Blackwell

03/19/2026

One thing we love to do at Blackwell is to take on new and interesting challenges. Like the drill tent pictured below. Designed to withstand the harsh Antarctic winds, providing shelter for the core drill and its operators.

Another thing we care deeply about is pushing building structures towards a zero-carbon goal. Buildings are responsible for roughly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and cement production alone is responsible for 8%. Lowering that number is the most important thing we can do.

Thank you to the scientists advancing our understanding of the climate crisis. And for the solutions you advance.

Bubbles in a 3-million-year-old ice core have allowed researchers to measure gases in the atmosphere during the late Pliocene for the first time, providing data that could help predict the future climate.

06/03/2024

We’ve got some exciting news to share: Blackwell has acquired Ojdrovic Engineering!

Since it was founded by Nebojsa Ojdrovic in 1999, Ojdrovic Engineering has grown into a trusted industry leader in the structural rehabilitation and retrofit of heritage buildings with a portfolio of notable projects such as the West and East Block Rehabilitations Projects on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Royal St. George’s College Addition in Toronto, the Rehabilitation of Province House in Charlottetown, and the Supreme Court of Canada Building in Ottawa.

With Ojdrovic’s exceptional commitment to quality and highly specialized expertise in restoration and rehabilitation, they are a perfect fit to join us under one roof, expanding on Blackwell’s services on a wider range of projects with even greater efficiency and creativity.

Rest assured, it’s business as usual for all ongoing projects and commitments from both firms. Our teams will continue to work diligently to meet and exceed your expectations, ensuring seamless continuity and delivery on all fronts.

Ojdrovic’s staff will join Blackwell in our Toronto office this summer, and collaborations on new projects are already underway.

This expansion opens up a world of possibilities, and we can’t wait to share the journey with you. Here’s to an even brighter future together!

03/12/2024

We could not be more proud of our contribution to this amazing house. Great architect. Great client. Great job, Martin Sampson-Coburn!

a modern cabin in the mountains Overlooking the stunning, panoramic peaks of the American West, the ‘House at 9,000 Feet’ designed by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects is a unique example of modern mountain architecture. The cabin is lost within the peaks of the Intermountain Region — an are...

02/01/2024

The Leaf featured on the cover of Canadian Architect!

The February 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazine: https://bit.ly/cafeb24 Featuring RAIC - IRAC Journal

Cover: The Leaf at Assiniboine Park & Zoo in Winnipeg, Manitoba designed by KPMB Architects in association with Architecture49 with HTFC Planning & Design and Blackwell.

Cover Photo: Ema Peter, Ema Peter Photography

10/18/2023

Any time you can evoke Fibonacci, that’s a win for us nerds!

In fact the decision to use the spiral form was a functional, rather than formal. The fact that it is so formally strong is a bonus.

You see, a linear ETFE pillow can span about 3m. We needed to cover the roof with linear pillows that are continuous from the central “diagrid” which houses the mechanical inflation equipment, to the building perimeter. Otherwise we’d have had to introduce an air distribution system within the roof. The solution is to trace a spiral path with a fixed number of pillows, the angle relative to the annular getting ever shallower. Hence the spiral.

It’s the very same reason the spiral shows up so often in nature, from the sunflower to the mollusk shell.

Thanks for the nice article Dezeen!

A spiralling cable-net roof modelled in the image of a Fibonacci sequence tops a new public greenhouse designed by KPMB Architects in Winnipeg.

09/19/2023

A wonderful bunch of projects that we’re proud to have in our city. Congratulations to all the winners. And particularly our pals at Diamond Schmitt, Partisans, JCI and LGA who were good enough to include us.

And thanks to the ACO for the shout out!

Also congratulations to Blackwell alum, Shannon at faetlab, for her win and all of her nominations.

The winners of this year's Toronto Urban Design Awards were announced at a ceremony on Wednesday, September 13.

09/16/2023

Such a sad summer for the Canadian design community. Claude was a brilliant landscape architect (obviously) but also a warm and lovely human being. I was sure we were destined to be close friends. I’m grateful for the time we had.

Back in June, I was driving eastbound on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto feeling tense and hopeless. I wasn’t the only one. The entire city was darkened by smoke from the Quebec wildfires, interest rates were through the roof, and on the eve of the city’s annual pride month, a wave of anti-tr...

09/05/2023

This is a sad day for the design community in Toronto. Ray was an inspiration and a mentor to many. His contributions to architecture and to the cultural fabric are immeasurable.

I look forward to the retrospectives and to the opportunities to meet with colleagues and share the many personal stories.

We are deeply saddened to learn of Raymond Moriyama’s passing on September 1st, 2023. Our immediate thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

During this time, we ask for respect and privacy as we process and grieve the profound loss of our firm’s founder.

The world has lost a visionary architect.

08/19/2023

More than occasionally we have the opportunity to work on something really interesting. This was no exception.
https://thebentway.ca/event/balete-bulate-bituka/

Be sure to follow the Bentway for their ongoing program of extraordinary art an culture. We're grateful for our opportunity to participate.

An otherworldly creature germinates at The Bentway, its parasitic tentacles emerging from the history of waste materials used as landfill to create the solid ground where the Gardiner now sits. Woven with bamboo, living plants, and locally-sourced discarded plastics, Leeroy New’s first North Ameri...

06/25/2023

We really enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to this project. Nicely done LGA!