Elsa Lam

On a recent summer night, dozens of neighbours gathered for an informal evening concert on a tree-lined laneway in Riverdale, a residential neighbourhood east of downtown Toronto. It’s an area that has long been a magnet for professionals and creative professionals—doctors, lawyers, filmmakers, broadcasters, architects. But as average prices for homes in the area top […]

Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that a design competition will be held to modernize 24 Sussex, with the winning design to be announced on Canada Day

This foreword was written by Elsa Lam, FRAIC, Hon. OAA, and editor for Canadian Architect magazine.

This month’s Viewpoint is excerpted from editor Elsa Lam’s convocation remarks to the 2026 graduating class of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto.

As Chief Planning and Design Officer at Waterfront Toronto, Christopher Glaisek has overseen the design of all major developments and landscape projects on the waterfront, directing planning and urban design efforts on 2,000 acres of waterfront property for over 20 years. He has been a passionate advocate for architecture, landscape and urban design excellence throughout […]

Origins Raymond Moriyama founded his architectural practice in Toronto in 1958 and established a partnership with Ted Teshima in 1970. Early in life, as Japanese Canadians, they experienced the removal of citizenship during the Second World War. From this history emerged a lasting conviction that architecture can help uphold democracy by giving form to dignity, […]

By 2050, nearly 70% of the global population will live in cities. Food demand is projected to increase by more than 50%, with 80% of that demand concentrated in urban areas. At the same time, food systems already account for roughly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and agricultural land expansion is no longer a […]

The new Ontario Science Centre at Ontario Place will be designed by Snøhetta with Hariri Pontarini Architects. Concerns remain about its $1.04 B price tag, lack of public process, and the future of the Moriyama Teshima-designed landmark buildings at Don Mills Road.

The new Ontario Science Centre at Ontario Place will be designed by Snøhetta with Hariri Pontarini Architects. Concerns remain about its $1.04 B price tag, lack of public process, and the future of the Moriyama Teshima-designed landmark buildings at Don Mills

Canada’s Supreme Court will be hearing a challenge to a key piece of a legislation enabling Premier Doug Ford’s redevelopment of Ontario Place. Occupying a series of man-made islands on Toronto’s waterfront, Ontario Place originally opened in 1971 as a provincial counterpart to Montreal’s Expo 67. It featured mega-structural pods and the world’s first permanent