We’re pleased to announce that Leslie Morton has joined DTAH as a Senior Associate!

Leslie brings over 15 years of experience in planning, designing, and implementing public realm and park projects. She is dedicated to all stages of the design process, including research and understanding of the site and community, detailed design, construction documentation, administration, and the inauguration of completed projects. Leslie currently serves as the assistant chair for the Mississauga Urban Design Panel.

Her leadership involves managing interdisciplinary teams and overseeing consultation processes that guide projects through complex development approvals. She firmly believes that meaningful collaboration with specialists from various disciplines results in successful projects.

Welcome to the team, Leslie!

DTAH Associate Partner Colin Berman has been selected to serve on the City of Ottawa’s Urban Design Review Panel for a four-year term. Colin brings valuable experience to the role, having previously served on the City of Hamilton’s Design Review Panel.

The Urban Design Review Panel is an independent advisory board of design professionals involved in the City’s planning approval process. The panel provides objective peer reviews of projects within the nation’s capital, utilizing their combined expertise in city-building, urban landscapes, architecture, sustainable design, and heritage conservation. They reinforce the importance of urban design and the public realm and promote design excellence across our nation’s capital.

Congratulations, Colin!

DTAH is honored to announce that Niagara Falls Exchange received a Grand Prize from the Niagara Biennial Awards! The Public Art at the Exchange also received an Award of Excellence in the Outdoor Art category.

Hosted by Niagara Region, the awards program celebrates design excellence and recognizes good design’s potential to bolster Niagara’s economy. The jury evaluates the project’s ability to address sustainability, livability, inclusivity, vibrancy, and climate change.

The jury commented: “This remarkable project received a Grand Prize for its complexity, innovation, comprehensiveness, quality of construction, success across multiple design disciplines, and the degree of transformative value it provides to the community.”

Since its opening in February 2024, the Niagara Falls Exchange has become a vibrant centre of activity in the community, providing shared spaces where artists, musicians, food vendors and patrons, and local businesses come together and create. The Exchange offers Niagara Falls a purpose-built, consolidated facility in which to expand existing cultural festivals, create new events, and incubate the next generation of arts and culture leaders in the city. The connection to the History Museum supports the authenticity of programming in the Exchange, focused on locally grown talent as well as food, and reinforces this site as a rich cultural and heritage precinct.

Read more: Niagara Biennial Awards

Niagara Parks is building Niagara’s first Children’s Garden, which will help children of all ages and abilities connect with nature through outdoor play. DTAH led the schematic design, which includes several exciting park features:

Tree Top Walk: This accessible timber causeway will offer visitors of all ages an elevated view of Botanical garden’s tree canopy and the species it supports.

Niagara Parks is within the Carolinian Life Zone, which supports the most productive and endangered assortment of plant and animal species in Canada.

Top Rock: This area showcases the unique geological wonders of Niagara with large, sloped slabs of limestone that mimic the stone base of the Niagara Gorge and the Escarpment.

The Gorge: Layers of rock and replicas of fossils demonstrate 450 million years of natural history and how the power of Niagara Falls was able to cut through the rock over 15,000 years ago to create this geological landscape.

The Hive: Located in the heart of the garden, this whimsical play space will be abuzz with activity while teaching children about the vital world of insects and pollinators.

Learn more on the Niagara Parks website

Anticipated to reopen in Spring 2025, this bridge is an important connection between Rosedale and St. James Town. The infrastructure maintains its historical location, crossing over Rosedale Valley Ravine and under Bloor Street East, and prioritizes the safety and livelihood of the community.

DTAH completed detailed design work for the bridge enhancements, including innovative V-shaped barriers, stainless steel webnet, and LED lighting to make the bridge feel secure and visually cohesive. The project retains the core visual characteristics of the original bridge, and materials were selected to blend with the existing palette. The bridge and tunnel have been widened to increase openness and sightlines, and a new accessible pathway slopes up to Bloor Street to suit users of all ages and abilities.

Learn more about the project: https://www.toronto.ca/communi...

We’re in the last stages of developing the Yonge North York BIA Public Realm Plan!

The BIA aspires to become the preferred destination in North Toronto for businesses, residents, and visitors to live, work, and play.

The purpose of the BIA’s plan is to improve the public realm, promote the neighbourhood, and support the local business community. It is closely coordinating with other major efforts being led by the City of Toronto, such as the North York Centre Secondary Plan update and the Transform Yonge street design.

The plan will define the BIA’s position on the future of the public realm within their boundaries, conceptually illustrate projects that the BIA could lead or support, and identify potential project scheduling and partners.

Fill out the online survey before it closes on November 26 to help us further develop the document, which will be finalized by early next year.

Redpath Avenue Parkette started construction this month!

Improvements to the neighbourhood park, located near Erskine Avenue and Redpath Avenue, were developed through extensive public engagement. The design aims to create a safe, fun, and welcoming space for users of all ages and abilities to enjoy. Concerns for the safety and accessibility of the existing parkette will be addressed by increasing visibility and implementing AODA standards. Plenty of seating and lounge areas will be added to activate the park, and a new playground and outdoor fitness area will promote healthy activities for children and adults alike. The design features new planting and playful pavement motifs, and a whimsical barn-themed play structure, which pays homage to the neighborhood’s history as one of the largest cattle grazing area in Upper Canada.

DTAH Partner James Roche is speaking at the upcoming OALA Conference, where he will discuss the Bloor-Annex BIA Parkettes. The theme of this year’s conference is Ripple Effect, exploring how small interventions can have lasting impacts on the well-being of our communities.

The award-winning Bloor-Annex BIA Parkettes is a compelling example of how the transformation of small spaces can have a big social, environmental, and economic impact on the surrounding neighbourhood. These asphalt paved spaces, used for parking and storage of garbage and waste material, were transformed, and reimagined into dynamic green social community spaces. Adaptive pollinator plant species and shade trees were carefully curated and porous surfaces were introduced to facilitate stormwater absorption. Reclaimed materials from local construction sites and quarries were salvaged and repurposed as sculptural seating elements, completing the transformation.

The result is a series of passive sustainable public amenity spaces for rest, contemplation, and social interaction. The dramatic shift from unsightly asphalt paving to lush, ecologically functional parkettes, serves as a successful model that can be implemented across other neglected small brownfields within the city.

Learn more about the Conference here