Diamond Schmitt

06/01/2026

Diamond Schmitt is proud to support the Heart & Stroke Ride for Heart Corporate Health and Wellness Challenge for the 16th consecutive year!

Thanks to our amazing team and community, we’ve raised over $350,000 for life-saving heart disease and stroke research over the past 15 years. This year, we aim to contribute an additional $20,000 to support the foundation.

You can join the cause from anywhere in Canada by riding, walking, or running at your own pace throughout the month of June. Participants will have the chance to win great prizes, hear inspiring survivor stories and get exclusive health and wellness tips.

Learn more about the initiative or to support the Diamond Schmitt team fundraising campaign: https://heartandstroke.crowdchange.ca/126894/team/74569

05/29/2026

Gladstone Village Phase 1 is featured in an article by Jay Fox for Passive House Accelerator.

Designed for Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) by Diamond Schmitt, in collaboration with KWC Architects and building envelope and Passive House consultant RDH Building Science, Gladstone Village is a 336-unit, multi-phase Passive House development in Ottawa's Little Italy neighbourhood that tackles affordability, accessibility, family-sized housing, and community design all at once.

The project ranges from studios to four-bedroom apartments, with 20% of every unit size exceeding Ontario Building Code accessibility standards, and is built to meet stringent Passive House performance requirements for long-term resilience and comfort — setting a new benchmark for climate resilience and community care.

In the article, Jay Fox sits down with Diamond Schmitt Senior Associate Arne Suraga, who shares the thinking behind the design — from the decision-making around massing and performance to the team's commitment to creating housing that is resilient, comfortable, and community-centred.

Read the more to explore the technical and design story behind the project: https://dsai.ca/news/passive-house-accelerator-gladstone-village-phase-1/

05/28/2026

Celebrating 15 years of the Brown Family House of Learning at Thompson Rivers University!

A campus hub where sustainable innovation meets First Nations cultural storytelling, the Brown Family House of Learning was designed to foster connection, inclusivity, and the visibility of Indigenous culture within an academic experience.

Inspired by regional traditions, the building’s Assembly Hall translates the language of a traditional Interior Salish Pit House into a 300-seat forum, centred beneath a glulam beam roof and a north-facing skylight. Throughout the building, double-height volumes and generous glazing flood academic, social, and faculty spaces with natural light, opening the building to valley views and blurring the boundary between interior and exterior—creating an environment for cross-cultural exchange and an inspirational, welcoming educational experience unique to the facility.

Wood is deliberately used across structural systems and exposed finishes, bringing warmth to the interior, that also balances technical innovation with acoustics and craftsmanship.

As Thompson Rivers University’s first LEED Gold-certified building, the Brown Family House of Learning continues to hold architectural significance 15 years after completion, with recognition including by honours such as a British Columbia Library Association Merit Award and selection into the American Library Association Library Design Showcase.

05/27/2026

Fanshawe College’s Innovation Village responds to the evolving needs of 21st-century learning. Designed to support a culture of active, experiential learning, the campus hub features versatile spaces that foster impromptu interactions, cross-disciplinary collaborations, and industry partnerships. Shaped by student and Indigenous engagement, the project creates a safe, inclusive environment where sustainability is expressed through custom Building-Integrated Photovoltaic cladding.

Join Principal Sydney Browne and Associate Elcin Unal for the OAA Continuing Education Webinar “Innovation in Action at Fanshawe College” in which they will share the design strategies, sustainable technologies, and Indigenous consultation that have transformed Innovation Village into a campus landmark and regional engine for change.

Learn more and register: https://dsai.ca/events/oaa-continuing-education-webinar-innovation-in-action-at-fanshawe-college/

Fanshawe College’s Innovation Village responds to the changing pedagogies of the 21st century, demonstrating how innovative architecture can empower cities to meet urgent social and environmental…

05/26/2026

Diamond Schmitt’s collaboration with MVRDV brings together two design practices with a shared interest in architecture’s capacity to address civic and environmental challenges. At the University of Toronto, our partnership is advancing two major health sciences projects that connect research, education, community well-being, and long-term climate responsibility.

The Myron and Berna Garron Health Sciences Complex at UTSC and the Temerty Building at the U of T each respond to regional needs in medical education and community health. Distinct in scale and context, both projects approach health sciences design as a platform for collaborative research and discovery, future adaptability, and public connection expressed with architecture that is focused on healing not only people, but also the environment.

These projects are featured in Carbon Confessions—an exhibition by MVRDV that explores how the construction industry is rethinking design to reduce emissions amid an escalating climate crisis.

At UTSC, the Myron and Berna Garron Health Sciences Complex combines Building-Integrated Photovoltaics with standard rooftop photovoltaics and is projected to generate 20% of its total annual energy. Designed around a 9.6-metre steel grid, the building offers the flexibility to reconfigure lab spaces with minimal material waste or added embodied carbon.

At U of T’s St. George Campus, the Temerty Building, designed with MVRDV and Two Row Architect, aligns with the university’s Climate Positive Plan. It is supported by high-performance mechanical systems and a new district energy Nodal Plant that will provide heating and cooling to the new building and surrounding facilities, contributing to the university’s goal of achieving climate positivity by 2050, including 10% local renewable energy generation.

Together, these projects demonstrate how academic health facilities can contribute to a broader conversation about low-carbon design, institutional resilience, and the future of campus infrastructure.

Carbon Confessions is on view at Urbanspace Gallery Toronto through August 22nd.

05/21/2026

This , the theme "Improving Outcomes, Together" reminds us that exceptional emergency care depends on the people who deliver it, and on the environments that support them.

As paramedic services evolve to meet the demands of growing and aging communities, a new generation of EMS hub facilities is reshaping what this building type can do. They are shifting from places of response to civic infrastructure that brings together operations, logistics, training, administration, wellness, and community.

At Diamond Schmitt, our work in this emerging typology — with clients like to Toronto Paramedic Services and Peel Region Paramedic Services — is grounded in listening to the people who use these buildings every day. Architect Tristan Crawford explains, that means designing these buildings to support smooth and resilient operations, reduce carbon and energy demand, and create a sense of dignity and belonging for front-line workers.

These buildings are both civic and domestic. They serve the public, while becoming a home base for paramedics at the beginning and end of each shift. By combining low-carbon innovation with human-centered design, we can help sustain the people and services that communities rely on.

05/20/2026

Snapshots from the RAIC - IRAC 2026 Studio Crawl.

Thank you to everyone who dropped by our Vancouver studio! It was great to connect, share our projects, and celebrate the architecture community we’re proud to be a part of. Until next time!

05/20/2026

As Executive Architect for KING Toronto, Diamond Schmitt helped translate BIG Architect’s distinctive design vision into a highly resolved façade system that features an innovative custom prefabricated cladding system that combines the aesthetic of glass blocks with the strength and insulation of a curtain wall.

The project will be presented at Facades+ Toronto as a case study in "King Toronto: Expanding Envelope Boundaries," a panel discussion moderated by Nadine El-Gazzar, Associate, Senior Project Architect at Hariri Pontarini Architects.

Joining the discussion are Liviu Budur, Senior Associate at Diamond Schmitt; Mateusz Perich, Architectural Designer at Diamond Schmitt; alongside Oren Jourdan, Director of Construction and Development at Allied. Together they will discuss how KING Toronto adapts to its urban environment, advances envelope design, and redefines the functional capabilities of modern façades—pushing the boundaries of innovation and performance.

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

Learn more and register:
https://dsai.ca/events/facades-toronto-expanding-envelope-boundaries-at-king-toronto/

As Executive Architect for KING Toronto, Diamond Schmitt played a central role to advancing the project’s architectural vision into a highly resolved, buildable, and performance-driven façade system…

05/19/2026

We are proud to have been part of CANstruction Toronto again this year, raising awareness about food insecurity in Canada’s largest city and to support the Daily Bread Food Bank. Alongside fellow architecture, design and engineering professionals, we stacked thousands of canned food to create "CanArt"—public sculptures ultimately donated to help close the community's hunger gap.

This year, the Diamond Schmitt team built “Breakaway”, a 4,560-can sculpture shaped like an iceberg which was on display at First Canadian Place. The design mirrors the reality of hidden hunger, reminding us that the deepest struggles within our communities often remain entirely invisible. “Breakaway” was our call to act with intention, give where it is needed most, and disrupt the conditions that allow hardship to remain hidden.

A huge thank you to our incredible team and everyone who supported this build!

Help us support the Daily Bread Food Bank by donating to the cause: https://dailybread.donorsupport.co/page/Canstruction2026?fundraiser=DiamondSchmitt

05/19/2026

Conceived as an academic village, Ontario Tech University's master plan combines emerging technologies, sustainable design, and architectural excellence to create a highly efficient campus.

Join Principals Sydney Browne and Mike Szabo at the OAPPA 2026 Conference for their session, "Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Translating Lessons from Ontario Tech’s Sustainable Campus." Using the university as a case study, they will demonstrate how integrated planning, design, and infrastructure can successfully align long-term sustainability with institutional growth, providing a transferable framework for future-ready campuses.

Learn more and register:

Conceived as an academic village, the Ontario Tech University campus master plan creates a highly efficient campus by employing emerging technologies, sustainable design, and architectural excellence.