Winners of the 2015 Toronto Urban Design Awards announced

TORONTO, Sept. 16, 2015 /CNW/ - This evening at a ceremony held at the Palais Royale, members of the design and development community celebrated the 25^th anniversary of Toronto's awards for urban design and announced the winners of the 2015 Toronto Urban Design Awards.

From an impressive 90 submissions containing a variety of built projects, visions and master plans, as well as student works, the jury selected 13 projects for Awards of Excellence and seven projects for Awards of Merit.

The 2015 jury was made up of renowned professionals, including Alex Bozikovic, Architecture Critic, the Globe and Mail; George Dark, Partner, Urban Strategies; Stephen Teeple, Teeple Architects; and Sibylle von Knobloch, Principal at NAK Design Group.

"Toronto's urban fabric has some incredible buildings, great public spaces, and interesting architecture. The way our city is being shaped is the result of hard work by businesses and people, like those recognized through this awards program," said Councillor David Shiner (Ward 24 Willowdale), Chair of the Planning and Growth Management Committee. "It is important that we recognize the incredible contributions made by those who love Toronto for those who live in Toronto."

The City of Toronto Urban Design Awards provide an opportunity for Torontonians to look at what has changed in their physical environment, and to credit those new buildings and places that are making a positive contribution to civic life. The awards do not recognize these designs in isolation. Rather, the awards pay tribute to architecture, urban design and landscape for the way they work in context – speaking to the built fabric of the city, establishing a sense of place and creating a rich public realm.

The 2015 award winners:

Elements Category
Award of Excellence: Mirage (Underpass Park)

Private Buildings in Context – Low Scale Category
Award of Excellence: 60 Atlantic
Award of Excellence: Market Street Development

Private Buildings in Context – Mid-Rise Category
Award of Excellence: Fashion House
Award of Excellence: Five Hundred Wellington
Award of Merit: B. Streets Condos

Private Buildings in Context – Tall Category
Award of Excellence: Delta Hotel Toronto
Award of Excellence: River City 1

Public Buildings in Context Category
Award of Excellence: Centennial College, Ashtonbee Campus Renewal
Award of Excellence: Fort York Visitors Centre
Award of Excellence: Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, University of Toronto
Award of Merit: Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy

Small Open Spaces Category
Award of Excellence: Barbara Hall Park
Award of Merit: Four Seasons Hotel and Residences
Award of Merit: Shoreline Commemorative

Visions and Master Plans Category
Award of Excellence: Winter Station Design Competitions 2015
Award of Merit: Eglinton Connects
Award of Merit: Lower Don Trail Access, Environment and Art Master Plan

Student Projects Category
Award of Excellence: Snowcone
Award of Merit: Pedestrianizing Blocks of Slab Towers

A display of the winning entries will take place at the following locations:

September 17 to 22, Toronto City Hall (rotunda)
September 28 to October 2, Etobicoke Civic Centre
October 5 to 9, North York Civic Centre
October 12 to 16, Scarborough Civic Centre (rotunda)

More information about the awards and/or a copy of the final jury report with photographs and full project credits are available at http://www.toronto.ca/tuda.

The public can sign up for City Planning or Official Plan email updates at http://www.toronto.ca/e-updates. Follow City Planning on Twitter @CityPlanTO.

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

SOURCE City of Toronto

For further information: Media contact: Rosalynd Rupert, Strategic Communications, 416-338-3379, [e-mail]