a—A
Don Mills Jamatkhana and Ismaili Community Centre Wins 2023 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence!
Don Mills Jamatkhana and Ismaili Community Centre has been recognised by jurors of Canadian Architect for being "a great contemporary interpretation of Islamic architecture," and "a masterful composition of texture and natural light." Located in the Toronto suburb of Thorncliffe Park on the site of the first Ismaili prayer hall in Ontario, the Ismaili Centre will mark the 50th anniversary of the original building, a celebration of the community presence of the Ismaili branch of Shi’a Islam.
a—A is a design practice based in Toronto engaged in the act of city building, providing full architectural services across a wide range of contexts, scales and building types—from schools, galleries and cultural centres, to affordable housing and mixed-use developments, to urban parks and civic precincts. We work with clients and collaborators in Canada, the United States, and Europe. We are designers, researchers and urbanists who care about the city, and take care to create spaces that give meaning and invention to the ways we live and work.
Cairns Family Health & Bioscience Research Complex
Fred Kaiser Engineering Building
Four Seasons Hotel & Residences
Thompson Hotel & Residences
Pickering Library
Museum of Contemporary Art
Don Mills Jamatkhana and Ismaili Community Centre
Canadian Chancery Expansion
Escarpment House
St. James Cathedral Centre
Pan/Parapan American Games Athletes' Village
Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research
The Grand at Sky View Parc
383 Sorauren
Centre for Civilizations, Cultures & Cities
The Farm
Burnt Barns
Harbour Plaza
11 Charlotte
Theatre Park
Ravine House
West Don Lands Blocks 3/4/7
Pickering Performing Arts Centre
ÏCE at York Centre
Pier 27 Phases 1 & 2
Pond Road Student Residence
Junction Point
West Block
West Don Lands Block 8
The Canary precinct is sophisticated proof (and a quiet rallying cry) that intelligent cities should renew the currency of the well-crafted ‘block’ as the real medium in which we can grow good neighbourhoods.
We think something’s done and it’s never done. The interesting thing about cities is that they’re never finished.
A valuable precedent for Canadian architecture – nodding to history while exploring new ground.