The Ontario Association of Architects handed out its annual Celebration of Excellence Awards earlier this month.

A total of 15 Design Excellence awards were presented ahead of the gala. A majority of the award-winning structures are based in Ontario. However, buildings in Manitoba and Nova Scotia also received honours.

Notable structures include Manitoba Hydro Place in Winnipeg, the Victoria Park subway station in Toronto, and Nova Scotia Power Corporate Headquarters in Halifax.

“Increasingly it’s becoming important to have a seamless relationship between the interior and exterior of a structure,” says OAA president Bill Birdsell. “A building should engage with its location and it should create spaces for end-users and members of the community to enjoy.”

Three honours were also presented during the gala, including Best of Show, which went to Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated for the company’s work on the Centennial College Library and Academic Facility in Toronto.

Other honours included the Michael V. and Wanda Plachta Award to G. Bruce Stratton Architects for their work on the Mount Dennis Library, and the People’s Choice award, which went to Dubbeldam Architecture and Design for the Through House.

The full list of Design Excellence award winners is:

• Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence: Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated, Edward J. Cuhaci and Associates Architects Inc.
• Bridgepoint Active Healthcare: Stantec Architecture Ltd., Architects, KPMB Architects, HDR Architecture Associates, Inc., Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated
• Centennial College Athletic and Wellness Centre: Kongats Architects
• Centennial College Library and Academic Facility: Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated
• Chinguacousy Park Redevelopment: MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects Ltd.
• County of Simcoe Administration Centre: Teeple Architects Inc., Ted Handy & Associates Inc.
• Manitoba Hydro Place: KPMB Architects, Smith Carter Architects, Engineers Incorporated, Prairie Architects Inc.
• Moore Park Residence: Drew Mandel Architects
• Mount Dennis Library: G. Bruce Stratton Architects
• NSP Corporate Headquarters: WZMH Architects, Fowler Bauld and Mitchell
• Stealth Cabin: Superkül Inc.
• Stoney Creek Recreation Centre: Rounthwaite Dick & Hadley Architects Inc, Lintack Architects Incorporated
• Through House: Dubbeldam  Architecture and Design
• Tommy Thompson Park Pavilions: Montgomery Sisam Architects Inc.
• Victoria Park Subway Station: IBI Group Architects, Brown and Storey Architects Inc.

Image: Donald Schmitt and Sydney Brown (middle) being presented with the OAA Best of Show Award by OAA president Bill Birdsell (right).
Credit: Keith Penner.