PWA Toronto (People With AIDS)
2024 - present (on-going)
Community Hub
Toronto, Canada
Team: Reza Nik, Sam Cruxton, Nam Hoang, Averill Dimabuyu, Dillon Thompson
Media: The Architect’s Newspaper
2024 - present (on-going)
Community Hub
Toronto, Canada
Team: Reza Nik, Sam Cruxton, Nam Hoang, Averill Dimabuyu, Dillon Thompson
Media: The Architect’s Newspaper
Over the past two years, we have been working closely with PWA Toronto at their 40,000 square foot community hub—an essential space supporting an organization that has long played a vital role in the lives of many across the city.
Our engagement began with a deep listening process, centred on understanding the needs of the diverse organizations coming together within the hub. From this foundation, we designed and coordinated the renovation of the ground floor, including a community kitchen and an informal gallery supported by a modular wall system—spaces intended to foster gathering, visibility, and everyday use.
Throughout the project, we approached design as an act of care. We believe that spaces serving vulnerable communities should be generous, playful, and unapologetically welcoming—using colour, flexibility, and moments of delight to affirm dignity, reduce barriers, and support joy alongside function. These principles informed material choices, spatial organization, and the character of shared spaces across the building.
The work then extended to the second and third floors, where we reimagined office layouts and communal areas to better support the rhythms and realities of daily work. The third floor is currently under construction, marking the next phase in the building’s ongoing transformation.
Our relationship with this important organization has grown over time, and we are currently undertaking a feasibility study for the building as a whole, exploring its long-term potential as a resilient, inclusive community resource.
More information to follow.
Our engagement began with a deep listening process, centred on understanding the needs of the diverse organizations coming together within the hub. From this foundation, we designed and coordinated the renovation of the ground floor, including a community kitchen and an informal gallery supported by a modular wall system—spaces intended to foster gathering, visibility, and everyday use.
Throughout the project, we approached design as an act of care. We believe that spaces serving vulnerable communities should be generous, playful, and unapologetically welcoming—using colour, flexibility, and moments of delight to affirm dignity, reduce barriers, and support joy alongside function. These principles informed material choices, spatial organization, and the character of shared spaces across the building.
The work then extended to the second and third floors, where we reimagined office layouts and communal areas to better support the rhythms and realities of daily work. The third floor is currently under construction, marking the next phase in the building’s ongoing transformation.
Our relationship with this important organization has grown over time, and we are currently undertaking a feasibility study for the building as a whole, exploring its long-term potential as a resilient, inclusive community resource.
More information to follow.