Wikipedia

RDH Architects

RDH Architects Inc. (RDHA) is a Toronto-based design studio specializing in civic buildings.[1][2] Founded in 1919, it is one of Canada’s oldest continuing architectural practices with a portfolio spanning mid-century corporate headquarters to contemporary public buildings.[3] Recent work includes corporate headquarters, embassies and chanceries, industrial facilities, academic buildings, recreation centres, arenas, transportation infrastructure, and both academic and public libraries.[4]

RDH Architects
Formation1919
FounderFerdinand Marani
TypeArchitecture firm
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people
Bob Goyeche, Tyler Sharp, Geoff Miller
Websitehttps://www.rdharch.com

Early practice (1919 - 1990) edit

The practice was founded by Ferdinand Marani in Toronto in 1919.[5] At the time Marani frequented the Diet Kitchen Tea Room at 72 Bloor Street West, which was a gathering place for young architects such as John M. Lyle, Alvan Mathers, Eric Haldenby, Eric Arthur and others who sought to “raise appreciation for Canadian design and allied arts.”[6] The group was informally dubbed “The Diet Kitchen School of Architecture,” and many of its members would go on to design landmark buildings in Canada.[7] The practice was renamed Marani and Paisley in 1924, and then Marani Lawson and Paisley in 1927, when it landed its first major commission for the Medical Arts Building at the corner of Bloor and St. George Streets in Toronto.[8] Over 75 years later, a plaque was affixed to its face by Heritage Toronto reading, “Designed in a Georgian-influenced style by Marani, Lawson and Paisley, Architects, it exhibits high-quality materials and craftsmanship, particularly in its stone detailing and main lobby.”[9]

By 1930 the practice had become Marani, Lawson & Morris, and was responsible for The North American Life Assurance Company headquarters at King and University Streets.[8] A 1932 article published in Construction described the seven-storey Art Deco building as “an edifice of real distinction, its simplicity of design and reversion to clean lines being somewhat in contrast to the earlier home of the company.”[10]

In the 1940s, all three partners left the practice to support the war.[11] Afterwards Lawson stepped down and the practice became Marani & Morris.[11] Following the war, the studio began to adopt Modernism into its designs. The Bank of Canada building at 250 University Avenue in Toronto, completed in 1958, exemplifies Classical Modernism, a moderate approach to the movement that appealed to the practice’s corporate clients.[12]

From 1964 to 1980, the practice operated as Marani, Rounthwaite & Dick, and then as Rounthwaite, Dick & Hadley.[13] During this period, the studio designed the new Toronto Courthouse (1966) and the Bank of Canada headquarters in Ottawa with architect Arthur Erickson (1979).[11]

Current practice (1990 - ) edit

The current practice, still based in Toronto, took the name RDH Architects in 2018, the initials of former partners Rounthwaite, Dick and Hadley.[14] The studio is led by partners Bob Goyeche, Tyler Sharp, and Geoff Miller and is known for its designs for public and institutional buildings, including libraries, academic buildings, municipal government offices, and operations centres, and high-security facilities.[14]

Sharp’s first project at RDH Architects, the renovation of the historic Bloor/Gladstone District Library in 2010, marked a significant turning point for the reputation of the firm.[15] “A contemporary update and expansion of a 1913 library building”,[16] the project has led to many more public library commissions since completion.[17] The project received several awards for architectural excellence including in 2014 a RAIC Governor General’s Medal in Architecture, the highest architectural recognition in Canada.[11] In 2014, Tyler Sharp received the RAIC’s Young Architect Award for his personal work and contributions to the studio’s portfolio.[18]

Miller’s first project with RDHA, the Newmarket Operations Centre, was completed in 2011.[11] The project also received a RAIC Governor General’s Medal in Architecture among numerous awards, proving that this generally overlooked industrial building type can demonstrate excellent design.[19]

In 2018 RDHA received the Architectural Firm Award from the RAIC which recognizes a firm's achievements for its quality of architecture, its service to its clients, its innovations in practice, contributions to architectural education and to professional institutions and associations and public recognition.[20] According to the RAIC jury, “There is a remarkable consistency throughout the last 10 to 15 years of work by a younger generation of designers that have taken over the firm and kept the lineage and re-established themselves as a leading designing firm in Toronto.”[21]

References edit

  1. ^ "RDHA - Dexigner". www.dexigner.com. March 18, 2018. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  2. ^ "RDHA transforms heritage-listed structure into a bookless library in Ontario". World Architecture Community. December 24, 2019. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  3. ^ Walter, Alexander (March 7, 2018). "One of Canada's oldest practices reinvents itself and wins the 2018 RAIC Architectural Firm Award". Archinect. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  4. ^ "RAIC's 2018 Architectural Firm Award goes to RDHA". Building. 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  5. ^ "Firm was founded in the 'Diet Kitchen'". Engineering & Construction. No. 6: 97–99. January 1970. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  6. ^ Sabatino, Michelangelo and Rhodri Windsor Liscombe (December 15, 2016). Canada: Modern Architectures in History. Reaktion Books.
  7. ^ LeBlanc, Dave (June 4, 2009). "Toronto Beaux-Arts architect finally gets his due". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  8. ^ a b "Marani, Ferdinand Herbert | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada". dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  9. ^ "Medical Arts Building Historical Plaque". www.torontoplaques.com. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  10. ^ Plummer, Kevin (2010-02-13). "Historicist: North American Edifice Complex". Torontoist. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  11. ^ a b c d e Lam, Elsa (2019-07-04). "Legacy Firm: RDHA". Canadian Architect. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  12. ^ Bozikovic, Alex (May 14, 2018). "Leave Toronto's old Bank of Canada building alone". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  13. ^ Simmens, Geoffrey (December 6, 2010). "Rounthwaite, Dick & Hadley Architects & Engineers | The Canadian Encyclopedia". thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  14. ^ a b LeBlanc, Dave (June 26, 2019). "The century-long legacy of Toronto architecture firm RDHA". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  15. ^ Matthews, Kara (2014-04-16). "Q&A with 2014 Young Architect Award winner Tyler Sharp". Spacing National. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  16. ^ Bozikovic, Alex (April 23, 2014). "Winners of the Governor-General's Medals in architecture unveiled". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  17. ^ Minutillo, Josephine (March 1, 2017). "Waterdown Library and Civic Centre by RDHA". www.architecturalrecord.com. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  18. ^ "Young Architect Awards - 2014 Recipient". raic.org. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  19. ^ Schmidt, Pat (2015-02-27). "Opening the door to an efficient municipal building assembly". Construction Canada. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  20. ^ "RDHA to receive RAIC's 2018 Architectural Firm Award - REMI Network". REMINET. March 20, 2018. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  21. ^ Thorns, Ella (2018-03-14). "RDHA Wins The 2018 RAIC's Architecture Firm Award". ArchDaily. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
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