The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) is delighted to announce the jury-selected winner of its Landscape Design Competition—an anonymous competition focused on transforming the OAA property's landscaping into a more sustainable, accessible, artful, and welcoming space. 

The winning design team, 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—was selected for the innovative and sustainable proposal, "The Grounding Meadow." The winning design will be awarded a $20,000 prize and also be selected to lead the landscape redesign project at 111 Moatfield Drive in Toronto. (To see the full team, and all competitors, click here.)

Ja Architecture Studio is a Toronto practice led by an Iranian-Canadian duo: Javidi, who is an OAA Architect, and Assadi, a landscape designer. Their team’s proposal works directly with the site in a minimalist way. It allows water to freely run underneath the wild meadow, bringing a more natural ecology to the site and welcoming stormwater to support and sustain the habitat. The project also pays homage to Indigenous communities by including plants of cultural significance, including a diversity of perennials and grasses that will also attract pollinators, wildlife, and birds.

“Our project tries to address the two core themes of the competition—climate change and Reconciliation—through one legible protagonist: the ground. We aimed to translate our awareness of the importance of land, its history, and ecology into a spatial and experiential one,” says Javidi.

He and Assadi collaborated with Douglas to develop the landscape of the project, with civil engineering input from MTE Consultants.

“By recalibrating the contours of the site, we converged the flow of water, people, and plants into an ecological threshold where the overlay between the act of entering, the collection of water, and the changing landscape will make the visitors physically aware of the interrelationship between architecture, access, and ecology—an awareness long embedded into the Indigenous way of coexistence with nature,” Assadi explains.

The jury praised the design’s embrace of natural systems that allow the landscape to evolve as a biodiverse ecosystem with minimal intervention, as well as its thoughtful integration of public art and innovative stormwater management strategies, alongside its acknowledgment of the Don River watershed. The jury was further impressed by the key qualities of the design, including culturally significant plants that support pollinators and wildlife, and its installment of an entry bridge that elevates the walkway to create a transparent connection to the earth.

“In our practice, we tend to go back and forth between a conceptual approach to architecture and a hands-on model-making method, even at the scale of 1:1,” says Javidi. “In this competition, we quite enjoyed our collaboration with the team. We are collectively excited and honoured that we can now develop the scheme forward in our conversation with the OAA toward an outcome that is both clear in its conceptual ambition and real in its performance.”

"Our Landscape Design Competition has showcased how sustainable and thoughtful architecture can reshape our environment for the better," says OAA President Settimo Vilardi. “Congratulations to Team Chestnut and all our honourable mentions for their outstanding contributions. These designs not only respect our commitment to environmental stewardship, but also create a welcoming and inspiring space for everyone. We look forward to seeing ‘The Grounding Meadow’ come to life, setting a new standard for sustainable landscape design."

The Jury
Juries play a vital role in the design competition process. They bring a diverse range of experience and expertise to the critical task of rigorously evaluating the submissions provided by each participating design team and ultimately determining which are the most deserving of recognition and the award of the contract to implement the design work. The highly qualified jury selected for this competition included Susan Speigel, chair, architect with SSA Studio, and OAA Vice President; Sheila Boudreau, principal landscape architect and planner at SpruceLab Inc.; Michelle Longlade, Lieutenant Governor-appointed member of the OAA’s governing Council; Marc Ryan, principal and co-founder of Public Work; and Liz Wreford, co-founder and principal landscape architect with Public City Architecture.

The Competition
As the regulatory body governing architecture in Ontario, the OAA plays a pivotal role in promoting the importance of innovative design and sustainable architecture in building resilient and vibrant communities. The Association’s retrofitted headquarters, nestled in Toronto's Don Mills neighbourhood, exemplifies these principles as a model of net-zero design.

 Launched in March, the Landscape Design Competition challenged competitors to reimagine the terrain of the OAA headquarters as a symbol of design innovation, environmental sustainability, and active community involvement. With architect Joe Lobko in a professional advisor role, the competition focused on creating an inviting space that respected environmental principles and celebrated the natural beauty of the Don River ravine. Among the eligibility requirements was that each team include a full member of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA) and a civil engineer. Membership in the OAA was not a requirement.

 In addition to the jury, a technical advisory team comprising a landscape architect, a civil engineer, and a cost consultant, as well as senior OAA staff and members of the Building Committee, offered feedback on all submissions. As anonymity for participants was important for ensuring fairness, the 19 interdisciplinary teams were assigned a “tree” name by Lobko and kept confidential from the jury and OAA.

“Catch/Renew/Release,” by Team Basswood (led by Lisa Rapoport of PLANT Architect Inc., with landscape architect Eric Klaver and other members of PLANT Architect and Chesley Blahut of Aplin Martin Consultants Ltd.);

“4887 Saplings,” by Team Elm (led by Kevin Weiss of Weiss Architecture & Urbanism Ltd., with landscape architect Robert Wright and civil engineer David Sharp of Husson Engineering + Management); and 

“Landscape Reconnect,” by Team Ironwood (led by Joël León Danis of Make Good Projects Inc., with landscape architect Victoria Taylor of VTLA Studio and civil engineer Frank Fisl of Watercom Engineering Inc.).

For full team lists, visit the OAA Website.

"We are thrilled with the exceptional quality and creativity of the overall submissions," says Vilardi. "We see this competition as an opportunity to advance sensitive, responsible, and innovative design that enhances the wellbeing of our community.”
Construction on the exterior overhaul is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2025. The OAA Council has approved an overall project budget of $2 million to complete the work, which includes consultant and construction costs, approval fees, as well as contingencies.

The winning design and honourable mentions were revealed at a special reception on Thursday, June 27, at the OAA Headquarters. 

Further Information
To see more information about the Landscape Design Competition, read the full jury report, explore the Project Brief, learn about the jurors and technical advisory team, and pore through the 19 submissions, visit the OAA Website.Interviews with the OAA President or members of the Landscape Design Competition teams, as well as high-res imagery, are available. Contact Daniele Alcinii (he/him), Communications Specialist, at 416-449-6898, ext. 306 or DanieleA@oaa.on.ca.

 About the Ontario Association of Architects
The Ontario Association of Architects is a self-regulating organization under the Architects Act, a statute of the Government of Ontario. It is dedicated to promoting and increasing the knowledge, skill, and proficiency of its members, and administering the Act, in order that the public interest may be served and protected. For more information, visit www.oaa.on.ca.