The Canada Council for the Arts announced today that Toronto-based architectural firm Paul Raff Studio is the winner of the prestigious Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement. Given every two years to an emerging practitioner, this award recognises outstanding talent in architectural design, and sensitivity to allied arts, crafts, and professions including landscape, interior and furniture design, and decorative and graphic arts.

This $10,000 prize acknowledges the Paul Raff Studio practice, which is devoted to creating lyrical and evocative relationships between people and place. Renowned for imaginatively deploying low-cost, locally sourced materials, Raff plays with the energy of the sun, and in doing so, creates meaningful and ecologically sound designs throughout Canada and abroad. Founding principal Paul Raff said: “I am especially touched by this award. Ron Thom’s poetic designs have been an inspiration to me since I was a teenager. It is an honour to share in his legacy of exploring the artistry of architecture.”

“We are honoured to be recognised by expert juries for our artistry, sustainable innovation, and design excellence in architecture. We look forward to continuing to design projects of similar calibre. This is a testament to the positive impact Canadian talent and expertise can have both in Canada and abroad”, said Raff of his recent achievements.