OAA conference in Waterloo highlights affordable housing, adaptive reuse and Indigenous design

At the Ontario Association of Architects’ (OAA) recent 2026 conference in Waterloo, the spotlight was turned on a wide inventory of innovative projects, plans and concepts. The Collaboration Powering Innovation conference provided the approximately 700 guests with opportunities to explore affordable housing master plans, obtain in-depth knowledge on adaptive reuse of industrial-era heritage spaces and [...] The post OAA conference in Waterloo highlights affordable housing, adaptive reuse and Indigenous design appeared first on constructconnect.com .

At the Ontario Association of Architects’ (OAA) recent 2026 conference in Waterloo, the spotlight was turned on a wide inventory of innovative projects, plans and concepts. The Collaboration Powering Innovation conference provided the approximately 700 guests with opportunities to explore affordable housing master plans, obtain in-depth knowledge on adaptive reuse of industrial-era heritage spaces and learn about the integration of Indigenous values in regional health care design. Describing the conference as a “flagship event,” OAA president Lara McKendrick said it enabled attendees to examine how collaboration supports strong design outcomes and helped address shared challenges of the present and future across the built environment.

Over the three-day event, the attendees took part in classroom education programs at the Bingemans Conference Centre in Kitchener, as well as participating in experimental learning sessions at various locations throughout Waterloo Region. The plenaries were divided into three different classifications: Affordable Housing Masters Plans; Adaptive Reuse of Industrial-Era Heritage Spaces; and Integration of Indigenous Values in Regional Health-Care. Five different seminars were delivered under the Affordable Housing Masters Plan grouping including profiles of two Waterloo Region affordable rental housing projects.

One is being heralded as Canada’s largest affordable housing undertaking. Construction has just started on BUILD NOW: Waterloo Region–2025 University East. Developed by Maxwell Building Consultants and owned and operated by Union Community Housing, the building will consist of 85 units and will be set on a 25-acre site donated by the City of Waterloo.

Using the project as their focal point, a four-member panel delved into the connection between regional planning and scalable housing delivery. The second building profiled was 55 Franklin, a four-building, six-storey complex in Kitchener and also developed by Maxwell Building Consultants. Company president and co-owner Mike Maxwell and two other speakers used the project as an example of how affordable housing can be delivered while still achieving strong low-carbon and energy-efficiency goals.

A number of different topics were covered in the three other affordable housing master plan sessions including an “unlocking the missing middle” discussion on how design, policy and regulatory approaches can support more medium-density housing projects. In another seminar, the focus was on how Integrated Project Delivery can improve collaboration, streamline decision-making and support more efficient design and construction. How prefabrication and modular construction can help accelerate the delivery of affordable, sustainable homes was the subject of the third seminar.

In the Adaptive Reuse of Industrial-Era Heritage Spaces division, three cases studies were presented. One was on Calgary’s Loft project which transformed 55,000 square feet of vacant office space into 56 studio, one and two-bedroom rental units. Balancing historical preservation with community needs in the delivery of the Chief Leonard George Building was the theme of the second study.

Located in Vancouver, it is Canada’s first mixed-use tall mass timber Passive House building. The third case study documented Waterloo Region’s mission to renew industrial-era heritage buildings while maintaining their historic character and meeting current building requirements. A major highlight of the conference was a standalone seminar that documented efforts by the Waterloo Regional Health Network, working in collaboration with Indigenous groups, to integrate Indigenous values in regional health care design.

In addition to sponsoring all those seminars, the OAA used the conference to official recognize its 2026 service Design Excellence and Service Awards winners. Three of those winning projects were also feted with additional honours. They are: - Fukushima Architects in association with David Fujiwara Architect received the People’s Choice Award for the Toronto Library’s Bridlewood Branch.

Members of the public choose this project during a two-week online voting period. - LGA Partners was presented with the OAA’s Michael V. and Wanda Plachta Award for its design of Ulster House, an infill project in Toronto that consisted of placing five compact homes on a former single-family lot. This particular award is for projects under $8 million.

- The third award was the Lieutenant Governor’s award for design excellence. It was given to Janet Rosenberg & Studio Inc. and Patkau Architects Inc. for their design of Kìwekì Point which envisions the transformation of a limestone bluff in Ottawa.