March 3, 2025

Early this March we were able to attend the opening of Mohawk College’s new gathering space, Kanaktíyo. Working alongside the Mohawk College project team, and artist Philip Cote, we were able to re-design this underused space into a meaningful gathering space for students, faculty and community members. For more details on the space click here.

In the news:

Education News Canada | Kanakti:yo, new Indigenous gathering space opens at Mohawk College Fennell Campus

November 21, 2024

SAI is excited to be part of this significant project led by the Kilmer Group and Tricon Residential. We will be joining the architectural team alongside Studio Gang and architects-Alliance.

In the news:

blogTO | Massive Redevelopment plans unveiled for abandoned bus terminal by Jack Landau | November 21, 2024

CP24 | Renderings show planned massive redevelopment at former Toronto Coach Terminal site by Bryann Aguilar | November 21, 2024

CityNews | Former Toronto Coach Terminal to see apartments, plaza as part of huge redevelopment by Nick Westoll | November 21, 2024

CBC | Toronto's old coach terminal to be turned into housing, plaza and health facility by Naama Weingarten | November 21, 2024

Toronto Star | New development for Toronto’s old bus terminal includes housing for health care workers by Mahdis Habibinia | November 29, 2024

July 30, 2024

Perkins & Will has teamed up with SAI to design the new Central Branch for the Oakville Public Library. Click here for more information.

“Announcing Perkins&Will and Smoke Architecture as the architects marks a significant milestone in the development of the New Central Branch. This collaboration brings together a wealth of expertise in innovative, sustainable design and a deep respect for Indigenous traditions and identities.” Councillor Jeff Knoll, Chair of Oakville Public Library Board

May 17, 2024

Winner, WAN Awards Americas, Future Projects - Publicly Accessible, 2024


"This net zero library branch and community hub aims to set a new standard for sustainability for the Toronto Public Library. Its striking facade features an evocation of an Indigenous star blanket, which embraces, protects and celebrates a community of learning and discovery. The WAN Awards judges described it as a "playful and attractive building" and praised "the unfurling forms of the facade, and links to indigenous cultures"."

You can read the full announcement here.

May 16, 2024

"With a growing demand for Indigenous-led architecture, the few Indigenous architects in Canada are creating spaces for First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities that support cultural practices and a relationship to the land, and encourage community engagement.

As a result, these architects are challenging the norms of a colonial industry."

Read the full article here.

March 22, 2024

"Chosen by a jury of respected design experts, the 20 projects comprising the OAA’s 2024 Design Excellence Finalists represent a diverse range of building types, including sustainably designed community centres, schools and learning facilities, residences, and an indoor horticultural attraction, as well as performing arts venues in Sudbury and New York City. These Finalists serve as the shortlist for the OAA’s 10 Design Excellence Winners, which will be announced next month and honoured at the OAA Conference in Niagara Falls in May. The biennial OAA Design Excellence Awards program offers Ontario practices the opportunity to display the transformative influence of architecture, promoting broader public recognition and appreciation for the field. The following media statement has been supplied by the submitting project team:

Centennial College A-Building Expansion marks a significant milestone in architectural excellence, uniting Indigenous ways of being and teaching, sustainability, and innovation. As Canada’s first LEED Gold, zero carbon, WELL-certified, mass timber, high-education facility, it sets a new standard for academic learning environments. Embracing the Mi’kmaq concept of “Two-Eyed Seeing,” the design seamlessly blends Indigenous and Western perspectives. The building showcases sustainably harvested mass timber, a parametrically designed building skin, and culturally inclusive spaces. This transformative building redefines educational settings, enhancing learning experiences, encouraging collaboration, and fostering a sense of campus connection."

February 1, 2024

Eladia was featured on Episode 9 of the Mass Timber Today Podcast.

“Throughout this conversation, Eladia discusses her work in the mass timber sector and highlights the importance of Indigenous design principles. She shares her experience with mass timber projects and highlights how mass timber can tie in with traditional Indigenous building methods. Putting emphasis on the need to bring meaning and cultural awareness into buildings, she discusses the challenges and opportunities involved in teaching Indigenous architecture in universities. Eladia also discusses the potential for Indigenous leadership in forest stewardship and mass timber manufacturing.”

More information and to listen

January 26, 2024

The Centennial College A-Block Expansion Indigenous Commons round room is the winner of the Canadian Interiors 2023 Best of Canada Awards- Single Detail.

The domed shape is the od-e | heart of the building. It’s wrapped in a wood finish that reflects the geometric scale-like pattern on the outside of the building. It recalls local architecture such as the wiigiwaam, and follows the principals of the nimii-idiwigamig | Anishinaabe Roundhouse: four columns open gateways to the four cardinal directions, with an axial connection between sky (air creatures, father sun & the celestial realm), Shkagaamikwe | mother earth, and centre (self, balance, heart). There is a sacred fire beside the main east door, with storage for firewood on the other side. This is a critical element to allow a full spectrum of Indigenous ceremony, extremely rare in institutional spaces. The artwork of Rebecca Baird, Nehiyaw Cree/Métis, follows the upper ring, showing dibiki-giizis | grandmother moon with four sacred mushkiki | medicines: semaa | tobacco, giizhik | cedar, bashkodejiibik | sage, and wiingashk | sweetgrass oriented to the doors where they sit (associated directions). This room has a basket weave finish, recalling local artisanship. It opens directly onto two spaces so it’s very easy to conduct ceremony, feasts, and other events: the courtyard, and the Indigenous administration suite that includes a kitchen.

January 23, 2024

Eladia Smoke at the privilege of speaking at the Toronto Society of Architect’s Urban Affairs Forum titled Shaping Public Spaces: Community Engagement.

To view the entire panel click here.

December 1, 2023

We are honored to be featured on two of Azure Magazine’s Top 10 of 2023 lists.

Top 10 of 2023: Our Favourite Public Spaces features the Queen’s University Indigenous Gathering Space.

Top 10 of 2023: Our Favourite Interiors features the Centennial College A-Block Expansion.

The Official Award announcement:

(TORONTO) December 1, 2023 Perkins&Will and Smoke Architecture have won a prestigious Canadian Architect Award of Merit, for Dawes Road Library & Community Hub in Toronto, Ontario. The awards were announced today by Canadian Architect, the national magazine of record for architects across Canada.

The jurors commented: “This well-resolved neighbourhood library building explicitly wears its commitment to reconciliation on its sleeve with its Indigenous-inspired façade and rooftop programming area for First Nations. We reviewed a large number of projects attempting to acknowledge First Nations, and this one seemed to do so in a particularly comfortable way.”

Now in their 56th year, the Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence are the highest recognition for excellence in the design stage in the Canadian architectural sector. By focusing on commissioned but not yet completed projects along with exceptional student work and architectural photography, the program recognizes design ambition and supports an overall culture of design excellence.

Of the 218 professional, student, and photo submissions received for this year’s awards program, the jury selected five projects for Awards of Excellence, eight projects for Awards of Merit, three projects for Student Awards of Excellence, and two winners of the Photo Award of Excellence.

The jury comprised architects Omar Gandhi of Omar Gandhi Architects in Toronto and Halifax, Claire Weisz of WXY Architects in New York City, and Michael Heeney of Surrey City Development Corporation and C+O Advisory. They were joined by photography juror Jacqueline Young of Winnipeg-based Stationpoint Photographic.

The award-winning projects are announced here and general jury comments on this year’s submissions can be viewed here. The winning projects are described in full, along with images and complete juror comments, in the December 2023 issue of Canadian Architect, available in print and online.

—

In collaboration with the Toronto Public Library, City of Toronto, and a range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous community stakeholders, the project team created a design that evokes an Indigenous star blanket, celebrating learning and discovery. The star blanket serves as an architectural metaphor. Blankets have a personality and spirit, communicating something about their maker and the techniques used in their making. Blankets also protect us from the environment, offering a strong analogy to the role of an architectural envelope. The blanket wraps and embraces the building, providing colour and texture and conveying a sense of motion.

“To translate the blanket metaphor into an achievable building system, the design team started with a 1:20 scale physical model and rolls of industrial felt to experiment with folds, wraps and layering. In the final iteration, the front of the blanket remains open and welcoming. Clad in four colours of individually formed zinc panels, the façade was developed through a parametric design process and a close collaboration with a specialized metal fabricator.

The metaphor of the star blanket is further supported by the articulation of a high-performance envelope with a low percentage of glazed openings. The building will be fully electrified, with a rooftop photovoltaic array to offset a portion of the energy use. A borehole below the building will serve a geothermal mechanical system to lower the peak energy demand.”

November 28th, 2023

Our team is off to Singapore for the World Architecture Festival 2023! Dawes Road Library has been shortlisted for a WAF Future award in the Culture category. We are so proud of the work that has been done on this project with our partners at Perkins & Will.

November 27th, 2023

Eladia Smoke is featured in the 1st Edition of 100 Women: Architects in Practice.

The book will be for sale on December 1st, 2023. It can be purchased here.

November 16th, 2023

Eladia was invited by BEAT Toronto (Building Equality in Architecture Toronto) and TMU (Toronto Metropolitan University) to be part of their BEAT Talks series.

If you were not able to make it you can view the full lecture here.

October 5, 2023

Smoke Architecture in collaboration with RJC Engineers, Anta Ingeneria Civil, MinoKamik and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, is one of five shortlisted teams in the Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge Design Competition.

Learn more about the “Harbour Eye” bridge design here.

To view all designs, and to provide your feedback, click here.

In the media:

blogTO | Toronto is getting a new bridge and the designs are stunning | Jack Landau | October 3, 2023

Storeys | One Of These Five Bridges Will Soon Grace Toronto's Waterfront | Zoe Demarco | October 3, 2023

October 2nd, 2023

Maclean’s | The Building: Centennial College’s new A-Building expansion is an education in Indigenous-led design by Sadiya Ansari | September 6, 2023

Ontario Construction News | Centennial College opens Canada’s first LEED Gold, zero carbon, mass timber building | Robin MacLennan | September 19, 2023

Archinect | DIALOG and Smoke Architecture complete Ontario college building inspired by Indigenous principles | Niall Patrick Walsh | September 21, 2023

Urban Toronto | Centennial College Celebrates Mass-Timber Opening at Progress Campus | Anthony Teles | September 22, 2023

Canadian Facility Management & Design | Reconciling through design at Centennial College | Rebecca Melnyk | September 29, 2023

The Globe and Mail | Commitment to reconciliation and sustainability | September 29, 2023

September 21st, 2023

On Thursday September 21st, Centennial College held the opening ceremony for their A-Block Building expansion. You can find more details and images of the completed project here.

The official press release can be found here.

September 18, 2023

On Monday September 18th, Eladia Smoke joined in celebrating the opening of the outdoor Indigenous Gathering Space at Queen’s University.

Details and images of the completed space can be found here.

In the news:

Queen’s University | New Indigenous gathering space officially opens on campus | September 18, 2023

Kingstonist | Outdoor Indigenous gathering space officially opens at Queen’s | Dylan Chenier | September 18, 2023

INSIGHTS

August 3rd, 2023

Eladia Smoke was invited by TVO’s the Agenda to sit on a panel for their Architecture Week series. The panel featured industry colleauges: Carol Phillips (Moriyama and Teshima Architects), Don Schmidtt (Diamond Schmidtt Architects) and Marianne McKenna (KPMB Architects).

The series aired nightly at 8pm EST from July 31st until August 4th on TVO’s the Agenda in the Summer.

To view the series:

Part 1 (aired Monday July 31st, 2023)

Part 2 (aired Tuesday August 1st, 2023)

Part 3 (aired Wednesday August 2nd, 2023)

Part 4 (aired Thursday August 3rd, 2023)

Part 5 (aired Friday August 4th, 2023)

June 21st, 2023

INSIGHTS

On National Indigenous Peoples Day, Eladia was invited to speak on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin alongside fellow Indigenous creator Alyssia Sutherland (Ally’s Ribbons). The topic of discussion was: How should we celebrate Indigenous Creativity?

Watch the full segment here

March 10, 2023

PROJECT NEWS

It has been announced that Hariri Pontarini, LMN Architects, Tawaw Collective, Smoke Architecture, and SLA have been selected as the winning design team for the reimagined St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. View the official announcement here.

Find more details of the winning design here.

In the news:

Canadian Architect | St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts Design Competition Winner Announced | March 10, 2023

The Globe and Mail | TOLive’s St. Lawrence Centre project sets a precedent for high design | Alex Bozikovic | March 14, 2023

Streets of Toronto | Here is a look at the winning design of Toronto’s spectacular new theatre | Ron Johnson | March 13, 2023

Storeys | Winning Design Selected to Transform St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts | Erin Nicole Davis | March 13, 2023

INSIGHTS

Visit STLC Next to see Smoke Architecture’s short listed designs for the St. Lawrence Centre. SAI is collaborating on two teams for this stage of the competition: Diamond Schmidt(top) and Hariri Pontarini (bottom).

February 6th, 2023

AWARDS

On February 2nd, Eladia traveled to Montreal to accept a 2022 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence. Smoke Architecture and Moriyama & Teshima Architects were awarded this for their collaborative work on the Mukwa Waakaa’igan Indigenous Centre of Cultural Excellence at Algoma University.

Photo credits to Vivien Gaumand

Link to article by Canadian Architect

December 1st, 2022

AWARDS

Link to Article by Canadian Architect

October 5th, 2022

AWARDS

“The WAFX Award celebrates international proposals which embrace cutting-edge design approaches to address major world issues ranging from tackling the climate emergency to building community resilience.” (WAF)

Link to article by the World Architecture Festival

Link to article by Canadian Architecture

December 5th, 2022

INSIGHTS

Link to article

AWARD, PROJECT NEWS

Link to article by Rethinking the Future Awards

October 31st, 2022

EVENTS

On October 25, 2022 Eladia traveled to Thunder Bay to speak at the Thunder Bay Museum as part of their Public Lecture series. Eladia spoke on Indigenous Architecture. Her entire lecture can be viewed here.

Link to upcoming Public Lectures at the Thunder Bay Museum.

Thank you to Scott Bradley for inviting Eladia and giving her the opportunity to speak.

EVENT

Join Eladia Smoke, principal architect at Smoke Architecture, for her presentation on material exploration with zinc and charcoaled cedar facades on Thursday, July 21, 2022, hosted by Facades+.

During the session “First Nation Facades: Building the Next Generation of Sustainability”, Smoke will speak on modified natural materials, the narrative quality of facades, and the challenges of rehabilitating buildings. Questions and discussion will be welcomed.

Event Details:

Date: Thursday July 21, 2022

Time: 8:00 a.m EST

Location: Hyatt Regency Toronto - In Person

Click here to register for this event

June 21st, 2022

INSIGHTS

Link to article by CBC News

Download article as PDF here

April 26th, 2022

INSIGHTS

It has been announced that Eladia Smoke has been inducted into the RAIC College as a Fellow.

“A Fellow of the RAIC College is a member of the RAIC who has achieved professional eminence or has rendered distinctive service to the profession or to the community at large. Fellowship is bestowed upon individuals through a nomination process administered by the RAIC College and recognizes members for their contribution to research, scholarship, public service, or professional standing to the good of architecture in Canada, or elsewhere.” (RAIC, 2022)

Link to official press release from the RAIC.

February 7th, 2022

PROJECT NEWS

Link to Article by Canadian Architect

December 17, 2021

PROJECT NEWS

Link to article by blogTO

Download article as a PDF here

April 1st, 2021

INSIGHTS

Link to article & podcast by CBC Radio

Download article as a PDF here

July 17th, 2020

PROJECT NEWS

Link to article by Canadian Architect