News

Waterloo Architecture students Kailing Mai and Lora Tarassov have won a 2026 AIA COTE Top Ten Award, marking the school's third consecutive victory in this global competition. Their winning project, 'Cultivating Cycles,' offers a sustainable expansion of the Cambridge Farmers' Market that seamlessly connects vendors and the community. The adaptive reuse design was praised by jurors for preserving the site's heritage while introducing interactive spaces like a garden classroom and greenhouse.

Adam Clark (BAS ’06, MArch ’09) has created a bridge between Waterloo classrooms and real-world city building. Through years of collaboration as a project client, guest lecturer, critic and mentor, the City of Kitchener urban designer has given students opportunities to tackle active planning challenges while bringing their research and ideas into municipal decision-making. That relationship has contributed to projects including Growing Together, Kitchener’s award-winning framework for growth around its ION light rail stations.  

Masterworks 2026: A Room of One’s Home, curated by Bianca Weeko Martin, is currently on display at the Riverside Gallery, showcasing the graduate thesis works of six Waterloo Architecture alumni. Through drawings, counter-archival projects, and artifacts, the exhibition explores the complex intersections of diasporic identity, spatial memory, and migration. Rather than romanticizing diaspora, the projects ask critical questions about cultural endurance and how the built environment helps individuals reconnect with generational histories. This compelling collection invites visitors to experience how the spaces we call home carry forward communities and stories, running until October 1, 2026.

University of Waterloo architecture and engineering students claimed the top three prizes at the 2025-2026 Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) Architectural Student Design Competition. James Miller and Luke Carone won the Award of Excellence for Resonance, while the teams behind Thirteen Ascents and UBC Tropical Conservatory secured second and third place, respectively. The national contest challenges students to creatively utilize exposed structural steel in ambitious architectural frameworks. Under the guidance of professors Terri Meyer Boake and Cory Zurell, the winning Waterloo projects were recognized for their unique interplay of scale, light, and natural greenery.

Alumni applications are now open for the 2026 Masterworks exhibition curator.

Material Syntax: 3D Printed Masonry Façade Systems is on view at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery from January 16 – March 27, 2026

For nearly two decades, MSS Architects has played a steady and influential role in supporting students at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture. Their commitment to hiring emerging talent has grown into a multifaceted partnership that continues to shape student experiences, professional pathways, and the culture of architectural education at Waterloo.

A team of students from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and the Department of Architectural Engineering has been selected as a winner in the 2026 Winter Stations international design competition. Their installation, Crest, is now on public exhibition at Woodbine Beach in Toronto from February 16 to March 30, 2026.

The School of Architecture is proud to celebrate the achievements of Elisia Neves (BArch ’08, MArch ’12), who was recognized with the Alumni Achievement Medal for Professional Achievement at this year’s University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering Awards Dinner.

The University of Waterloo School of Architecture in Cambridge is showcasing student-led research that responds to community needs at local and international scales. Two recent projects highlight how Waterloo students combine design, technology, and collaboration to advance affordable housing and accessibility.