Viktors Jaunkalns, renowned architect and co-founder of MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller (MJMA), a Toronto-based firm specializing in the development of hybrid civic and community projects, addressed faculty and students of Villa Maria College’s Interior Design program on Tuesday, April 20. Jaunkalns, whose current projects include a $120 million redevelopment of the Toronto Railway lands, a $30 million public centre for Innisfil, Ontario, and a $32 million dollar athletic and soccer centre for Brampton, Ontario; presented past and current projects of the firm, discussing their relationship to the built environment, issues related to sustainability and the design process. The lecture was part of a day-long opportunity for students to interact with the architect as part of their scheduled classes.
A graduate of the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, Jaunkalns is a past recipient of the Ontario Association of Architects scholarship and has taught at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and at the University of Toronto School of Architecture where he continues to serve as a visiting critic, as well as at Ryerson University, University of Waterloo, University of Calgary and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He has lectured publicly at the Toronto Society of Architecture and for the Calgary Architecture and Urban Studies Alliance. Jaunkalns co-founded MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller in 1988. The firm has worked on numerous domestic and international projects including the National Performing Arts Centre for Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain, theatre projects for Cineplex in Warsaw, Istanbul and Vienna; and interior projects for developers and restaurateurs such as Wolfgang Puck. The firm has received numerous design honors including the Governor General’s Medal in Architecture and awards from the Ontario Association of Architects, the city of Toronto and Canadian Architect, among others.
