Montgomery Sisam Architects Inc.

The research paper called A Holistic Approach to Stakeholder Engagement in Architecture: Lessons from Occupational Therapy goes into depth on healthcare and its relations to architecture. The article was written to clarify the understanding of occupational therapy undergoing the PEO model adapted and applied to architecture. There is a connection between understanding the user, the activities in which they engage occupation, and how these relate to the environment needed to optimize a person's physical environment based on their function.[5]

When the Covid-19 pandemic had its first outburst in 2020, a lot of residents living in long-term care homes were affected and resulting in 82% of the deaths in early May 2020, according to Canada’s National Institute on Aging.[6] The article then goes on to state the necessities of long-term care homes to accommodate enclosed spaces with poor ventilation, close proximity between people, and poor infection control behaviours.[6] Since the long-term care homes were built to accommodate the elderly as residents, the care centre could not accommodate the elderly as patients of the pandemic who were exposed and affected at a rapid rate.

The research paper provides reasoning as to why institutes should carry a flexible and transformative design approach that would be able to change and adapt over time as seen necessary. The Martin Luther University College had built a new multi-faith gathering space that would heed a more diverse group without losing its Lutheran tradition.[7] The public space was created for the purpose of engaging students with one another through an open and comfortable environment of the 21st century.

This building was designed to create an atmosphere of comfort for families that had to live within the building as their sick children undergo long-term treatment at the Hospital for Sick Children nearby. In addition to the suites for residential purposes, the building facilitates a kitchen, dining room, living room, library, fitness room, administrative offices, and support spaces to accommodate the atmosphere of a 'home' for families. The government of Ontario partnered with Toronto's Ronald McDonald House to create a total investment of a one-time capital grant for $9 million concerning the expansion of the infrastructure to serve up to 80 families.[8] The building was completed in 2011 and designed with part of the focus on spaces in-between, such as; the courtyard, gallery, patio, etc...[4] When speaking in terms of healthcare, these non-clinical spaces can help with recovery and mental state depending on the way their intended purpose is designed to be used. The research analysis conducted before designing the Ronald McDonald House Toronto (RMHT) was based upon 5 main topics that were defined by Cresswell(1998), biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case studies.[9] A case study showed that some families, particularly children, felt a sense of fear and isolation from the outside world due to their treatments and illnesses, such as hair loss due to chemotherapy. Thus to create an environment of inclusion, the courtyard was designed for creating a comfortable environment where children can talk to one another while providing a feeling of biophilia.

In 2011 Toronto Public Health issued a document called Healthy Toronto by Design, which was to address the problems of health care design in an urban city. The article stated the definition of a healthy city was a place with diverse culture, education, health care, food, housing, public transit, recreation, built and natural environments.[10] Going along the lines of diversity, Montgomery Sisam looked upon projects involving a minority of the elderly care. Completed in 2006, the 49,250 square feet long-term care facility, situated in Barrie, ON, was designed to home and service the hearing-impaired elderly.[11] Recognizing the client the building was meant to aid, the community centre focuses on the material, finishes, fixtures, signage, and lighting as its core objectives. The building is oriented in areas that optimize solar gains throughout all seasons. There are ribbon windows placed at altering elevations on the walls located in various directions of the cardinal directions. It’s situated in an urban setting in Barrie, ON, Canada, where there is the ease of access to numerous amenities. Located right next to a plethora of vegetation and multiple courtyards with open space to accommodate their sight senses. The long-term care centre was designed to create an atmosphere of comfort by forming the building in the shape of traditional chalets and cottages built entirely of wood in the Lake Simcoe area of Toronto.[12]

• Ontario Tech University Shawenjigewining Hall, completed in 2021
• Maple Grove Elementary School, completed in 2020 with the collaboration of SHAPE Architecture.
• Seneca College Magna Hall, completed in 2018. It was designed to create an urban atmosphere in a rural context.
• University of Toronto Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship, completed in 2018 with the collaboration of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
• Rotherglen School, completed in 2018. The building was an adaptive reuse project, in which the firm was to redevelop the existing building.
• Queen’s University Mitchell Hall Innovation and Wellness Centre, completed in 2018 in collaboration with CS&P.
• Martin Luther University College, completed in 2018

• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Phase 1C, completed in 2020
• Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre, completed in 2016 with a joint venture of Perkins+Will and Stantec
• Mount Sinai Centre for Fertility and Reproductive Health, completed in 2009.
• Sister Margaret Smith Addictions Treatment Centre was completed in 2009 with the collaboration of FORM Architecture Engineering
• Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Hospital was completed in 2007 with the collaboration of Stantec Architecture

• George Street Revitalization is an ongoing project in collaboration with Hilditch Architect. It's a heritage site that is being redeveloped for a men's shelter as community-based care.
• Corner Brook Long Term Care, completed in 2019
• Centre for Excellence in Integrated Seniors Services, completed in 2016 with the collaboration of Form Architecture
• Kipling Acres Long Term Care, completed in 2015 with silver certification by LEED
• Alderwood Rest Home, completed in 2010 with the collaboration of WHW Architects (now Architecture 49)
• Norview Lodge, completed in 2005

• Durham Modular Supportive Housing is an ongoing project that is focusing on affordable and sustainable residences.
• Modular Supportive Housing: Phase 1, completed in 2020. This project was initiated by the city of Toronto to address the issues of the overburdened shelter system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing requirements.[13]
• The Annex Student Residence, completed in 2018 with the association of Barry J. Hobin & Associates
• 45 Mann Avenue Student Residence, completed in 2016
• Greenway Retirement Home, completed in 2009

• Fredericton Justice Building is an ongoing project in collaboration with Goguen Architecture
• Indian River Festival Pavilion, completed in 2015 in association with BGHJ Architects
• Tommy Thompson Park, completed in 2013
• Quinte Consolidated Courthouse was completed in 2013 with the collaboration of Kleinfeldt Mychajlowycz and WZMH
• Fort York Bridge, completed in 2010
• Toronto Botanical Gardens, additional programming completed in 2005

• The Granite Club Shiftingravity, the additional programming was completed in 2015 with LEED Gold Certification.
• Island Yacht Club, completed in 2006

• Credit Valley Conservation Authority Head Office, completed in 2011. The LEED gold-certified project was developed to become a community-based environmental organization that would help in the restoration, development, conservation, and management of natural resources.[14]
• TRCA Restoration Services Centre, completed in 2007
• Bird Studies Canada Headquarters, completed in 2002

• City of Toronto Environmental Award: Award of Excellence
• City of Toronto - Green Toronto Award: Green Design
• Design Exchange Award – Landscape Architecture: Award of Excellence
• The Landscape Ontario Water Conservation Award: Award of Excellence
• OAA: Award of Excellence

• Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario: Award of Merit
• International Academy for Design and Health: Healthcare Design Project Academy Award
• Outside the Box Awards – Building Magazine: Architecturally Innovative Design
• OAA: Award of Excellence
• 2009 IES Illumination Awards: Interior & Exterior
• Toronto Urban Design Award: Honorable Mention