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.
West Don Lands Block 8
ÏCE at York Centre
Pickering Performing Arts Centre
383 Sorauren
The Farm
Canadian Chancery Expansion
Escarpment House
Junction Point
Harbour Plaza
Four Seasons Hotel & Residences
Cairns Family Health & Bioscience Research Complex
Ravine House
Theatre Park
West Block
Pan/Parapan American Games Athletes' Village
Fred Kaiser Engineering Building
11 Charlotte
Burnt Barns
Don Mills Jamatkhana and Ismaili Community Centre
West Don Lands Blocks 3/4/7
Centre for Civilizations, Cultures & Cities
Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research
The Grand at Sky View Parc
Museum of Contemporary Art
Pickering Library
Pond Road Student Residence
St. James Cathedral Centre
Pier 27 Phases 1 & 2
Thompson Hotel & Residences
A valuable precedent for Canadian architecture – nodding to history while exploring new ground.
A masterful composition of texture and natural light. The delicate building skin adds magic to an otherwise simple and economical building massing. [...] A great contemporary interpretation of Islamic architecture.
We think something’s done and it’s never done. The interesting thing about cities is that they’re never finished.