Queen's Park Picks 2021

Now in its sixth year, the OAA’s Queen’s Park Picks (QP Picks) program asks Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) to share their favourite buildings or other structures from their ridings to be showcased as part of an annual celebration of architecture. The Association’s Policy Advisory Coordination Team (PACT) reviews the nominations and selects a shortlist of outstanding projects to mark World Architecture Day, held annually on the first Monday of October.

The 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 59 buildings (or other structures like monuments and bridges), each with their own incredible story to tell. While the calibre of nominations made for a near-impossible task, PACT held its selection meeting on July 22 to determine the 2021 shortlist listed below. Click through the project links to learn more Ontario's diverse and wonderful architectural culture. The OAA thanks all MPPs for participating each year in this important event.

“It is wonderful to work with Ontario’s MPPs to broaden public awareness and enthusiasm about the architecture that shapes all of our communities. As we reflect on the contributions of those whose work has been recognized this year, it’s clear heritage buildings hold a special place in the hearts of Ontarians. The sensitive and sensible evolution of these buildings ensures they continue to serve our communities for years to come.”

- OAA President, Susan Speigel

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

The OAA once again celebrates World Architecture Day virtually in 2021. Traditionally, the OAA marks this occasion (which falls on the first Monday in October) with a reception for Members of Provincial Parliament at Queen’s Park to reveal the year’s Queen’s Park Picks (QP Picks). The event is a unique opportunity to showcase outstanding examples of Ontario architecture through the nominations of passionate MPPs across the province.

2021 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.

Artscape Wychwood Barn

Location: Toronto
Date of Completion: 1913-1921
Architect: N/A
Date of Renovation: 2008
Architect of Renovation: DTAH Architects Limited
Nominated by: Jill Andrew, MPP (Toronto–St. Paul’s)

Barrymore’s Music Hall former Imperial Theatre

Location: Ottawa
Date of Completion: 1914
Architect: Walter Herbert George
Nominated by: Joel Harden, MPP (Ottawa Centre)

Carrefour Santé d'Orléans

Location: Orléans, Ottawa
Date of Completion: 2021
Architect: HDR Architecture Associates Inc.
Nominated by: Stephen Blais, MPP (Orléans)

Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial

Location: Toronto
Date of Completion: 1989
Artists: Eldon Garnet and Francis LeBouthillier (bronze figures)
Nominated by: Vincent Ke, MPP (Don Valley North)

Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company Manufacturing Complex

Location: Toronto
Date of Completion: 1917-1929
Architect: N/A
Nominated by: Suze Morrison, MPP (Toronto Centre)
Heritage Hall

Location: Guelph
Date of Completion: 1880
Architect: William Slater
Date of Renovation/Addition: 2020
Architect of Renovation/Addition: Joel Bartlett Architect Inc.
Nominated by: Mike Schreiner, MPP (Guelph)

Old Stone Mill

Location: Delta
Date of Completion: 1811
Architect: N/A
Nominated by: Hon. Steve Clark, MPP
(Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes)
Toronto Power Generating Station

Location: Niagara Falls
Date of Completion: 1906
Architect: Edward James Lennox
Nominated by: Wayne Gates, MPP (Niagara Falls)
Whitby Central Library and Civic Square

Location: Whitby
Date of Completion: 2005
Architect: Shore Tilbe Irwin and Partners (now Perkins+Will)
Nominated by: Lorne Coe, MPP (Whitby)

2021 Queen's Park Picks

Kids play on a playground in front of five side-by-side red-brick warehouses.

Image:

Courtesy of DTAH Architects Limited

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Artscape Wychwood Barns

In black and white, three streetcars are stationed in a muddy yard in front of the five car-barns.

Image:

Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives

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Streetcar wires crisscross overhead of the Wychwood Car Barns in the first years of their operation.

Top: On the architectural site plan five adjacent barns are surrounded by parkland and recreation facilities. Barns 2 and 5 are integrated with the landscape while 1, 3, and 4 are completely interior spaces. Bottom: Cut laterally across the five barns, the section shows the open circulation through barns 2 and 5, and the program in Barns 1, 3, and 4.

Image:

Drawing by DTAH Architects Limited.

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The organization of the program into the five barns is illustrated in this site plan (top) and section (bottom). Two of the five barns provide circulation throughout the site.

A child in a red winter coat stands in the doorway of a red-painted wall with colourful signage on one side (left). A large white number five hangs from a gable end of the Fifth Barn while the brightly lit windows of the Green Barn shine against the evening sky (right).

Image:

Courtesy of DTAH Architects Limited.

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Wychwood Barns' bright wayfinding signage assigning grey, red, yellow, and green to each barn (left) as well as other interior and exterior signage like the large numbers marking each barn (right) was designed by Gottschalk+Ash International.

Green produce grows in the greenhouse that is brightly lit with white walls, large windows, and a gabled skylight (left).

Image:

Courtesy of DTAH Architects Limited.

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The Stop Community Food Centre's Green Barn (left), houses a greenhouse, community gardens, youth programming, a bake oven, a compost demonstration centre, and a year-round Farmers’ Market (right).

Artscape Wychwood Barns

Location: Toronto
Date of Completion: 1913-1921
Architect: N/A
Date of Renovation: 2008
Architect of Renovation: DTAH Architects Limited
Nominated by: Jill Andrew, MPP (Toronto–St. Paul’s)

“Here is a fabulous example of the reuse of a derelict building that brings life back to an abandoned area of the city. Reuse rather than tear down is the best starting point for sustainability…”

- Canadian Green Buildings Award, 2009

Through the transformation of a derelict streetcar maintenance facility into a much-beloved cultural and community hub, Artscape Wychwood Barns makes the case for sustainability and placemaking through the creative reuse of our industrial heritage.

A terra-cotta brick building sits between two other buildings on a street. The lower-third is canopied by a marquee and has seven doors. The upper two-thirds is symmetrically arranged with two rectangular windows on either of a large sign displaying the word 'Imperial.' A large neon sign vertically displaying the word 'Imperial' a crown on top hangs from the building.

Image:

Courtesy of the Ontario Archives.

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The Imperial Theatre in 1938.

In one-point perspective and black and white, rows of seating extend to the back of a long narrow room with an aisle in the middle and columns lining the walls. A balcony at the back of the room is lined with decorative millwork and supports more chairs.

Image:

Courtesy of the Ontario Archives

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The auditorium of the Imperial theatre.

Image:

Microfilm from the Ottawa Public Library courtesy of the University of Ottawa Silent Film Music Collection.

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The Imperial Theatre was featured in the Ottawa Journal during its construction on November 7, 1913.

: In the daytime, the red-orange brick facade of the music hall is in weathered condition. Upper-level windows are boarded shut and at the pedestrian level is the entrance to the hall on the right with a black sign, “Wicked Wanda’s Adult Emporium” in the middle “Burgers N’ Fries Forever” on the left.

Image:

Courtesy of Paul McKinnon / Shutterstock.com

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The exterior of Barrymore’s Music Hall in 2021.

Barrymore's Music Hall (former Imperial Theatre)

Location: Ottawa
Date of Completion: 1914
Architect: Walter Herbert George
Nominated by: Joel Harden, MPP (Ottawa Centre)

“Formal Opening [of the Imperial Theatre] on Monday a Unique Event in Amusement Circles in Ottawa - A Truly Metropolitan, Modern Playhouse to Cater to the Discriminating Public of this City.”

-Front page subheading for August 29, 1914
Ottawa Evening Journal

Once the jewel of Bank Street’s thriving entertainment scene, Barrymore’s Music Hall—originally the Imperial Theatre—has survived more than a century of ever-changing public tastes, adapting to new uses, owners, and patrons as it patiently awaits its restoration.

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A canopy on the right leads to a double-height glazed entry segmented with dark wood slats. The rest of the façade alternates between wood cladding, glazing, and grey panelling.

Image:

Courtesy of HDR Architecture Associates Inc.

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Exterior view of the Carrefour Santé d'Orléans' or the Orléans Health Hub's west entry.

Starting from a map of the Petrie Canals, four diagrams illustrate the distribution of the hospital program into four quadrants around a central spine.

Image:

Drawings courtesy of HDR Architecture Associates Inc.

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A series of diagrams show the building's organization around a central spine.

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:

Left: A figure passes by a partition composed of thin wooden slats of varying distances apart. Right: Thick glula

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Left: Wood slats continue on the inside as partitions. Right: The curved glulam structure of the penthouse. I

A sectional drawing illustrates the deep canopy of the southern entrance leading to the reception and market hall in the spine of the building and back out to a courtyard.

Image:

courtesy of HDR Architecture Associates Inc.

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A section drawing shows the outdoor corridor running transversely across the central spine and providing a connection to the outdoors.

Horizontal wood cladding on an exterior wall, vertical slats across glazing, and cladding under

Image:

Courtesy of HDR Architecture Associates Inc.

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Moments of warm materiality and pockets of natural light Images

Carrefour Santé d'Orléans

Location: Orléans, Ottawa
Date of Completion: 2021
Architect: HDR Architecture Associates Inc.
Nominated by: Stephen Blais, MPP (Orléans)

Inspired by the regenerative power of nature, the Carrefour Santé d’Orléans (also known as the Orléans Health Hub) brings together state-of-the-art healthcare services with the ease and comfort of a community centre to set a new standard for healthcare delivery in the province.

Read More

Two wood frame piers on concrete bases are spanned by a railway track. A cyclist passes in between the piers.

Image:

Joël León

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Standing approximately 9 m (30 ft) high, the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial towers over pedestrians on Blue Jays Way in Toronto.

Carrying wheelbarrows filled with stone, a row of workers cross a narrow beam spanning a ditch.

Image:

Boorne and May/Library and Archives Canada/Ernest Brown fonds/e011303100-017_s2

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Chinese labourers working on the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1884.

Two wood-framed supporting members spanned by a railway track are being constructed by two copper figures. Three flower wreaths hang on the concrete bases.

Image:

Image courtesy of Eldon Garnet

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The Chinese Railroad Worker’s Memorial’s wood structure in the fall.

Left: On the right, one wood-framed column is complete on its concrete base as construction workers erect the one on the left side. Right: Between crisscrossing wooden beams, a copper figure stretches up to brace the column above him.

Image:

Courtesy of Eldon Garnet.

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Left: Construction workers erect the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial. Right: A bronze figure of a Chinese Railroad worker balances precariously on the monument as he works.

1st: An ink sketch of a worker standing on a railway track and pulling on a rope. 2nd: A man poses in overalls pulling on a rope. 3rd: Copper figure of a man pulling on a rope. 4th: Copper figure being lifted into position atop the monument with the C.N. Tower in the background. 5th: Copper figure atop the completed monument.

Image:

Courtesy of Eldon Garnet.

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Left: From sketch to sculpture to public monument, watch the figures on the monument take form.

Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial

Location: Toronto
Date of Completion: 1989
Artists: Eldon Garnet and Francis LeBouthillier (bronze figures)
Nominated by: Vincent Ke, MPP (Don Valley North)

“Rich the hand which holds the stone of memory”

- Inscription on the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial

Standing solemnly by Toronto’s downtown railway corridor, the Chinese Railroad Workers Memorial brings together elements of 19th century railway design with the cultural significance of a traditional Chinese paifang to commemorate the largely uncelebrated contributions of more than 17,000 railroad workers who helped unite the country.

Read More

Image:

By Vik Pahwa

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The Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company Manufacturing Complex as it looks like in 2021.

Image:

Courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.

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Aerial over the lower Don River with a bold white outline around the Canary District/West Don Lands Community. (1980-1988)

Top: A one-point perspective sketch of the proposed development with mid-rise buildings, a lively streetscape, and downtown high-rises visible from a distance. The drawing is on a title block with

Image:

Drawings courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives.

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Top: Perspective drawing of Ataratiri development. Bottom left: Model. Bottom right: Site plan.

A black and white site plan shows the site between Eastern Avenue and Rolling Mills Road with the Foundry building on the west toward Rolling Mills Road and the three attached buildings of the Machine Shop (largest), Warehouse, and Offices (smallest) towards the east.

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Site plan of the Dominion Foundry buildings. Only the Foundry and Machine Shop will be preserved in the proposed upcoming developments. Original drawing based on building configurations.

A poster applied to the industrial windows of one of the buildings of the foundry complex. The poster has bold letters with the words“Save Me” and historical images of foundry workers and Queen Elizabeth II..

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Protest signs from citizens group cover much of the site of the Dominion Foundry.

Dominion Wheel and Foundaries Company Manufacturing Complex

Location: Toronto
Date of Completion: 1917-1929
Architect: N/A
Nominated by: Suze Morrison, MPP (Toronto Centre)

“The property is a landmark within the West Don Lands community and the four buildings support a key linkage to the area’s industrial past.”

- Stevens Burgess Architects Ltd
Heritage Impact Assessment, June 24, 2021, p.11

Caught between conflicting visions for the future of the West Don Lands, the former Dominion Wheel and Foundries Company represents the largest concentration of heritage buildings within the quickly transforming precinct where tensions between heritage retention, housing affordability, and development have taken centre stage.

A limestone church with a gabled roof, a gothic gable vent, and two lancet windows on either side of a pointed arch front door reached by a set of stairs.

Image:

Courtesy of the Guelph Public Library Archives, B.M.E Church, Essex Street, north side (C25-069) 1974.

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The exterior of the British Methodist Episcopal Church, or what is now known as Heritage Hall.

A one-point perspective in a brightly lit interior space with light wood flooring. Another brightly lit space is visible through an open wooden door in a stone wall and, on the right, a large grid of nine quilts is framed on the wall.

Image:

Courtesy of Joel Bartlett Architect Inc.

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Inside the newly accessible entrance to Heritage Hall.

A blurred person walks up an accessibility ramp along the side of the building underneath a large roof overhang supported by heavy timber framing. In the concrete facade of the building is a glazed door, windows, and rows of glass blocks arranged in a pattern.

Image:

Courtesy of Joel Bartlett Architect Inc.

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Exterior view of Heritage Hall’s new addition.

Top: Eight black and white graphics of square quilt patterns arranged in a 2x4 grid. Under each pattern is descriptive text indicating its meaning. Bottom left: Attaching directly to Heritage Hall’s original stone facade, the new addition includes a concrete structure under a large roof overhang with wooden soffits and columns. Bottom right: A concrete wall with a grid etched into the surface is perforated by rows of glass blocks.

Image:

Courtesy of Joel Bartlett Architect Inc.

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Top: Eight examples of quilt codes used by escaping slaves. Bottom left: The new addition shining in evening light. Bottom right: A closer look at the playful glass block patterns embedded in the facade.

Heritage Hall

Location: Guelph
Date of Completion: 1880
Architect: William Slater
Date of Renovation/Addition: 2020
Architect of Renovation/Addition: Joel Bartlett Architect Inc.
Nominated by: Mike Schreiner, MPP (Guelph)

“The British Methodist Episcopal Church became the institutional heart of Guelph's Black community... Whether they were foreign-born or Canadian-born, the Guelph BME Church helped members of the congregation celebrate joys and face adversity.

- Debra Nash-Chambers, 2006
Historic Guelph, Volume 45: The British Methodist Episcopal Church in Guelph

A historical and cultural landmark of Guelph’s Essex-Nottingham neighbourhood, Heritage Hall has been serving its community for more than 130 years, providing a space for celebration and gathering, all while preserving Southwestern Ontario’s rich Black heritage.

A stone building with red-painted wooden details stands over a river surrounded by greenery.

Image:

By Ken W. Watson of the Delta Mill Society.

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The always picturesque Old Stone Mill.

Left: In black and white, the mill is on the right of the main street, a dirt road. Right: Reflected against the water, the mill's wooden slats and window frames are broken and decayed while the stone is weathered. An abandoned rowboat floats in the water.

Image:

Courtesy of the Delta Mill Society.

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The mill in time. Pictured is historic Delta (left) and the Old Stone Mill in 1970 before its restoration between 1999-2004 (right).

Left: An illustration of a brick mill’s narrow elevation with a large waterwheel, and two millstones sitting on an elevated wooden foundation. The building has three pairs of windows on either side of a door on each storey and a gabled roof. Top right: People behind a banister look over at a wooden waterwheel below the floor and against a stone wall. Bottom right: A set of wooden is between two windows lit by candles on their sills.

Image:

Courtesy of Ken W. Watson of the Delta Mill Society.

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Left: An Oliver Evans Automatic Mill from Evans' book the Young Mill-Wright and Miller's Guide (1795 edition), Upper Right: The Old Stone Mill's waterwheel is uniquely oriented 90 degrees to the one in Evans' diagrams. Bottom right: Interior view of the mill.

Light from the Old Stone Mill's symmetrical windows glows warmly and is reflected in the water around the building.

Image:

By Ken W. Watson of the Delta Mill Society.

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North façade of the Old Stone Mill as it is seen today.

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.

Old Stone Mill

Location: Delta
Date of Completion: 1811
Architect: N/A
Nominated by: Hon. Steve Clark, MPP (Leeds–Grenville–Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes)

“Unquestionably the best building of the kind in Upper Canada."

- Statistical Account of Upper Canada,1817

An exceptional example of Georgian industrial architecture, Old Stone Mill has played an important role in Delta’s history—first as a catalyst for its development and now as a guardian of its history.

Read More

: A beige limestone stone building lines a street in front of a field. The ionic portico is centred in the frame as two ionic colonnades extend on both sides.

Image:

Courtesy of the Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library.

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Exterior of The Toronto Power Generating Station's western façade and portico (2005).

Left: A tall open warehouse space with four round generators in a row, one grey and three blue. Top right: A round slightly-rusted blue generator with circular grates around the circumference and a red base. Bottom right: A round room with classical stone detailing has an open door that looks into a room with a grey generator.

Image:

Courtesy of the Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library.

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Left: The grand entry to the generator hall with beaux-arts detailing. Right: A generator.

Left: A long stone building lines a street in front of a field. The building has two low masses lined with iconic colonnades on either side of a taller square mass and attached portico. Right: A postcard shows a black and white image of a narrow façade with a round portico against the painted surroundings of rushing water on the left and green grass in front of the building.

Image:

Courtesy of the Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library.

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Left: Right: Postcard of Northern façade.

A tall open warehouse space with four round generators in a row, one grey and three blue.

Image:

Courtesy of the Niagara Falls (Ontario) Public Library.

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Generator hall.

Toronto Power Generating Station

Location: Niagara Falls
Date of Completion: 1906
Architect: Edward James Lennox
Nominated by: Wayne Gates, MPP (Niagara Falls)

“The electricity generated by water power is the only thing that is going to keep future generations from freezing. Now we use coal...but there will be a time when there’ll be no more coal to use.”

- Charles Proteus Steinmetz
‘Electricity Will Keep the World from Freezing Up,’ New York Times, November 12, 1911

An industrial powerhouse in palatial clothing, the grandeur of the now-dormant Toronto Power Generating Station speaks to the ambition and wealth behind the first wholly Canadian-owned hydroelectric facility in Niagara Falls—a business venture that would eventually be at the centre of the fight for public utilities.

Against a deep blue sky is an L-shaped building that opens up into a public square. The long narrow bar building on the left has a glazed ground level and a limestone-clad upper level while the facade of the perpendicular wing is glazed.

Image:

Courtesy of Perkins&Will.

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Exterior view of the Whitby Central Library and Civic Square from the southeast corner.

An L-shaped building with a deep east-west spine and narrow north-west spine sits on the site with a parking lot to the south and public space in the north framed by the building. A long pool extends across the square from the west side of the building and greenery appears on the western and southeastern extents of the site.

Image:

Drawing courtesy of Perkins&Will.

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Site Plan.

Top: Against a dark backdrop, a wooden model of the building on the site shows a green civic square framed by the building on three sides. The glazing on the southern edge of the plaza and the rest of the windows glow brightly. Bottom Left: In front of the building's eastern bar, a large concrete canopy on wide rectangular columns extends over the length of the site. Bottom Right: Looking down the length of the long and dark reflecting pool during the daytime, two children sit on the edge and cause ripples. The glazing on the building is a green/blue colour and there are trees lining the road on the right and planters to the left of the pool.

Image:

Images and model courtesy of Perkins&Will.

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Top: Study model showing the glowing two-story reading lounge. Bottom left: The Urban Filter. Bottom right: Open western boundary and reflecting pool.

A cut through the north-facing spine of the building shows the light-filled double-height reading lounge that faces the civic square and the three levels of reading/working space lit by clerestory windows. The limestone façade of the eastern spine is visible behind the civic square.

Image:

Drawing courtesy of Perkins&Will.

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Section cut north-south through the building, looking east

Whitby Central Library and Civic Plaza

Location: Whitby
Date of Completion: 2005
Architect: Shore Tilbe Irwin and Partners (now Perkins+Will)
Nominated by: Lorne Coe, MPP (Whitby)

By establishing a dynamic relationship between grand interior public spaces and an active outdoor plaza, the Whitby Central Library and its accompanying civic square define a new hub for the growing town that is more than the sum of its parts.

These projects form our Queen’s Park Picks 2021 series. We hope you enjoyed learning more about them. Check out last year's series here or 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 six 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 dark blue. 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.