Diamond Schmitt

06/23/2026

The Toronto Metropolitan University's new School of Medicine is featured on Dezeen!

The project transforms the former Bramalea Civic Centre into a contemporary academic environment that brings medical education and a primary care clinic together—directly addressing healthcare access in Peel Region.

A large atrium anchors the design as a gathering space for students, faculty, clinicians, and the broader community—introducing light, openness, and transparency while retaining the building’s civic presence.

Indigenous design principles informed the project through collaboration with Two Row Architect, grounding it in the natural and cultural landscape of the region; and bringing new life to the former civic hall as a place of healing and learning.

Read more: https://dsai.ca/news/dezeen-diamond-schmitt-adapts-civic-centre-into-tmu-school-of-medicine/

06/21/2026

Happy !

Music thrives on connection—and so does great design.

At the Humber Cultural Hub, architecture actively inspires the creative process, bringing Humber Polytechnic's music, film, and media programs together under one roof. Designed to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, the Hub includes a 500-seat flexible venue, a 150-seat music hall, professional recording suites, and practice rooms, that give students direct access to industry-leading environments—nurturing a new generation of talent.

At the heart of the building is the Exchange, a light-filled three-storey atrium that serves as both campus square and performance space. With open sightlines, natural daylight, and room for spontaneous encounters, it creates opportunities for casual performances, collaboration, and unexpected conversations, fostering the kind of creative crossover that no classroom can replicate.

Photos: Scott Norsworthy, Tom Arban

06/18/2026

We're honoured to be named a winner of The Architect's Newspaper Best of Practice Award in the Architect (XL Firm) – Canada category for the second consecutive year!

Evaluated across design, culture, and social impact, the Best of Practice Awards recognize firms that excel not only in exceptional design, but in creating a better, more purposeful place for people to live and work. For Diamond Schmitt, that means designing architecture that performs exceptionally, strengthens communities, and enhances quality of life while supporting broader civic and environmental objectives.

On Diamond Schmitt being named a winner: "In terms of design and innovation, the work that Diamond Schmitt is producing—in the context of a very large firm—is at the upper level in North America." — Jury member Thomas Robinson

06/17/2026

BC Children's Hospital Centre for Health Complexity is featured in The Globe and Mail in an article by David McPherson!

As the first-of-its-kind in Canada, the new 166,000-square-foot centre aims to bridge gaps in the healthcare and social services continuum, and will offer care coordination, family counselling, and peer support to serve children and youth up to 19 years old with complex healthcare needs that require constant care.

The facility provides a welcoming, warm environment. "We wanted to get away from the clinical feel of traditional hospitals with fundamental changes to the interior design to better fit the end experience of its users," says Duncan Bates, senior associate at Diamond Schmitt.

The project is being managed by Ledcor as the design-build partner, with Diamond Schmitt as lead architects and Connect Landscape Architecture in charge of the physical terrain.

Read more: https://dsai.ca/news/the-globe-and-mail-first-of-its-kind-centre-for-children-with-complex-health-needs/

The design of BC Children’s Hospital Centre for Health Complexity is featured in the Globe and Mail in an article by David McPherson. As the first-of-its-kind in Canada, the 166,000…

06/16/2026

As projects progress from vision to reality, our latest quarterly newsletter highlights the many ways Diamond Schmitt continues to contribute to the built environment in meaningful ways.

From advancing low-carbon design across cultural, academic, and civic projects to receiving recognition for design excellence and business leadership, these achievements reflect our ongoing commitment to architecture that is innovative, sustainable, and deeply connected to the communities it serves.

Read about some of the projects and ideas that have shaped the past few months across our studios: https://mailchi.mp/dsai.ca/2026-summer-newsletter

06/14/2026

Twenty years ago, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts opened on University Avenue in Toronto—a building in harmony with its context, designed to engage the bustling city while playing host to some of the world's leading intimate performances.

At its heart, the Centre rethinks the public and private nature of performance. A four-storey City Room, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre conceived as a lantern in the city, draws passersby into an animated interior and has become a celebrated part of Toronto's rhythm. By revealing the procession and activity associated with attending a performance, demystifying the opera and ballet experience, a new audience is cultivated and a new relationship formed between the patron and the city.

In dramatic contrast, R. Fraser Elliott Hall turns inward entirely, driven by acoustics, intimacy, and elegance, focusing entirely on the performance within. Innovatively isolated from the outside world—encased in a double layer of concrete and resting on nearly 500 high-performance rubber pads—it delivers world-class acoustics and state-of-the-art staging and was the first structurally isolated performance facility in Canada at the time of its completion.

Recipient of an RAIC Award of Excellence for Innovation, an OAA Design Excellence Award, a Toronto Urban Design Award and a USITT Architecture Award, among other prestigious accolades, the Four Seasons Centre remains one of Canada's most celebrated works of architecture.

06/13/2026

Celebrating the first anniversary of the Carmen Corbasson Community Centre expansion!

Designed as a pavilion in the forest, the project revitalizes the Centre into a vibrant, accessible community hub. A mass timber addition introduces a transparent rectangular structure that frames nature as an active participant in daily recreation, thoughtfully connecting a new natatorium, fitness centre, and aerobics studio with the existing arena and gymnasium.

By transforming the formerly blank east façade into a glass volume, the design draws daylight deep into the interior and strengthens its connection to the woodland surroundings. Inside, transparency between programs fosters an open, inviting atmosphere that encourages patrons to explore other activities throughout the facility. The community is welcomed in through glimpses of the activity within.

Coinciding with this year's , the anniversary reflects on the project's values: reconnecting people with themselves, their community, and nature.

Since its completion, the expansion has been honoured with a 2026 OAA Design Excellence Award.

06/11/2026

The Atlantic Science Enterprise Centre has reached a new milestone with the start of mass timber installation! Designed by Diamond Schmitt, working in association with EXP, the research facility — dedicated to protecting Atlantic freshwater and coastal ecosystems — honours the past while looking toward the future.

Located on the former Collège Notre-Dame-d'Acadie site, the mass timber design bridges old and new, drawing on the site's historical pavilion character to create a seamless transition between the retained heritage façade and the new building. Inside, exposed mass timber in open office areas and collaborative spaces promotes wellness and productivity, and brings warmth, inclusivity, and a connection to the surrounding landscape.

With sustainability at its core, the project targets LEED Gold certification and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Mass timber replaces concrete and steel for approximately 25% of the building structure, contributing to the greening government target of a 40% reduction in embodied carbon. Supporting this goal, building services run through access flooring, allowing the timber — including the underside of the CLT floor slab — to remain fully exposed, eliminating secondary finishes such as ceilings, drywall, and paint to maximize carbon reduction.

Once complete, the Centre will embody a commitment to environmental stewardship that is as central to the building's purpose as the research it will support.

In addition to fabricating the mass timber structure, Nordic Structures was engaged in a design assist capacity to work collaboratively with Diamond Schmitt and BMR/Entuitive structural engineers.

Photos: Julian Parkinson

06/04/2026

How do you merge the aesthetic of glass blocks with the strength and insulation of a curtain wall? At Facades+ Toronto, Senior Associate Liviu Budur and Architectural Designer Mateusz Perich of Diamond Schmitt, alongside Oren Jourdan of Allied, discussed the mechanics behind the envelope of KING Toronto and how the façade system helped translate BIG's distinctive design vision.

Thank you to moderator Nadine El-Gazzar of Hariri Pontarini Architects, and to everyone who attended the session.

KING Toronto is designed by BIG Architects with Diamond Schmitt as Executive Architect.

06/04/2026

As project delivery methods, material expectations, and documentation requirements continue to evolve, how do we better align design teams and millwork manufacturers?

At this year's AWMAC National Convention, Associate Dan Gallivan will present the session "Bridging Design Intent & Millwork Ex*****on: Improving Alignment Across the Project Lifecycle." This presentation will explore the common disconnects that surface between design intent, technical specifications, industry standards, documentation, and field ex*****on. Drawing on real project experience, Dan will examine how improved communication and a more collaborative approach across the project lifecycle can help reduce friction and improve coordination for all parties involved.

Learn more: https://dsai.ca/events/awmac-national-convention-bridging-design-intent-and-millwork-ex*****on/

As project delivery methods, material expectations, and documentation requirements continue to evolve, stronger alignment between design teams and millwork manufacturers has become increasingly…