Here’s who’ll choose the most interesting, innovative buildings in Mississauga

Two dozen new buildings and projects in Mississauga have been nominated as the most “innovative, interesting and inspiring” such works in the city.

Nominations for the 2023 Mississauga Urban Design Awards are now in and the six-member jury that will decide on the winners has been chosen.

City of Mississauga Ward 9 Councillor Martin Reid will join five people from the design and larger community to form the jury. Other jury members are Caroline Kim (senior associate, Bousfields Inc.), Jane Welsh (project manager, environment, City of Toronto), Lesley Pavan (senior consultant, Perry Group Consulting), Nicholas Brandon (associate medical officer of health, Peel Public Health) and Tara Marchelewicz (architectural designer at Dubbeldam Inc. Architecture + Design, Toronto).

The jury will be tasked with selecting the winners from among 24 submissions in various categories. The entries will be made public on June 1.

Mississauga’s search for “the next big thing” when it comes to the best in architectural and design accomplishments the city has to offer is moving into high gear now that entries have been received and the jury has been chosen, officials staging the awards say.

Each year, the awards pay tribute to the most innovative, interesting and inspiring projects to recently land within the city’s borders.

The jury will now study all entries and then select winners in the various categories to be announced in the fall.

“Each year, the Mississauga Urban Design Awards jury has the privilege of reviewing all the nominations, which demonstrate design excellence in Mississauga; this year, they have got their work cut out for them with a large number of transformative projects to review,” said Sharon Mittmann, Mississauga’s manager of urban design and planning. “Jury members are recommended by City staff and invited to participate based on experience and expertise in their field. They’ll spend the next few months evaluating the submissions to make some hard decisions about which ones will receive an award.”

Submissions for the latest awards, which carry the theme “The Next Big Thing,” opened last November.

City officials behind the awards describe the latest program as “a celebration of excellence for innovative, dynamic, trendsetting urban design projects that are transforming Mississauga.”

The Mississauga Urban Design Awards competition, held every two years, began in 1981 and is the longest-running awards program of its kind in Ontario. 

The Urban Design Awards aim to inspire and celebrate design leaders who help raise the quality of life for residents by shaping Mississauga’s diverse cityscape, City officials say. 

“The awards are a great opportunity to recognize the designers, architects, developers and builders who have played a critical role in our efforts to build a world-class city. These private and public spaces beautify our city and provide much-needed greenspaces, public art and facilities for businesses and residents to enjoy,” Mayor Bonnie Crombie said back when the 2021 Urban Design Awards were presented.

The Mississauga Urban Design Awards also include a People’s Choice Award given to the project that receives the most public support through online voting.

Voting for the People’s Choice Award will begin in June.

As they prepare for the 2023 awards competition, Mississauga officials recently took a look back at previous Urban Design Awards winners that helped shape Mississauga’s lakeshore communities.