The 2018 Governor General's Medals in Architecture honour outstanding buildings across Canada

Ottawa, May 7, 2018 — The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and the Canada Council for the Arts today announced the recipients of the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture. The biennial awards celebrate outstanding design in recently completed projects by Canadian architects.

The 12 projects represent many types and sizes of buildings – from an international airport and sports complexes to a park pavilion and small hospital. They include a visitor centre at a national historic site, a library in a 170-year-old church, art museums, and houses.

Winning projects span the country from rural Nova Scotia to Whistler, BC, including Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, East St. Paul, MB, Edmonton, and Fort McMurray.

VIew images, descriptions of each project, and jury comments.

The 2018 winners:

• Audain Art Museum, Whistler, BC, Patkau Architects
• Borden Park Pavilion, Edmonton, AB, gh3
• Casey House, Toronto, ON, Hariri Pontarini Architects
• Complexe Sportif Saint-Laurent, Montreal, QC, Saucier+Perrotte Architectes and HCMA
• Fort McMurray International Airport, Fort McMurray, AB, Office of mcfarlane biggar architects + designers (omb). The project commenced as predecessor firm mcfarlane green biggar Architecture + Design
• Fort York Visitor Centre, Toronto, ON, Patkau Architects Inc. / Kearns Mancini Architects Inc. Associated Architects for the Fort York Visitor Centre
• Maison de la littérature, Quebec City, QC, Chevalier Morales Architectes
• Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace, Montreal, QC, Atelier TAG and Jodoin Lamarre Pratte Architectes in consortium
• Parallelogram House, East St. Paul, MB, 5468796 Architecture
• Rabbit Snare Gorge, Inverness, NS, Omar Gandhi Architect and Design Base 8 (NYC)
• Two Hulls House, Port Mouton, NS, MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
• Stade de Soccer de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Saucier+Perrotte Architectes and HCMA

The awards will be presented during a ceremony in Ottawa in the fall.

"The recipients of the 2018 Governor General’s Medal’s in Architecture demonstrate excellence of design and diversity of purpose,” said RAIC President Michael Cox, FRAIC. “In each project, it’s clear that the site is important, with the architects drawing inspiration from cultural and natural history. The RAIC is proud to advocate for the quality of our environments by recognizing these examples of the best contemporary architecture in Canada.

“I’m delighted to see that two of the projects are by Gilles Saucier and Andre Perrotte who are also this year’s recipients of the RAIC Gold Medal,” Cox added.

“Architecture is a powerful art form that can affect people in their daily lives,” said Simon Brault, Director and CEO, Canada Council for the Arts. “It can inspire us, soothe us, transport us to other realms. The winners of the 2018 Governor General’s Medals in Architecture can be justly proud that they have designed places that, for instance, motivate athletes to surpass themselves, appease the suffering of people grappling with illness, or build bridges to the past. These winners have not been afraid to break with convention.”

About the awards

The Governor General’s Medals in Architecture, created by the RAIC, contribute to the development of the discipline and practice of architecture and increase public awareness of architecture as a vital cultural force in Canadian society.

Medals are awarded for excellence in the art of architecture. The jury considers elements such as conceptual clarity, compatibility with the site, detailing, innovation and uniqueness, and sustainable design.

The 2018 competition continues a tradition initiated by the Massey Medals in 1950, providing an important source of understanding of the nature of Canadian architecture and the regional, cultural and historic forces expressed in the built environment.

The awards are administered jointly with the Canada Council for the Arts, which is responsible for the adjudication process and contributes to the publication highlighting the medal winners.

Members of the 2018 jury

• David T. Fortin, MRAIC, Architect and Director, Laurentian University McEwen School of Architecture (Alberta, Saskatchewan and Sudbury, Ontario);
• Adele Weder, Hon. MRAIC, Editor 2017-18, Canadian Architect magazine (Vancouver, BC);
• Andrew Frontini, FRAIC, Design Director, Principal Perkins + Will (Toronto, ON);
• Andrea Wolff, FRAIC, Founding Partner, ARCHITEM Wolff Shapiro Kuskowski Architects (Montreal, QC);
• Róisín Heneghan; Founding Partner, Heneghan Peng Architects (Dublin, Ireland).

About the RAIC

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada is the leading voice for excellence in the built environment in Canada. Representing about 5,000 members, the RAIC advocates for excellence, works to demonstrate how design enhances the quality of life, and promotes responsible architecture in addressing important issues of society.

About the Canada Council for the Arts

The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s national public arts funder. We champion and invest in artistic excellence so that Canadians may enjoy and participate in a rich cultural life. In 2016-17 we allocated $196.8 million towards artistic creation and innovation through our grants, prizes, and payments.