Photographer Tom Ryaboi loves the excitement that comes with travel, and from his dazzling photos of Toronto that we spotted on imgur, we see his commitment to exploration taken to soaring heights. Ryaboi, whose Facebook page notes his obsession with urban environments, has figured out the perfect formula of combining vertigo-inducing views, nighttime splendor, and restricted locations to achieve an aesthetic of unabashed eye-candy. Click through to see more!

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This project won the 2013 Architizer A+ Popular Choice Award in the Higher Education & Research Facilities category. See the full list of winners here. 

The sleek Pharmaceutical Sciences building at the University of British Columbia provides a new state-of-the-art home to an internationally recognized research hub. Designed by Saucier + Perrotte with HCMA, the UBC Pharmaceutical Science Building captured the imagination—and votes—of the public, clinching an Architizer A+ Award in the hotly contested category of higher education and research facilities. Design leader Gilles Saucier says the team conceived of the project as a gateway to the campus that showcases sustainability “in a way that harmonizes with and preserves, rather than compromises, the specific design intentions.”  Read more!

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This project won the 2013 Architizer A+ Jury Award in the port facilities and boat pier category. See the full list of winners here.

Tony Guertin, CEO of a paint and coating company, fell in love with a scenic property on the shore of Storm Bay near the western border of Ontario, Canada. Though the economic recession forced him to shelve plans to build a new cottage and guest house, Guertin engaged 5468796 Architecture to design a 3,000-square-foot, two-story boat port complete with a sleek lounge and view-framing decks, making other nearby boat storage facilities look like glorified garages.

Though the Guertin Boatport could be the ultimate party pad, the space hosts more chill family reunions than swanky shindigs. A fixed extruded aluminum plank boardwalk hugs the rocky shore, and a floating dock juts out into the water at an acute angle to define a lagoon where Guertin’s grandkids can swim. Two sheltered boat stalls occupy the main level, and above, the informal lounge opens to fresh air and lake panoramas via a 25-foot-wide retractable roller screen. Directly above the dock, a bridge stretches between lounge and a high point of the property, making it accessible for elderly relatives. Read more!

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Project: Two Hulls House

Architect: MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects

Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

Floating above the coastal shoreline of Nova Scotia, the two pavilions of MacKay-Lyon’s Sweetapple’s sleek wood-clad home hover above a rocky beach like two ships’ hulls up on cradles for the winter. This is a full-time home for a family of four, consisting of a “day pavilion” and a “night pavilion,” which form protected outdoor places both between and under them. Like a captain’s pair of binoculars, the home acts as an instrument for focusing views of the serene seascape.

Read more about this project in the Architizer database.

Photos: MLS Architects

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Project:  Station Blü

Architect:  Blouin Tardif Architecture-Environnement

Location:  Saint-Tite-des-Caps, Quebec, Canada

Situated on the outskirts of Charlevoix, Station Blü Spa melds sleek contemporary architecture with a breathtaking natural location. Dark wood-clad pavilions house a restaurant, steam bath, sauna, hot and cold pools, a massage area, and relaxation spaces. The separate volumes are connected by a central terrace, complete with a fantastic hot tub with unobstructed views of the pristine Canadian landscape.

Read more about this project in the Architizer database!

Images courtesy Stephane Groleau 

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We’ll say it first: Public Voting is winding down real soon, so vote now! Today we’re featuring the amazing student design/build finalists. These five teams of budding architects have made the jump from studio to the construction site, taking their designs off their laptop screens and into the real world. From a parametric pavilion to a fully functional school in South Africa, the finalists in this category have proven that great ideas and hard work can overcome inexperience in crafting great architecture. Established (older) architects watch out: There are new kids on the block, and they’ve got mad skills. Click through to see them all!

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If you haven’t noticed, we’ve made sort of a big deal about education in the past couple days. Between nurseries and all-around learning, it’s more than an important topic. Today we are featuring all of the facilities that have been shortlisted for the A+ Awards’ “School” category. From kindergartens to higher education buildings, all of these projects create an environment that encourages the advancement of knowledge— plus they’re fun to look at! Click through to see them all.

Spot a favorite? Make sure to vote for it over at the A+ Public Voting site!

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Toronto is going through a major, more glamorous, transformation right now, thanks largely to an ambitious plan to redevelop its waterfront. The new, LEED-certified George Brown Waterfront Health Sciences Campus has already transformed the once seedy lakefront to an energetic, humming urban center. The just-announced Eau Du Soleil towers will soon make up one of Canada’s tallest condo communities. And Toronto’s waterfront plans prompted the Intelligent Community Forum to name the city as one of the world’s top intelligent communities.

Another waterfront project that has us excited?  The Awards Pavilion for the 2015 Pan American Games. (Yeah, we know we have a while to wait.) Designed by four recent graduates from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, the new stadium will be made out of bundles of reusable vinyl-based balloons floating across the Pan American Village. (Delightful!) The design won first place at the AIAS competition in 2011. See more images!

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Project: Clear Lake House

Architect: MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects

Location: Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada

Toronto-based architects MJMA designed a cottage for a family of five that appears modern and open, while still retaining the spirit of the quintessential country abode. The main design of this lakeside bungalow centers around a tent-like interior clad in Douglas Fir that opens up to the lake and is closed off toward the street. Boasting a communal area, bar, master suite, and sleeping loft, this home straddles the boundaries of contemporary and vernacular. Read more about this project in the Architizer database.

Photos: A-Frame Studio

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Photo courtesy Starwood Hotels

Beijing-based firm MAD Architects has been on a roll—in fact, if you remember correctly, they made our list of the top five firms that kicked ass in 2012. We were particularly impressed with their recently completed Absolute Towers, whose curving silhouettes add a little sex appeal to the Mississauga skyline. (Never heard of Mississauga? It’s a city located just outside of Toronto.)

Well, just as we predicted, MAD’s wining streak continues—and so does their penchant for wild, attention-grabbing architecture. As Curbed.com reports, the firm has just completed the new, $1.5-billion Sheraton Huzhou Hot Springs Resort in Zhejiang Province, China. Described as a glowing horseshoe—or maybe a half-finished Stargate—the building is one of 30 (!!) hotels that the hospitality giant plans to open this year in the Asia-Pacific region. Click through to see more images!

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