The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) through its Professional Advisors, is pleased to announce the constitution of the RAIC Independent Review Panel (IRP) for the Alexandra Bridge Replacement Project.
Following the decision made by the Federal Government to replace this important landmark, and consistent with its mandate of advocacy for design excellence in the built environment, the RAIC was approached to provide professional guidance throughout the elaboration of suitable replacement design solutions. As the only national voice for excellence in the built environment in Canada, including a focus on design excellence, the RAIC continues to partner with the federal government and its agencies in ensuring that important national projects meet the highest possible design standards and incorporates considerations that affect and shape society at large.
The RAIC has assembled through an expression of interest an Independent Review Panel that comprises professionals having expertise in multiple disciplines including but not limited to Indigenous culture and values, heritage preservation, architecture, engineering and urban planning. The RAIC Independent Review Panel will work in close cooperation with the integrated project team of Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and the National Capital Commission (NCC) to provide its best advice and professional guidance. The Independent Review Panel will provide oversight and ongoing iterative input and feedback to the project team as it develops design solutions. The IRP will review technical aspects and recommend a preferred concept design for subsequent consideration by the National Capital Commission (NCC) Board of Directors.
The multidisciplinary Independent Review Panel is composed of the following 11 individuals:
| Thierry Delémont | Engineer, DIPL.EPF Lausanne/SIA | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Prof. Dr Walter Kaufmann | Engineer, ETH Zurich PhD. | Zurich, Switzerland |
| Brian MacKay-Lyons O.C | Prof. M. Arch, CM, FRAIC, RCA, Hon. Int. FAIA, Int. FRIBA, NSAA, AAPEI, AANB, AIBC, OAA, OAQ, NH, VT, UT, VA | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| David Fortin | MRAIC, OAA, SAA, AAA, MAA, AIBC, LEED AP, Métis Nation of Ontario | Waterloo, Ontario |
| Barry Padolsky | B.Arch.,M.Sc.Urban Design OAA, FRAIC, RCA, CAHP Heritage Professional | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Hassan Saffarini | P.Eng, CAHP Heritage Professional PhD, M. Sc., EC, PMP, LEED AP | Toronto, Ontario |
| Naomi Ratte | B.EnvD, MLArch | Winnipeg, Manitoba/Ottawa, Ontario |
| George Dark | FCSLA, FASLA, OALA | Toronto, Ontario |
| Russell Loveridge | PhD ETH Zurich | Zurich, Switzerland/Ottawa, Ontario |
| Nathalie Desrosiers | B.Sc., M.Sc.A, ICOMOS | Merrickville, Ontario |
| Michael Leckman | B. Arch. | Toronto, Ontario |
RAIC Professional Advisors
The role of the Professional Advisor (PA) is to provide professional support, guidance, advice and coordination services to the RAIC as well as to the RAIC Independent Review Panel members (IRP), of which the PA is not a member. More specifically the Professional Advisor’s role is to ensure internal compliance to the RAIC’s values and mission, that the independence of the RAIC and IRP members and integrity of the process is maintained at all times.
Silvio Baldassarra, FRAIC, OAA
Thierry Montpetit, FRAIC, OAA, OAQ
Walter Kaufmann is the Chair of Structural Engineering (Concrete Structures and Bridge Design) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich. He studied at the Department of Civil Engineering, ETH Zurich, and received his diploma in 1992. He received his doctorate in 1998 with a dissertation on the load-deformation behaviour of structural concrete subjected to in-plane shear and normal forces, which was awarded the ETH-Medal. From 1999-2002 he was a project manager and technical director with the renowned bridge designer, Prof. Juan José Arenas, Santander, Spain. In 2005 he joined the engineering firm dsp Ingenieure & Planer (Zurich) , as a partner and acting CEO until his appointment at the ETH in May 2014. During this time, he participated successfully in several bridge design competitions, directed numerous bridge engineering projects and expert appraisals, particularly regarding the structural safety evaluation and retrofit of existing bridges.
Walter Kaufmann continues to maintain a connection to dsp Ingenieure & Planer AG as a board member and expert consultant. He is the Chairman of SIA Code Commission on Concrete Structures, member and Swiss delegate of fib (fédération internationale du béton) Commission and member of the Swiss Working Group for Bridge Research of the Federal Roads Administration.
Thierry Delemont is Associate Manager at T-groupe SA, a multidisciplinary design and engineering firm based in Geneva Switzerland, and with offices in Istanbul. T -groupe is a civil engineering consulting firm which provides full services from the study and design of projects to the management and control of the execution of works. The company has been registered since 1970 under the name Tremblet SA. In January 2011, the company was strengthened by merging with a Geneva-based partner, Babel ingénieurs sa. T -groupe is the legacy firm of several engineering firms which have successively carried out their activity in Geneva and abroad since 1920. The original foundation of the office is due to Robert Maillart, a specialist in the construction of reinforced concrete bridges and a world-renowned engineer.
Among his realizations, Thierry Delemont was responsible for the design of numerous award winning bridges across the world and in particular the IABSE outstanding structure award for the 3rd Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul (co designed by Jean-Francois Klein T-engineering and Michel Virlogeux), retrofit of the Canakkale Bridge over the Dardanelles strait, the Nakkas Bridge Istanbul, as well as the 4th Bridge over the Panama Channel.
Brian MacKay-Lyons is the founding Partner of the award-winning firm MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After studying at the Technical University in Nova Scotia and UCLA, Brian went to work for Charles Moore, Barton Myers, and Giancarlo De Carlo prior to founding his firm in 1983. Among the hundreds of awards that the firm has received, Brian was awarded the RAIC Gold Medal, Canada’s highest honor for lifetime achievement in architecture. He was named an Honorary (International) Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (Hon.FAIA), as well as, an International Fellow from the Royal Institute of British Architects (Int. FRIBA).
Brian’s work has been recognized in over 680 monographs, books, journal and web publications internationally, including six monographs. In addition to these monographs, the work of the firm has been featured in 100+ exhibitions internationally.
Architectural work by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple have made Brian and his practice a leading proponent of critical regionalist architecture worldwide. This recognition has led to a transition in the practice toward increased public and international commissions, involving increased complexity in both design and project delivery. MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects Limited is one of the few Canadian firms to consistently receive international critical acclaim within the discipline today.
David Fortin is principal architect with a Professor at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and a registered architect in the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, BC, and Alberta. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Edinburgh in 2009 and has since taught undergraduate and graduate courses in architectural design, history and theory, in the UK, USA, and Canada. David was the inaugural Associate Director of the Maamwizing Indigenous Research Institute and the Director of the McEwen School of Architecture at Laurentian University from 2018-2021. He is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario and member of the RAIC Indigenous Task Force.
He has twice been selected with colleagues to represent Canada at the Venice Biennale (2018, 2023). In addition, David served as a juror for the Block 2 design competition in Ottawa, the Canada Council of the Arts Governor General awards in architecture, the 2023 Azure AZ Awards, the 2023 Edmonton Urban Design Awards, and he is currently an Indigenous advisor for the design of the new Parliamentary Welcoming Centre. In 2019, he and his collaborators were selected by the Assembly of First Nations to offer a vision for the Indigenous Peoples Space at 100 Wellington St.
For the past two years David has collaborated with Global Affairs Canada to offer studios exploring the design of Canadian embassies through the lens of reconciliation, while developing a seminar course titled the Architectures of Reconciliation, which seeks to understand design as both a tool of political oppression and a path towards healing.
Barry is a heritage and urban design advocate with a deep interest in the history and planning of the national capital. Born in Winnipeg he holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Manitoba (1961) and a Master of Social Sciences degree (Urban Design) from the University of Edinburgh (1970). He is a Fellow of the RAIC, a member of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals and a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
He founded and led Barry Padolsky Associates Inc. Architects (1969-2020) in the realization of over 200 projects including the restoration, rehabilitation and adaptive re-use of over 60 heritage buildings. He has been recognized with 43 national and civic architectural and urban design awards including 29 for heritage conservation. Barry has served as bridge architect on 9 landmark bridges. He has served on Ottawa’s Built Heritage sub-committee (2013-2022) and numerous design juries and panels. He is currently a member of the NCC’s Advisory Committee on Planning, Design and Realty.
Principal with NORR Architects and Engineers,Hassan is a prominent structural engineer with demonstrated achievements on complex projects where innovative and effective solutions were applied. In many cases those solutions were published in journals, reported in magazines, or shared in conferences by Dr. Saffarini. Hassan is a seasoned project manager with a portfolio of high-profile multidisciplinary projects. He has a particular sensitivity and awareness of sustainability and heritage preservation issues as an experienced LEED AP and Heritage Professional with the CAHP. He is a board member of the Ontario Association of Heritage Professionals. Hassan is a professor of Civil Engineering and has taught for years at UC Berkeley, UoJ, UoT and other universities and is an Adjunct Professor at TMU.
Among his most notable complex projects, Hassan was lead structural engineer for the major renovations and revitalization of Toronto’s Union Station, the largest train station in Canada which required a dig down below a 12-railways-viaduct and five-storey head house to create a retail mall and new concourse levels, as well as the largest restoration effort in the 100-year life of the main heritage building.
Hassan was involved in major building projects including numerous courthouses and museums including the Waterloo Regional Consolidated Courthouse and Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa. On the infrastructure side, Hassan played a key role in either as lead designer and/or compliance engineer for projects including the Greater Toronto Airports Authority Terminal 1 Redevelopment, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Pedestrian Tunnel, , L.F. Wade International Airport (Bermuda International Airport) as well as the Gordie Howe International Bridge competition, New Terminal Building.
Naomi Ratte is an Indigenous planning and design consultant with NVision Insight Group Inc. She provides support on projects related to territorial park design, interpretive planning, traditional knowledge studies including interviews and GIS mapping with community knowledge holders and much more. She co-founded the Indigenous Design and Planning Students’ Association (IDPSA) at the University of Manitoba and co-edited the publication Voices of the Land: Indigenous Design and Planning from the Prairies (2021). She is a recent graduate of the Master of Landscape Architecture program, her practicum work focused on exploring past narratives and dreamt into ways to form new stories and connections in her community’s traditional territory at the mouth of the Red River near Selkirk, Manitoba.
Naomi is the recipient of three national awards of excellence for landscape architecture projects in Nunavut and Yukon and has received numerous leadership and academic awards, including the 2022 Landscape Architecture Foundation Olmstead Scholar. Naomi is also the Co-Chair of the Reconciliation Advisory Committee with the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects.
George is an urban designer, landscape architect and member of both the College of Fellows of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects and the Council of Fellows of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He is the recipient of the second Governor Generals Medal in Landscape Architecture, the highest award in Landscape Architecture granted in Canada. Prior to forming georgefdark.design, George was managing partner of Toronto based Urban Strategies Inc until his retirement in 2021. His 45 years of professional experience and has seen him lead a broad variety of assignments including master plans, transit plans, urban regeneration strategies and development projects, a national development plan and national park for Barbados and numerous public policy documents.
George’s work focuses on the quality of urban environments, coordinating large groups of diverse professionals and guiding projects through complex design, approval, and consultation processes. He assists public and private organizations with institutional strengthening, design management and both civic and national urban design process. Over the past 20 years George has developed a focus on the strategic design direction of large-scale urban regeneration projects putting him at the centre of design decisions for some of the largest urban projects in Canada.
Russell Loveridge is Managing Director of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication. A native of Ottawa, he studied civil engineering and architecture in Canada, and then completed his Masters at ETH Zurich, and his PhD at EPF Lausanne in Switzerland.
Russell has worked professionally in architecture and construction, but also has extensive academic experience as both a researcher and project manager. His work investigates advanced fabrication technologies, smart materials, and novel sustainable construction techniques. Russell coordinates the NCCR’s multi-disciplinary team of over 125 researchers, engineers and technical staff, helping to develop one of the most advanced research consortiums worldwide that focuses on changing the way we design and build.
Born and raised in Saint-Hyacinthe, educated in Montreal in Urban Planning, Conservation and Architecture at Université de Montréal and McGill University, Nathalie is a seasoned professional with over 30 years of experience, contributing to over 1500 heritage projects, adaptive reuse, assessments, rehabilitation, and context-sensitive urban infill design for a broad range of national, provincial, and municipal organizations in both the public and private sectors: from the rehabilitation of historic dams, bridges, locks, heritage designated buildings and National Historic Sites, to the rehabilitation and restoration of Centre Block, and several multimillion-dollar infrastructure projects, landscape studies, heritage initiatives, and research across Canada. Her expertise includes providing strategic recommendations, innovative solutions, and approach to top-level managers. Her in-depth knowledge of cultural resources, including the conservation of heritage materials, archeological resources and archives, has been vital in many heritage projects. Her work also includes studying and providing compendium of international charters, declarations, recommendations, international standards, and other texts for the conservation of cultural property. Nathalie specializes in the opportunities and challenges that occur where new and old converge.
Michael Leckman is a principal of Diamond Schmitt Architects, and has been recognized for design excellence, leadership in energy efficient design and for shaping a critical debate as Co-Chair of Toronto’s Design Review Panel. He has also been as guest critic, lecturer, and mentor at schools of architecture across Canada, and Chair of the City of Toronto Urban Design Awards.
Michael’s major completed works include the Bahen Centre at the University of Toronto, the Governor General Medal-winning York University Student Centre, Manitou a bi Bii daziigae at Red River College Polytech, the Esplanade in Medicine Hat, the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence in Ottawa, the School of Law at Thompson Rivers University, the Centre for Green Cities at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto.
Michael’s active projects all target Zero Carbon Building certification: AGO Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary gallery, the New Brunswick Museum, 300 Progress Avenue paramedic station in Scarborough – also targeting Net Zero Energy, and two zero carbon facilities for the Region of Peel.
Silvio Baldassarra is an Architect, FRAIC, OAA and Chair Emeritus of NORR, a Professional Advisor to the RAIC, and member of the Italian Contemporary Film Festival Committee.
Italian-born, he immigrated to Toronto at the age of 5 and graduated from Humber College with an Architectural Design Diploma in 1972, followed by a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Toronto in 1976.
Silvio’s career spans 51 years, starting with Joseph Bogdan for the first 14 years, working on two major projects: College Park, Toronto and Old Hyde Park, Tampa. He then joined NORR for the past 37 years, leading the Toronto and eventually Canadian offices to a global leading A/E consulting firm. In 2023, Silvio stepped down as Chair of NORR and remains as Chair Emeritus.
During Silvio’s time at NORR, he was responsible for the pursuit, design, management, and was the principal in charge of some of the largest projects, including:
In 2007 Silvio founded NORRed, a continuing education program. Today, after 127 sessions, the program is virtual and since 2020, it has 33 YouTube videos in the series. Silvio continues to produce and host the series at no cost globally as part of his corporate social responsibility to the A/E community. Silvio was recognized by his peers in 2010 as a Fellow of the RAIC, in 2017 with the Premio Laziale dell’anno by the Lazio Federation of Ontario, and in 2019 was awarded the Ordine Al Merito by the National Congress of Italian Canadians.
His career has equally spanned the private and public sector. He was a senior collaborator in the firm IKOY, originally founded in Winnipeg until 2001. Thierry Montpetit has been with Public Services Procurement Canada (PSPC) from 2003 until 2023, rising to the level of Chief Architect in the Science and Parliamentary Infrastructure Branch (SPIB). In this capacity, he has always pushed for the pursuit of excellence in architecture for important government projects. He has fulfilled a critical role within Public Services Canada in cultivating an atmosphere of respect for design, while adhering to the stringent requirements of efficiency, procurement, stringent approval regimes and demanding public scrutiny.
Prior to joining the public service, Thierry participated in the design and construction of significant public institutions including the Gatineau Preservation Centre (IKOY) and the rehabilitation of the Victoria Memorial Building (PKG in consortium).
As Director General and Chief Architect with Public Services Canada, Thierry has had a leading responsibility in the Long Term Vision and Plan for the Parliamentary Precinct, the multi decade plan for the renewal of Canada’s Parliamentary buildings. Notable projects include; the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Judicial Building (NORR and Carlos Ott) , the rehabilitation of the Wellington Building (NORR), the LTVP Master Lighting Plan, the rehabilitation of the East Block since 2017, the Senate of Canada Building (DSAI) and more recently, the new Block 2 Redevelopment Project (Zeidler and Chipperfield). The Block 2 international Design Competition, located on a site of national significance and which concluded in 2022, was notable as a PSPC initiative led in partnership with the RAIC. The competition demonstrated success in addressing complex cultural, historical and political issues, attracting international participants, and achieving a high level of public interest and a broadly supported winning proposal.
To learn more about the Alexandra Bridge Replacement Project, please visit:
Alexandra Bridge Replacement – National Capital Commission (ncc-ccn.gc.ca)
6118 James Bell Drive, ON Canada K4M 1B3 | Toll Free: 1844-856-RAIC | tel: 613-241-3600 | Office hours: Monday-Friday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (ET)
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