KPMB Architects facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids KPMB Architects

Practice information
Key architects	Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne, Marianne McKenna, Shirley Blumberg
Founded	1987
Location	Toronto
Significant works and honors
Buildings	TIFF Bell Lightbox, Gardiner Museum, National Ballet School of Canada, Art Gallery of Hamilton, Canadian Museum of Nature, Koerner Hall
Awards	American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Architecture, Governor General's Award, RAIC National Urban Design Award, Ontario Association of Architects Award of Excellence, Toronto Urban Design Award

KPMB is a Canadian architecture firm founded by Bruce Kuwabara, Thomas Payne, Marianne McKenna, and Shirley Blumberg, in 1987. It is headquartered in Toronto, where the majority of their work is found. Aside from designing buildings, the firm also works in interior design. KPMB Architects was officially renamed from Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects to KPMB Architects on February 12, 2013.

Firm history
Early works
KPMB and Toronto
Work outside of Toronto and Canada
Major projects

Firm history

KPMB Architects’ four founding partners were former associates of Barton Myers Associates, until Myers permanently relocated his practice to his Los Angeles office. Kuwabara, Payne, McKenna and Blumberg stayed in Toronto and formed their own studio. Thomas Payne left the firm to start a multidisciplinary architectural studio in 2013.

Early works

KPMB's early projects were completed in association with Barton Myers, including Woodsworth College at the University of Toronto (1991) and the Art Gallery of Ontario Stage III Expansion (1992). Early on in the practice, KPMB won two major competitions: Kitchener City Hall and the Joseph S. Stauffer Library, the new central library for Queen's University in Kingston, ON.

KPMB and Toronto

Many of KPMB's projects are found in their home town of Toronto. Early projects involved retrofits and infill projects juxtaposed with existing structures, including King James Place (1991) on Toronto's King Street East and the Design Exchange (1994), a retrofit of Toronto's former Stock Exchange building into an exhibition space for design.

In the 21st century KPMB completed a number of cultural facilities that contribute to what is known as the "Toronto Cultural Renaissance": Roy Thomson Hall Enhancement (2002) home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canada's National Ballet School (2005) with Goldsmith Borgal Architects, the Gardiner Museum (2006), Young Centre for the Performing Arts (2006), TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning at the Royal Conservatory (2009), and the TIFF Bell Lightbox (2010) a permanent home for the Toronto International Film Festival.

Work outside of Toronto and Canada

KPMB has a diverse portfolio of work across Canada, the United States and Europe.

Canadian projects include Le Quartier Concordia at Concordia University, the Remai Modern public art museum in Saskatchewan, and the LEED Platinum Headquarters Manitoba Hydro Place in Winnipeg, which some consider North America's most complex energy-efficient buildings in one of its most challenging climates. In 2022, KPMB Architects was named as the lead designer for the United Church of Canada's Kindred Works project, to transform underutilized United Church properties, including Toronto's St. Luke's United Church, into multi-unit residential buildings housing 34,000 people over 15 years.

American projects include the Walgreen Drama Center for the University of Michigan, Sprague Memorial Hall for Yale University and the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. KPMB's current work includes projects for Princeton University, Orchestra Hall for the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Major projects

Canada

Kitchener City Hall, Kitchener, Ontario, 1993
Design Exchange, Toronto, Ontario, 1994
Royal Conservatory, Ettore Mazzoleni Hall, Toronto, Ontario, 1997
Stratford Festival Theatre Renewal, Stratford, Ontario, 1993
McKee Public School, North York, Ontario, 1998
Richmond City Hall, Richmond, British Columbia, 2000
Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, 2001
Ravine House, Toronto, Ontario, 2002
Roy Thomson Hall, Enhancement, Toronto, Ontario, 2002
St. Andrew's College, Aurora, Ontario, 2003
McGill University and Génome Québec Innovation Centre, Montreal, Quebec, 2003
James Stewart Centre for Mathematics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, 2003
Centennial College Applied Research and Innovation Centre, Toronto, Ontario, 2004
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, 2005
Canada's National Ballet School, Project Grand Jeté, Toronto, Ontario, 2005
Le Quartier Concordia University, Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts, Montreal, Quebec, 2005
Woodbridge Offices, Toronto, Ontario, 2005
180 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, 2006
Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, Ontario, 2006
Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Ontario, 2006
Ryerson University Master Plan, Toronto, Ontario, 2007
CTV Television Network Executive Offices, Toronto, Ontario, 2008
Nota Bene Restaurant, Toronto, Ontario, 2008
Torys LLP, Toronto, Ontario, 2008
One Bedford Residential Development, Toronto, Ontario, 2009
Branksome Hall Master Plan Update, Toronto, Ontario, 2009
Block 24 E, Railway Lands West – Neo & Montage Condominiums, Toronto, Ontario, 2009
Manitoba Hydro Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2009
Royal Conservatory TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, Toronto, Ontario, 2009
Le Quartier Concordia University, John Molson School of Business, Montreal, Quebec, 2009
Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario, 2010
TIFF Bell Lightbox, Toronto, Ontario, 2010
Rosedale Clubhouse, Enhancement Feasibility Study, Toronto, Ontario, 2010
Le Quartier Concordia University, Guy-Métro Building Recladding, Montreal, Quebec, 2011
Maple Leaf Square, Bremner Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, 2011
The Power Plant Gallery, Refresh, Toronto, Ontario, 2011
Gluskin Sheff & Asscoaites, Toronto, Ontario, 2011
Vaughan City Hall, Vaughan, Ontario, 2011
Centre for International Governance Innovation Campus, Waterloo, Ontario, 2011
Southcore Financial Centre, PricewaterhouseCoopers Tower, Toronto, Ontario, 2011
Torys LLP, Calgary, Alberta, 2012
Roy Thomson Hall, Wine Bar, Toronto, Ontario, 2012
150 Dan Leckie Way, Toronto Community Housing Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, 2012
George Brown College, Daphne Cockwell Centre for Health Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, 2012
Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, 2012
The Joseph L. Rotman School of Management Expansion, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, 2012
Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, 2012
Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, 2013
Sugino Studio, Toronto, Ontario, 2013
Bridgepoint Health, Toronto, Ontario, 2013
Ponderosa Commons, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, (Phase 1), 2013
Fort York Branch Library, Toronto, Ontario, 2014
Library District Condominiums, Toronto, Ontario, 2014
Southcore Financial Centre, Bremner Tower, Toronto, Ontario, 2015
Torys LLP, Montreal, Quebec, 2015
2015 Pan American Games/Parapan American Games Athletes’ Village | Canary District, Toronto, Ontario, 2015
Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2015
St. Michael's Cathedral, Block Master Plan, Toronto, Ontario, 2015
Bay Adelaide East Tower and Podium, Toronto, Ontario, 2016
Ponderosa Commons, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, (Phase 2), 2016
Thornwood House, Toronto, Ontario, 2016
The Globe and Mail Office Interiors and Corporate Event Space, Toronto, Ontario, 2017
Global Centre for Pluralism, Ottawa, Ontario, 2017
Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 2017
Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) Expansion and Arts Court Redevelopment, Ottawa, Ontario, 2018
Wilson School of Design, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Richmond, British Columbia, 2018
Lloyd Hall, Banff Centre for Art and Creativity, Banff, Alberta, 2018
Lawrence Hights, Toronto, Ontario, 2018
11 Wellesley, Toronto, Ontario, 2018
Canada's Diversity Gardens at Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2019
University of Lethbridge Destination Project, Lethbridge, Alberta, 2019
11 Wellesley, Toronto, Ontario, 2019
Bloor Street United Church: 300 Bloor West, Toronto, Ontario, 2020
Massey Hall, Renovation and Expansion, Toronto, Ontario, 2020
University of Toronto, Landscape of Landmark Quality, Toronto, Ontario, 2020
Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and Harbour Square Park, Toronto, Ontario, Ongoing
St. Luke's United Church, Toronto, Ontario, ongoing

United States

Ammirati Puris Lintas, New York City, 1997
Goodman Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, 2000
Sprague Memorial Hall, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 2003
Charles R. Walgreen Jr. Drama Center & Arthur Miller Theatre, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2007
The Study at Yale Hotel, New Haven, Connecticut, 2008
SugarCube, Denver, Colorado, 2008
Conrad Hotels, New York City, New York (state), 2012
Orchestra Hall Renewal, Minnesota Orchestra, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2013
Adams Center for Musical Arts, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 2015
Julis Romo Rabinowitz Building & Louis A. Simpson International Building, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 2017
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 2017
Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2018

International

Star Alliance Lounge, Zürich, Switzerland, 2001
Canadian Embassy Berlin, Berlin, Germany, 2005

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