The Daniels Faculty would like to extend its congratulations to Williamson Chong Architects. The Architectural League has named the firm of Associate Professor Shane Williamson, Betsy Williamson, and Alumnus Donald Chong one of its "Emerging Voices" of 2014.

The Architectural League’s annual Emerging Voices Award spotlights North American individuals and firms with distinct design “voices” that have the potential to influence the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design.

Williamson Chong follows in the footsteps of other members of the Daniels Faculty who have been named Emerging Voices in the past, including Carol Moukheiber and Christos Marcopoulos (2012), Mason White (2011), An Te Liu (2007), and Brigitte Shim (1995). The Architectural League also recognized Williamson Chong with a Architectureal League Prize (formerly known as The Yonge Architects Forum) in 2006. Faculty members Aziza Chaouni and Mason White also received this award in 2009 and 2005 respectively.

The work of each Emerging Voice represents the best of its kind, and addresses larger issues within architecture, landscape, and the built environment. This year’s jury included Fred Bernstein, Paul Lewis, Kate Orff, Thomas Phifer, Annabelle Selldorf, and Adam Yarinsky. Emerging Voices is organized by League Program Director Anne Rieselbach.

From the Architectural League's website:

“Context, materials research, economies of construction, building performance, and client-based collaboration” all shape the design approach of Williamson Chong Architects. The Toronto-based practice was founded by Shane Williamson and Betsy Williamson in 2000; Donald Chong joined the firm in 2011. Their work ranges in scale from furniture to master planning. A particular interest is what the firm terms “Incremental Urbanism,” a strategy that mines the potential of often irregular urban building sites—evidenced in the Gallery House and the Blantyre House, both in Toronto as well as their current projects the Bala Line House and the Grange-Triple Double multi-family dwelling. The firm’s work also includes the House in Frogs Hollow, Greys Highlands, Ontario and the Abby Gardens Food Community master plan in Haliburton, Ontario, which begins construction in 2015.

Both Shane and Betsy Williamson received their M.Arch. degrees from Harvard University. Donald Chong received his B.Arch. from the University of Toronto.  All three have taught at schools of architecture in Canada and abroad, including the University of Toronto, where Shane Williamson is currently an associate professor and Betsy Williamson a lecturer. Recent recognition for the firm includes the Professional Prix de Rome from the Canada Council for the Arts, the IDS 212 Gold Award, a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence, and an Ontario Association of Architects Design Excellence Award, one of many for the House in Frogs Hollow.

On Thursday, March 20, Shane Williamson, Betsy Williamson, and Donald Chong will discuss their firm's work at a lecture in New York.

For more information, visit the Architectural League's website.

You can also read about Williamson Chong's awards on the Canadian Architect website.