Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement
Odami
Photographer(s): Arash Moallemi
Latest winner
Odami
Odami is an award-winning architecture and design studio that aims to converge the pragmatic and the expressive, the subtle and the striking, the familiar and the unexpected.
Led by Arancha González Bernardo, a Spanish architect and Michael Fohring, a Canadian designer, the practice represents a merging of design values and histories, a process deepened by the contemporary multiculturalism of the city in which Odami lives and works. In embracing difference and purposely working between modes, perspectives and dichotomies, they’re in search of a fertile meeting ground—a space of conference and connection that gives rise to inventive outcomes.
To learn more about Odami, visit their website, at https://www.odami.ca/.
The prize
The Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement is given to a practitioner of architecture or an architectural firm. The successful candidate must be in the early stages of a career or practice and must demonstrate both outstanding creative talent and exceptional potential in architectural design.
Background
The award was established in 1990, in collaboration with the Canada Council for the Arts, by friends and colleagues of the eminent Canadian architect Ronald J. Thom. The award honours Mr. Thom’s life and work and celebrates the buildings he designed and the encouragement and inspiration he gave his colleagues.
For more information
architecture-prizes@canadacouncil.ca
1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 6004
Deadline
October 5, 2026
Biennial
Prize amount
$10,000
Application-based
For the upcoming prize deadline, applications will be submitted through the online portal, opening in the summer of 2025.
The Canada Council is committed to equity in all its activities, including the administration of prizes and awards.
Accessibility
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The Canada Council for the Arts can also receive calls from a video relay service (VRS). For more information, visit the VRS Canada website.