Urban Design and Architecture Awards

For additional information
Call 905-546-2424 ext. 1393
Email [email protected]

Sustainable Building Design Panel Discussion
A panel of experienced professionals will discuss current best practices & highlight opportunities to encourage and incentivize sustainable building design in Hamilton.
Date: Jan. 24 @6pm
Location: David Braley Health Sciences Centre, 100 Main St W, Hamilton
Open to the public.
The biennial Urban Design and Architecture Awards recognize and celebrate excellence in the design of our urban environment.
A high quality urban environment contributes to economic and social benefits, improves the image of the City, and creates a sense of pride. A well designed city is integral to developing a vibrant and sustainable community with a high quality of life.
Owners, urban designers, architects, landscape architects, planners, contractors, engineers, consultants and students are invited and encouraged to submit projects such as: buildings, additions, alterations, restorations, adaptive reuse, brownfield redevelopment, streetscapes, parks, open spaces, landscapes, ecological restoration and design projects, public art, installations, planning studies, and/or student work.
Submission Details
Architects, urban designers, planners, landscape architects, owners, developers, contractors, engineers, students, etc. are invited and encouraged to submit exceptional urban design projects that represent visionary thinking in Hamilton. The submissions should include high quality, innovative and human-scaled projects.
Deadline and eligibility
To be eligible, projects must:
- Be located within the geographic limits of the City of Hamilton.
- Have the ‘urban elements’, ’buildings’ and ‘landscapes’ (categories 1 to 4) submissions substantially complete and occupied. ‘Visions and plans’, ‘civic achievements’ and ‘student projects’ must be complete.
- Have been completed btween the defined dated to be determined when award program intake process re-opens.
2021 Awards complete & submission period CLOSED.
Award categories have been established to aid in the fair evaluation of entries. A project or components of a project may be submitted under more than one category. View a list of award categories.
Award Categories
Award categories have been established to aid in the fair evaluation of entries. A project or components of a project may be submitted under more than one category.
A stand-alone object, public art installation, landscape element or small-scale building component which contributes to the public realm. Submissions may include, but are not limited to: tactical urbanism, street furnishings, canopies, signage, porches, patios, or colonnades, gateways, light fixtures, walkways, stairways, barrier-free access, fences and works of art.
Criteria
- Contribution to the public realm
- Quality of execution
- Innovation and uniqueness
A building or composition of buildings, that achieve(s) urban design excellence and is precedent setting for a project of its type through its relationship to the natural environment and the public realm with consideration to pedestrian amenity, massing, detailing, as well as landscaping. Submissions should document and highlight how the project contributes to successful city-building through its contextual relationship, design quality and measures of sustainable design. New build, adaptive re-use, and heritage restoration projects are all eligible.
The Building in Context category consists of three sub-categories that reflect a range of scales:
- Residential
- Commercial/Industrial
- Mixed Use
Criteria
- Contribution to the public realm
- Success of massing, orientation, scale, materiality and contextual integration
- Quality of execution
- Innovation and uniqueness
- Energy efficiency, sustainability, adaptability and resiliency
A building or a composition of buildings, with a primary function to serve the public and/or is largely accessible to the public. Submissions should demonstrate urban design and architectural excellence through a relationship to the natural environment and the public realm with consideration to pedestrian amenity, massing, detailing, as well as landscaping.
In this category, all building scales are eligible, as well as new build, adaptive re-use, and heritage restoration. Submissions may include, but are not limited to: education, health care, recreation, cultural, community and civic buildings.
Criteria
- Contribution to the public realm
- Success of massing, orientation, scale, materiality and contextual integration
- Quality of execution
- Innovation and uniqueness
- Energy efficiency, sustainability, adaptability and resiliency
Open spaces, public spaces and green infrastructure projects that contribute to the public realm and the natural environment through careful attention and consideration to context, community, sustainability, flexibility and adaptability over time.
Criteria
- Contribution to the public realm
- Quality of execution
- Innovation and uniqueness
- Energy efficiency, sustainability, adaptability and resiliency
Visions, studies and master plans that have the potential to significantly impact the future of Hamilton. Submissions may include but are not limited to: theoretical and visionary projects, secondary plans, master plans, streetscape plans and neighbourhood designs that are currently in progress.
Criteria
- Comprehensiveness
- Creative solutions
- Clarity and execution
Urban design or architecture related initiatives, services, or projects that have had significant civic, social, and/or public realm impacts.
Criteria
- Community involvement
- Innovation and uniqueness
- Clarity and execution
High quality theoretical or studio projects that specifically relate to Hamilton. Students that attend universities offering degrees in architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning are welcome to submit an entry.
a. Landscape Architecture
b. Architecture
Criteria
- Comprehensiveness
- Creative solutions
- Clarity and execution