Giaimo

Giaimo Architecture firm integrating design and heritage conservation.

Sharing some landmarks from our Dawson City visit! Here is Ëdhä dädhëchą (Moosehide Slide), a designated historic site a...
13/03/2025

Sharing some landmarks from our Dawson City visit! Here is Ëdhä dädhëchą (Moosehide Slide), a designated historic site and natural and cultural landscape located in Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Traditional Territory. It is one of the most iconic natural features of the Yukon. For the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in it signified the arrival to their fishing grounds and a coming together of families following winter travels; for gold seekers it signified their arrival into the Klondike; and today it signifies a connection to place for all residents of the region.

Giaimo, M.R. Letourneau, and Narratives, have been engaged by the City of Dawson to revise the Heritage Management Plan (HMP) and Heritage Bylaw (HB). Dawson City, recognized as one of the eight heritage locations in the Tr’ondëk-Klondike World Heritage site, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023.

Last week, Giaimo Associate Ria Al-Ameen had the honour of joining the first TSA Connect event of 2025 as a Initiative ...
12/02/2025

Last week, Giaimo Associate Ria Al-Ameen had the honour of joining the first TSA Connect event of 2025 as a Initiative Co-lead. This event showcased the diverse and exciting career paths available to those with an education in architecture. An incredible lineup of guests shared their stories, passions, and experiences with over 130 participants!

Photos by Yianni Tong courtesy of the Toronto Society of Architects

Palace Arms at 950 King Street West has been a Toronto landmark for 130 years, with the first phase constructed in 1890 ...
28/01/2025

Palace Arms at 950 King Street West has been a Toronto landmark for 130 years, with the first phase constructed in 1890 as a hotel, and recently used as a rooming house. Giaimo has been engaged as heritage consultants by , Intentional Capital, and Windsor Private Capital for the redevelopment of Palace Arms led by . The conservation and commemoration approach maintains the cultural heritage value of the site and attributes of the property, while facilitating its redevelopment for a new mixed-use, multi-unit 14-storey residential building with affordable housing.

South House has been included in the New Wood Open Architecture (NWOA) Atlas, alongside many other insightful case studi...
21/01/2025

South House has been included in the New Wood Open Architecture (NWOA) Atlas, alongside many other insightful case studies. NWOA explores open form by applying open architecture to principles of wood tectonics, assemblies, joinery and finishes. The NWOA Atlas aims to meaningfully involves the dweller in the ongoing spatial design, building and maintenance of their dwelling. Through physical engagement with building with wood, dwellers form a sincere and lasting relationship with their environment, with their home. Explore all the projects here: https://www.atlas-newwoodopenarchitecture.com/ Photo by

Giaimo recently reimagined 4 squash courts that were closed and abandoned for the last 20 years. Located in an existing ...
18/12/2024

Giaimo recently reimagined 4 squash courts that were closed and abandoned for the last 20 years. Located in an existing 120-unit apartment building in Scarborough, our goal was to transform these derelict spaces into vibrant, user-friendly, community-focused amenities. Photos 1-3 by Adrian Yu .photo are “after” photos, showing the spaces transformed into a multi-use party room, games room, and basketball court. Photos 4-5 are “before” photos, showing the existing conditions when we started the project. Learn more about the project at: https://giaimo.ca/projects/5600-sheppard/

It’s that time of year: end of the semester design crits! Wonderful to see so many student projects focused on adaptive ...
10/12/2024

It’s that time of year: end of the semester design crits! Wonderful to see so many student projects focused on adaptive reuse at . Joey Giaimo, Ria Al-Ameen, and Mitchell May have been attending various studios as guest crits

This month we had the pleasure of attending the joint and conference in Montreal. From presenting our ongoing resear...
28/11/2024

This month we had the pleasure of attending the joint and conference in Montreal. From presenting our ongoing research on large-scale demolition and high carbon sites in Toronto and learning from sessions on the intersections of social justice, climate action, and heritage, to attending CAHP Board meetings and the .canada workshop, our team (Mitchell May, Ria Al-Ameen, Stephanie Mah, and Sara Shemirani) were kept busy. Amazing to connect with so many people doing inspiring work across North America; a huge thank you to all the organizers that made this conference possible!

Giaimo Associate Mitchell May will be presenting research on “High Carbon Sites: Examining the Impact of Successive Deve...
11/11/2024

Giaimo Associate Mitchell May will be presenting research on “High Carbon Sites: Examining the Impact of Successive Development in Toronto” at the upcoming National Trust for Canada and Association of Preservation Technology Conference on November 16, 2024, in Montreal, as part of session CS3.4: Urban Resilience.

In Toronto, the city is witnessing demolition proposals for numerous 10+ storey urban towers. This premature loss of towers results in “high-carbon sites”, raising significant environmental sustainability concerns, as well as concern for the concept of heritage value as we begin to lose our mid-late-century architecture before it has a chance to be called “heritage”.

While there has been a focus on improving the operational energy of the new buildings replacing those demolished, significantly less focus has been placed on embodied carbon, landfill waste, and the relationship of this successive demolition-development cycle in relation to the climate crisis. So, what has led to this creation of the “high-carbon site”?

This research examines large-scale demolition proposals in the context of policy, highlighting how alternative solutions to encourage retrofit and conservation are needed, ones that view heritage not as a siloed field but in relation to larger urban planning and land use regulations.

Last week at the awards, six winners were named from 53 nominees in three categories: Book, Public History, and Buildin...
06/11/2024

Last week at the awards, six winners were named from 53 nominees in three categories: Book, Public History, and Building Heritage. We’re honoured to receive a 2024 Heritage Toronto, Built Heritage Category, Adaptive Reuse Award for The Hermant Building Transformation. The transformation of this art deco office tower included extensive exterior restorations, interior base building upgrades and retrofit, and 90,000 sq.ft. of commercial tenant renovations. With reuse at the core of the project, the Hermant Building Transformation is a case study in heritage conservation as climate action. The approach inherently leverages the buildings embodied carbon, and all interventions sought to minimize waste. From the rehabilitation of the original steel windows, to the tenant fitout standard developed to guide future renovations and act as proactive conservation guidelines, the project aims to reduce waste – now, and in the future. The project team includes: HNR Properties (owner/client), Giaimo (Prime, Lead Architect, Heritage Architect), Loring Engineering (Mechanical and Electrical Engineering), Engineering Link (Structural Engineering), Colonial Building Restoration (Heritage Contractor), Walton GC (Construction Manager). Congratulations to the project team, as well as all winners and nominees! Photos by

Last week at the awards, six winners were named from 53 nominees in three categories: Book, Public History, and Buildin...
06/11/2024

Last week at the awards, six winners were named from 53 nominees in three categories: Book, Public History, and Building Heritage. We’re honoured to receive a 2024 Heritage Toronto, Built Heritage Category, Adaptive Reuse Award for The Hermant Building Transformation. The transformation of this art deco office tower at 19 and 21 Dundas Square included extensive exterior restorations, interior base building upgrades and retrofit, and 90,000 sq.ft. of commercial tenant renovations. With reuse at the core of the project, the Hermant Building Transformation is a case study in heritage conservation as climate action. The approach inherently leverages the buildings embodied carbon, and all interventions sought to minimize waste. From the rehabilitation of the original steel windows, to the tenant fitout standard developed to guide future renovations and act as proactive conservation guidelines, the project aims to reduce waste – now, and in the future. The project team includes: HNR Properties (owner/client), Giaimo (Prime, Lead Architect, Heritage Architect), Loring Engineering (Mechanical and Electrical Engineering), Engineering Link (Structural Engineering), Colonial Building Restoration (Heritage Contractor), Walton GC (Construction Manager). Congratulations to the project team, as well as all winners and nominees! Photos by

In Toronto we’re faced with significant loss of historic brick through demolition - wasting the embodied carbon of build...
25/10/2024

In Toronto we’re faced with significant loss of historic brick through demolition - wasting the embodied carbon of buildings, disregarding the craftsmanship and labour that goes into materials, and diminishing the cultural heritage of our city. For Human/Nature climate conference at George Brown College, Giaimo and have collaborated on a salvaged brick display, highlighting the benefits of building and material reuse and encouraging designers and city-builders to shift towards seeing “waste” as a resource. Just one example of working towards a circular economy, more examples were shared in the workshop “Doing Less: Scales of Reuse” with panelists Joey Giaimo, Meredith Moore , Robert Raynor moderated by Kurtis Chen

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