The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) is excited to announce the theme of the forthcoming SHIFT2027 Challenge: The Streets.

The built environment is an integral part of human life. The spaces we inhabit can shape our moods, our sense of safety, our health, and our collective well-being. Equally essential to this vital network of spaces are the connections—the system of pathways between places that allow us to get where we want to go.

These “streets”—whether urban main streets, pedestrian paths, suburban arteries, rural roads, or more figurative avenues—are more than liminal spaces or mere backdrops as we go from here to there. The streets can be different things to different people, with formal and informal uses, all overlapping and intersecting in communities across Ontario and beyond. Streets can be places of celebration and gathering, but they can also be places of hardship and isolation. And design is central to how we experience our streets.

The SHIFT 2027 Challenge, The Streets, invites those in the profession to bring their unique design sensibilities to envision Ontario streets that are inclusive, versatile, sustainable, safe, welcoming, and enjoyable places to be for everyone, including the most vulnerable members of our communities.

From dense cities to quiet towns, how can streets be adaptable to meet the needs of today, while considering the needs of future generations? What does it mean to design for a truly great street?

The SHIFT2027 Challenge asks OAA Architects, Licensed Technologists, Interns, Students, and Retired Members to explore how we can develop sustainable solutions that address various aspects of the theme outlined above. Once the program’s timelines are now announced, you will learn more about how to share your conceptual—but possible—architectural ideas in this biennial competition, open to teams led by someone with OAA status.

A jury of experts—to be announced soon—will review submissions to determine which proposals to spotlight and then featured in podcasts, a hard-copy publication, and in-person events.