The Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC) National Awards gala honoured 16 projects with Awards of Excellence and several others with Special Awards for their innovation and impact.

Consulting engineering firms from across Canada were recognized for their work on projects that connect communities, improve safety and enhance the quality of life in Canada and around the world.

An Award of Excellence and ACEC Project of the Year went to Limberlost Place, a groundbreaking tall-timber building in Toronto. Fast + Epp earned the top award as well as the Catalyst Award for pushing the boundaries of tall-wood construction and setting a new precedent for sustainable design.

Built for George Brown College in Toronto, Limberlost Place is a 10-storey, net-zero carbon, exposed mass timber building that made its mark as Ontario’s first tall timber institutional project.⁠
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The project’s innovative beamless, large-span structural system integrates timber–concrete composite (TCC) CLT slab bands and perpendicular CLT infill panels, supported by glulam columns. Extensive testing at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) validated the system and informed the final design, with all findings made open-source to foster innovation and advancement in the industry.⁠

Other Special Award winners were:

• AtkinsRéalis – Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation (Outreach Award).
• Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd. and Stantec for the BMO Centre Expansion in Calgary (Prosperity Award).
• EXP Services Inc. for the Nignen Women’s Shelter in New Brunswick (Engineering a Better Canada Award), developed through engagement with the Natoaganeg First Nation.
• HH Angus and Associates for the INITIATE2 Infectious Disease Treatment Module (Ambassador Award).
• WSP Canada for the PSPC – SPIB, Laboratories Canada – Mississauga Project (Breton Environmental Stewardship Award).

ACEC also gave out three individual awards: the 2025 Beaubien Award for lifetime achievement was presented to Steve Fleck (retired, formerly of Stantec); the Allen D. Williams Scholarship Award went to Gurleen Gang, an up-and-coming leader at Ecora Engineering in B.C.; and the Chair’s Award was presented to Catherine Karakatsanis of Stantec, who was the first woman to be president of FIDIC, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers.

Photo: Paul Fast (L) and Robert Jackson with the ACEC award for Limberlost Place.