In 2022, Hobin Architecture saw growth and transition within the company, brought several important projects to fruition, and saw the return of our team to the office working collaboratively together. Here are a few highlights from the year.
Succession and Transition
As we plan for the future, important changes are taking place within the firm to ensure long-term continuity for our repeat clients and our own community.
Needing no introduction, longstanding employees Marc Thivierge and Reinhard Vogel were named Partners within the firm. Marc and Reinhard have both been with our team for 25+ years and now lead project teams as well as being central to the firm’s core management.
Additionally, three key Hobin Architecture team members became Directors in 2022. Melanie Lamontagne, RhEAL Labelle and Patrick Bisson have each been with the firm for over ten years, and have taken on leadership roles in their respective areas of specialization. They join Dan Henhoeffer as Directors.
As we celebrate these advancements, we also send our farewells with heartfelt gratitude to Gord Lorimer, Sandy Davis and Bryan Bonell, all of whom have been with the firm for over 30 years. We remind them that even though they have retired, they will always be members of the Hobin Architecture family.
Field Trip to Quebec City
Our team was delighted to get back to our annual field trip this year, having cancelled it due to the pandemic for the past two years. Quebec City was our destination, and the team was unanimous in their wonder at all the City has to offer.
Highlights of the trip were: An in-depth presentation at Lab-École—a progressive organization that set out to change the way we think about school design; tours of YMCA Saint-Roch, Le Diamant Theatre and Musée National des Beaux-Arts. The team celebrated together with a dinner cruise up the St. Lawrence River.
Thanks to Jonathan Hobin for the group photo at Maison de la Literature (right).
Ten GOHBA Awards
The Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association holds two major awards programs annually: the Housing Design Awards and the Sales and Marketing Awards. This year, Hobin Architecture received ten awards between the two programs.
The Passive House affordable housing project at 811 Gladstone Avenue (Marc Thivierge, Doug Brooks, Shawn Leduc) received the Not-for-Profit Project award. A custom home at 52 Civic Place (Hugo Latreille, Kent Bugatsch) received awards in four categories with RELM Builders Inc. and Astro Design Centre.
Farmside Green (Todd Duckworth, Jennifer Adams) with RND Construction brought home awards in three categories including Green Production Home of the Year for the second year in a row. Greystone Village (Marc Thivierge, Noor Alqaaod, Michelle Cataldo, Jeff Chaput, Hugo Latreille, Alison Legere), with eQ Homes, was named Best Community and Best Condo at the SAM Awards.
Community Heritage Award Application
While we won’t know the results until early next year, we wanted to share with you the pride we feel having received endorsements from four key individuals in support of a Community Heritage Award application made to the City of Ottawa in November.
The nomination was made by Associate Professor Benjamin Gianni of Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism, with letters of reference from: Sally Coutts, former Senior Heritage Planner; John J. Stewart, a founding member of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals; and well-known journalist and architecture critic Rhys Phillips.
In her reference letter, Sally comments, “preservation and adaptive re-use of heritage buildings are important parts of Hobin Architecture’s practice. […] the firm has contributed to the enhancement of the City’s public realm and lead to the preservation of important buildings for future generations.”
You Give, We Give
Hobin Architecture’s charitable giving program, “You Give, We Give,” continues through December and we are hopeful that it will be as successful as it was last year. Conceived in 2021, the “You Give, We Give” program strives to stimulate new support for community organizations in need.
The firm pledges to match new donations to four vital organizations in our community, up to a total of $10,000 per beneficiary.
It’s not too late to help us reach this year’s goal. Please visit:
https://www.hobinarc.com/news/giving/
to learn about these four organizations and show your support.
Two additional fundraisers for 2022 were The Mission’s “Summer of Hope,” raising over $62,000 for the homeless and needy, and Movember, a staff-organized fundraiser in support of Men’s health. This year’s “MHO-BIN” team raised an all-time high of $3,753.
Project Highlights
Block 208 and Kanaal are the first two buildings of Zibi’s Chaudière Island redevelopment to be completed and occupied. The buildings front onto Head Street Square, a public space intended to celebrate the site’s industrial history while honouring the traditional Algonquin Anishinabe territory on which it was built.
Project Team: Patrick Bisson, Doug Brooks, Ammar Jaratly.
BGC Ottawa’s Taggart Parkes Family Clubhouse was completed in March following an impressive construction phase of only 10-months. Situated in Ottawa’s Heatherington community, the new clubhouse enables BGC Ottawa to reach roughly 5,000 youths and children in need, giving them the skills and tools to grow and thrive in uncertain times.
Project Team: Barry Hobin, Doug Van Den Ham.
Luma is the first phase of the redevelopment of RioCan’s Elmvale Acres shopping centre. The 168-unit building’s stepped floor plan achieves a massing that reads as two buildings, and an outdoor passageway at the ground floor minimizes the building’s interruption to pedestrian flow.
Project Team: Patrick Bisson, Noor Alqaaod, Doug Brooks, Sean O’Rourke.
Amica The Glebe was toured by our team shortly before it welcomed residents this summer. The elegant retirement home located at 900 Bank Street boasts a continuum of care on one site with options for independent living, assisted living, respite care and memory care.Project Team: Wendy Brawley, Noor Alqaaod, Doug Brooks, Kurt Draper, Melanie Lamontagne.
St. Thomas the Apostle School — Construction of this 46,300 sq. ft. addition to St. Joseph’s High School in Renfrew is soon to begin. It will provide 434 student spaces, 73 childcare spaces, 6 secondary classrooms, expanded cafeteria and learning commons, 4 childcare rooms and an EarlyON room. The build will replace an outdated school located on an adjacent site.
Project Team: Wendy Brawley, Madelyn Byrtus, Michelle Cataldo, Jeff Chaput, Shona Dunderdale, Melanie Lamontagne, Reinhard Vogel.
Salvation Army Centre of Hope Ottawa will offer vital services, community spaces and supportive housing serving local and city-wide needs. Described by the Salvation Army as a “place of hope and transformation,” the Centre is designed to provide a continuum of care to ensure the best chance for those who come there to get back on their feet.
Project Team: Patrick Bisson, Laura Clark, Melanie Lamontagne, Hugo Latreille.
Rochesterville — Hobin Architecture’s Passive House Design Team are hard at work on the second phase of Ottawa Community Housing’s redevelopment of Rochester Heights. The redevelopment will combine industry-leading sustainability measures with Hobin Architecture’s signature community design approach.
Project Team: Marc Thivierge, David Anderson, Scott Armstrong, Cameron Deans, Shawn Leduc.
Maple View Lodge, now under construction in Athens, will offer specialized health care, behavioural support and palliative care in a safe and modern facility. By introducing 132 new beds, the redeveloped Lodge will provide some much needed relief to the overpopulation and staffing crises in nearby hospitals.
Project Team: Wendy Brawley, Madelyn Byrtus, Michelle Cataldo, Ryan Fleming, Reinhard Vogel.
211 Centrum Boulevard is the first project to be built in Ontario by Montreal-based developer of seniors’ communities, Groupe Maurice. Expected to begin construction in 2023, the building will introduce nearly 400 senior apartments, surrounding a landscaped courtyard, to the community of Orleans.
Project Team: Wendy Brawley, Jennifer Heaney, Dan Henhoeffer, RhEAL Labelle, Shawn Leduc, Fabiano Medeiros.
The Regina custom residence was completed this summer. Its backyard is a haven for outdoor living, with swimming pool, spa, patio and three-season outdoor room. The 4-bedroom home also features a secluded home office overlooking an elegantly landscaped terraced front yard. The home received an RRHBA Master Award in 2021.
Project Team: Barry Hobin, Kent Bugatsch, RhEAL Labelle.
Echo Canal, by Uniform Developments, was topped off this fall at 115 Echo Drive. The building’s design draws inspiration from the lines of the adjacent Rideau Canal, to which residents will enjoy unobstructed views when complete next year.
Project Team: RhEAL Labelle, Noor Alqaaod, Daniel Boulanger, Doug Brooks, Barry Hobin, Alison Legere, Sean O’Rourke.
Au Coeur d’Ottawa Elementary School (K-6 plus daycare) for Conseil des Écoles Catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) continues to take share at Greystone Village. This project will introduce a multi-functional community and recreational facility at the heart of the new neighbourhood.
Project Team: Doug Van Den Ham, Jennifer Heaney.
