The biggest prize of the evening, the Lieutenant Governor’s Award, went to Hariri Pontarini, for the Richard Ivey Building, Richard Ivey School of Business, at Western University in London, Ontario. Built using local materials such as stone, copper, steel, walnut, and Douglas fir, the structure’s quadrangle layout was devised to bring natural light into the entire building, through operable windows that allow cross-ventilation as well.
For the People’s Choice award, the public vote chose the Aga Khan Museum, by Moriyama & Teshima Architects in association with Tokyo firm Maki and Associates. Rising on a nondescript area on the outskirts of Toronto, the institution’s striking sculptural form combines a boxy, angular structure and a glass pyramid atop a round podium.
These three major awards were chosen from among nine Design Excellence Award winners; the remaining projects in the category are:
The Toronto Public Library Scarborough Civic Centre Branch, in Toronto, by LGA Architectural Partners in joint venture with Phillip H. Carter, Architect.
The Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver by KPMB Architects in joint venture with Vancouver firm HCMA Architecture + Design.
Skygarden House, in Toronto, designed by Dubbeldam Architecture + Design.
And Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre in Edmonton, by MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects and local firm HIP Architects.
Ten other awards were handed out on Friday, including the Lifetime Design Achievement Award, which went to Toronto architect/educator and former dean of the University of Toronto Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, George P. Baird. Toronto firm Denegri Bessai was named Best Emerging Practice, and the Order of da Vinci was bestowed upon heritage consultant and forrner chief architect for the Toronto Historical Board, William N. Greer.
Here‘s a complete list of the 2016 OAA Award winners.