April 9, 2019

TORONTO – Diamond Schmitt Architects has won a SCUP Excellence in Architecture Award for Lazaridis Hall at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.

The recognition is one of 23 awards for campus architecture across North America in 2018 presented by the Society for College and University Planning / American Institute of Architects – Committee on Architecture for Education (SCUP/AIA-CAE). It is the sixth SCUP Award of Excellence for Diamond Schmitt.

Lazaridis Hall signals the start of a new campus precinct across University Avenue from the main campus. It is home to the School of Business and Economics, and the Department of Mathematics.

The design celebrates and clearly articulates the major program spaces: a 1000-seat auditorium, 300-seat lecture hall, and large skylit atrium. This public square functions as a crossroads and provides a new heart for campus life that is bathed in natural light beneath an undulating freeform skylight.

“It is an honour to be recognized by SCUP for a design that is an aspirational landmark for academic collaboration and community connection,” said Donald Schmitt, Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects.

Lazaridis Hall contains state-of-the-art incubator space to support entrepreneurship and new business startups while fostering student interaction and collaborative research. It is LEED Gold and 2030 Challenge certified, making this an exemplar of sustainable design on a large scale. The building has previously been acknowledged with a Civic Trust Award (UK), two wood design awards and design excellence for use of glass.

Previous SCUP Award-winning projects by Diamond Schmitt Architects are Okanagan College Trades Renewal and Expansion in Kelowna, BC (2017); Thompson Rivers University Law School in Kamloops, B.C. (2014); Ryerson Image Centre in Toronto (2013); Algonquin College of Construction Excellence in Ottawa (2012); and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa (2007).

With offices in Toronto, Vancouver and New York City, Diamond Schmitt’s portfolio includes post-secondary facilities, performing arts centres, residential, institutional and commercial buildings. Among current projects are Ottawa’s Main Library and Library and Archives Canada, Robarts Common at the University of Toronto, and Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts & Sciences in Texas.