Kìwekì Point wins a 2026 OAA Design Excellence Award!

Posted April 9, 2026

We are pleased to announce that Kìwekì Point is a winner of the 2026 OAA Design Excellence Awards!

Kìwekì Point is a transformative collaboration between architecture and landscape, reimagining a spectacular limestone bluff in Canada’s capital for the National Capital Commission (NCC). The design restores connections to the city through the Pìdàban pedestrian bridge and embraces the Ottawa River with a continuous perimeter walkway and biodiverse planting. Anchoring the site is Whispering Point, an iconic architectural outlook.

Here, a dramatic cantilever projects outward to capture sweeping panoramas, while a robust liner of laminated yellow cedar fins below creates a warm, human-scaled shelter. By recontextualizing historic monuments and integrating Algonquin storytelling within this new topography, the project establishes a resilient, inclusive beacon towards reconciliation.

Congratulations to the National Capital Commission and our collaborative team of consultants at Patkau Architects, ERA Architects Inc., Blackwell, MCLD, EXP, CIMA+, and Spearhead!

The project is also nominated for an OAA people’s choice award! Cast your vote online here: https://oaa.on.ca/2026-peoples-choice-award

Photography by Jeff McNeill