The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and the Canada Council for the Arts today announced the recipients of the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture. The biennial awards celebrate outstanding design in recently completed projects by Canadian architects.
The 12 projects represent many types and sizes of buildings – from an international airport and sports complexes to a park pavilion and small hospital. They include a visitor centre at a national historic site, a library in a 170-year-old church, art museums, and houses. The winning projects are all profiled in our latest issue!
Winning projects span the country from rural Nova Scotia to Whistler, BC, including Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, East St. Paul, MB, Edmonton, and Fort McMurray.
The 2018 winners:
Audain Art Museum, Whistler, BC, Patkau Architects
Borden Park Pavilion, Edmonton, AB, gh3
Casey House, Toronto, ON, Hariri Pontarini Architects
Complexe Sportif Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC, Saucier+Perrotte Architectes and HCMA
Fort McMurray International Airport, Fort McMurray, AB, Office of mcfarlane biggar architects + designers (omb). The project commenced as predecessor firm mcfarlane green biggar Architecture + Design
Fort York Visitor Centre, Toronto, ON, a joint venture between Patkau Architects and Kearns Mancini Architects
Maison de la littérature, Quebec City, QC, Chevalier Morales Architectes
Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace, Montreal, QC, Atelier TAG and Jodoin Lamarre Pratte Architectes in consortium
Parallogram House, East St. Paul, MB, 5468796 Architecture
Rabbit Snare Gorge, Inverness, NS, Omar Gandhi Architect and Design Base 8 (NYC)
Two Hulls House, Port Mouton, NS, MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
Stade de Soccer de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Saucier+Perrotte Architectes and HCMA
The awards will be presented during a ceremony in Ottawa in the fall.
“The recipients of the 2018 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture demonstrate excellence of design and diversity of purpose,” said RAIC President Michael Cox, FRAIC. “In each project, it’s clear that the site is important, with the architects drawing inspiration from cultural and natural history. The RAIC is proud to advocate for the quality of our environments by recognizing these examples of the best contemporary architecture in Canada.
“I’m delighted to see that two of the projects are by Gilles Saucier and André Perrotte who are also this year’s recipients of the RAIC Gold Medal,” Cox added.
“Architecture is a powerful art form that can affect people in their daily lives,” said Simon Brault, Director and CEO, Canada Council for the Arts. “It can inspire us, soothe us, transport us to other realms. The winners of the 2018 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture can be justly proud that they have designed places that, for instance, motivate athletes to surpass themselves, appease the suffering of people grappling with illness, or build bridges to the past. These winners have not been afraid to break with convention.”