The Tom Patterson Theatre at the Stratford Festival has won a 2022 Civic Trust Award in the United Kingdom. It is the only project from Canada to be recognized in this international awards program.

The new theatre in Stratford, Ontario is designed by Siamak Hariri, co-founder of Hariri Pontarini Architects.

“We are delighted that the Tom Patterson Theatre has received this honour,” said Stratford Festival Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. “Our dream for this project was to create a shining example of legacy architecture that enhanced the local community and offered opportunities for greater community engagement. Siamak Hariri deeply understood our goals and, as a result, we are now proudly seeing our dream come true.”

The building features a façade of curvilinear glass and bronze that dissolves the line between indoors and out. This sinuous veil shimmers in the reflection of the Avon River awaiting the theatre’s inauguration, delayed two years due to the pandemic. It will now open officially this summer on June 4.

“The moment of entry seems like a tactile embrace, which is a triumph of design and testament to the skill of the designers and contractor’s team,” the jury concluded. “An excellent scheme. Intimacy, but with grandeur.”

The Civic Trust Awards were established in 1959 to recognize outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment and are the longest standing built environment awards scheme in Europe.

Photo by Scott Noseworthy.