Without a doubt, the jury felt that it was the stu dents who emerged as the clear winners in this year’s Awards of Excellence. Demonstrating a sophisticated awareness through the investiga tion of nontraditional programs, this year’s stu dents proposed thoughtful and pertinent designs intent on healing the world, thereby imbuing a tremendous amount of optimism in the jury. Judging by the student projects, the desire to intelligently respond to many of the world’s problems—from oil sands exploration to ocean pollution, outmoded industrial areas to the plight of the manatee—certainly represents hope for a future in which the architectural profession col laborates with both clients and visionaries in evolving a more sustainable planet for future generations. Many readers might be asking themselves why more projects were not recognized in this year’s awards selection. One answer to this might be
related to a question that was raised during the jury deliberations: “Where is the experimenta tion?” The annual Awards of Excellence program at Canadian Architect magazine has been in exist ence since 1968, and we have taken great pride in administering an awards program that places heavy emphasis on architectural discourse and process, rather than on the brute outcome of a finished building. While many projects were formally exquisite at the conceptual stage, they often lacked a level of uniqueness or innovation that the jury was looking for. This was particu larly evident amongst the residential projects where a quality of sameness rendered them vir tually indistinguishable. As for projects that were more researchoriented, the jury felt that most of them didn’t go far enough in converging research activities with progressive design. Every year, the subject of what to include in an awards submission emerges. Readers may
The ambiTious regeneraTion of ToronTo’s Don Valley brick Works Will unDoubTeDly become a benchmark for susTainable Design anD complex program DeVelopmenT. The projecT Was commenDeD for Tackling issues affecTing The longTerm enVironmenTal healTh of our ciTies. below urban arTs archiTecTure submiTTeD a research projecT for The canaDian WooD council. DespiTe The projecT’s commiTmenT To research anD DeVelopmenT, The jury noTeD ThaT furTher proToType analysis Was neeDeD To WarranT an aWarD of excellence. opposite bottom shore Tilbe irWin & parTners’ brooklin library anD communiTy cenTre Was recognizeD for iTs approach To Design, buT The jury WoulD haVe likeD To see furTher Design resoluTion.
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be surprised to learn that in most cases, less is indeed more—if in doubt, leave it out. Many submissions included drawings and renderings that severely undermined the conceptual strength of the project. Being clear and concise about design concepts is vitally important, and many project submissions failed to express key architectural ideas in a clear and convincing manner. The following discussion illuminates some of the most salient issues preoccupying this year’s jury, and a number of noteworthy projects were isolated to illustrate the successes and shortfalls evident in the design process. macy: The Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto by
DuToit Architects/DuToit Allsopp Hillier, Dia mond + Schmitt, ERA Architects, Claude Cormier Architectes + Paysagistes, Adams + Associates, and Ferruccio Sardella—deserves to be recog nized on a number of levels. At the parti level, bringing that wetland terrace and accepting the difference between a landscape move and an institutional building really opens up the blocki ness of the buildings that typical terraces don’t— that move is commendable. In this climate, to create this kind of environment is a real plus. They are really making it work, and without too many empty spaces. hariri: The problem I have with this is that the
idea of the long horizon is not that special. They didn’t take advantage of the possibilities of sculpt ing the landscape or the use of daylighting in the interior spaces. thom: It all comes back to the presentation. How
do you make a judgement? When I make a judge ment, it is based on the thoroughness of a pres entation. When I see something that doesn’t look right, I get suspicious in terms of the totality of the language in the presentation. hariri: I want to say something about the alarm 22 canadian architect 12/08
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