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May 30, 2023

Toronto – Hariri Pontarini Architects was recognized today by the international Architizer A+ Awards for a body of work dedicated to the cultural sector. The Toronto practice was chosen as the 2023 A+ Awards Popular Choice Winner in the Best Cultural Firm category.

“This is very meaningful to us as it speaks directly to the success and enjoyment of the theatres, museums, galleries and sacred spaces we have designed for the people who matter most – our clients and the public,” said Siamak Hariri, founding partner of Hariri Pontarini Architects.

The A+ Awards sought evidence of completed and current projects from the past decade. During this time, HPA was entrusted to reimagine some of Canada’s most significant arts and cultural organizations, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, and the Stratford Festival.

“We believe that art and cultural institutions should inspire, provoke, and unite us in our shared humanity,” added Hariri. “Through an abiding commitment to architecture’s essentials and advancing the possibilities of light, form, material, and craft, we design for civic and social engagement – to lift the spirits of the passionate as well as the curious.”

The firm is recognized for technical excellence as well as its innovative responses to design challenges. The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) International Prize-winning Bahá’í Temple of South America uses light for its spiritual and design inspiration. This complex, sustainable structure is crafted with custom cast glass and translucent marble to create monumental glass wings bound by a central oculus.

The celebrated Tom Patterson Theatre at the Stratford Festival enters its second season this spring. The riverside theatre embraces its natural surroundings to dissolve the line between indoors and out. The intimacy and acoustic excellence of its auditorium is admired by performers and audience members alike.

Current projects in HPA’s cultural portfolio include the remaking of Toronto’s St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts; art galleries at both York University and Simon Fraser University; the net-zero Pickering Museum Village; and a design for a performing arts centre in Barrie, Ontario.

For more information, please contact:

Paul French
Media Relations
pfrench@hp-arch.com