The trophy case at Diamond Schmitt Architects – already groaning under the weight of 200 awards, including six Governor General’s Awards for Architecture – has a new item: the 2013 ranking of architecture firms compiled by the U.K.-based journal Building Design places Diamond Schmitt among the world’s top 10 architecture firms for the cultural building sector. The survey appears in World Architecture 2013 and is based on fee income and survey results from 1,400 architecture practices around the world.
“Theatres, opera houses, libraries and galleries are an important part of our portfolio, so it is gratifying to achieve this recognition,” said Don Schmitt, principal at Diamond Schmitt Architects. Recently completed work includes La Maison Symphonique, the 1900-seat home of the Montréal Symphony Orchestra, and the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. In Toronto, the Brentwood Library, Regent Park Arts & Cultural Centre, renamed Daniels Spectrum, and the Ryerson Image Centre. And on May 2, 2013, the New Mariinsky Theatre is set to open in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Cultural projects in design or under construction include Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, the St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre and the Cambridge Performing Arts Centre. “Performing Arts venues in particular have enjoyed a renaissance in the Canadian market,” added Schmitt.
The firm is equally well represented in academic, healthcare, residential and commercial sectors. Current projects include the Sick Children’s Hospital Research Tower and Bridgepoint Health in Toronto, and The Global Innovation Exchange Building at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.