OAA Landscape Design Competition

Earlier this year, the OAA launched its Landscape Design Competition to revitalize its Toronto headquarters. On June 27, the Association announced the jury-selected winner at a special celebration at the OAA property at 111 Moatfield Drive, naming Team Chestnut—led by Nima Javidi and Behnaz Assadi of Ja Architecture Studio, with landscape architect Todd Douglas of Janet Rosenberg & Studio and civil engineer Kayam Ramsewak of MTE Consultants—for their innovative and sustainable proposal, "The Grounding Meadow."

Chestnut team members from left to right: Man Lam Cheng, Zhiyuan Zhu, Todd Douglas,  Behnaz Assadi, and Nima Javidi, along with Jury Chair Susan Speigel.

You can read both the announcement press release and the Jury Report on the OAA Website, with more information to come. You can view the Project Brief + Competition Guidelines and watch the information webinar (below) outlining details of the competition. As the project gets underway, the OAA will continue to share updates.

Among the goals of the Landscape Design Competition is a furthering of the Association’s Renew + Refresh initiative, which made the building a model of net-zero design. The winning team for the anonymous, juried competition—overseen by Ontario architect Joe Lobko— was awarded the contract to redesign the landscaping at the OAA Headquarters.

In addition to showcasing design excellence, competitors were asked to create a welcoming arrival experience, enhance the building, incorporate public art, recognize the role of sustainability and water use in the health of the environment, and acknowledge the Don River ravine context. See the Project Brief for complete details. A key objective for the competition was to promote how architecture and the allied arts and sciences are integral to the quality of life and well-being of our society.

A public exhibition of the anonymous submissions took place as part of Doors Open Toronto at the OAA Headquarters on May 25 and 26, with the professional advisor onsite to answer questions about the competition. This was a fantastic and unique opportunity for visitors to see the grounds in-person and envision the many possible transformations imagined by competitors.

Check out the submissions and the revealed teams below. Click here to see the complete list of team members.

View the following link to see the complete list of team members for the submissions.

Project objectives:
• Create a welcoming arrival experience;
• Acknowledge the Don River watershed context;
• Acknowledge our relationship with lndigenous peoples;
• Raise public education and awareness;
• Complement and enhance the building;
• Provide a design solution that meets budgetary parameters;
• Deliver sustainable stormwater design solutions; and
• lmprove pedestrian and vehicular access to the site and the building. 

Program requirements:
•  All-season design;
•  Low-maintenance design solutions;
•  Parking and service vehicle requirements;
•  Pedestrian access;
•  Approach to landscape and site ecology;
•  Approach to stormwater management;
•  Public art and site interpretation;
•  Site security;
•  Limit of work area to be included; and
•  Approach to site lighting.

Eligibility and Team Registration

The Landscape Design Competition was open to teams led by a licensed member of the OAA or a Full Member of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA) who was able to conduct the work through a Certificate of Practice or landscape architecture firm. All participating teams had to include an OALA landscape architect and a civil engineer. Others may be part of the team as desired.

Registration was required by March 22, at 4 pm. Registered teams were given separate online access to a selection of documents and files (listed in the Appendices section) and access to the Submission Portal, where they must create an account no later than March 29, 2024. Further instructions were provided directly to registrants via email. Registered teams used the Submission Portal to upload the required digital components of their Design Package (outlined in the Project Brief).

An anonymous designation was provided to each registered team for use in its submissions. Each component of their Design Package had to be identified with the anonymous designation provided. To preserve anonymity, no identifying images, logos, or other features of the teams or any of their members were accepted in any visual or written materials submitted as part of the design package. Failure to comply resulted in disqualification from jury consideration. 

All complete submissions were featured anonymously in both in-person and online exhibitions of entries, using project titles and anonymous designations only. Please see the Project Brief + Competition Guidelines for complete details.

Technical Review Advisory Team and Jury

The Landscape Design Competition was supported by a Technical Review Advisory team comprising:
• Sibylle von Knobloch, OALA, CSLA (senior landscape architect with O2 Planning + Design);
• Steve Hollingworth, P.Eng. (civil engineer and director of water resources with TYLin); and
• Tom Ingersoll (cost consultant with Ingersoll & Associates Inc.)

 Anonymous submissions were reviewed by a panel of esteemed jurors comprising:
• Chair Susan Speigel, BA, B.Arch., (EQ. M.Arch), OAA, FRAIC (architect with SSA Studio and OAA Vice President);
• Sheila Boudreau, OALA, APALA, CSLA, RPP/OPPI, MCIP (landscape architect with SpruceLab) 
• Michelle Longlade (Lieutenant Governor-appointed member of the OAA’s governing Council);
• Marc Ryan, OALA (landscape architect with Public Work); and
• Liz Wreford, B.Env., MALA, OALA, SALA, AALA, CSLA (landscape architect with Public City).

To learn more about the members of the advisory team and jury, check out their profiles on the blOAAg.

Competition Prize

The winning design will be awarded $20,000 and will lead the landscape redesign project. Initially, the plan was to also select two honourable mentions with an award of $5,000 each, but ultimately the jury selected three projects for this category.

Budget

OAA Council has approved an overall budget of $2 million to complete the project, including both consultant and construction costs as well as contingencies. The consultant fee will represent 15% of construction value. Please see the Project Brief for complete details.

Goals

As the province’s regulator for the architecture profession, the OAA’s primary mandate is to serve and protect the public interest. Given the substantial societal impact of the construction and operation of the built environment, the Association seeks to take a leadership role in celebrating sensitive, responsible, and innovative design. It emphasizes the essential role the architecture profession, and all design professionals, play in building for resiliency and inclusivity.

“This competition is a natural extension and continuation of the ethos underpinning the Renew + Refresh project,” says Lara McKendrick, OAA Vice President and Chair of the Building Committee. “We see this competition as an opportunity to think about how we can take steps to heal our relationship with the land and its original caretakers.”

Please see the Project Brief + Competition Guidelines for complete details.