2014 Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence

The Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence is open for submissions, honouring designs by Canadian architects for projects abroad.

Canadian Architect is a forward-thinking magazine that has celebrated masterfully planned developments by documenting the progress in architecture in photography for years. In this tradition, The Awards of Excellence recognizes commissioned but unbuilt projects, as well as student proposals of exceptional calibre. Though not exclusive to Canadian architects, the award does require applicants to have partnered with a Canadian-registered architect.

2013 winner - Responsive Geometries by Faisal Bashir

Open for submissions until September 18, 2014 by 5:00 pm EST, all projects to be considered must still be in the design stage. The intention behind the awards is to acknowledge projects that “exhibit clarity of intention, innovation and ambition.” In order to only examine the projects from this perspective, jurors limit applications to design-phase projects because they are unaffected by external factors like construction demands or building constraints.

This year’s jurors are  Michael Green, founder and principal of MGA | Michael Green Architecture in Vancouver; Tyler Sharp, principal of RDH rounthwaite dick and Hadley architects in Toronto; and Éric Gauthier, principal of Les Architectes FABG in Montreal. Factors to be considered include: The scheme’s response to the client’s program, site, geographic and social context in addition to physical organization, form, structure, materials and environmental features.

2013 winner - Montreal Museum of Fine Arts by Atelier TAG

Last year’s jurors gauged the value of projects by their innovative design superiority with the support of architect and client. “In terms of selecting the Awards of Excellence, we were looking for the combination of qualities that anticipated that the eventual built work would produce architecture of substance, that was responsive to local context, program and culture,” said Marianne Mckenna, one of the three judges. With hopes that in recognizing exceptional projects that are leading the way in regards to industry standards, Mckenna said “We need champions of design excellence, from architects, clients and from the general public, who, when it comes to infrastructure and institutional projects, should be asking for excellence.” Naming 11 winners last year, it should be interesting to see what creative designs are submitted this year! Will we see a design for one of Toronto's homebuilders take a top spot?

Click here for entry information!

Feature image: 2013 winner - Faculty of Law, University of Toronto by Hariri Pontarini Architects