This year’s recipients of the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture hail from five Canadian provinces and two American states.

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts announced the recipients on June 6.

The biennial awards recognize and celebrate excellence in recently built – and designed – projects completed by Canadian architects. The 2022 competition continues a tradition initiated by the Massey Medals in 1950, providing an important source of understanding of the nature of Canadian architecture and the regional, cultural, and historic forces expressed in the built environment.

The 12 projects, five of which are located in Ontario, represent a variety of building types and sizes—from a commercial mixed-use space to a cottage to various institutional building configurations. They include a reimagined theatre, a forest pavilion, a stormwater facility, and a history and dialogue centre.

The 2022 recipients are:

• The Idea Exchange Old Post Office, Galt, ON, RDH Architects
• Cherry Street Stormwater Facility, Toronto, ON, gh3* and R.V. Anderson Associates Limited
• 60_80 Atlantic Avenue, Toronto, ON, BDP Quadrangle
• Tom Patterson Theatre, Stratford, ON, Hariri Pontarini Architects
• Point William Cottage, Muskoka Lakes, ON, Shim-Sutcliffe Architects
• Village at the End of the World, Kingsburg, NS, MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
• Forest Pavilion, Winnipeg, MB, Public City Architecture
• Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, Vancouver, BC, Formline Architecture
• Les Rochers, Bassin, QC, la Shed Architecture
• Reception Pavilion of the Québec National Assembly, Quebec, QC, Provencher_Roy & GLCRM Architects
• The Brearley School, New York, NY, KPMB Architects
• Julis Romo Rabinowitz Building & Louis A. Simpson International Building, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, KPMB Architects

“The projects represented in this year’s recipients of the Governor General’s Medals in Architecture illustrate design excellence in a variety of building typologies through their contextual response, sustainability and creativity,” said RAIC president John Brown. “The thought and consideration of our award-winning Canadian architects taken in each project demonstrates their ability to produce dynamic spaces that are not only beautiful, but enlivening and enriching, enabling us to learn and grow. The RAIC is proud to empower, advocate and celebrate these architects and Canada’s architectural community as a whole in an effort to create a better world for all.”

“As we honor exceptional building across Canada, it seems only fitting to consider how aesthetics, sustainability and price affect both community and the environment," said Simon Brault, Director and CEO of the Canada Council for the Arts. "Our heartfelt congratulations and thanks to the 12 remarkable projects selected to receive a 2022 Governor General Medal in Architecture for their substantive contributions to the art of architecture in Canada.”

The Governor General’s Medals in Architecture contribute to the development of the discipline and practice of architecture and increase public awareness of architecture as a vital cultural force in Canadian society.

Medals are awarded for excellence in the art of architecture. The jury considers elements such as conceptual clarity, compatibility with the site, detailing, innovation and uniqueness, and sustainable design.

The awards are administered jointly with the Canada Council for the Arts, which is responsible for the adjudication process and contributes to the publication highlighting the medal winners. 

More information about this year’s award recipients, and the jury who selected them, is available on the RAIC website.