Celebrating Toronto Urban Design Awards of Excellence
The winners of the 35th Toronto Urban Design Awards were announced on September 10, 2025, at a special gala at the Palais Royale. Hosted by the City of Toronto, the event brought together leaders in design, architecture, and planning to recognize projects that exemplify design excellence and shape the city’s evolving urban landscape.
Mayor Olivia Chow joined Jason Thorne, Chief Planner for the City of Toronto, in presenting this year’s awards. An independent jury of architects, landscape architects, and academics selected 12 projects for Awards of Excellence, nine for Awards of Merit, and three Special Jury Awards recognizing integrated design and community impact.
Entro is proud to have contributed to two Award of Excellence projects — Union Station Redevelopment, led by NORR Architects & Engineers Limited, and Maple House at Canary Landing, by architects—Alliance and Cobe Architects. Both projects exemplify how thoughtful design and collaboration between architects, designers, and partners can enhance how people experience and navigate urban environments.
Congratulations to all winners of Toronto Urban Design Awards.
Award of Excellence – Public Buildings in Context
Union Station Redevelopment | Toronto, ON
Architect: NORR Architects & Engineers Limited
As Toronto’s busiest transit hub, Union Station serves more than 40 million passengers annually and connects four major transit systems — GO Transit, TTC, VIA Rail, and the Union Pearson Express — alongside an expanding retail network and civic spaces.
Entro developed a comprehensive wayfinding and signage strategy for this multi-phase redevelopment, overseeing the rollout of identification and directional signage for the building exterior, the New York Concourse, and key areas of the Great Hall leading to the UP Express terminal.
With multiple transit systems and amenities converging within a complex, evolving environment, the design challenge was to create an intuitive system that supports clarity and movement. Entro’s solution grouped information directionally, separated content with visual spacers, and located arrows consistently at the ends of signs. This logic-driven approach gives users a visual rhythm that aids comprehension and reduces cognitive load.
The aesthetic complements Union Station’s Beaux Arts architecture. Modern pylon forms and signage frames reinterpret the station’s classical details through contemporary materials like bronze and zinc, distinguishing historic and modern zones while maintaining harmony.
The result is a wayfinding system that supports Union Station’s dual role as both a transit hub and retail destination, balancing efficiency with a sense of exploration. Entro continues to work on subsequent projects of the station’s revitalization.
Award of Excellence – Private Buildings in Context (Tall)
Maple House at Canary Landing | Toronto, ON
Architects: Alliance & Cobe Architects
Part of the evolving Canary District, Maple House represents the next generation of mixed-use urban living.
Developed by Dream, Kilmer, and Tricon (DKT), the project reimagines rental housing through three interconnected towers — West, Central, and East — anchored by vibrant public amenities, retail spaces, and shared terraces that foster community life.
Entro was engaged to design the interior and exterior signage and wayfinding for four buildings within the development, including Maple House. The goal was to create a cohesive visual language across the site that mirrors the district’s architectural sophistication and supports movement for residents and visitors alike.
Drawing inspiration from the neighbourhood’s balance of heritage and modernity, Entro’s signage strategy reflects Tricon’s vision of connection and belonging. With over 40,000 square feet of amenities — including Club Apex, The Cove, and The Node — the design had to unify diverse spaces while maintaining calm, clarity, and elegance.
The resulting wayfinding system delivers a modern yet timeless identity, helping establish Maple House not only as a place to live, but as a community to belong to.
