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The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) has announced the winners of its 2026 Design Excellence Awards alongside recipients of its Service Awards, recognizing a wide-ranging body of work by Ontario-based practices across multiple building types and geographies. Selected from 96 submissions and refined through a shortlist of 20 finalists, the 10 winning projects highlight approaches to sustainability, adaptive reuse, housing innovation, and public space design. The winners will be celebrated at the OAA Conference in the Waterloo Region on Thursday, May 14, 2026, where additional honours, including the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Design Excellence and the People’s Choice Award, will also be presented.
The winning projects, followed by Service Awards:
Angle of Repose
Located in Algonquin Highlands and designed by Reasonable Projects Inc., Angle of Repose presents a highly resolved synthesis of architectural form and environmental performance. Conceived as a sculptural lakehouse for a client seeking both aesthetic clarity and rigorous sustainability, the project employs a digitally fabricated mass timber structure paired with airtight, three-foot-thick wall assemblies and ultra-high-performance glazing. Fully electrified systems contribute to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, while the building achieves Passive House certification.
Beaverton Heights Modular Transitional Housing
Designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects Inc. for the Region of Durham, Beaverton Heights Modular Transitional Housing delivers supportive housing through a modular approach that prioritizes speed, efficiency, and dignity for residents. The low-rise development is scaled to its rural setting, incorporating pitched roof forms and a warm material palette, while a central community hub provides access to social supports for both residents and the surrounding area. A high-performance building envelope, fully electrified systems, and rooftop solar panels work together to reduce energy use and environmental impact.
Carmen Corbasson Community Centre
Carmen Corbasson Community Centre in Mississauga, designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, expands an existing recreational complex through a mass timber addition conceived as a “pavilion in the forest.” The 45,000 ft² expansion introduces a natatorium, fitness centre, and aerobics studio, while aiming to strengthen connections to the surrounding woodland through extensive glazing and a simple, rectilinear form. The project unifies multiple construction eras, improving circulation and accessibility while drawing natural light into the interior.
Kìwekì Point
Kìwekì Point in Ottawa, led by Janet Rosenberg & Studio Inc. with Patkau Architects Inc., reimagines a prominent limestone bluff as a layered public landscape that reconnects the site to the city and the Ottawa River. The intervention includes a continuous perimeter walkway, biodiverse planting, and links to surrounding infrastructure such as the Pìdàban pedestrian bridge, culminating in Whispering Point, a cantilevered overlook. Combining landscape and architectural elements, the project includes Algonquin storytelling and recontextualizes historic monuments.
Koffler Scientific Reserve Dining and Operations Centre
Designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects Inc., the Koffler Scientific Reserve Dining and Operations Centre in King City supports a leading ecology and biodiversity research facility through a mass timber building that combines housing, teaching, and dining functions. Set within the Oak Ridges Moraine, the project employs passive design strategies to achieve net-zero energy and carbon performance, while its barn-inspired form is expressed through sharply sloped roofs and blackened wood cladding.
Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus
At the University of Toronto, the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, designed by Weiss/Manfredi with Teeple Architects as Architect of Record, establishes a prominent academic hub at the intersection of the campus, Queen’s Park, and the Discovery District. The 13-storey building is organized around a series of multi-storey winter gardens that connect research clusters while introducing publicly accessible terraces with views across the city. The project aims to create a collaborative environment that supports interdisciplinary work.
Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum
The Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum in Burnaby, designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects with Iredale Architecture as Architect of Record, establishes a new cultural gateway for Simon Fraser University within its forested mountaintop setting. Conceived as a single-storey structure organized as a linear passage, the building aims to invite movement through a sequence of flexible gallery and lounge spaces. The design positions the surrounding landscape as an active component of the visitor experience.
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority Headquarters
Designed by Bucholz McEvoy Architects Ltd. in collaboration with ZAS Architects Inc., the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) Headquarters is positioned along the edge of Black Creek Ravine as a workplace that reflects the organization’s environmental mandate. The mass timber structure incorporates daylighting, natural ventilation, and renewable energy systems. Organized to encourage public engagement, the facility aims to align with TRCA’s role in conserving and managing the region’s natural systems.
Toronto Public Library – Bridlewood Branch
The Toronto Public Library’s Bridlewood Branch, designed by Ken Fukushima Architecture in association with David Fujiwara Architect, transforms an underutilized commercial unit into a community-focused library space. The project’s exterior is defined by vertical solar panels with programmable LEDs, creating a visual display that references rows of books and activates the streetscape after dark. Inside, the design draws from both historic library typologies and local community narratives, resulting in an adaptable interior that supports a wide range of programming.
Ulster House
Designed by LGA Architectural Partners Ltd., Ulster House in Toronto transformed a single-family lot into a five-unit multiplex. Developed by the firm’s founders, the project introduces compact homes with individual entrances that aim to balance livability, affordability, and environmental performance while maintaining compatibility with the surrounding neighbourhood. Functioning as both a five-plex and a small condominium, the development has been closely followed by planners and helped inform Toronto’s 2023 multiplex zoning reforms.
To vote for one of these projects for the Peoples Choice Award, please visit this link by April 22, 2026.
Service Awards
Brigitte Shim and A. Howard Sutcliffe, founding partners of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, are being jointly awarded for Lifetime Design Achievement. The internationally acclaimed firm's timeless designs integrate architecture and interior spaces with the landscape.
Juxta Architects Inc. of Ottawa-Gatineau have won the biennial Best Emerging Practice Award for the young firm's "clear vision, well-articulated goals, and proven strategies."
The 2026 Medal of Service is awarded to Michael McClelland of ERA Architects for his years of dedication and leadership as an OAA member, while posthumous additions to the OAA's Honour Roll are awarded to William Lobban, William N. Greer, and Jacqueline Toi Mei Chen.
More can be learned about all of the Service Award recipients on the OAA's blOAAg.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on these developments, but in the meantime, you can learn more about them from our Database files, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversations in the associated Project Forum threads or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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UrbanToronto's research and data service, UTPro, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe—from proposal through to completion. Other services include Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
