Raymond Moriyama was a visionary architect. The co-founder of Moriyama Teshima Architects and the designer behind some of Canada’s most influential buildings, passed away at the age of 93 on Sept. 1, 2023. Renowned for designing major buildings across the world, including the Canadian War Museum, Ontario Science Centre and the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, Moriyama focused on creating humane buildings reflecting ideals of democracy, equality, and inclusivity. He leaves a lasting legacy in the buildings he created and the firm that lives on in his name.
Moriyama Teshima Architects (MTA) are deeply committed to environmental responsibility and sustainability in the built environment and are a leader in the field. Their integrated approach to sustainability in the overall improvement of a building’s performance is a holistic one, utilizing best practices with the goal of significantly reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions to achieve as close to net-zero as possible. Raymond Moriyama founded MTA in 1958 with the health and wellbeing of our planet as a core principle. The firm’s core values of generative, generous, and regenerative design are founded in that ideology and drives them to improve the ways of designing and building with the planet in mind. MTA makes positive changes legible, improving the daily lives of those who experience their designs – inspiring awareness and ultimately, change. MTA believes that healthy communities require inspiring public places and inspiring experiences, designing places with both agency and responsibility to practice and explore the lowest carbon solutions. They seek to foster resilience, both environmental and cultural, in every project by developing unique, contextually appropriate solutions, while prioritizing a holistic approach to sustainability. This sentiment is echoed throughout their decades-long portfolio of work, from the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa completed in 2005, whose design included what was at the time Canada’s largest green roof that incorporated Indigenous tall-grass species found along the Ottawa River, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem that provides additional insulation to reduce energy loss while moderating any urban heat island effect, to the soon to be completed projects, such as Limberlost Place for George Brown College, which will re-write building codes for tall, mass timber, assembly buildings. Including Limberlost Place, MTA currently has 8 mass timber projects in various stages of design and 3 mass timber projects under construction, including the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation Headquarters targeting LEED Platinum. Both Limberlost Place and the OSSTF Headquarters projects include innovative design, engineering, and operations strategies to target net-zero carbon emissions. This means that the already low embodied carbon of their structures, envelopes, and interior finishes will be even further offset by the large amount of carbon sequestered in these buildings’ mass timber structural systems. MTA’s successful work with mass timber, from authorities, to proof-of-concept design-assist collaboration with fabricators, has led to advancements in the industry and has removed barriers for other projects looking to employ mass timber construction.
Limberlost Place, George Brown College
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Client: George Brown College
Size: 225,000 SQ.Ft
Status: Under Construction
*Moriyama Teshima Architects with Acton Ostry Architects
Limberlost Place, a new addition to the George Brown College’s Waterfront Campus, is a ten-storey, low-carbon building that will feature ecological innovation across its entire life cycle. A model for 21st century smart, sustainable, green building innovation throughout the country, the 225,000 sq.ft, net-zero carbon emissions Limberlost Place sets a precedent through its mass timber structural solution – accelerating the development of the Canadian forest products industry. Currently under construction in Toronto, this building achieves the highest levels of municipal targets, well in advance of the 2030 TEDI, TEUI, and GHGI reductions.
The future home of George Brown College’s school of architecture, the large span, beamless structure will enable demising walls to expand and contract, providing flexibility of sizes for a variety of learning spaces. The angled apex of the roof structure will speak to future advancements of tall wood technologies as well as the development of net positive and low carbon building methodologies. The outer bars will house classrooms, labs, and administrative offices that look outward towards the Water’s Edge Promenade, Sherbourne Common, and the upcoming School of Design.
As the first tall wood building in Ontario, the design provides generous spaces focused on wellbeing and sustainability. The building form and façade will be shaped to maximize access to natural light and fresh air. Two solar chimneys located on the east and west façades will be used to create a sustainable system of natural convection, drawing air up and through the building from operable windows. A Lean Design Process aided the development of the assembly sequence for the floor, roof, and envelope elements. OD