Diamond Schmitt Architects Toronto, Canadian Architecture Practice, Ontario Design Studio

Diamond Schmitt Architects : Toronto Architecture Practice

Contemporary Canadian Buildings, North America

Diamond Schmitt Architects News Architecture News arranged chronologically: Dunfield Theatre Building, Cambridge, Ontario picture from architects Dunfield Theatre Ontario - 8 Mar 2013 One of the largest performing arts companies in Canada is set to open a ‘cultural hub’ and 500-seat theatre in Cambridge, Ontario. Drayton Entertainment inaugurates its seventh and largest venue, Dunfield Theatre tonight. The facility consolidates the company’s operations under one roof and revitalizes the riverfront district of this historic city. Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia Diamond Schmitt Architects image from architect Diamond Schmitt Architects - latest major building - 19 Dec 2012 Major new Russian building due to open in May 2013, designed by Canadian architects. Mariinsky II will expand the Mariinsky’s cultural complex on legendary Theatre Square and enable the institution to offer the public a greatly increased schedule of presentations. Mariinsky II, funded by the Russian Government, is designed by the Toronto-based firm of Diamond Schmitt Architects in conjunction with the Russian firm KB ViPS. The 851,580-square-foot Mariinsky II will be one of the largest lyric arts facilities in the world. 4 Dec 2012 LEED Gold Cultural Facilities, Canada Diamond Schmitt Architects TWO CULTURAL FACILITIES OBTAIN LEED GOLD Burlington Performing Arts and Kinnear Centre in Banff cited for sustainable design TORONTO – Two cultural facilities designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects can take a bow. The Burlington Performing Arts Centre and the Kinnear Centre for Creativity & Innovation have received LEED® Gold certification for New Construction from The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC). photo : Shai Gil The Burlington Performing Arts Centre is the first theatre in Ontario and only the second in Canada to achieve this high distinction for sustainable design. “We pursued an aggressive sustainable directive to reduce energy consumption and lower the environmental impact for this building type, which is not typically associated with green design,” said Gary McCluskie, Principal at Diamond Schmitt Architects. photo : Tom Arban The sustainable narrative for the Burlington theatre was interwoven throughout the project and began with innovative on-site remediation initiatives to treat contaminated soil. Energy efficient design was achieved with thermal and lighting controls and monitoring, use of natural daylight and exterior envelope design. Ninety percent of construction waste was diverted from landfill, 19 percent of construction materials contain recycled content and 50 per cent of wood-based materials used are FSC certified. These and other measures resulted in a 50 per cent reduction in use of water, both indoors and outdoors, and a 47 per cent reduction in energy consumption relative to the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB). photo : Shai Gil The Burlington Performing Arts Centre (above) has a 720-seat Main Theatre, 260-seat Studio, a six-storey fly tower, a large public lobby and plaza that integrates the facility with downtown Burlington. It opened in December 2011. photo : Tom Arban The Kinnear Centre for Creativity & Innovation (above) is the new hub of The Banff Centre, the renowned Rocky Mountain arts and conference facility located in Banff National Park, Alberta. The three-storey, 60,000 square foot structure houses learning and meeting rooms, innovative rehearsal and performance space, plus informal gallery areas, a cafe/lounge and the Paul D. Fleck Library & Archives. “The multi-disciplinary purposes of the Banff Centre and its setting guided the design to ensure the protection of the natural beauty, wildlife and environment within the park,” said Jarle Lovlin, Principal with Diamond Schmitt Architects. The building scheme includes an efficient exterior building envelope, sun shading to reduce energy use and a storm water management system. The Kinnear Centre capitalizes on its stunning mountain setting and provides 100 percent of occupied space with access to views. Fully 78 percent of wood products were supplied from FSC-certified sources. A 37 percent energy cost savings relative to the MNECB was achieved. “Going forward, the measures that enhance the environmental performance of buildings will hopefully become the standard for all building types, integrating sustainable innovation and design as these two projects have demonstrated,” added Jack Diamond, Principal with the firm. Recent Diamond and Schmitt Buildings Brentwood Library, Toronto, Canada Diamond Schmitt Architects image from architects Brentwood Library - 7 Nov 2012 This building has re-opened following a two-year renovation and expansion designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects. The updated library adds 30 percent more public service, collection and staff space configured on a tight site in the suburb of Etobicoke. The form of the original (1955) two-storey east wing is maintained and connects with a three-storey addition by a double-height Reading Room that houses the library’s main book collection and seating areas. Natural lighting is abundant throughout the library and all occupied spaces have windows and outdoor views. Ryerson Image Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Design: Diamond Schmitt Architects photo © Tom Arban Photography Inc. Ryerson Image Centre - 27 Sep 2012 An international centre for photographic arts designed to house and exhibit one of the world’s most prestigious collections opens September 29, 2012 in downtown Toronto. The Ryerson Image Centre completes the transformation by Diamond Schmitt Architects of Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts, renovated to accommodate gallery space, curatorial and graduate study centres, state-of-the-art storage vaults and student galleries. The new centre is designed to museum standards of the Canadian Conservation Institute. The windowless former brewery warehouse that housed the school for 50 years is now an open and legible program that engages with the campus and community. 18 Jul 2012 West Kowloon Cultural District Competition, China Shortlisted Design Team for First Arts Venue Courtesy of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority West Kowloon Cultural District Competition Shortlist of five design teams invited to submit proposals for the design of the Xiqu Centre, one of the first landmark buildings for the WKCD, scheduled for completion at the end of 2015. Shortlisted design teams: - BTA & RLP Company Limited - Foster + Partners with O Studio Architects - Mecanoo architecten / Leigh & Orange - Safdie Architects LLC - Wong & Ouyang (HK) Ltd. (in collaboration with Diamond and Schmitt) May 11 2012 St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Canada Diamond Schmitt Architects DIAMOND SCHMITT ARCHITECTS TO LEAD EARLY DESIGNS FOR HOSPITAL REDEVELOPMENT TORONTO - Diamond Schmitt Architects has been selected by Infrastructure Ontario to lead the planning, design and compliance of a major expansion to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. The project includes the construction of a new 17-storey patient-care tower and the renovation of approximately 150,000 square feet of existing space. The expansion will add five new operating rooms, enlarge the emergency department and relocate patient beds from an 85-year-old wing. Earlier addition by Diamond Schmitt Architects at the St. Michael’s Hospital, the Cardinal Carter wind atop the red masonry base of the hospital, also shown is the current vacant lot where the 17-storey tower will rise: picture Courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects Diamond Schmitt Architects will work in association with DIALOG Ontario Inc. on the redevelopment. Program features will include: • hybrid operating rooms each large enough to include state-of-the-art medical imaging equipment that will allow surgeons to perform minimally invasive, image-guided or catheter-based procedures, as well as undertake open surgery in the same operating room. • Enlarged, state-of-the-art facilities for orthopedic surgery, oncology, coronary care and respirology, including North America’s largest adult cystic fibrosis clinic, as well as critical care space for the coronary and medical-surgical units. • Expansion of the current Emergency Department, which was originally designed to accommodate 45,000 patient visits, but now accommodates 70,000 patient visits a year—a number that continues to grow with the population. “We are thrilled to be able to continue working with St Michael’s Hospital,” said Jack Diamond, Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects. “It is wonderful to work with an institution of such noble purpose, compassion and above all one that delivers such exceptional care. Our task will be to ensure an architecture commensurate with St Michael’s great attributes. This will not only be from a functional perspective, but, given the prominent location of the new patient care tower at the corner of Victoria and Queen Streets, will be the new face of St Michael’s”. "The new patient care tower and renovation projects will ensure that St. Michael's staff and physicians are able to provide the excellent quality of care that is our hallmark, within a state-of-the-art facility that includes the latest advances in technology and lifesaving equipment," said Dr. Robert Howard, Chief Executive Officer, St. Michael's Hospital. Diamond Schmitt Architects previously designed St. Michael’s Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, a unique research and education facility; the Cardinal Carter wing and the St. Michael’s Women’s Health Clinic. Diamond Schmitt Architects (www.dsai.ca) is a leading Canadian full-service architectural practice and is the recipient of more than 200 awards, including six Governor General’s Awards for Architecture. The firm is recognized for sustainable design expertise in healthcare facilities, academic and research buildings, the performing arts, residential and commercial properties. Current projects include The Hospital for Sick Children’s Research Tower and Bridgepoint Hospital in Toronto and the New Mariinsky Theatre, an opera house in St. Petersburg, Russia. 14 Mar 2012 The Festival Hub at David Pecaut Square, Toronto, Canada Diamond Schmitt Architects picture Courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects Windscape Luminato Toronto LUMINATO 2012 WINDSCAPE Sparking an annual tradition, Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, now in its sixth year, today announced that the Festival’s hub at David Pecaut Square will be transformed into an art installation for the duration of the festival, June 8-17, 2012. Key Projects by Diamond Schmitt Architects Featured Buildings by Diamond and Schmitt, alphabetical: Cambridge Civic Administration Building, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2008- Corus Entertainment building, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2007 Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada - Foreign Ministry of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel 2007 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 2007 image Courtesy of the WKCDA For Canadian Opera Company + National Ballet of Canada 2,000 seat auditorium Hendrie Gateway Pavilion, Royal Ontario Botanical Gardens, Montreal, Canada 2007- Life Sciences Building, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Los Alamos Civic Center, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA - Montreal Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall, Montreal, Quebec, Canada - North Vancouver City Library, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Sidney Harman Hall, Washington, D.C., USA - Southbrook Vineyards, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada - Toronto Central Waterfront, Toronto, Ontario, Canada - University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada - More projects by Diamond Schmitt Architects online soon

Diamond Schmitt Architects Toronto - Practice Information

Diamond Schmitt Architects office based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Diamond Schmitt Architects : Toronto Architects

Diamond Schmitt Architects is recognized as one of Canada’s leading architectural practices. Founded in 1975 and located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the firm currently employs 160 architects working on projects worldwide. The founding principals of the firm are architects A.J. Diamond and Donald Schmitt.

Over the course of three decades, Diamond Schmitt Architects has steadily grown in both size and reputation with an increased focus on large-scale institutional buildings designed to meet the specific needs of performing arts organizations, as well as academic and medical research institutions, many of which have won international design awards. Design success at Diamond Schmitt Architects has been matched with equal success by budget and schedule control, a record in which the firm takes much pride.

Diamond Schmitt Architects has recently completed award-winning performing arts centres for the Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet of Canada, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Washington’s Sidney Harman Hall, and the Garter Lane Theatre in Ireland. Currently in design at Diamond Schmitt Architects are concert halls for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Denver Symphony Orchestra as well as a number of performance halls for smaller theatre groups in both Canada and the United States.

Left to right: AJ Diamond, Gary Mcluskie, Michael Tracey:


Three of recent projects by Diamond Schmitt Architects were recognized by Architectural Record and its sister publication BusinessWeek as being among the 10 best buildings in the world in the following years - 2004: The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem; 2007: the Four Seasons Center for the Performing arts in Toronto, Canada; 2008: The Sidney Harman Hall at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C. Measurable results proving that these buildings changed people’s lives helped support the theory that good design equals good business. As well, Diamond Schmitt Architects has received over 150 regional, national and international awards for excellence in design as well as awards from national building associations (brick, concrete, steel, wood, glass and bronze) and ‘green’ organizations such as the U.S. and Canadian Green Building Councils for leadership in the design of environmentally sustainable buildings.

Diamond Schmitt Architects has developed a reputation as a teaching office, encouraging an open and collaborative design process that over the years has attracted talented young architects from around the world. The architectural teams at Diamond Schmitt are lively and diverse with over 25 languages currently spoken within the office.

In 2004 and again in 2008 the international accounting and consulting firm Deloitte LLP included Diamond Schmitt Architects on their list of the 50 Best Managed Companies in Canada. In 2008 A.J. Diamond co-authored (with Donald Schmitt and Don Gillmor) Insight and On Site, The Architecture of Diamond and Schmitt. Part manifesto, part monograph, the book addresses critical urban issues and provides examples from the Diamond Schmitt architectural practice that both address and offer planning and design solutions to those issues.

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