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.
Pan/Parapan American Games Athletes' Village
Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular & Biomolecular Research
383 Sorauren
Harbour Plaza
Pond Road Student Residence
Pier 27 Phases 1 & 2
West Don Lands Blocks 3/4/7
Thompson Hotel & Residences
Pickering Performing Arts Centre
Canadian Chancery Expansion
The Grand at Sky View Parc
Theatre Park
Junction Point
11 Charlotte
St. James Cathedral Centre
The Farm
Don Mills Jamatkhana and Ismaili Community Centre
Escarpment House
Burnt Barns
Pickering Library
Cairns Family Health & Bioscience Research Complex
West Don Lands Block 8
Centre for Civilizations, Cultures & Cities
ÏCE at York Centre
Ravine House
West Block
Museum of Contemporary Art
Four Seasons Hotel & Residences
Fred Kaiser Engineering Building
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.
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.
A valuable precedent for Canadian architecture – nodding to history while exploring new ground.