The City of Mississauga has opened submissions for the 2018 Mississauga Urban Design Award, with project nominations accepted until March 30. This year represents the 35th anniversary of the awards program, with three categories of awards being offered:
Award of Excellence — This award is presented to projects that exemplify, as much as possible, the judging criteria and the City’s design principles.
Award of Merit — This award is presented to projects that demonstrate excellence in one or more of the judging criteria and the City’s design principles.
Award of “Healthy by Design” — This award is presented to projects that exemplify, as much as possible, the six elements from the Healthy Development Index: density, service proximity, land use mix, street connectivity, streetscape characteristics and parking.
The submissions will be judged based on the following criteria:
Significance: Citywide Scale — Contribution to the City design objectives as related to city image, visual identity, vistas, skyline, streetscapes, recognition of sites and location opportunities.
Significance: Community Scale — Contribution to the quality of the environment within a community which demonstrates a regard for the context of the locale, enhancing a sense of place, and personal health and safety, or reinforcing a unique history.
Living Green — Demonstrates an integrated approach to design which supports environmental and sustainable site and building practices, while providing benefits to the community and supporting active modes of transportation, walkability and green infrastructure.
Innovation — The degree of creative response to program requirements and site constraints, considering sustainable best practices, including LEED and Low Impact Development, with the ability to influence trends.
Context — The relationship or blending of built form and spaces with existing and planned development, and respect for and enhancement of the area’s character.
Execution
- The quality of construction materials and the interpretation of design into reality
- Supports Our Future Mississauga Strategic Plan
- Supports the City’s Strategic Pillars for Change:
Move
- Developing a transit-oriented city
Belong
- Ensuring youth, older adults and new immigrants thrive, ensure accessibility
Connect
- Completing our neighbourhoods
Prosper
- Cultivating creative and innovative businesses
Green
- Sustainability and environmental considerations
Healthy by Design — Contributes to the creation of walkable, sustainable and complete communities through demonstrating inter-related healthy development elements: density, service proximity, land use mix, street connectivity, streetscape characteristics and parking.