Bruce Kuwabara
Founding Partner, O.C., OAA, FRAIC, AIA, RIBA
Bruce Kuwabara is a founding partner of KPMB Architects and the Chair of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. In 2006, he was awarded the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medal and in 2012 he was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada for shaping ‘our built landscape in lasting ways.’ Bruce was lead design partner on 13 of KPMB’s 16 Governor General’s Award-winning projects.
His portfolio encompasses cultural, civic, educational, hospitality, and healthcare projects. Notable cultural work includes Canada’s National Ballet School, the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, and the Remai Modern art gallery in Saskatoon. Educational projects include the Julis Romo Rabinowitz Building and Louis A. Simpson International Building at Princeton University, and the Destination Project at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta.
Bruce has long advocated the integration of performance and aesthetics. He led teams for the Canadian Embassy in Berlin. Working on an integrated design team he designed Manitoba Hydro Place which is a global exemplar for high-performance, low-energy building design. He has worked on four Leed-Platinum projects: Manitoba Hydro Place, the office building of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, Bay Adelaide East Tower, and the Kellogg School of Management.
Bruce leads interdisciplinary design teams to deliver large-scale neighbourhood projects. This work includes the Athlete’s Village for the Pan/Parapan Games in 2015 which is now the Canary District in Toronto and the Pier 8 waterfront development in Hamilton.
Current clients include the Contemporary Calgary Art Gallery (Expansion and Renovation of the 1967 Centennial Planetarium), Boston University (Center for Computing and Data Sciences), Brookfield (Bay-Adelaide Centre North Tower), the Centre for Mental Health and Addiction (CAMH), the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia (AGNS).
A strong advocate of Canadian architecture and architects, Bruce serves as a critic and guest lecturer at universities across North America.
- December 22, 2020 In Memoriam: Barry Sampson (BArch 1972) OAA, FRAIC, professor emeritus at the Daniels Faculty, and principal at Baird Sampson Neuert Architects
- November 26, 2020 Global News Canada: Isttaniokaksini / Science Commons at University of Lethbridge wins GOLD for the WAN Awards in the Education category
- November 18, 2020 The winning design team for the new Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and Waterfront Arts District
