Architects and Developers of the National Capital Region

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Post any interesting profiles of our local architects and developers here...

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Decidedly modern
Ottawa architect Rod Lahey has built a reputation designing contemporary homes like his own: filled with light, clean lines and plenty of space for an eclectic art collection

By Sheila Brady
Luxe Magazine, Fall 2017
Photography by James Park



Rod Lahey is in a reflective mood, musing over a lengthy career that has changed the streetscape of his hometown.

“We are so lucky to live the way we live. Somehow, the stars all lined up,” says the lanky architect, who has a golden reputation for designing crisp condo towers for an extensive list of top builders across Ottawa.

His career has stretched from the late ’80s and the award-winning Sussex House, a red brick condo tucked into a quiet corner of the ByWard Market to a swirling glass highrise, Soho Champagne, in Little Italy.

The man, who is equally intrigued by thoughtful urban planning, is working with mega-developer, RioCan, to reshape two middle-aged malls, Westgate and Lincoln Fields, into residential and commercial hubs.

The 63-year-old architect has certainly carved out his own luck, working long hours, attending countless planning meetings at city hall and navigating confrontational consultations with people worried about intensification coming to their neighbourhood. He did it with patience, determination and a quiet sense of humour.

The non-stop stress likely triggered a heart attack four years ago, launching a new appreciation for the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and a commitment to reassess work and family priorities.

There is now more time spent with carpenter son, Matthew, 34, and a young granddaughter and plans to visit 28-year- old daughter, Samantha, who broke her parents’ hearts, when she recently moved to Vancouver for a job as an urban planner.

There are long morning and evening walks with two standard poodles, Yardley and Liam, and the newest arrival, Beau, a big, gentle mastiff that Lahey and his wife, Carol, found abandoned on the highway near their cottage at Lac Pemichangan in the Gatineau Hills, a 90-minute drive from downtown Ottawa.

Lahey has shed 20 pounds, avoids wine and is a big fan of smoothies. His skin is a rich, nutmeg brown from three-day weekends at the cottage sanctuary and there has been a corporate rebranding, shifting the focus from Rod Lahey Architecture to RLA and his dedicated team of 20. There is also time for lecturing at his old alma mater, Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism.

Yet, the fire to design buildings and plan communities is a driving force.

“I absolutely love what I do,” says Lahey, who grew up in McKellar Park near the Ottawa River, swimming with school chums, often balancing on slippery log booms at the bottom of Woodroffe Avenue.

A hefty log rescued from the Ottawa River sits in a shady corner of his Kenwood Avenue home, reminding him of long, sweltering summer days five decades ago. These are his private outdoor rooms, shaded from neighbours by high hedges and decorated with tall grasses and curved iron gates, inspired by photographs he took during a trip to Paris.

The architect grew up in a comfortable household filled with six accomplished siblings, including Brian, a local land developer and Patrick, a determined free spirit, who designs deep sea submarines, exploring magical underwater landscapes with the likes of movie mogul, James Cameron.

Parents, Eric and Ellen Lahey, a pair of leading local realtors, were the sparkplugs, igniting the imaginations of their large brood, appreciating art, as much as wrapping up a successful home sale.

The senior Lahey home was packed with art, likely inspiring their architect son to design his own contemporary stone home in 2006. “I love the way the house works,” says the man, who started out at Algonquin College in the ’70s, wanting to design furniture. A pivotal lecture on Frank Lloyd Wright changed his world, leading to Carleton and a lifelong affair with clean, contemporary designs.

There is not a bit of moulding in the Kenwood home, instead large windows fill the rooms with light, while a profusion of art hangs on the walls and sculptures hold down space on book and window shelves.

The home is a colourful, private gallery and is a testimony to a pair of artistic souls. There are abstracts by leading Canadian painters, joyous folk art and cabinet tops populated by ravens, crows and shiny silver fish.

“There is always more room for art,” he says. “We just move things around. We remember our holidays by the art we bring home.”

There have been magnificent finds, including a pair of brilliant yellow and orange abstracts by Harold Klunder, titled Reinventing Your Self, positioned on a wall alcove in the living room. The two drove to London to be first at a Klunder show, returning the same day with the paintings. The Klunder pieces blend easily with apple green and peachy orange modern furniture by Italian and French masters, Giorgetti, Ligne Roset and Cassina. This is a decidedly modern house.

Eclectic, funky and powerful art also defines Lahey’s architectural offices, located in a converted warehouse in the heart of Little Italy. Five years ago, the Beech Street warehouse was a dusty factory for Sam Holman, creator of Sam Bat, the iconic maple bats favoured by big hitters in the Major Baseball League.

Today, Lahey holds court in a sunny corner office, crowded with drawings he does by hand, a cappuccino coffee machine and lots of art on the walls.

A giant red steel whale by Haida artist, Robert Davidson, is centre stage in the lobby, while clients find a seat on a row of mid-century chairs from Toronto’s Pearson Airport. A pair of powerful photographs of antique BMW motorcycles by the architect’s artist brother, James Lahey, dominates another wall in the main reception area.

And the man who values the art of design and art on the wall, designed the firm’s glass board room to accommodate an oversized painting by Aboriginal artist, Christian Morrisseau, and his father, the northern Picasso, Norval Morrisseau.

Today, there is talk in the Lahey family of simplifying life, finding an empty lot and designing a smaller house on one level. Just like designing a highrise condo for a paying client, the next move takes thoughtful negotiations. The architect would be happy on one level in a highrise, while Carol, wants to stay connected to the ground.

She could live in the country. He likes the city.

There are two givens: The next house will be contemporary, clean and light and there will be subtle niches and large clean walls for an ever expanding Lahey art collection.

Rod Lahey Architects can be reached at 56 Beech St., rlaarchitects.com

https://luxemagazineottawa.com/blog/decidedly-modern/

[Urbanarchit]

I know that house and didn't know Lahey designed and lives there. I had an acquaintance in high school 10 years ago that I remember walking to this house where I'm sure she lived. But her last name isn't Lahey...

The man, who is equally intrigued by thoughtful urban planning, is working with mega-developer, RioCan, to reshape two middle-aged malls, Westgate and Lincoln Fields, into residential and commercial hubs

I'm not sure that I see the "thoughtful urban planning" presented in any of this projects, especially not the Westgate redevelopment.

[McKellarDweller]

Originally Posted by Urbanarchit

I know that house

Me too. While the curb appeal and quality of the home are great, the building's interaction with its private outdoor space to the rear (north) and side (east) are bad to a baffling level. I'm surprised that was such a non-factor in the design.

Edit:
Okay, I forgot, it was originally built close to its north lot line, and I now see it looks like there must have been a severance of the adjacent property giving them some more space to that side. Disregard my above comment. Time to knock out some back wall and add more glass and openable space!

[rocketphish]

Ottawa's urban champion: Award-winning architect Rosaline Hill has lots of irons in the fire

Anita Murray, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Feb 09, 2022 • February 13, 2022 • 5 minute read

Rosaline Hill is a study in contrasts. Architect, bush camping enthusiast, urban advocate, nature lover, entrepreneur, artist, approvals expert, and Ottawa’s designer of the year.

Yet these disparate aspects of her work, advocacy and character are all connected, really, so that the many pies she has her fingers in make sense.

When Hill was named the designer of the year at the Ottawa Housing Design Awards in November, that accomplishment and her three other award wins were enough to merit a closer look.

But she is much more than a multi-award-winning architect.

“She has a lot of irons in the fire,” says builder Rob Haslett of Haslett Construction, who shares office space with her and is a frequent collaborator on infill projects. “I don’t know where she finds the time or energy.”

Hill combines her professional expertise — and an aptitude for the intricacies of the city’s approvals process — with a driving passion for advocacy and creating a true sense of community.

“She naturally gravitates towards making community wherever she is,” says good friend Crystal Hache. “She’s genuinely caring and she really walks the talk, meaning community isn’t just an idea.”

Hill lives in a Britannia triplex (originally bought with Hache), where regular weekly dinners with neighbours have been common. And part of the appeal of being a member of her church — St. Alban’s Anglican in Sandy Hill — is its diverse congregation.

“I have friends there who live at the Mission… who are university students… different gender expressions, so a very interesting place to grow,” says the 49-year-old mother of two girls.

Hill’s community-making extends to her advocacy.

Not only is she a founding member of the Urban Infill Council at the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (and the industry working group that preceded it), for the past three years she’s devoted countless hours to researching development patterns and the forces that generate change in neighbourhoods, primarily through intensification. That research has led to the building of a simulator to understand and map how intensification could happen in neighbourhoods under different regulatory scenarios. Hill expects the simulator to be ready for demonstrations soon and says the city has expressed interest in the project.

“I hope it will have a really big impact on the way that Ottawa chooses to grow,” she says. “The city is devoted to this general direction, but without modeling and simulation, it’s hard to get there, because you need to really understand the mechanics… to change the trajectory in a very significant way.”

In a sea of negativity surrounding the idea of intensifying (or densifying) our neighbourhoods, Hill is a refreshingly positive proponent — and one with specific ideas on how it should be achieved.

“People are angry because they see infill in their neighbourhood that doesn’t have any logic or purpose behind it… and nobody seems to be driving the ship and it’s frustrating,” she says.

Good infill, and by extension intensification, is not simply replacing a single home with an even larger single home, or a block of homes with a bulky apartment building. It’s about “inside the box” thinking that creates smart multi-unit dwellings that are currently not allowed in the zoning, she says.

“My research into development patterns in neighbourhoods is important because I can demonstrate that we can meet very significant intensification targets without increasing the height.”

It’s also about moving toward neighbourhoods that are walkable, offering all the amenities a resident would need within walking distance and reducing car dependency — also referred to as 15-minute neighbourhoods.

Frustrated by what she saw as lots of talk about the value of walkable neighbourhoods yet little action to figure out how we get there, she started Walkable Ottawa in 2020. The grassroots group is working toward moving that agenda forward, including holding workshops in various neighbourhoods and offering constructive comments during the city’s Official Plan process.

“Walkable Ottawa and the infill modeling are all in an effort to see our neighbourhoods grow in more healthy ways and to get people on board with the idea that our cities can evolve differently,” she says.

Hill’s sense of community has also extended to a new initiative launched last month, called Ottawa Cohousing.

The basic concept is a grouping of homes, often a condo, in which those who choose to live there have done so because they want more community engagement.

“It could be exactly the same as the condominium next door physically, but there’s an intention to be participating,” Hill says.

Started with business partner Linda Kruus, Ottawa Cohousing will bring together groups of like-minded individuals or families and match them to an appropriate developer or builder, then help them through the whole process of realizing their cohousing goal. Hill and Kruus hope to have their first group matched to a site by the end of the year.

It’s a housing arrangement Hill could see herself in at some point, and even did try to organize about 20 years ago. However, at the time she hadn’t yet honed her development expertise and the attempt failed.

A Toronto native, Hill did her schooling at the University of Waterloo and eventually made her way to Ottawa, where she joined the team at Hobin Architecture. That gave her the ability to work on many types of architecture and find her niche in urban infill and development approvals.

“He’s fantastic with approvals,” she says of the firm’s founder, Barry Hobin, “so I was learning from the best.”

For his part, Hobin describes her as a problem solver and communicator, as opposed to a style-driven designer. Although it’s been a decade since she has worked for him (she set up her own firm, Rosaline J. Hill Architect, 10 years ago), he says she is “an individual of great integrity, with insightful understanding of how design can shape a better neighbourhood and the city as a whole.”

Adds planner Murray Chown of Novatech, who shares her interest in infill and intensification and has worked with her in advocating for smart infill: “She certainly is very concerned about the urban neighbourhoods, how they’re going to evolve and mature over time. (She) has a vision that she believes is achievable and will be of tremendous benefit.”

But she doesn’t see herself as an urban champion — “That would be extremely arrogant,” she says — although she does allow that she’s an urban advocate.

“I believe it’s important to speak up and make waves when it matters… If I’ve been given the tools and the abilities and the opportunity to make a difference, then I have a responsibility.”

https://ottawacitizen.com/life/ottawas-urban-champion

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

[B]Ottawa's urban champion: Award-winning architect Rosaline Hill has lots of irons in the fire
Rosaline Hill is a study in contrasts. Architect, bush camping enthusiast, urban advocate, nature lover, entrepreneur, artist, approvals expert, and Ottawa’s designer of the year.

Very organized and well spoken architect. She is a master at the Committee of Adjustment and doesn't get flustered by the busybody nature of the Commitee of Adjustment. Very good designs.

[rocketphish]

‘A city without intention is just a bunch of buildings,’ local architect argues
Shopify’s office designer says a hockey arena downtown just needs to happen

By: Caroline Phillips, OBJ
Published: Apr 14, 2022 12:29pm EDT



Ottawa-based architect Andrew Reeves remembers a night about eight years ago when he was attending an industry awards dinner at the Shaw Centre. His attention had been focused not so much on the prize that he’d won for best bathroom design, but on a building off in the distance.

That building, still under construction at the time, was the landmark office tower Performance Court. It was also the future headquarters for Shopify. Reeves and his firm, Linebox Studio, had been hired to shape what would eventually become 170,000 square feet of office space spanning 10 floors for the fast-growing e-commerce company.

Reeves was holding his trophy but looking across the street at the big job that lay ahead. “I was freaking out, going, ‘This is everything. This is my career. If we don’t deliver this thing…’”

Not only did Linebox get the job done on time, but the end results were met with awe and excitement at the official opening of Shopify’s new headquarters at 150 Elgin St. in October 2014. There was more Shopify work to come for Linebox – until the pandemic hit in 2020. That’s when the multinational company announced that the vast majority of its employees would work remotely on a permanent basis.

“Right away, I was, like, ‘It’s over, it’s done,’” Reeves recalls of the contracts his firm had with Shopify to design new office spaces in a handful of other Canadian cities. Reeves was disappointed, but he understood and even agreed with CEO Tobi Lütke’s decision, recognizing that Shopify, a publicly traded company, was growing faster than it could build places to work for its thousands of employees. It also wanted to embrace the potential of the digital world and remote working concepts.

On the one hand, Linebox lost 60 per cent of its business as a result of the announcement. On the other hand, Reeves saw an opportunity for the firm to further diversify and to reinvigorate itself with new challenges, while embracing its roots as a forward-thinking architecture and design studio. Linebox also has offices in Toronto and Montreal.

“We are better than we were before because we were forced to get outside our comfort zones,” says Reeves, who works with the commercial, residential, office, mixed-used, multi-unit and hospitality sectors. Clients include Ottawa-based CLV Group, Vancouver-based software company Hootsuite and U.K.-based private health-care provider Harley Street Clinic, to name a few.

Reeves says his company was able to develop a more robust and resilient business model, as one does when soldiering through a pandemic.

“We kind of have that ‘Band of Brothers’ feel,” jokes Reeves, who thinks and talks fast.

The native of Windsor earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in architecture at Carleton University. Reeves spent 10 years with BBB Architects, which was behind the Shaw Centre and Ottawa airport expansion. In 2005, Reeves launched Linebox, which he runs with his wife, chief operating officer Melissa Reeves. They’re both past recipients of Forty Under 40 awards.

“As an architect, there’s never been more exciting times,” says Reeves of how his industry has been reshaped by COVID-19. “We’ve had an opportunity to redefine everything – our homes, offices, hotels. They’re all being questioned. COVID will fade away and will be something like the common flu, but the human psyche is going to remain changed for a long time.

“We’re defining who we are, we’re defining how workspace can work, we’re defining our culture. To be working with clients who are in the middle of all that is super powerful. That is the thing that gets me going, like in my early days with Shopify.”

Organizations are now trying to decide what the future of the workplace will be for them, Reeves acknowledges.

“I don’t have the answer to say whether you should be working digitally or not. It’s more about them figuring out what their game plan is and then coming to us.”

Linebox, which has a team of 15 people, has decided on a flex-work arrangement of three days in the office and two days at home. Reeves feels the in-person interaction is important for the transfer of wisdom, knowledge and ideas and in building strong trust patterns.

“I know, personally, as a small entrepreneur, a huge part of my motivation to keeping Linebox healthy is the people that are there. The fact that ‘Jon’ just bought a new house, got married and had a kid motivates me to keep the firm going. When all that starts disappearing and I don’t even know these people anymore and they’re just a Zoom call, it changes how you do business,” says Reeves, speaking at the former headquarters of Shopify.

Linebox moved into the space last year, after flexible workplace provider TCC Canada arranged to sublease up to 100,000 square feet of Shopify’s old stomping grounds. It’s currently using just under 50,000 square feet and hopes to fill the balance over the coming nine to 19 months, depending on the recovery time of the pandemic, according to TCC Canada president Sean Cochrane.

“It’s been awesome watching these offices live on for somebody else,” says Reeves, who views the office space as Shopify’s legacy. “There’s no need to tear or rip things out or reinvent the office in here. If you walk around, this is what the future office was then and what it is now.”

Hands down, Shopify ran one of the coolest offices, with its yoga room, indoor slide, gourmet cafeteria and other enviable amenities. It created themed floors with authentic details, not Disneyworld-like facades. Its internal staircase meant its employees could skip the elevator when they wanted to visit someone on another floor. Meeting rooms and office stations were created in thoughtful ways to suit all work styles and personalities. There was even a secret hidden doorway in the CEO’s office, in case he wanted some alone time.

The office wasn’t just like home, it was better than home. And that’s what made the commute worth it.

“I applaud Shopify so much,” says Reeves. “As they take on the world, the buildings they leave behind are fostering, who knows, the next Shopify, the next great startup that may come out of this same space.”

It’s an investment in design that Reeves really respects.

“I find Ottawa, as a city, a bit lost,” he acknowledges. “It’s frustrating as an architect to see opportunity wasted or watered down. We’ll be dead and gone and it’s still there, so what are you building: junk or good stuff?”

He feels the downtown core has, in recent years, constructed too many undistinguished glass towers and grey, generic buildings, leaving it lacking in character, vision and identity.

“I’m very worried about the downtown,” says Reeves. If remote work means fewer people need to come downtown, will they even come at all, he asks. “A city without intention is just a bunch of buildings.”

Reeves believes the ByWard Market needs to be a destination spot designated solely for pedestrians, on par with Old Montreal and the historic neighbourhood of Quebec City. He’d also like to see the Senators’ home arena relocated to the city centre.

“It shouldn’t be a question. It should just happen. You have to make it happen. There’s no ‘what if or maybe not’. These are major moves for a city.”

There are promising developments, recognizes Reeves, who cites the new carbon-neutral waterfront community Zibi as an example. There are also unique features to the City of Ottawa that Reeves believes distinguishes it, including its proximity to nature and its French culture.

“One of the best things to ever happen to Ottawa is that we’re next to Quebec.”

With provincial and municipal elections around the corner and pandemic restrictions fading, the wind of change is in the air, says Reeves.

“I remain ‘negatively optimistic’. It’s a time for great change. We need to start thinking about those big moves and thinking, from every little building to every big building, how it’s something that’s permanent, it’s an investment, it’s something that outlasts us all. And we need to be proud of that because Ottawa is just sitting there and it needs a kick in the ass, maybe.”

https://www.obj.ca/article/local/cit...chitect-argues

[rocketphish]

Taggart Group of Companies celebrates three generations of family leadership at 75th anniversary
Multi-faceted, family-owned business dates back to 1948 when founder Harold Taggart launched small construction business in Ottawa

Caroline Phillips, OBJ
June 12, 2023 1:13 PM ET



A front-end loader comes in handy for a variety of jobs, including scooping and moving gravel, dirt, sand and other debris. A much more enjoyable use, however, is to put it in park and fill its bucket with ice and drinks, as Taggart Group of Companies did for the 75th anniversary party it hosted Thursday.

Nearly 400 guests turned out to help the family-owned business celebrate its milestone birthday at its headquarters on Albion Road South, not far from South Keys. To accommodate such a large crowd, the gathering was held in the spacious mechanic’s bay located next to the main office building. There was a full-sized yellow excavator on prominent display in the work yard.

In the garage-that-didn’t-feel-like-a-garage were food and drink stations, a trio of musicians and lounge areas to relax in. There were row upon row of hanging pennant flags in the company’s colours, along with dark floor-length velvety curtains that hid whatever tools and stuff were being stored behind them. The place was so spick and span you could’ve eaten canapés off the floor.

As for the anniversary cake, let’s just hope the task of cutting it into hundreds of slices was a team effort. It was so huge.

Taggart Group of Companies is a major player in construction, land development and property management in the region. It consists of Taggart Construction, Doran Contractors, Tamarack Homes, Tartan Homes and Taggart Realty Management.

The family also runs its own private foundation for its philanthropic giving, of which it does both frequently and generously.

Attendees heard briefly from Taggart Group of Companies chairman and family patriarch Jim Taggart, 81, and his nephew, Scott Parkes, co-president of Tamarack Homes and of Tartan Homes.

Back in 1948, Taggart’s father and Parkes’ grandfather, Harold Taggart, began building new homes for returning war veterans. Recognizing an opportunity in servicing the land, Harold went out and bought the biggest shovel he could find to start an infrastructure company, Taggart Construction. He and his wife, Muriel, also raised seven kids: Jim, Martha (who married Dave Parkes), Tom, Ian, Keith, Paul and Chris. Only Paul is no longer here, having passed away in 2018 at age 61.

Over the decades, Harold’s business expanded and grew as Taggart, his brother Ian and their brother-in-law Dave took over. Gradually, their own children, nephews and nieces began stepping into more senior leadership roles. As for the family’s fourth generation, its oldest members are now in university. The Taggart and Parkes clan has grown to 88 family members, of which 17 work for the company.

Taggart Group is a terrific example of a successful multi-generational, family-owned business in Ottawa. “You may wonder how 17 second- and third-generation Taggarts and Parkes can ever arrive at a consensus,” said Taggart, adding light-heartedly: “So do we.”

The truth is, Taggart and his siblings were raised by their parents to stick together and take care of one another, he told OBJ in a 2021 interview. “We hope it will all continue,” Taggart said Thursday of their cohesiveness, while making special mention of their CEO and CFO, Pierre Bergeron, for his leadership role.

Taggart credited their consultants, suppliers and, “most important, our employees, who now number over 600” for the family’s ability to run their business for 75 years, through three generations.

Parkes also thanked the industry partners and employees, past and present, for their contributions to the company’s success. “Together, we accomplished something really special,” said Parkes. “It’s now my generation’s job not to screw it up.”

Parkes spoke that day on behalf of his entire family. “Please enjoy the rest of the evening and we look forward to welcoming you back for our 100th anniversary in another 25 years,” he said to applause and cheers from the crowd.

Among the invited guests were Claridge Homes founder and CEO Bill Malhotra and his son, CFO Neil Malhotra; Ron Tomlinson, CEO of Tomlinson Group of Companies, and its vice-president of construction, Tim Vizena; Melissa Kruyne, co-owner of building materials supplier KOTT Group; Kevin Yemm, vice president of land development at Richcraft Homes with his brother-in-law, Jeff Smith, president of Smith & Reid Insurance; retired Deloitte partner Carman Joynt; John Brulé, owner of JD Brule Equipment; and Syntax Strategic CEO Jennifer Stewart.

Prominent architect Barry Hobin, founding partner of Hobin Architecture, has been working with the Taggart and Parkes family for nearly 50 years. “They’re my longest, most loyal client,” he told OBJ.social.

“They’re a great group to work with,” he said of their willingness to listen and be respectful of other opinions. And they’re decisive, Hobin added. “They don’t go around in circles.”

Taggart Group COO Derek Howe has been with the company for about six years, which is nothing compared to the folks who’ve been there 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years. “I think that says a lot about what kind of place it is to work for,” he said of the long-term employees. “The family organization is exactly that — a family. Everyone looks out for each other.”

Howe described Taggart as “the heart and soul” of the company. “He still comes in here every day and he takes the time to talk to as many people as possible.”

In 2021, Taggart was honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the Ottawa Board of Trade and Ottawa Business Journal.

caroline@obj.ca

https://obj.ca/taggart-group-celebra...p-anniversary/

[rocketphish]

Raymond Moriyama, Canadian architect who designed Ontario Science Centre, dead at 93
Moriyama's work, including Canadian War Museum, Ottawa City Hall, had immense impact on Canadian architecture

Lane Harrison · CBC News
Posted: Sep 02, 2023 7:17 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Raymond Moriyama, the Canadian architect who built his first structure in a B.C. internment camp during the Second World War and went on to design some of Canada's most iconic buildings, has died at the age of 93.

Moriyama died on Friday, according to a statement from his firm, Moriyama & Teshima Architects. A cause of death has not been released.

"We ask for particular respect and privacy for Raymond's family. The world has lost a visionary architect and they have lost a treasured loved one," the statement said.

Born in Vancouver in 1929, Moriyama had a hand in the creation of the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa's City Hall, the Bata Shoe Museum, the Toronto Reference Library, the Ontario Science Centre and the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo.

Moriyama founded his architecture firm in 1958, according to the firm's website, and later joined with Ted Teshima in 1970 to form Moriyama & Teshima Architects.

He was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2009, the same year he won the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts.

Moriyama was one of the greatest Canadian architects of the 20th and early 21st century, if not the greatest, according to Stefan Novakovic, a senior editor at architecture publication Azure Magazine.

"The era in which he sort of came of age and started designing was what we sometimes look at as a sort of golden age of Canadian architecture after World War II," Novakovic said.

"It was this time when we were transforming Canada from this sort of white colonial nation into the multicultural and diverse country that we know today."

That transformation included a desire to express the shift architecturally, which he said Moriyama's buildings do well.

"With Moriyama's buildings, the really beautiful thing is, you don't have to know much, you just have to feel it. You step into the Toronto Reference Library and you feel that this is an inclusive space where everybody's welcome," Novakovic said.

When it comes to the Ontario Science Centre, Moriyama innovated what a museum could be, said Richard M. Sommer, the former dean of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto.

Before the science centre, Sommer said "museums were very, very static and very much about displays and reading. And this is a museum where people were asked to kind of engage very haptically in the material."

The science centre was also the building that launched Moriyama's career, Sommer said.

This summer, Toronto city council voted in favour of exploring the feasibility of keeping the science centre in its current location. That followed Premier Doug Ford's stated plan to relocate the science centre to Ontario Place, demolish the current site and build housing in its place.

Moriyama & Teshima Architects commented on the proposal in a June 1 post on CanadianArchitect.com, noting that the brief given to Moriyama by the Minister of Public Works in 1964 read: "Design an institution of international significance."

"The Ontario Science Centre is a landmark building, purposefully nestled into the natural ravine of the Don Valley, where it has succeeded in bringing that joyful study to the masses for over fifty years," the post read. "The purpose of the Science Centre is inseparable from the site it currently inhabits."

As a child, Moriyama spent time in a British Columbia internment camp during the Second World War.

Between 1942 and 1949, more than 22,000 Japanese Canadians were forcibly removed from the B.C. coast and incarcerated in camps. Japanese Canadians in B.C. were labelled as enemy aliens during the Second World War despite many of them having lived in Canada for generations.

In 2010, Moriyama reflected on the experience in a speech while receiving the Sakura Award for contributions to Japanese culture in Canada and abroad.

"It is a psychological hell when your own country, the country of your birth, stamps you an 'enemy alien,' disowns you and expels you," he said according to an excerpt of the speech published by the University of Toronto.

At the public baths in the camp, Moriyama was bullied because of scars from a childhood injury. Rejected by the country where he was born and mocked by those who shared his heritage, he snuck away to the Slocan River near the camp to bathe.

"Soon, I found myself wanting to build my first architectural project, a tree house, without being found out by the RCMP," he said. "That tree house, when finished, was beautiful. It was my university, my place of solace, a place to think and learn."

There, he said his despair began to subside and he realized he could not hate his own community and country, as it would crush his imagination.

"I replaced the despair with ideas about what I could do as an architect to help my community and Canada," he said at the time.

With files from Tyler Cheese, Guy Quenneville and The Canadian Press

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...uary-1.6955919

[rocketphish]

OBJ talks housing with Minto Group president Brent Strachan as Minto celebrates 100,000 homes built

Sarah MacFarlane, OBJ
October 5, 2023 1:50 PM ET

In 1955, Minto Group, then called Mercury Homes, was founded in Ottawa. In 1968, it built the first condo in the city. Last week, the developer realized its 100,000th home in Canada. OBJ’s Sarah MacFarlane sat down with Minto Group president Brent Strachan to discuss the challenges facing the housing industry, how the public and private sectors can help, and what the future holds for Minto.

What are the biggest challenges that you see facing the industry at this time?

I think the costs, number one. There’s that escalation that we’re seeing everywhere across everything, whether it’s food prices, labour costs or hard costs for construction. But also just the market today and the overall economy is just making people nervous about where the economy is today and where it’s going. There’s a lot of hesitation from people to even put their house up for sale or to buy a new home.

Hopefully, with some rate holds and, ideally, some rate drops later this year or early next year, it could provide a bit of positivity for people to get back into the real estate market. With the interest rates comes the financing, too. So, of course, the financing and the cost to carry is a factor as well.

How do you see the recent announcement about the federal government’s changes to the GST impacting the industry?

It’s a positive step in the right direction that will certainly help. There’s lots of headwinds in the industry today, from hard costs, development costs and labour costs, to financing costs, and with today’s interest rates, all of those are making development that much harder. So incentives like this will definitely help.

We hope the governments and the industry continue to talk to see what other opportunities there are, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction to get purpose-built rentals under construction.

What can various levels of government do to support and streamline housing development?

I think the approval timelines are always a challenge, right from purchasing a parcel of land and getting it through approvals. We continually work with the city, for example, to try and streamline the process and the city is always focused on it as well. That’s probably one of the biggest areas just to keep things moving quickly and keep them on.

There’s also the issue of land availability for development. Ottawa has just gone through an urban boundary expansion, but those lands that were just brought in won’t see development for about six years. It does take a long time to get it to development. So I think the land availability increases the supply and the supply definitely helps to address the demand in the market.

How can the private sector contribute?

The private sector, as far as owning land that is developable, is finding ways to bring it to market. But that’s easier said than done, especially in today’s market. In particular, the Ottawa market is down significantly year over year. I don’t think that comes as a surprise to anyone, just with the current state of interest rates today. But one thing that would also help is the stress test. What people need to qualify to get a mortgage these days, eight to nine per cent, is definitely limiting people. To even qualify for a mortgage, let alone buy a house, is a challenge that hopefully the different levels of government are looking at.

From an industry perspective, we need to be innovative with the product. For us, we brought on this year in Kanata new homes under $400,000 and we’re just launching in Barrhaven this weekend with new homes under $400,000 as well. These are stacked condos with underground parking but they’re under $400,000. So I think from an industry perspective, it’s about getting innovative with product design and land use to try and bring in a product that is attainable for the average consumer … which is hard to do with today’s land values and all these costs.

How has the industry changed in Minto’s lifetime?

It’s evolved. With land prices the way they are, it takes a lot of capital to be able to just buy land to build houses — not that it was cheap before, but it could be financed. It’s also how the business has grown and the competitiveness of it. Coming back to the constrained land supply, it really comes down to the land-planning principles that are used, as well as all the costs that are associated with it. It has all just shot up, in particular in the last five years, significantly, which just makes everything that much tighter through the whole process. One point to how things have changed is we’ve done a number of net-zero homes in Ottawa; we just opened one in Markham as well. From a build form and building perspective, houses are built way better today. Stricter code, stricter performance.

The drive towards net zero is, I think, accelerating for high-performance homes, so a home built today is quite a high-performing home compared to 68 years ago when we started. But that is where I think the industry is going and, quite honestly, where I think the housing industry has to go.

How has Minto been working to achieve its goal of building net-zero homes?

It’s definitely a priority. We’ve done at least eight demonstration homes over the last number of years and each one gets a bit better, but what’s important is that each one costs a little bit less, which means it starts to get a little bit more attainable for the average purchaser. These extra components do add costs, obviously, but with technology and advancements, it’s getting within reach. When we get there will be determined, but that’s positive news. In the meantime, our approach is for our homes being better than code and high-performing. Obviously, most consumers are very interested in their cost to carry, whether it’s their heating bills, their gas or electric bills. So high-performing homes, as well air quality within those homes, we feel are very important to buyers these days.

That’s no small feat, 100,000 homes in Canada. What does this milestone mean to Minto?

Well, it’s a homegrown Ottawa success story; what’s not to like? One hundred thousand homes across the company is a significant milestone that only a select few companies — definitely in Canada and even in the United States — can achieve, so I think it’s a testament to the team over the last 68 years to deliver so many homes.

But it’s not just the homes, it’s the communities as well that have been built. Operating in originally just Ottawa, Toronto and Florida, but now closing homes in Calgary and soon Vancouver and Texas, shows the expansion that Minto has been through and the growth in the last decades. Moving into the future, towards the next achievement, the next 100,000 probably will be a lot quicker. With the expansion, we’re not only growing in the market that we build in today, but we’re expanding into new markets. We’re building more where we are operating and we’re moving into new markets to build a diverse offering of building types, from townhomes to single-family homes to condos and everything in between. We’re really just trying to find that diverse market and appeal to many different types of buyers.

You’ve been at the company for 24 years, and Minto has been around since 1955. What does it take for a developer to survive and succeed to this degree?

It all goes back to the original founders of the company, the founding Greenberg family, and the shareholders who have sustained and built the business over the years. I think how they’ve done it is impressive.

The company started in Ottawa, but how they diversified geographically, as well as with different build forms — going back to the first highrise condominium in Canada that was built in Ottawa in 1968 — it’s always been a company of firsts. You know, in our industry, you’ve got the peaks and valleys, and you’ve got the real estate cycle, so it really does take a vision and a strategy to survive all of the down times and maintain success throughout what we call the strong markets.

You say that Minto is already looking ahead to the next milestone. How do you plan to accomplish the next 100,000 homes?

In today’s real estate market, as we’re all seeing, the biggest challenge is affordability and attainability, so how we design not only our homes but our communities and all the different build forms will be essential.

Of course, we have the large rentals division and (real estate investment trust), as well, which is separate from the 100,000, but also from a residential perspective, we’re offering all build forms. Leveraging everything that’s been established and built over the 68 last years to continue on the tradition and legacy of building firsts, trying new things, and pushing the envelope to deliver a product for consumers that they want and can afford, will be the key moving forward.

First as Mercury Homes and now as Minto Group, the company has been around for 68 years. How has Minto responded to the challenges it has faced in the company’s lifetime?

Going back, there would be periods, significant downturns, where the company, in a down cycle, shifted over to building rentals. It wasn’t the case that, when houses weren’t being sold, Minto shut down. Minto shifted over to building rentals in Ottawa and Toronto. So people were kept busy and the product was still being built.

There’s the example of 2008 in Florida in the United States with the market crash. Again, our Canadian operations were able to help out and sustain that Florida operation to make it through the downturn, to a point where now our Florida division will close over 2,000 homes this year alone, which is impressive for a private company in the U.S. So, I think those are examples of navigating through the ups and downs, but also on the employee base, keeping everybody busy and the fiscal prudence of not overextending.

Also, partnering, and good partnerships with our trade partners, has been key over the 68 years. Trade partners have been literally a partner with Minto. They were treated fair and treated honestly and a number of those companies that were partners years ago, even decades ago, are still trade partners today. I think that approach to the business helps toward the success, as well as the stability, of the ongoing legacy at the company.

What are some of the most significant advances and victories that you’ve seen in the industry over your career?

I think one thing Minto has always been proud of is we’ve been been recognized as Ontario’s Green Builder of the Year from the province, as well as Ottawa and Toronto, for our advancements towards net zero, our leading buildings from a highrise perspective, and our performance across the board, so I think that’s something that is closest to all of us as a team. But also, the way that the company and founding family give back to the community, recognizing that. To be successful for 68 years is not something that just happens. It’s about recognizing that giving back to the cities we operate in is important because a healthy, vibrant city is key to everybody. That’s something everyone is proud of over the last 68 years, for sure. There have been generations of Minto employees. This milestone is a celebration not only of employees today, but every employee who worked over the years and helped build the company up to the size that it is today. So it really is a team effort and team recognition dating all the way back for all the employees. I’m getting close to a quarter-century club here at Minto. People say, ‘Wow, you’ve worked at the same place,’ and I think… one job, but many different careers at Minto. It’s a testament to the company and what it stands for.

https://obj.ca/housing-president-bre...0-homes-built/

[rocketphish]

Beyond the bricks and mortar

Laura Byrne Paquet, Ottawa Citizen
Published Oct 17, 2023 • Last updated 8 hours ago • 3 minute read



When brothers Louis, Gilbert, Irving and Lorry Greenberg built their first modest house in Ottawa’s Heron Gate neighbourhood in 1955, they probably didn’t dream that their development firm would build its 100,000th residential property 68 years later.

The brothers called their fledgling company Mercury Homes. Two years later, they renamed it Minto Construction Company. And in late September 2023, what is now the Minto Group announced the closing of its 100,000th home. That figure that includes houses, townhouses and condominiums, but not purpose-built rentals.

The company currently employs just over 1,400 people across North America. It has 5,827 units under construction — for both rental and sale — in 23 projects across the continent, including 664 units in five Ottawa developments.

Brent Strachan, President, Ontario at Minto Communities Canada, credits the company’s success to several factors, especially design.

“When I say design, it’s not just about the outside façade. It’s also about the suite and design layouts. [Minto] has always been strong at delivering a product that is very livable,” he says. Over the years, Minto has won multiple awards for design, including all six Ontario awards handed out by the Canadian Housing Design Council in 1969–70.

Strachan notes that the company embraced innovation from its earliest days, pointing to Horizon House, today known simply as The Horizon. The 11-storey tower on Meadowlands Drive in Nepean was Ontario’s first high-rise condominium building when it opened in 1968.

In recent years, that focus on trying new things has also led to a series of environmentally friendly projects and green building awards. Minto has built 10 net-zero demonstration homes since 2008 and it constructed one of Canada’s first LEED-certified condo towers (the Radiance at Minto Gardens in Toronto). The company is currently building North Oak Tower 3 in Oakville, one of the first high-rise condos in the GTA to be heated and cooled with a geothermal system.

Since its beginnings in Ottawa, Minto has steadily expanded to other regions, starting with Florida in 1978. Why Florida? It appealed to the Greenbergs due to a combination of land availability and population growth, Strachan explains.

Later expansions saw the company start building in Toronto (1986), Calgary (2012) and elsewhere. It recently broke ground on rental buildings in Greater Vancouver and Greater Victoria, two new markets for the firm.

Entering a market with purpose-built rentals is a common approach at Minto. It allows the company to become familiar with local tradespeople, building requirements and design preferences, and to test new materials and technologies, Strachan says.

With that understanding of local conditions, the company moves into building homes and condos for buyers.

Strachan believes that strategy differentiates his company from many of its competitors. He says it is possible for someone to start in a Minto rental apartment and move from there into an entry-level stacked townhouse, then a single-family home. Once the kids have flown the nest, homeowners could move into a Minto condo or bungalow, or even a retirement property in Florida.

He also notes that Minto builds more than homes. In many cases, it designs complete communities, including amenities such as parks and schools. The many Ottawa neighbourhoods that Minto helped create include Pineview, Beacon Hill South, Tanglewood, Crystal Beach and Qualicum.

The company’s momentum hasn’t stopped. In May 2022, in one of the priciest land deals in Ottawa’s history, Minto paid $245 million for 212 acres of land straddling the Kanata-Stittsville border. There, it’s building a development called Abbott’s Run, with options ranging from townhouses starting at $646,900 to five-bedroom homes starting at $1,091,900.

Strachan notes that Minto is also working to address the current housing affordability requirements with projects such as Anthem, which opens to buyers today. Stacked, two-bedroom townhomes in the Barrhaven development will start at the high $300,000s.

Since the company builds roughly 1,000 units a year in Ottawa, many Ottawans have probably lived in a Minto-built property at some point. However, even those who haven’t are likely familiar with the company’s name through its community initiatives. For instance, Minto donated $25 million to the Ottawa Hospital and $250,000 to mental health and wellness services at the Orleans Health Hub in 2022.

One of its best-known and most popular charity projects is the CHEO Dream Home. Since 2001, Minto has built every one of these mansions, which have helped raise millions for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario through the Dream of a Lifetime Lottery.

This year’s CHEO Dream Home, a 4,383-square-foot mansion in the Mahogany area of Manotick, is valued at just over $3 million (including furnishings). Ticket sales close on Friday, Dec. 15.

https://ottawacitizen.com/life/beyon...cks-and-mortar

[J.OT13]

I'd love a map that identified which developers built what.

[rocketphish]

Montreal firm Provencher_Roy acquires Ottawa’s GRC Architects

David Sali, OBJ
February 27, 2024 4:27 PM ET

Montreal-based architecture firm Provencher_Roy has acquired Ottawa’s GRC Architects in a move that will create one of the capital’s largest companies in its field.

The firms announced the transaction on Tuesday. Terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1985, GRC Architects was Ottawa’s seventh-largest architecture firm before the merger with a staff of eight registered architects, according to OBJ’s 2024 Book of Lists. Its past projects include the Canadian War Museum (a joint venture with Moriyama Teshima Architects) and the embassies of Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Provencher_Roy was founded in 1983 and has worked on a number of major projects in Montreal, including the World Trade Centre Montreal and renovations at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

The firm has had a presence in Ottawa for five years, according to a company news release. It said the acquisition will give the firm “the opportunity to further increase its activities in Ontario and the National Capital Region, in addition to pursuing new Canada-wide opportunities.”

Former GRC principals Martin Tite, Alex Leung and Carolyn Jones will now become partners at Provencher_Roy, joining Jenny Lafrance, who has managed the firm’s Ottawa team for the past five years.

https://obj.ca/provencher-roy-acquires-grc-architects/