1. Is it necessary to assemble a team of consultants (ie. MEP, Structural, Civil, Lighting, etc.) for the Stage I EOI?
Answer: Yes
2. We are a company of architects based in Italy and should be very interested in participating in this architectural competition. Do we need to have an architect from Ontario in our group?
Answer: For the Request Expression of Interest (Stage I), an out-of-province firm is not required to have a Licence and Certificate of Practice in the Province of Ontario, Canada.
If you are an out-of-province firm without a Licence and Certificate of Practice in Ontario, you should notify the Registrar of the Ontario Association of Architects, in writing, that you will be submitting an Expression of Interest and that the firm will comply with the provisions of the Architects Act and Regulations thereunder in the Province of Ontario if it is selected to go on to the Limited Design Competition in Stage II. However, it is preferred that you associate with a licensed firm/architect from Ontario or have local representation.
3. City staff members and the competition's advisor are the only "jurors" mentioned for the first stage. Is that it, or will there be a panel of design professionals and/or critics reviewing the submissions for the first stage?
The Expressions of Interest submitted during Stage I of the Competition will be evaluated by a selection team of qualified City staff and the Professional Advisor. The City staff will have backgrounds/expertise in Urban Design, Transportation, Parks, Planning, Courts, Facilities Management, Heritage and Sustainable Development. There will not be an additional panel of design professionals and/or critics reviewing the Stage I Expressions of Interest.
4. I have a question/comment in response to question #1 previous released. The City has stated that submissions need to have full consultant teams. This may lead to several short-listed teams having the same consultants which may or may not affect the design competition stage. I would recommend to not have architects be required to name teams at this point and only at stage two name full design consultants that would be exclusive to a team.
In responding to the Request for Expression of Interest (Stage I), it is necessary for each submission to assemble a team of consultants. Evaluation of the entire team is important, not just evaluation of the architect(s). If consultants choose to sign on to multiple entries with different architects, it is solely their responsibility to consider how this might be done without the potential for conflicts of interest should their firm(s) advance to Stage II with more than one team.
5. We would like to understand how many teams will be selected out of the expressions of interest for the second stage and whether there is any fixed remuneration for work undertaken in stage II.
The answer to this question is contained in Section 8.7: A Two Stage Process and Section 10.2: Honoraria.
6. Do the relevant projects in Section 4 have to be completed projects?
The relevant projects do not have to be completed projects although completed projects will score higher in the evaluation.
7. Do you have any geotechnical information for the site related to foundation recommendations, bearing strata, and water levels?
The only information available at this time is contained in the Phase II Environmental Site Assessment report. More detailed geotechnical information will be made available to the short-listed finalists.
8. In Section 9.5, Respondents are asked to provide "Management Process" information for themselves, their JV partner (if any) and each of the members of their Consultant Team. In light of the page limit for this EOI, can you please clarify the type and depth of management information that you require, and whether it is necessary to provide it separately for each of the members of a JV team, and separately for each of their consultants?
It is not necessary for each of the members of a JV team or the Consultant Team to outline their individual management processes. Rather, what would be most appropriate are high level descriptions of how the entire team has managed processes and issues in projects that they have worked on together.
9. Please advise which firms are part of the Technical Advisory Committee.
This information will be made available to the short-listed finalists.
