscape and sustainability. Pat has deliberately staked out a broad practice in the belief that design encompasses the entire spectrum of the built environment. During 30 years of practice, she has contributed design leadership to the firms at which she was a partner. A versatile designer and a strong visual communicator, Pat has directed a number of architecture, urbanism and planning projects which have involved complex programs and extensive public consultation processes, as well as the realization of competition-winning designs. She has designed many institutional education projects, which bridge beyond architecture into urban design and landscape. Under Pat’s leadership, gh3 has steadily grown in capacity since its inception, winning multiple awards from its peers. The ability to mentor and direct the work of a young, enthusiastic and deeply talented staff has been key to Pat’s accomplishments and success in international competitions. Pat has lectured on the work of the firms she has been partner at throughout North America and Europe. She maintains a strong commitment to architectural education and has served as an adjunct studio professor and the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo. Pat is presently a member of the Waterfront Design Review Panel.
Johanna Hurme is an architect and a cofounder of Winnipeg-based 5468796 Architecture, established in 2007. In the past eight years, the firm has achieved national and international recognition and its work has been published in over 150 books and publications. The Houston-based Rice Design Alliance recently stated that they “truly believe 5468796 to be one of the most talented young design firms worldwide.” Project-specific awards include 2014 WAF’s Future Project of the Year, Progressive Architecture Awards, Awards for Emerging Architecture & Future Project Award from the Architectural Review, Governor General’s Medals in Architecture, Awards of Excellence from the RAIC and Canadian Architect, and placing as a finalist for IIT’s emerging MCHAP award. Firm recognitions include the 2014 Rice Design Alliance Spotlight Award, the RAIC Emerging Practice Award, WAN 21 for 21 Award, the Architectural League of New York’s Emerging Voices Award, and the Design Vanguard by Architectural Record. 5468796 makes design advocacy an ongoing pursuit through critical practice, teaching engagements at the University of Manitoba, Toronto and Montreal, and through numerous public lectures and projects. In 2012, 5468796 represented Canada at the Venice Biennale and in 2013 they were selected as the recipient of the 2013 Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture. In addition to practice, Johanna is an activist and an advocate. She is passionate about making architecture an integral part of broader culture by spearheading ventures like Table for 12 + 1200 and Chair Your Idea. Her past jury appointments include AIA NY and AIA Denver design awards and the Warming Huts International Design Competition. Johanna currently serves on the Board of Directors of Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, on the Council of Manitoba Association of Architects, is a Chair and founder of the WCC’s Creative Council, and the President of the RAW Gallery Board of Directors. In 2010 she received a Manitoba Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Emerging Business.