2010 National Urban Design Awards – Jury Members

Vincent Asselin, FCSLA is a graduate from the University of Montreal (1978 Bachelor of Landscape Architecture; 1995 Master in Applied Sciences-Landscape Architecture).  He is a principal of  WAA – Williams, Asselin, Ackaoui et Associés inc. Consultants en Architecture de paysage, Design urbain et Urbanisme. The firm’s head office is based in Montreal, and has a very extensive portfolio of projects including large urban parks and public spaces as well as studies and research in historical preservation, urban and environmental planning. WAA has opened a branch office in Shanghai, WAA International Ltd, and Mr. Asselin is currently leading most of the projects undertaken in China. In addition to work carried out in Canada and China, WAA has done work in Sudan, Afghanistan Algeria and Port of Spain. 
Mr. Asselin has received national recognition both in Canada (CSLA) and in China for the design of two outstanding parks in Shanghai : Yan’an Zhong Lu Park and Xujiahui Park.  He has also received, following the design of Yan’an Zhong Lu Park, the Magnolia Silver Medal, the highest distinction given by the city of Shanghai to foreigners for their contribution to the development of the city. Numerous projects from the firm have received national honor awards from the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects,  it was the case just recently with National Honor for la Promenade Samuel de Champlain in Québec City.  Recently, WAA was shortlisted with 5 other teams for the very prestigious competition held by the City of Ottawa for the design of Lansdowne Park.
Mr. Asselin has been the President of AAPQ (Association des Architetes Paysagistes du Québec) as well as the President of the CSLA (Canadian Society of Landscape Architects). He is currently the Vice-president of Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation (LACF).

Nigel Baldwin, FRAIC is principal of Nigel Baldwin Architects, a full service firm located in Vancouver specializing in the design of residential and mixed-use buildings in urban contexts.  Previously he was a partner in Hughes Baldwin Architects, and before that gained experience in a variety of design environments in Britain and North America, working on projects as diverse as the drafting of a new development bylaw for Midtown Manhattan and the design and fabrication of a prototype short-haul bus.
He graduated from the Liverpool School of Architecture in 1971, specializing in Housing and Civic Design.  He registered as an architect in British Columbia in 1975 and became a Fellow of the RAIC in 1997.
Nigel Baldwin has been involved in the design review process in Vancouver for over two decades.  Serving four terms on Vancouver’s celebrated Urban Design Advisory Panel, he has been involved in the evaluation of all of the major projects in the City over that period.  He has been a member of the City’s Development Permit Board Advisory Panel and sat on the Steering Committee for the first Vancouver Skyline Study. He was a member of one of three teams involved in the design charrette for South East False Creek, where the Olympic Village is now located.

Don Hester is a Senior Planner and Landscape Architect in the Winnipeg Office of AECOM. He is responsible for providing urban and regional planning, urban design and landscape architectural services to a broad spectrum of public and private sector, NGO and First Nation clients, as well as organizing and facilitating stakeholder and public engagement programs. His urban design project experience has included the planning and design of waterfronts, plazas and streetscapes, university campus developments, residential subdivisions and sustainable community plans from Thunder Bay, ON to Whitehorse, YT, including works such as the South Legislative Building Grounds Redevelopment and Promenade Tache in Winnipeg. Don obtained Master of Landscape Architecture and Bachelor of Environmental Studies degrees from the University of Manitoba, and has been a professional planner and CIP Member for over 25 years, a CSLA Member since 1980, and a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architect since 1999. As Chair of the CSLA Editorial Board for Landscapes Paysages, and a member of the CIP National Awards of Excellence Jury for the past four years, he has a strong interest in Canadian urban design standards.  Having worked for a major engineering and planning firm for the past 33 years, Don understands that high quality urban design involves a collaboration between disciplines, often including architects, planners and landscape architects, as well as engineers and project managers.