The Gardens at Pillar and Post Inn was awarded a 2022 Niagara Biennial Design Award for Outstanding Achievement in Landscape Architecture. We are very proud of this project and honoured to be recognized for the years of work and planning that went into this beautiful ‘Monet’ inspired garden.
The Niagara Biennial Design awards celebrate the role of design in the enhancement of Niagara’s unique and diverse built environments. The award submissions are judged on quality, vibrancy, and sustainability and out of 35 entries, the jury evaluated and selected 11 winners.
CULTURAL LANDSCAPES // COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT // INSTITUTIONAL
The Armenian Genocide resulted in the annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians and the rupture of the Armenian physical and cultural presence. As the single most profound event in modern Armenian history, it informs the identity of all Armenians; and their resolve to never forget the losses suffered by their ancestors serves to strengthen the connections to the past, and the determination to reemerge and to forge a great future.
This monument can be understood as a physical metaphor for the wholesale extermination of the Armenian people, the destruction of their extraordinary cultural achievements and the necessary recovery and reconstruction of the nation. It is designed to offer the viewer an experiential and interactive journey, crafted to expose the human and cultural losses suffered by this ancient and creative people. It is structured around a temporal path, punctuated by a series of distinct stages and spaces. Monument elements are scaled to agree with the streetscape, and the landscaping is designed to create a distinctive and separate space that will connect to the Glendale community and offer a place for solace and reflection. The memorial will serve as the backdrop for large gatherings on special commemorative occasions.
CULTURAL LANDSCAPES // COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT // INSTITUTIONAL
SDG was retained to redevelop the Armenian Cultural Centre in Toronto. The redevelopment focused heavily on incorporating environmentally sound construction practices and techniques. Large areas of paving were redesigned to improve pedestrian circulation and vehicular traffic throughout the site using permeable paving instead of asphalt. Indigenous and xeriscaping plant material was selected to alleviate the requirements for an irrigation system on site.
A pedestrian plaza was created to capture the church traffic and separate it from the vehicular traffic of the community centre. A large monument to commemorate the 1.5 million Armenian lives lost during the first genocide of the twentieth century was designed within the plaza.
Yesterday was the first day of spring and marks the launch of Year Of The Garden 2022! The Canadian Garden Council proclaimed 2022 as Canada’s Year of the Garden in honour of the Centennial of the ornamental horticulture sector, marked by the 100th Anniversary of the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association. To celebrate, we have put together a collage of some of our favourite gardens we’ve designed over the years. Haig Seferian is an official Garden Ambassador for “Year of the Garden 2022” as he strongly believes in the benefits of gardens in maintaining the health of Canadians, our cities and the environment. To find out more about how you can get involved visit www.yearofthegarden.ca
The Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre project was recently featured in the March issue of Award magazine. This project involved the transformation of the Ancaster Memorial School built in 1947 and located on Wilson St, Hamilton, into a four-level facility with a 450-seat theatre auditorium, a 150-seat multi-purpose studio, visual arts classrooms, and music and dance studios.
SDG’s scope of work included creating a modern sense of entry and a public piazza at the front of the building while also enhancing the cultural identity of the site and preserving a provincially significant wetland and other ecological features. Several of the indigenous site boulders were re-used in the new design as well as the preservation of the front piazza. Grading was conducted to conserve an existing wetland on the east side of the property and a planting plan was created to protect the ecological amenities on the site.
Construction of Illumina Condominiums has reached the 16th floor and is fast approaching the 22nd floor amenity terrace!
The 22nd floor amenity space will feature an outdoor kitchen, dining spaces, and lounge seating spaces, all offering panoramic views of Lake Ontario to the southeast. Illumina is the sister development of Brock I, located right in the heart of downtown Burlington. With Architecture by Graziani + Corazza Architects, SDG’s Landscape Architectural design for this mixed-use building also includes an enhanced public realm of streetscaping, plantings, and seating.
Two of our projects won a 2022 Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association Award of Excellence. ‘The Gardens’ at Pillar and Post in Niagara-on-the-lake won two awards, one in the Water Feature category and one in the Commercial Construction, Multi-residential category. Jackson Pond did the pond design and waterfall, and Oakridge Landscape Contractors were the Landscape Contractors for the project. Lastly, our residential property in Simcoe won in the Landscape Lighting and Installation category. We provided landscape architectural services for the front and backyard, Balsam Creek Landscaping were responsible for the landscape lighting and installation and Bansil Landscape Inc. were the landscape contractors.
Haig Seferian is currently teaching a course at Humber College North Campus this year on Landscape Design & Practices as part of the Landscape Technician Program. The course focuses on sustainable landscape design and helps students develop an understanding of how to encourage ecological functionality within the modern urban environment.
However, this is not Haig’s first time teaching at Humber College. In fact, after he graduated Guelph University in 1987, he met Tony DiGiovanni, current Executive Director at Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association, who was in charge of the landscape program at Humber College at the time. Tony gave Haig his first opportunity to teach a class which led to Haig teaching at Humber for the next 12 years. Haig took a break from teaching to focus on his own company, SDG, until recently accepting this new opportunity to teach the 2022 senior class.
On January 25, the 2022 Landscape Designers Virtual Conference will be held via a Zoom webinar. As the founder and president of the CLD , Haig will be hosting the event that will commence at 8:15 AM until 3:15 PM. To find out more information about the seminar and register visit the link below! The first 100 registrations will receive a Tim Hortons gift card courtesy of In-Lite Outdoor Lighting!
The McQuesten Lofts project by Indwell, in East Hamilton, was announced the co-winner of the Best Overall category for all PHIUS (Passive House US) projects in North America and also won in the Affordable category and an honourable mention in the Multifamily category. Congratulations to the entire project team on this great win!
Indwell is a non-profit charity organization that creates affordable housing communities to support people seeking health, wellness and belonging. This development provides homes for deeply marginalized people, many of whom have suffered homelessness, and addiction or those coming out of institutions, hospitals, and shelters. The project was developed in unison with local Indigenous organizations to address issues of Indigenous homelessness as 28% of the city of Hamilton’s homeless population is made up of Indigenous and aboriginal peoples.
SDG were the Landscape Architects of this four-storey, 50-unit affordable housing development. Our team designed the landscape with twelve traditional Indigenous plantings in the four directions of the Indigenous medicine wheel (hoop) around a central symbolic fire gathering named the healing garden. The native plants; Cedar, Tobacco, Sweet Grass and Sage are known in Indigenous culture to have natural healing benefits that can cure illnesses and relieve negative energy from the mind, body, and soul while also providing beautiful aesthetics as well.
