The Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence






About the Awards
The Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence are given each year to architects and architectural graduates for buildings in the design stage. One of only two national award programs devoted exclusively to architecture, the Awards of Excellence have recognized significant building projects in Canada on an annual basis since 1968. Awards are given for architectural design excellence. In their assessment, jurors consider response to program, site, geographical and social context, and evaluate physical organization, structure, materials and environmental features.

ARCHITECT: Patkau Architects Inc. in joint venture with Kearns Mancini Architects Inc.

Fort York National Historic Site Visitor Centre is the recipient of the 2011 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence Caught in a maze of giant infrastructure, the Visitor Centre participates in the architecture of lines and liquid landscapes of Fort York. Below the Common, the Centre constructs an escarpment of weathering steel, an extended wall to the site, one capable of joining with the scale of the Gardiner Expressway above to form the wall and roof of an extra-large new urban space for Toronto. The steel escarpment re-establishes the original sense of a defensive site, stretching across the site to meet the grassed escarpment directly below the Fort.

Text from above has been sourced directly from the Canadian Architect Award of Excellence webpage.

For more information visit the Canadian Architect awards webpage.

Canadian Museums Association
CMA Awards of Outstanding Achievement






Each year, the Canadian Museums Association (CMA) presents awards to celebrate and encourage excellence within the Canadian museum sector. The CMA Awards of Outstanding Achievement recognize exceptional museum projects.

One of this year's award winners was City of Toronto — Museum Services for their Doors Open Toronto - The First Decade 2000-2009 marketing campaign.

For the full April 14, 2010 announcement from the CMA

City of Toronto
City Managers Award for Toronto Public Service Excellence










About the award

The following are excerpts from the April 22, 2010 message from Joe Pennachetti, the City Manager:

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Doors Open Toronto project is the recipient of the first City Managers Award for Toronto Public Service Excellence. I would like to congratulate the Doors Open team for their tremendous work and dedication to the City initiative………

Doors Open Toronto took into consideration how the project best reflected our guiding principles of responsibility, creativity, equity, integrity, participation and respect. Also, the reach, breadth and scope of impact were significant factors, as this project sets the standard for best practices across North America where other cities including New York and Chicago have used Toronto’s program as a model to create their own Doors Open. In addition, Doors Open annually changes and adapts new themes relevant to building a great city………

For the full announcement and videos of the three finalists

Heritage Mississauga
Special Recognition Award









Randall Reid, Program Officer at Montgomery’s Inn, has been a long-time supporter and advocate of heritage matters in Etobicoke and beyond, and friend and well-respected colleague to many in the heritage community. On Thursday, February 18, 2010, Randall received a 2009 Special Recognition Award from Heritage Mississauga.

"Randall Reid is perhaps best recognized in connection with his work with Montgomery's Inn in Etobicoke, but Randall has also provided many, many years of faithful work involved with heritage preservation, education and promotion in Etobicoke and its environs.…He is also a tremendous resource for heritage researchers, with whom he selflessly shares his wealth of local historical knowledge….This award, in many ways, is a "thank you" from all those in the larger heritage community…”  excerpt from the official announcements by Heritage Mississauga.

Canadian Urban Institute
The Sixth Annual Urban Leadership Awards (2009)
City Soul Award
The Urban Leadership Awards (ULA) Program honours individuals, groups and organizations that have made significant contributions to improving the quality of life in Canada’s cities and urban regions.

Karen Black and Jane French of Museum Services were chosen as recipients of the institute’s 2009 City Soul Award to recognize their role in establishing Doors Open Toronto and at the same time inspiring many other cities across Canada and beyond to open their doors in similar celebrations of their notable, unique buildings.

Heritage Toronto
Special Achievement Award








Heritage Toronto is a charitable organization and agency of the City that works with the citizens of Toronto to advocate for, preserve, and promote a greater appreciation for our city's rich heritage. Through partnerships with local community groups and volunteers, Heritage Toronto works to heighten awareness of our shared history by providing city-wide programs and services. Programs include the annual Heritage Toronto Awards and William Kilbourn Memorial Lecture, among other initiatives.

In 2009, the Special Achievement Award was given to the esteemed Steve Otto, for his role as one of the city's most determined advocates for the preservation and promotion of Toronto's built and documentary heritage. Among other significant lifetime contributions, he is a founder of the Friends of Fort York, and was motivated by his awareness of the Fort’s place at the centre of the history and geography of Toronto. He continues to work in close cooperation with the City of Toronto, and has ensured that the site has a prominent and vital role to play in the future of the city.

For more info. please visit Heritage Toronto website.

Heritage Canada
The Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Heritage Conservation at the Provincial/Territorial Level
Awarded to Steve Otto and nominated by Karen Black, Manager of Museum Services. Stephen Otto has been contributing the field of heritage for over 40 years and is a source of inspiration to others in the field. He was founding chair of the Friends of Fort York & Garrison Common. Among other positions he is a former director of the Ontario Heritage Foundation and Canadian Association of Professional Heritage Consultants, and serves on several advisory boards including the Bata Shoe Museum and Massey College.

Interpretation Canada
2009 Award of Excellence – Gold
Every year, Interpretation Canada recognizes quality interpretation with its Awards of Excellence. Judged by a group of seasoned interpreters, each entry is carefully considered. Not only is this an opportunity for recognition, it can also be a valuable professional development tool as each entrant will be provided with copies of the judges’ critiques of their submitted work.

The new publication entitled Fort York: A Short History and Guide received the Interpretation Canada Gold Award. The Guide traces the evolution of Fort York National Historic site, its military life and cultural significance, brought to life with text, illustrations and maps. Receiving the award are Dr. Carl Benn, former Chief Curator of Museum Services who wrote the text, Kevin Hebib, Program Development Officer for Museum Services for the design of the guide, and Patrick Gallagher of the Fort York Management Board who managed the project.

Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration
2009 Volunteer Service Award
The Ontario Volunteer Service Awards honour the thousands of people who generously contribute their time as volunteers across Ontario. These awards are an important way to recognize volunteers who have provided service over many years.

Proudly nominated by the City of Toronto museums, the volunteers from various museum sites were honoured by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for their years of volunteer service with 5, 10, 15 and 20 year pins.