Daniels Faculty Evening Lecture: Bruce Kuwabara, KPMB

A founding partner of the renowned firm Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg (KPMB), Bruce Kuwabara was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011 and has left an indelible mark on Toronto and Canada, raising the standards and the profile of Canadian architecture throughout the world. His lecture will provide an overview of his completed and current work to demonstrate the role of architecture in thinking about the city, its formation, and its future.

Date: Tuesday, January 22
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Location: 230 College, Room 103

In November of last year, KPMB celebrated its 25th anniversary with an event at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, whose recent expansion was designed by the firm. KPMB has won an impressive 12 Governor General Medals in architecture for its work, which also includes the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa and Manitoba Hydro Place in Winnipeg. In Toronto, the KPMB-designed National Ballet School, the Gardiner Museum, TIFF Bell Lightbox, and the Royal Conservatory of Music have contributed to what many have identified as a cultural renaissance in the city.

In 2006, Kuwabara received the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Gold Medal in recognition of his “contribution to the professional craft of architecture, and his and his firm’s focus and contribution to public life.” Before co-founding KPMB, he worked for both George Baird and then Barton Myers. He was the first Chair of Waterfront Toronto's Design Review Panel, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. Kuwabara has been a design critic at the Daniels Faculty throughout his career.

Current projects include the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan, the Departments of Economics and International Initiatives at Princeton University, the new Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Global Centre for Pluralism for the Aga Khan Foundation, and the Athletes' Village for the 2015 Pan American Games.