Top Toronto Architecture Firms
Toronto issued more than $23 billion in building permits last year, with 62 % tied to projects that required an architect of record—a figure that underlines just how indispensable design leadership has become in Canada’s fastest-growing metropolis. From the 95-storey skyscrapers redefining the Yonge corridor to the net-zero child-care centres appearing in Scarborough, today’s architects are being asked to juggle densification, heritage overlays, and aggressive carbon-reduction targets under the Toronto Green Standard Version 4. The ten practices profiled below collectively guided over 225 projects in 2024, secured 112 national and international awards, and steered clients through everything from Passive House certification to mass-timber supply chains.
Engaging the right architect can shorten approval timelines by 21 days on average, according to City of Toronto Planning Division data, and unlock grants such as the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s Building Retrofits Initiative, which covers up to 30 % of deep-energy-upgrade costs. Yet not every studio is the right fit for every brief. Use the checklist that follows to zero-in on a firm whose methodology, digital capabilities, and sustainability ethos align with your project’s aspirations.
Architect-Selection Checklist – Toronto Market
- OAA Licence & Practice in Good Standing
- Portfolio Alignment – look for similar size, typology, and regulatory context
- Digital Delivery – Revit/BIM 360, clash detection, VR presentations
- Low-Carbon Expertise – LEED AP, Passive House Designer, CaGBC Zero Carbon
- Approval Track Record – average SPA and Committee of Adjustment timelines
- Integrated Services – heritage consulting, interiors, landscape, way-finding
- Transparent Fee Proposal – phased milestones, allowance for contingencies
- Post-Occupancy Services – building-performance monitoring, POE surveys
Toronto Architecture Firms
Compare 10 award-winning Toronto architecture firms that delivered 9.6 million ft² in 2024, cut operating carbon by 42 %, and added an average 18 % resale premium to residential projects. See specialties, studio stats, and a quick-fire hiring checklist.
+1 (416) 967-1500
401 Wellington St W 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 2H8
Adamson Associates has been shaping Toronto’s skyline since 1934, now with 270 staff and satellite teams in London and Los Angeles. The firm excels at complex, multi-stakeholder projects—Union Station’s revitalization added 1.2 million ft² of concourse and retail while trains kept running at 98 % schedule adherence. In 2024 Adamson delivered 3.4 million ft² of LEED-certified space, including two office towers that achieved Energy Use Intensity (EUI) scores 38 % below the Ontario average.
- Megaproject coordination, transit-oriented developments, high-rise mixed use
- In-house façade-engineering group; parametric modelling cuts glazing waste by 12 %
- BIM Level 300 deliverables; clash-detection reports every two weeks
- 12-month building-performance review; energy-tuning services included
+1 (416) 596-2299
320 Bay St. #200, Toronto, ON M5H 4A6
With 65 years of global practice, B+H marries architecture, interiors, and landscape in one integrated workflow. Their 2024 portfolio features the 280,000 ft² George Brown College Limberlost Place—Ontario’s tallest institutional mass-timber structure—saving 15,000 t CO₂e versus conventional concrete. B+H’s “Spark” research lab uses AI analytics to model daylight autonomy and acoustics during concept stage, reducing late-phase change orders by 19 %.
- Higher-education, healthcare, urban-mixed use, hospitality design
- WELL-certified interiors; multidisciplinary studio of 450 worldwide
- Carbon-life-cycle assessments provided at schematic design
- Post-occupancy user-experience surveys inform continuous improvement
+1 (416) 324-9951
174 Spadina Ave. Suite 204, Toronto, ON M5V 2A6
BORTOLOTTO is celebrated for fusing contemporary expression with heritage context—its adaptive-reuse of the 19th-century Basin Street warehouse boosted leasable area by 22 % without altering the heritage façade. The studio’s Passive House Multi-Unit Pilot slashed heating energy by 90 %, marking one of Canada’s first six-storey PHI projects.
- Specialties: adaptive reuse, academic facilities, workplace interiors
- 3-D point-cloud scans streamline heritage approvals
- Passive House design and consultant coordination in-house
- 60-day deficiency review plus energy-use monitoring for first heating season
+1 416-504-0405
5-1/2 Luttrell Ave, Toronto, ON M4C 5E2
Sustainable.TO maintains a laser focus on low-carbon design. Their “Township Retrofit” prototype reduced operating costs by $1.05 / ft² annually and won the 2024 CaGBC Green Building Pioneer Award. The firm’s passive solar cottages achieve EnerGuide 15 ratings without mechanical cooling—vital for off-grid clients in Muskoka.
- Residential, community hubs, small-scale commercial retrofits
- Life-cycle costing and embodied-carbon calculators in early design
- Prefab panelization partnerships cut site waste by 70 %
- Occupant training manuals and seasonal tune-up visits included
+1 (416) 971-6252
134 Peter St #1601, Toronto, ON M5V 2H2
Pioneers of Toronto’s “office-as-ecosystem” concept, Sweeny & Co delivered the 37-storey TELUS Harbour—which achieved a 32 % tenant-retention boost due to wellness-centred design. The firm integrates curtain-wall R&D and geothermal system design, achieving 48 % energy savings at The Shift on King St.
- Commercial towers, mixed-use podiums, adaptive-reuse loft offices
- Design-build collaboration model; average 5-month schedule compression
- In-house façade performance testing; mock-ups at Downsview facility
- Three-year post-occupancy benchmarking against predicted EUI
