Diamond Schmitt Architects is a Canadian

architectural firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countr ...

founded in 1975. It is headquartered in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The firm was founded by architects Jack Diamond and Donald Schmitt.Robinson, John. "Architecture for the People." ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', 26 April 1987.

History

Diamond was the founding director of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

's Master of Architecture program. Diamond worked closely with

Barton Myers Barton Myers (born November 6, 1934) is an American architect and president of Barton Myers Associates Inc. in Santa Barbara, California. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Myers is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and wa ...

, an American and Canadian architect, and is currently the president of Barton Myers Associates Inc. Myers established his own practice with Diamond in

in 1968. Starting this year, the architects founded their new firm Diamond and Myers. The two eventually split in 1975. Diamond Schmitt Architecture would not officially begin until 1974 when Jack Diamond established his own firm, A.J Diamond Architects. It was around this time that the partnership between Jack Diamond and Donald Schmitt began. Schmitt studied architecture at the University of Toronto where Diamond had worked, continuing his education until 1978. After thirteen years of A.J. Diamond Architects, in 1989, the firm had developed further when Jack Diamond partnered with Schmitt.

Founding

Abel Joseph "Jack" Diamond was born in 1932 in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and had arrived in Canada in 1964, the same year he started working for the

. In 1970, Diamond had begun renovating a ceramics manufacturing plant, and adding living spaces on one of the floors. Five years later, Diamond established his company A.J Diamond architects, and three years later he would form his partnership with Donald Schmitt and Company. Donald Schmitt was born 1951 in

South Porcupine The city of Timmins, Ontario, Canada contains many named neighbourhoods. Some former municipalities that were merged into Timmins continue to be treated as distinct postal and telephone exchanges from the city core. According to Barnes, "With the ...

, a small mining town in northern

. He went to high school at the

University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by a written exam ...

(UTS) and studied afterwards at the

Faculty of Architecture. Apart from the firm's founding principals, there are also 19 other principals, 12 senior associates, 37 associates, 8 directors, 129 registered graduates and student architects, and a support staff of 43.

Work in progress

* Ādisōke, the new Ottawa Public Library – Library and Archives Canada joint facility, Ottawa, Ontario * Atlantic Science Enterprise Centre, Moncton, New Brunswick * Clinical Support and Research Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia * Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery at the

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...

, Toronto, Ontario *

New Brunswick Museum The New Brunswick Museum, located in Saint John, New Brunswick, is Canada's oldest continuing museum. The New Brunswick Museum was incorporated as the "Provincial Museum" in 1929 and received its current name in 1930, but its history goes back muc ...

, St. John, New Brunswick * Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health at the University of Toronto - Scarborough Campus, Scarborough, Ontario * School of Medicine at

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

, Brampton, Ontario * Temerty Faculty of Medicine's new James and Louise Temerty Building at the

, Toronto, Ontario * The New Vic at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, Montreal, Quebec *

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

's Markham Campus, Markham, Ontario

Awards

Diamond Schmitt Architects has received numerous regional, national and international awards for excellence in design. The firm was recognized in 2009 by

Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...

LLP, the

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...

KPMG KPMG is a multinational professional services network, based in London, United Kingdom. As one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Ernst & Young (EY), Deloitte, and PwC. KPMG is a network of firms in 145 countries with 275,288 emplo ...

, and the Queen's University School of Business as being one of the 50 Best Managed Companies in Canada.

Canadian Governor General's Awards for Architecture

*Village Terrace, Toronto, Ontario, 1985 *Citadel Theatre, Edmonton, Alberta, 1986 *Metro Toronto

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, Toronto, Ontario, 1986 * Earth Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, 1994 * Richmond Hill Central Library, Richmond Hill, Ontario, 1994 *

Student Centre, Toronto, Ontario, 1996 * Bridgepoint Hospital, Toronto, Ontario 2016

Ontario Architect's Association Awards

*2024:

David Geffen Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designed by Max Abramovitz, was o ...

*2022: Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences *2020: Senate of Canada Building in joint Venture with KWC Architects Inc *2007:

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West, across from Osgoode Hall. The land on which it is located was a gift ...

BusinessWeek/Architectural Record Awards

*2004: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem, Israel *2007: The Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts, Toronto, Ontario, Canada *2008: Shakespeare Theatre at the Harman Center for the Arts, Washington, D.C., USA

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond Schmitt Architects Architecture firms of Canada Companies based in Toronto 1975 establishments in Ontario