Bruce Kuwabara


Bruce Bunji Kuwabara, is a Canadian architect and a founding partner of the firm KPMB Architects. He is an invested Officer of the Order of Canada and recipient of the RAIC Gold Medal. He is Board Chair of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.

Life

Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1949, Bruce Kuwabara studied architecture at the University of Toronto and graduated in 1972.
Upon graduation, Kuwabara joined the teaching studio of George Baird, an architect and architectural theorist. Baird was influential to Kuwabara's interest in ideas of city building and the narrative concept of architecture. It was in Baird's studio that Kuwabara also encountered many of the most influential architects of the time, including James Stirling, Arata Isozaki, and Leon Krier. Following the apprenticeship with Baird, Kuwabara joined Barton Myers Associates where he was an associate for 12 years. Barton Myers, who studied under the leading American architect, Louis Kahn, inspired Kuwabara, and his future partners who were also associates of BMA – Thomas Payne, Marianne McKenna and Shirley Blumberg - to think about the city, and how to integrate strategies of urban infill and consolidation.

Honours

In 2011, Kuwabara was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his contributions, as an architect, to our built landscape and for his commitment to professional excellence". He is the recipient of the RAIC 2006 Gold Medal. The medal recognizes Kuwabara's contribution to the profession of architecture and is Canada's highest honour bestowed by the profession on an individual. In his acceptance speech, Kuwabara offered a personal reflection contrasting the memories of growing up in the post-World War II climate as a Japanese-Canadian with the later inspirations of his mentors and seminal events that determined his vocation as an architect. His reflections of the collaborative nature of architecture and an overview of his practice is featured in a special supplement published by Canadian Architect in the June 2006 issue, with essays by George Baird and Larry Richards who wrote: "From his collaborative contributions on large urban projects with Barton Myers in the 1970s to his conceptions for complex city fabric insertions during the past decade…, Kuwabara has demonstrated remarkable leadership as an accomplished architect-urbanist with a very particular sense of the design and health of cities." Bruce was elected into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2005.

Sustainable design

Long before the environment was considered a priority issue in Canada, Kuwabara was studying and prioritizing strategies for integrating sustainability with architectural design. His involvement as the design principal for the Canadian Embassy in Berlin presented the opportunity to study and integrate international strategies for reducing energy consumption and developing a healthy, sustainable work environment. These lessons would greatly influence future projects in Canada, particularly Manitoba Hydro Place in downtown Winnipeg.
Manitoba Hydro Place is one of the most energy efficient large-scale office towers in the world and establish a model for extreme climate design in Canada and internationally. This project is the product of a collaboration with Transsolar and Smith Carter Architects + Engineers. The project was realized through a formal C-2000 Integrated Design Process to achieve 60% reduction in energy consumption with a signature design and catalyze the urban revitalization of the downtown. The building exceeded original goals for LEED Gold and was certified LEED Platinum in 2012.

Architecture and education

Kuwabara and KPMB have supported the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, at the University of Toronto as well as contributed to its curriculum. Specifically, Kuwabara helped to establish the Frank Gehry Chair for International Visitors in Architectural Design, as well as to the Faculty's ongoing building renovations. As co-chair of the University's Design the Future campaign, Kuwabara played a key role in spearheading funding for the Gehry Chair. In recognition of his contribution, he was presented with the Arbor Award for "outstanding personal service to the University of Toronto and its divisions."

Selected work

Selected work includes:
2018: Chip and Shannon Wilson School of Design, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Richmond, British Columbia

2017: Remai Modern, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

2017: Global Center for Pluralism, Ottawa, Ontario

2017: Kellogg school of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois

2017: Julis Romo Rabinowitz Building & Louis A. Simpson International Building, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

2016: Bay Adelaide East Tower and Podium, Toronto, Ontario

2015: Pan/Parapan American Games Athletes' Village / Canary District, Toronto, Ontario

2015: St. Michael's Cathedral Block Master Plan, Toronto, Ontario

2013: Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, Toronto, Ontario

2013: Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario

2013: Orchestra Hall Renewal, Minnesota Orchestra, Minneapolis, Minnesota

2012: George Brown College, Waterfront Campus, Toronto, Ontario

2012: The Joseph L. Rotman School of Management Expansion, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

2011: Vaughan City Hall, Vaughan, Ontario

2011: Gluskin Sheff & Associates, Toronto, Ontario

2011: Centre for International Governance Innovation Campus, Waterloo, Ontario

2011: The Power Plant Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

2011: Maple Leaf Square, Toronto, Ontario

2010: TIFF Bell Lightbox and Festival Tower, Toronto, Ontario

2010: Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa Ontario

2009: Le Quartier Concordia Phase 2: John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec

2009: Block 24 E, Railway Lands West, Toronto, Ontario

2009: Manitoba Hydro Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba

2009: One Bedford Residential Development, Toronto, Ontario

2008: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Phase 1A: Alternate Milieu, Toronto, Ontario

2008: SugarCube, Denver, Colorado

2008: Japanese Canadian Cultural Center, Toronto, Ontario

2007: Ryerson University Master Plan, Toronto, Ontario

2006: Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Ontario

2005: Canada's National Ballet School, Toronto, Ontario

2005: Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario

2005: Le Quartier Concordia Phase 1: Engineering/Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec

2005: Canadian Embassy, Berlin, Germany

2004: Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Don Mills, Ontario
2003: , McGill University, Montréal, Québéc.

2003: James Stewart Centre for Mathematics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario

2003: Centennial College Applied Research and Innovation Centre, Scarborough, Ontario

2002: Ravine House, Toronto, Ontario

2001: Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

2001: Star Alliance Lounge, Zurich, Nagoya and Los Angeles

2000: Richmond City Hall, Richmond, British Columbia

2000: Cardinal Ambrozic Houses of Providence, Scarborough, Ontario

2000: Goodman Theatre, Chicago, Illinois,
1999: Chinese Cultural Centre/Community Complex, Scarborough, Ontario

1998: McKee Public School, North York, Ontario

1997: Ammirati Puris Lintas, New York City, New York

1997: Indigo Books and Music, Burlington, Toronto and Kingston, Ontario

1996: Grand Valley Institution for Women, Kitchener, Ontario

1994: Design Exchange, Toronto, Ontario

1993: Kitchener City Hall, Kitchener, Ontario

1991: King James Place, Toronto, Ontario

1991: Reisman-Jenkinson Residence, Richmond Hill, Ontario

1987: Marc Laurent, Toronto, Ontario

Work in progress

Landscape of Landmark Quality, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario

Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and Harbour Square Park, Toronto, Ontario

University of Lethbridge Destination Project, Lethbridge, Alberta

11 Wellesley, Toronto, Ontario

Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania

20 Washington Road, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

Publications