Landscape of Landmark Quality selected as OAA Awards finalist

March 19, 2026

The Landscape of Landmark Quality is a finalist for the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) Design Excellence Awards. The biennial awards program celebrates spaces, buildings, and communities that positively impact the human experience and respect the environment.

The landscape and infrastructural transformation of the University of Toronto’s St. George Campus core — led by KPMB with landscape design by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) — is one of 20 projects recognized by the OAA jury from a pool of 96 eligible submissions.

Competing entries were evaluated on criteria including creativity, design quality, response to context, sustainability, and legacy. All entries were required to disclose Energy Use Intensity (EUI) metrics. Eligible projects include single buildings, groups of buildings, communities, public spaces, additions, interiors, conversions, and renovations located in Ontario or designed by Ontario-based practices.

Since completion in 2024, the Landscape of Landmark Quality has revitalized the historic campus core as a pedestrian-friendly and accessible gathering space for both the university community and the wider city. Notably, the project removed surface parking from the site and renewed 17 acres of its landscapes.

It also features one of Canada’s largest urban geothermal fields. This low-emission heating system, which was installed beneath the lawn of King’s College Circle, supports the university’s ongoing carbon reduction efforts.

Profiles of each finalist will be posted on the OAA website later this month and published in a forthcoming book about the 2026 awards. The 10 winners of the Design Excellence Awards will be announced in April and recognized at the OAA Conference in Waterloo in May.

(Lead image: Salina Kassam)