Gow Hastings Architects

Season’s Greetings!    The Gow Hastings office will be closed for the holidays starting at noon on December 24th and will reopen on January 2nd, 2025.   We hope you have a happy, safe, and nourishing holiday, and we will see you in the new year!   Sincerely, The Gow Hastings Team   #happyholidays #newyear2025

Our renovation at Conestoga College Cowan Centre for Medical Sciences & Biotechnology is a finalist for the Interior Design Magazine Best of Year award, alongside excellent company: https://lnkd.in/g3iUG6FB #interiordesign #interiordesignmagazine #IDbestofyear #bestofyear2024 #highereducation #conestogacollege #canadianarchitecture #GowHastings #Architecture #Design #Innovation #LearningSpaces #Renovation #ScienceLabs #ResearchLab #StudentLife #Kitchener #CanadianDesign #PublicSpace #CollegeLife #DesignFuture #StudentSpace

"The measure of any great civilization is its cities, and a measure of a city's greatness is to be found in the quality of its #PublicSpaces, its parks, and squares." - John Ruskin The #SpiritGarden transforms beautifully under the night sky, showcasing its vibrant nocturnal charm just as captivating as during the day. #UrbanDesign #Toronto

Last Thursday, we celebrated the 2024 Value of Design Awards (VODA) with colleagues at Toronto’s historic Carlu, where our renovation at Conestoga College Cowan Centre for Medical Sciences & Biotechnology (Conestoga College) was recognized as a winner of the Award of Excellence. VODA, granted by Interior Designers of Canada, demonstrates the positive socioeconomic impact of design thinking. We want to thank and congratulate everyone who contributed to this project, including the team at Conestoga College, our consultant teams, and, of course, our team at Gow Hastings Architects. Photography by: Gow Hastings Architects (1) Scott Norsworthy (2) #VODAawards #InteriorDesignersofCanada #IDC #GowHastings #Architecture #Design #Innovation #LearningSpaces #InteriorDesign #Renovation #ScienceLabs #ResearchLab #StudentLife #Kitchener #CanadianDesign #PublicSpace #CollegeLife #DesignFuture #StudentSpace #ResearchLab #StudentLife #CanadianDesign #PublicSpace #CollegeLife #DesignFuture #StudentSpace

As a firm, we recently participated in an informative Accessibility workshop taught by Julie Sawchuk, founder of Sawchuk Accessible Solutions. Julie spoke in-depth about how to implement best practices when it comes to Universal Design principles. We learned the significance of sensory considerations, way-finding, ergonomics, and ongoing engagement with those with disabilities, whom she called ‘members of the world’s largest minority group.’ These factors could improve the experience of any building—private, public, institutional, residential, and commercial. Accessible spaces foster healthy, safe, thriving communities, enabling people with disabilities to preserve their physical, mental, and emotional energies. We continue to learn about Universal Design principles, seamlessly integrating them with the building’s function, form, and quality. Photography by: Gow Hastings Architects #universaldesign #accessibledesign #accessibility #accessiblebuildings #accessibilitymatters #accessibilearchitecture

Last Week, we celebrated Toronto Metropolitan University’s Architectural Science Department’s 75+ years of architectural education at the DAS Bash. The celebrations included remarks by faculty members and Pecha Kucha presentations by alumni.    The DAS Bash exhibition features an interactive timeline from 1948 to the present and a 1:25 scale model of the Ron Thom Architecture Building as a dynamic apparatus. We invite you to check out the exhibition at the Paul H. Cocker Gallery, which will run weekdays until November 28th.    Photography by Gow Hastings Architects     #dasbash2024 #TorontoMetropolitanUniversity #architecturalscience #architecturaleducation #architecturedepartment #learningarchitecture #architectureschool #gowhastings #architecturegallery   

As part of a series of thoughtful interventions at Toronto Metropolitan University’s DAS building, we renovated the school’s Workshop, expanding it into a more generous space connected to an external courtyard. Loved by the students and faculty, it’s a space for hands-on learning and 3D architectural explorations. It also supports fabrication projects, including building full-scale structures for co-curricular activities and displays for the department’s Paul H. Cocker Gallery. For more information, please visit https://lnkd.in/gwsJU3bm or the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science at Toronto Metropolitan University.    Photographs By: Tom Arban (1-2) Rémi Carreiro (3)     #dasbash2024 #TorontoMetropolitanUniversity #architecturalscience #architecturaleducation #architecturedepartment #learningarchitecture #architectureschool #gowhastingsarchitect #paulhcockerarchitecturegallery

One of our favourite projects in Toronto is the Paul H. Cocker Architecture Gallery at Toronto Metropolitan University Architecture School (DAS). Functional and playful, it occupies a former storage space, offering a dynamic place in the building for interdisciplinary and international exhibitions. The gallery is also used for the school’s presentations and crits, reminding the students that a modest yet inventive interior intervention can create memorable architecture.  For more information, please visit https://lnkd.in/gwsJU3bm or the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science at Toronto Metropolitan University.   Photographs by: Shai Gil     #dasbash2024 #TorontoMetropolitanUniversity #architecturalscience #architecturaleducation #architecturedepartment #learningarchitecture #architectureschool #gowhastingsarchitect #paulhcockerarchitecturegallery

This year, Toronto Metropolitan University’s Department of Architectural Science (DAS) celebrates 75+ years of architectural education with DAS BASH, starting this Thursday at 6:30 PM. The celebrations feature an exhibition and an interactive timeline of DAS from 1948 to the present, complete with stories of DAS people, places, programs and provocations. We have been working with DAS since 2009, helping them bring their Brutalist Ron Thom building to the contemporary era through sensitive interventions. The renovations included new studios, digital fabrication labs, presentation spaces, classrooms, a workshop, offices, and a gallery - all considering practice-oriented pedagogy within design and architecture education. For more information, please visit https://lnkd.in/gwsJU3bm or Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science at Toronto Metropolitan University.   Photographs by: Tom Arban    #dasbash2024 #TorontoMetropolitanUniversity #architecturalscience #architecturaleducation #architecturedepartment #learningarchitecture #architectureschool #gowhastingsarchitect

The ARIDO Awards Gala 2024 took place at Rebel Toronto this year. It was a night of celebration, recognizing outstanding interior design projects. We were honoured to receive the award for Conestoga College Cowan Centre for Medical Sciences award. This project involved renovating 1,500 square metres of existing classroom space in the East Wing of Conestoga College's Doon Campus to create specialized laboratories and support spaces specifically designed for the Health Sciences Bachelor of Applied Biotechnology (BAB) and Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) advanced diploma programs. The updated facilities offer cutting-edge spaces and curated labs specifically designed for the needs of advanced health and life science programs. Photography by: Scott Norsworthy Photography #ARIDOawards #ARIDO #canadiandesign #canadianarchitecture #architecture #interiordesign #conestogacollege