Vaughan’s Urban Design Awards are back!
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Submit projects for consideration before Aug. 26
Celebrating design excellence and innovation in city building – this is what the City of Vaughan’s Urban Design Awards do. These awards recognize local development initiatives that exemplify excellence in urban design, architecture, landscape architecture, public art and environmental stewardship within the community. Entries are now being accepted for the 2022 awards. Submit a project until Friday, Aug. 26!
Every five years, the City invites urban designers, architects, landscape architects, planners, engineers, developers, contractors, landowners and the general public to submit entries for the Vaughan Urban Design Awards. Since its inception in 2008, more than 28 projects have been awarded. These award-winning initiatives contribute to the City’s efforts to enhance the quality of life and make the city a great place to live, work and play.
Learn more about the 2022 award, criteria and submission process below.
Award categories
There are two award categories and the number of awards presented in each category is at the discretion of the jury:
- Award of Excellence – This award is presented for projects which exemplify the judging criteria and the City’s design principles.
- Award of Merit – This award is presented for projects and consultants who demonstrate excellence in one or more of the judging areas, as well as the City’s design principles.
Judging criteria
The jury will evaluate projects based on the following criteria:
- Significance – City Scale: Contribution to City design objectives related to city image, visual identity, the public realm, active transportation network, natural heritage network, views and vistas, and recognition of significant sites and cultural heritage assets.
- Significance – Community Scale: Contribution to the quality of environment and community’s public realm, and recognition of the context of the location, enhancing a sense of place and protecting the natural environment and cultural heritage assets.
- Significance – Urban Elements: Contribution to the quality of smaller urban spaces defined by a stand-alone built element, landscape installation or public art piece that contributes to the quality of the public realm and placemaking.
- Sustainability Design: Evaluating the level of performance in terms of neighbourhood pattern and design, sensitive land protection, development location, linkages and transportation (such as reduced parking, bicycle and pedestrian facilities and green vehicles), sustainable sites (such as rainwater management, light pollution reduction, open space and habitat protection), water efficiency, energy efficiency, materials and resources, renewable energy technologies, carbon mitigation, and green construction and technology.
- Accessibility: Evaluating the degree of integration for barrier-free accessibility which demonstrates a regard for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
- Compatibility: The integration of built forms in public or private spaces with existing and planned development, and respect for or enhancement of the development’s character.
- Innovation and Creativity: The degree of creative response to program requirements, site constraints and ability to influence urban design trends.
- Execution: The quality of construction materials and interpretation of the design into reality.
Submission criteria
Submit an electronic copy, or one USB key, labelled with the project name and address, containing the following submission materials:
- A completed Official Entry Form (PDF).
- A written statement letter to summarize the project (maximum 250 words), including the design concept, urban design merits and its place within the community. The description should emphasize the project’s design intent, contextual fit in the community and contribution to city building.
- A completed digital panel of the project using the 2022 Urban Design Awards Submission Template (PDF). File should be saved as “project name_2022VUDA.” This panel will consist of a collection of drawings and illustrations that best capture the project’s vision and execution, including architectural plans, sections, elevations, diagrams, perspectives and a minimum of one image.
- A high-resolution copy of each image that has been included in the digital panel, saved in a separate folder labelled “Images.” The file format must be JPEG, at a minimum of eight inches wide and a minimum of 300 dpi/CMYK.
- Attention: Shahrzad Davoudi-Strike, Manager of Urban Design and Cultural Heritage, Development Planning, City of Vaughan, 2141 Major Mackenzie Drive, Vaughan, Ontario, L6A 1T1
For consideration
When submitting an entry, consider the following:
- Participants may submit as many entries as they wish.
- Only the project name and address should be identified on the drawings, illustrations and photographs.
- The City of Vaughan will not accept models; however, photographs of models will be accepted.
- The provision of accurate and complete project credits is the full responsibility of the applicant.
Submission deadline
Entries must be received by noon on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022.
For more information
Visit vaughan.ca/UrbanDesignAwards for more details about the awards, entry criteria or the submission process.