Queen's Park Picks 2020

Now in its fifth year, the Ontario Association of Architects engages Members of Provincial Parliament in highlighting favourite examples of architecture throughout the province. A jury comprising the Association’s Policy Advisory Coordination Team (PACT) then helps select a shortlist of outstanding projects to showcase as part of World Architecture Day, held on the first Monday of October each year.

This Queen's Park Picks (QP Picks) program has seen continued growth with a record number of MPPs participating in 2021. Fully one third of Ontario politicians—representing every political party—nominated what was also a record number of buildings, each with their own incredible story to tell. While the calibre of nominations made for a near-impossible task, members of PACT held their selection meeting on July 22 to determine the 2021 shortlist. Research on these selections is now underway to prepare an exhibit that will launch on World Architecture Day on Monday, October 4.

Shown below, the 2020 QP Picks were carefully curated from a larger set of nominations from nearly 30 MPPs. We hope you enjoy this collection, which helps showcase the diversity and wonder of Ontario's incredible architectural culture. The OAA thanks all MPPs for participating each year in this important endeavour.

“We are thrilled to see MPPs continuing to share their excitement about Ontario architecture, especially as we face many tough challenges across our province. I believe architects are well-positioned to make valuable, creative contributions in service of the public good… We must continue to participate in broader conversations about housing affordability, sustainability, and community resiliency.”

-OAA President, Kathleen Kurtin

The OAA and MPPs Celebrate Ontario Architecture with Queen's Park Picks Online

The OAA is celebrating World Architecture Day a bit differently this year. Traditionally, the OAA marks the occasion (which falls annually on the first Monday in October) with a reception at Queen’s Park for Members of Provincial Parliament to reveal the year’s Queen’s Park Picks. However, in light of COVID-19 and in the interest of public safety, the OAA quickly pivoted, bringing the annual Queen’s Park Picks event online to ensure exemplary structures continue to be celebrated.

2020 Nominations

Each year, the selection process is a painstaking deliberation by architects at the Ontario Association of Architects. While we can't feature them all, we do want to recognize these architectural works throughout Ontario and the dedicated MPPs who, each year, take the time to share this part of their communities with all of us.

1. 1855 BDO Whitby Accelerator
Whitby
Architect: Kivas Tully (1873, original structure);
Rounthwaite and Fairfield (1953-54, addition)
Architect of Renovation: Steven Burgess Architects Ltd.
Nominated by: Lorne Coe, MPP (Whitby)

2. Beaver Barracks
Ottawa
Architect: Hobin Architecture Incorporated
Nominated by: Joel Harden, MPP (Ottawa Centre)

3. Cabbagetown
Toronto
Architect: Various
Nominated by: Suze Morrison, MPP (Toronto Centre)

4. Capitol Theatre
Windsor
Architect: Thomas White Lamb
Nominated by: Lisa Gretzky, MPP (Windsor West)

5. Kinmount Train Station
Kinmount
Architect: N/A
Nominated by: Hon. Laurie Scott, MPP
(Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock)

6. MacDonald Hall
Guelph
Architect: George Martel Miller
Nominated by: Mike Schreiner, MPP (Guelph)

7. No. 11 McIntyre Headframe
Timmins
Architect: N/A
Nominated by: Gilles Bisson, MPP (Timmins)

8. The Bentway
Toronto
Landscape Architect: PUBLIC WORK
Nominated by: Chris Glover, MPP (Spadina-Fort York)

9. Walkerton Clean Water Centre
Walkerton
Architect: AECOM Canada Architects Ltd.
Nominated by: Hon. Lisa Thompson, MPP (Huron-Bruce)

2020 Queen's Park Picks

Black and white photograph showing the former land registry office in Whitby, with neoclassical features such as round-arched windows and a projecting portico. A tree branch is in the foreground.

Image:

Courtesy of the Whitby Archives

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The original Ontario County Land Registry office, shown here before any additions were constructed. Photo courtesy of the Whitby Archives

Black and white negative of a photograph of a print depicting a historic streetscape and 3 side by side neoclassical buildings

Image:

Courtesy of the Whitby Archives

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1877 print from the Illustrated Historical Atlas of the Ontario County Courthouse and other County buildings featuring Whitby’s administrative block. At left is the Courthouse with the 1866 addition. At centre is the County Jail, constructed in 1853 and demolished in 1960. The Registry Office, built in 1873, can be seen at right.

Left: Building with hipped roof and limestone brick facade, with a symmetrical set of rectangular windows. Right: Flat-roofed building with limestone brick facade and curtain walls on two sides.

Image:

Courtesy of the Town of Whitby

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The original Land Registry Office building (left) shares a common material language with its modernist wing (right).

Front elevation of a neoclassical building featuring rounded arch windows and door, a brick facade and rusticated stone at the bottom. In the centre over the door is a stone carving that reads City Registry Office.

Image:

City of Ottawa Archives CA-004309

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Ottawa’s City Registry Office, one of the many Registry Offices designed by Kivas Tully using a standardized set of plans and features.

Left: Large office space with exposed brick walls and round acoustic panels hanging from the ceiling. Right: View of terracotta brick column beside a limestone brick wall.

Image:

Courtesy of the Town of Whitby

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The various materials that are a testament to the building’s history of expansion are on full display in the new workspaces (left), and original building characteristics (such as the round-headed windows and iron bars) have been thoughtfully highlighted (right).

1855 BDO Whitby Accelerator

Location: Whitby

Date of Completion: 1873; additions made in 1929 and 1953-54

Architect: Kivas Tully (1873, original structure); Rounthwaite and Fairfield (1953-54, addition)

Date of Renovation: 2019

Architect of Renovation: Steven Burgess Architects Ltd.

Nominated by: Lorne Coe, MPP (Whitby)

“I’m pleased that 1855 BDO Accelerator in Whitby has been selected as a 2020 Ontario Association of Architect’s Queen’s Park selection. This historical building has been a fixture in Whitby since 1872 first serving as the County Courthouse and County Jail, and then for a long period of time as the Land Registry Office. It is interesting to see the juxtaposition of the historical architectural features of this historic building highlighted while now serving as a modern, tech incubator and innovator driving Whitby as an innovation district, and centre of technology in the Region of Durham.” - Lorne Coe

Occupying the complex of the former County Registry Office, the 1855 BDO Whitby Accelerator establishes an incubator and innovation hub that looks to the future within a building and site deeply tied to the town’s history and the emergence of province-wide architectural standards.

Courtyard garden with mid-rise apartment buildings in the background

Image:

by Doublespace courtesy of Hobin Architecture

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A community garden anchors the development.

Bird’s eye view of a digital model of the Beaver Barracks site with different buildings and amenities highlighted with text

Image:

Courtesy of Hobin Architecture

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A 3D rendering of the Beaver Barracks site, laying out the different buildings and amenities in the context of the neighbourhood.

Image:

by Doublespace courtesy of Hobin Architecture

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The different buildings that make up Beaver Barracks purposefully meet the street in various ways, with the various materials, textures and colours playfully adding to the neighbourhood’s character.

Left: Nighttime shot of street corner with imposing brick-clad building. Right: Front elevation of apartment building clad with brightly coloured materials.

Image:

by Doublespace courtesy of Hobin Architecture

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Left: Courtyard with mid-rise apartment building and high-rise building in the background. Right: Two people sitting at a table in a small courtyard space with an apartment in the background.

Image:

by Doublespace courtesy of Hobin Architecture

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The inner courtyard at the centre of the mixed-use development is an important community gathering space, along with providing more private outdoor spaces for residents.

Beaver Barracks

Location: Ottawa

Date of Completion: 2010, 2012

Architect: Hobin Architecture Incorporated

Nominated by: Joel Harden, MPP (Ottawa Centre)

“Beaver Barracks exemplifies the kind of housing we need: inclusive, supportive and sustainable. Long may you run (and multiply!). -Joel Harden

With 254 dwellings spread across five buildings, Beaver Barracks proves that affordability, inclusivity, and sustainability are not mutually exclusive goals. A former brownfield site, it has been transformed into a landmark mixed-income housing project that has become a case study for responsible and inclusive development.

Read More

Row of semi-detached Bay-and-Gable red-brick houses with trees in the foreground

Image:

Adobe Stock

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Uninterrupted rows of Victorian houses are a staple of Cabbagetown.

Image:

Courtesy of the Toronto Archives

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“Worker’s cottages” are a common sight in Cabbagetown, and were decorated and renovated over time to suit the tastes of their inhabitants.

Left: Children playing in rear yard of house, with child peering out of a second-story window. Right: set of semi-detached homes with large front porches. A sign underneath the right porch overhang reads “Glad Day

Image:

Courtesy of the Toronto Archives

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Cabbagetown has been home to may children over the years (left), as well as being the birthplace of well-known Toronto institutions such as the Glad Day Bookstore (right).

Top-Left: One-story laneway coach house with three cars parked beside it. Top-Right: Row of semi-detached houses with Georgian Revival-style two-story home at the centre. Bottom-Left: Row of red-brick Bay-and-gable houses. Bottom-Right: Row of semi-detached Second Empire style houses with dark Mansard roofs.

Image:

Courtesy of EVOQ Architecture

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Cabbagetown’s preserved buildings showcase a variety of architectural styles popular in the Victorian era, from modest laneway coach houses (top-left) to larger, more imposing Georgian Revival (top-right), Bay-and-Gable (bottom-left), and Second Empire (bottom-right) homes.

Cabbagetown

Location: Toronto

Date of Completion: Area developed from the 1840s onward

Architect: Various

Nominated by: Suze Morrison, MPP (Toronto Centre)

“I am thrilled that the historic houses of Cabbagetown are being recognized by the Ontario Association of Architects. This year Torontonians have experienced the loss of so many of our treasured cultural spaces to condo development but, thanks to Heritage Conservation Districts like Cabbagetown’s, we still have so many beautiful spaces that aren’t going anywhere. Heritage neighbourhoods - and the tight-knit communities that work so hard to preserve them - are part of what makes Toronto Centre such a vibrant place to live!” - Suze Morrison

Known for its remarkable collection of Victorian residential buildings and orderly tree-lined streets, the seemingly consistent architectural character of this downtown Toronto neighbourhood hides a dynamic story of transformation, change, and diversity—each new generation providing a new chapter to the area’s history.

Front facade of Windsor’s Capitol Theatre in 1941 featuring a large entrance marque and strong horizontal composition

Image:

Courtesy of the Ontario Archive

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The exterior of Windsor’s Capitol Theatre on University Ave W., as seen in 1947.

Interior view of the main hall of Windsor’s Capitol Theatre in 1947with almost 2000 seats, a large vaulted ceiling and a central chandelier

Image:

from Ontario Archives courtesy of Museum Windsor

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View of the Auditorium of the Capitol circa 1947.

Left: Interior view of theatre lobby with decorative cornices and arched doorway. A concession stand is located at the left of the room. Right: Interior view showing the theatre concourse, with a domed, tiled ceiling and curved walkway.

Image:

from Ontario Archives courtesy of Museum Windsor

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Left: View of the lobby and concession, with Adamesque decorative features such as elaborately decorated cornices and swags. Right: Concourse of the Theatre showing ornamental columns along the wall, a key element of Adamesque theatres.

Interior view of Pentastar Theatre, the largest contemporary venue within Windsor’s Capitol Theatre featuring vaulted amber-coloured ceilings decorated with a border motif and a red velvet curtain.

Image:

Courtesy of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra

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Interior of the Pentastar Theatre, the largest venue at the Capitol.

Capitol Theatre

Location: Windsor

Date of Completion: 1920

Architect: Thomas White Lamb

Nominated by: Lisa Gretzky, MPP (Windsor West)

“I am delighted to learn that the Ontario Association of Architects has selected my nomination of the Capitol Theatre as one of this year’s Queen’s Park Picks. This iconic and much-loved building at the heart of our city continues to serve a significant role in this community, 100 years after it opened.” - Lisa Gretzky

From Vaudeville to violins, Windsor’s glamorous Capitol Theatre has been entertaining audiences for almost 100 years. Narrowly surviving demolition, it has retaken its place as a cultural and entertainment palace that harkens back to the golden age of cinema.

Small railway station with brightly-coloured exterior in a forested area alongside a river.

Image:

Courtesy of Guy Scott

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View of the former Kinmount Railway Station on the banks of the Burnt River.

Left: A train arrives at a station with passengers waiting on the side of the tracks. Right: Aerial view of a riverside town with multiple burnt down buildings.

Image:

Courtesy of Guy Scott

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Left: Passengers waiting for a train at the station in the 1890s. Right: Kinmount’s railway station stands tall (top left of image) after a devastating fire that ravaged the town in 1942.

Small railway station building with hipped roof and wooden side panelling. A small abstract sculpture on a plinth stands in the foreground.

Image:

Courtesy of Guy Scott

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The front of Kinmount Station as it stands today. The Icelandic Settlement Disaster Memorial can be seen on the bottom-right of the image.

Left: View of wood-paneled waiting room with projecting bay window. Right: model railway showing railway station surrounded by tracks and locomotives.

Image:

Courtesy of Guy Scott

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Left: The station’s interior has been carefully maintained and restored. Right: A model of the Victoria Railway showing Kinmount’s brightly-coloured station in the middle of the railway tracks.

Kinmount Train Station

Location: Kinmount

Date of Completion: 1876

Architect: N/A

Nominated by: Hon. Laurie Scott, MPP (Haliburton - Kawartha Lakes - Brock)

“The Kinmount Train Station is located at the heart of our historic community and has been a symbol that has stood the test of time including a flood and devastating fire that burnt down most of the buildings in town. This piece of architecture reminds us of our town’s history and economic beginning and is now home to the Kinmount Model Railway and Museum ,” -Laurie Scott

With its brightly painted exterior and prominent location on the banks of the Burnt River, Kinmount’s former railway station is an unmissable and well-loved sight in this small town’s centre. A testament to the role of rail infrastructure in the development of this community, to this day, it remains an important node for its residents to connect.

Image:

by Tom Arban, courtesy of Gow Hastings Architects

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MacDonald Hall’s renovated interiors.

Panorama of two mid-rise buildings with brick and stone cladding in a large field. A few young trees are scattered throughout.

Image:

Courtesy of Gow Hastings Architects

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MacDonald Hall (right) and the MacDonald Institute building (left) in 1919. Both constituted what was then known as the MacDonald Institute.

Left: Entrance of red-brick three storey building at the end of a looped roadway. Right: Main entrance of building with steps leading to a large round-headed door. A sign on the left of the entrance reads MacDonald Hall.

Image:

by Tom Arban, courtesy of Gow Hastings Architects

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The imposing entrance of MacDonald Hall as it stands today. The facade looks very much like it did more than 100 years ago, save for the removal of balustrades by the main entrance and the crenellations that were once scattered throughout the facade.

Left: Large classroom with desks and chairs under a white vaulted ceiling.

Image:

by Tom Arban courtesy of Gow Hastings Architects

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Vaulted ceilings create spaces that are bright and open (left), while a feature staircase works to open up the central area of the building while providing views between floors (right).

MacDonald Hall

Location: Guelph Date of Completion: 1903

Architect: George Martel Miller

Date of Renovation: 2016

Architect of Renovation: Gow Hastings Architects Inc.

Nominated by: Mike Schreiner, MPP (Guelph)

"The University of Guelph's historic campus is one of the treasures of Guelph. It's thanks to great work by architects, cultural heritage supporters and administration that a building like MacDonald Hall can be completely modernized for a new use while also retaining the character and long history of the building as a women's school and dormitory. I'm excited to know that the Ontario Architecture Association agrees it is a building worth celebrating." - Mike Schreiner

An important landmark in the history of women's education in Canada (and a reflection of societal biases of its time), the stately MacDonald Hall has been thoughtfully repurposed to support the values and pedagogy of a 21st-century university while acknowledging its role in shaping previous generations.

Wood-clad mine headframe with lake and forest in foreground

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The No. 11 headframe of the McIntyre mine still towers over the city of Timmins.

Mining site with homes, smokestacks and other structures at edge of a lake, with large headframe under construction.

Image:

Courtesy of the Timmins Museum

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The headframe (here shown during its construction) was once part of a large network of structures that supported operations at the sprawling McIntyre mine.

Various mining structures including large headframe reflected onto the surface of a lake

Image:

Courtesy of the Timmins Museum

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The McIntyre mine in its heyday shown here at night.

Mining site in forested landscape, with three headframes and a road between them

Image:

Courtesy of the Timmins Museum

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Aerial view of the McIntyre mine with the surviving headframe at the top of the image.

Image:

Digitized copy available at MUSIUM.

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German architect Erich Mendelsohn’s captioned images of grain elevators from his book, “Amerika” first published in 1924. Digitized copy available at MUSIUM.

No. 11 McIntyre Headframe

Location: Timmins

Date of Completion: 1924-1927

Architect: N/A

Nominated by: Gilles Bisson, MPP (Timmins)

Standing proudly over Timmins, Headframe No. 11 at the former McIntyre mine is a testament to the industry that led to the birth of this Northern Ontario city and is an important part of Canada’s unique architectural heritage.

Image:

by Denise Militzer, courtesy of the Bentway Conservancy

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Meandering under the imposing highway, the Bentway’s skate trail provides a welcome amenity in the winter months.

Left: Unused underside of elevated highway with soil on the ground. Right: Person running along path underneath elevated highway.

Image:

by Nic Lehoux courtesy of the Bentway Conservancy

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Left: The site of the Bentway under construction. Photo by Sean Galbraith courtesy of the Bentway Conservancy. Right: The first completed phase of the Bentway, looking west.

People skating on figure eight loop underneath elevated expressway.

Image:

by Droneography courtesy of the Bentway Conservancy

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A bird’s-eye view of the Bentway’s skating trail.

Top-left: Large moon-like light sculpture hanging under an elevated highway. Top-right: Contemporary dancers perform under an elevated highway. Bottom-left: Skateboarder doing a trick. Bottom-right: Splash pad underneath an elevated highway, with children playing.

Image:

by SeeWhatIcy Media, Nic Lehoux and the Bentway Conservancy

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Clockwise from left: A crowd gathered to see the Museum of the Moon, photo by Nicola Betts. “Derives”, a site-specific performance, photo by SeeWhatIcy Media. A skateboarder pulls a trick, photo by Denise Militzer. Kids play at the Bentway’s splash pad, photo by Nic Lehoux. All photos courtesy of the Bentway Conservancy.

The Bentway

Location: Toronto

Date of Completion: 2018

Landscape Architect: PUBLIC WORK

Nominated by: Chris Glover, MPP (Spadina—Fort York)

“I've watched the Bentway transform one of the ugliest spaces in the city - under the Gardiner Expressway - into a spectacular vital community hub. The Bentway's transformation of the space has revealed the cathedral-like beauty of the massive concrete columns that support the Gardiner. Every day, people utilize this space. Children play, protected from the rain, longboarders perfect their skills, instructors lead yoga classes, and, once in a while, wedding parties stop by to take pictures. The skate trail, the Museum of the Moon, the plays and art exhibits draw people from far and wide. The creation of The Bentway will inspire generations of planners and architects to reimagine urban spaces. -Chris Glover

Both a linear park and cultural institution, The Bentway's unique approach to placemaking has transformed a section of one of the city’s most divisive elements—the elevated Gardiner Expressway—into a welcoming space that reconnects neighbours and provides a new forum for social engagement.

Exterior view of Walkerton Clean Water Centre’s building, a low one storey contemporary building with a large windows

Image:

Courtesy of the Walkerton Clean Water Centre

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Exterior view of the Walkerton Clean Water Centre.

Left: View of a contemporary classroom with neatly placed rows of chairs. Right” Bird’s-eye view of low contemporary building surrounded by green fields.

Image:

Courtesy of the Walkerton Clean Water Centre

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Left: The Walkerton Clean Water Centre features many large meeting rooms and classrooms. Right: A bird’s-eye view of the site. Note the stormwater management pond on the bottom-right.

Left: Interior view of a water management demonstration facility with a large skylight in the ceiling. Right: Exterior view of a low contemporary building with landscaping and pedestrian walkway in the foreground.

Image:

Courtesy of the Walkerton Clean Water Centre

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Left: A large skylight provides ample natural light in the water management demonstration facility. Right: Exterior of the Walkerton Clean Water Centre.

Walkerton Clean Water Centre

Location: Walkerton

Date of Completion: 2004

Architect: AECOM Canada Architects Ltd.

Nominated by: Hon. Lisa Thompson, MPP (Huron—Bruce)

Born from tragedy, the Walkerton Clean Water Centre plays an integral role in improving drinking water systems across Ontario, training drinking water operators and owners while highlighting the immeasurable value of this limited resource.

These projects form our Queen’s Park Picks 2020 series. We hope you enjoyed learning more about them. Check out the full series on the blOAAg, or view the map below to learn more about great buildings across the province!

Queen's Park Picks - Past and Present

Spanning five years, the Queen’s Park Picks represent most regions in Ontario. The architecture is varied, ranging across multiple eras and styles of architecture. Some of the QP Picks were nominated because they were an MPP’s favourite building, some were important community or cultural landmarks, and some may simply have been a built space your local MPP wanted to know more about. Put together, they create a growing database of compelling examples of our province’s built environment.

This year’s QP Picks are in green. You can click on them to learn more about the project, or expand the map by selecting the top right corner to get even more background.