Diamond Schmitt

The Public Health Ontario (PHO) Laboratory at Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District celebrates 10 years since its completion and supporting PHO’s ever-evolving clinical and public health needs. The 160,000-sf facility provides adaptable spaces for specialized research, maximizing natural light to enhance user well-being, and supporting collaboration through a carefully designed four-storey central spine of interconnected stairs, lounges, and meeting areas. Strengthening PHO’s connections with academic, #healthcare, and private partners, the facility fosters a collaborative approach to research, practice, and knowledge exchange. A large-scale art installation inspired by microbiological forms commemorates PHO’s formation and response to the 2003 SARS outbreak, and animates the space. Aptly named, Made Visible, this installation showcases the transformational potential of scaling tiny microbiological organisms—visible due to the advances in microscopy—as part of the building’s surface. Since its completion, the project has won a CODA Award – Institutional Category, Award of Merit, celebrating projects that most successfully integrate commissioned art into interior, #architectural, or public spaces, and has achieved LEED Gold Certification for Commercial Interiors (CI) for its high-performance, #sustainable design features. #diamondschmitt #canadianarchitect

We’re pleased to announce that Diamond Schmitt has been named to Building Design+Construction Media's Top Multifamily Architecture Firms for 2024. Ranked 27th, Diamond Schmitt’s residential projects prioritize sustainability, accessibility, and seamless integration with the surrounding urban fabric, while meeting the unique needs of diverse communities. Our residential designs focus on community-driven planning that integrates diverse programs and amenities, access to green space, and pedestrian-friendly connectivity, all contributing to an enhanced quality of life for residents and neighbours alike. This annual ranking evaluates North America's largest multifamily housing sector architecture and AE firms based on revenue. Read the full ranking here: 
https://lnkd.in/g_dkxq4i View a selection of Diamond Schmitt’s residential projects here:
https://lnkd.in/eDPP4Kjg #diamondschmitt

We’re pleased to announce that Diamond Schmitt has been named to Building Design+Construction Media's Top Hospital Facility Architecture and AE Firms for 2024. Ranked 34th, Diamond Schmitt envisions healthcare facilities as human-centered spaces that promote recovery, learning, and connection. Our designs emphasize welcoming, flexible and collaborative environments that foster holistic well-being for patients, staff, and visitors, while also encouraging cross-disciplinary research and teaching. Through our healthcare projects we aim to support the healing of both people and the planet. This annual ranking evaluates North America's largest hospital facility and AE firms based on revenue. Read the full list: https://lnkd.in/ejK4uX5C View a selection of Diamond Schmitt’s healthcare projects here: https://lnkd.in/e6Nq-7jz #diamondschmitt

Diamond Schmitt has been named to Architizer’s list of the 30 Best Architecture and Design Firms in Canada! https://lnkd.in/g3KF_zmf #diamondschmitt #architizer #canadianarchitecture

Principal Donald Schmitt is speaking at the 2025 Ottawa Wood Solutions Conference on Wednesday, February 5, at 1pm EST, where he will be presenting the firm’s rejuvenation of the National Arts Centre | Centre national des Arts in Ottawa. In his talk Prefabrication Makes Perfect: Design and Manufacturing Excellence Converge in the National Arts Centre’s Revitalization, Don will discuss the transformative rejuvenation and expansion of the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa, with a focus on the prefabricated timber structure that has been integrated in the existing building — a tessellated roof composed of triangular wood coffers that is sympathetic to the original Brutalist concrete aesthetic — while infusing the space with natural warmth.   Don will share how the prefabrication of these wood elements ensured precision and quality, while expediting on-site assembly and minimizing construction disruptions. His talk will explore how this innovative use of timber not only transformed the NAC’s architecture but also underscores a commitment to sustainable building practices. Register to the 2025 Ottawa Wood Solutions Conference here: https://lnkd.in/eTQPx7aA #diamondschmitt #masstimber

Commissioned for Canada’s centenary, the original National Arts Centre | Centre national des Arts building was completed in 1969. Like contemporary projects such as London's Barbican or New York’s Lincoln Center, the building was cut off from its urban context and was designed with the mindset that arts performance is reserved for the elite. To create a more accessible and inviting public space, the NAC rejuvenation introduces a sequence of lobbies and audience spaces, constructed in mass timber, to mend the connection to the Ottawa streetscape and the adjacent Confederation Square. The new sequence of arrival and gathering spaces on the north side of the NAC unfold under a wave of gently billowing wood coffers. Fred Lebensold’s original 1969 design, with more than one hundred thousand square meters of concrete laid out within a carefully controlled triangular grid, established the powerful character and geometry that defined the design of this timber ceiling. Lebensold’s formal logic, drawn from his admiration of Alexander Graham Bell’s tetrahedral kites, is reinterpreted at all scales through prefabricated mass timber forms and high-performance glazing. Repeating triangular and hexagonal motifs, sympathetic to the original Brutalist concrete aesthetic, infuse the space with natural warmth and light. Working with Fast + Epp, renowned for their expertise with mass timber, we designed long-span trusses assembled from the repeating triangular coffer forms, composed of mass timber beams with steel knife-plate connections. This lightweight structure permitted the reuse of some of the existing foundations, and building with mass timber resulted in a low-embodied carbon design. Prefabrication of these mass timber elements produced by StructureCraft expedited on-site assembly and minimized construction disruptions. The National Arts Centre’s ‘Timber Cascade’ is featured in our new book Set Pieces which offers a visual exploration of the firm’s designs for some of the world’s most remarkable performing arts venues. Published by Birkhäuser. About Set Pieces: https://lnkd.in/e9njxThS Learn more about the National Arts Centre: https://lnkd.in/dwyUzP52 #diamondschmitt #diamondschmitt_setpieces #masstimber

We’re pleased to announce that Diamond Schmitt has been named to Building Design+Construction Media's Top 100 Cultural Facility Architecture Firms for 2024. Ranked 23rd, Diamond Schmitt’s contributions to the cultural sector reflect our commitment to designing innovative spaces that support diverse artistic visions, foster meaningful cultural engagement and community connections. This annual ranking evaluates North America's largest architecture and AE firms in the cultural facilities sector, from concert venues, art galleries, museums, performing arts centers, and public libraries, based on revenue. Read the full list: https://lnkd.in/gNiVxW3Q View a selection of Diamond Schmitt’s cultural projects here: https://lnkd.in/gzj3YAf4 #diamondschmitt

Principal Sybil Wa will participate in the panel discussion Building the Future: Performance Spaces at the ISPA | International Society for the Performing Arts NY25 Congress on Wednesday, January 15, at 2:35pm EST.   As many performance spaces closed during the pandemic, the sector was prompted to rethink the design and function of these facilities.    This panel will discuss how closures led the industry to reimagine these spaces to enhance artistic excellence, foster community engagement, promote equity, and integrate new technologies.   Now in a post-pandemic world, the panel will also survey new facilities and approaches that have since emerged, and how these lessons are being used to shape performances spaces of the future.   Register for the ISPA NY25 Congress here: https://lnkd.in/e67S8aia #diamondschmitt

We’re pleased to announce that Diamond Schmitt has been named to Building Design+Construction Media's Top 120 Sports Facility Architecture Firms for 2024. Ranked at 23, Diamond Schmitt’s approach to recreational facilities focuses on designing accessible, inclusive, and sustainable high-performance spaces that serve diverse communities. This annual ranking evaluates North America’s largest sports facility architecture and AE firms, based on revenue. Read the full 2024 ranking: https://lnkd.in/d2gcRwAK View a selection of Diamond Schmitt’s recreational buildings here: https://lnkd.in/eSW7rGkx #diamondschmitt

As we wrap-up 2024, we look back at some highlights from the past 12 months—from the launch of our new book Set Pieces, to celebrating project milestones, including the opening of three academic buildings, several professional acknowledgements, and awards recognition. Read Diamond Schmitt’s 2024 Year In Review here: https://lnkd.in/eACDMS6m #diamondschmitt #diamondschmitt_yearinreview #designtotranscend #canadianarchitect