John MacDonald Architect

Our office took recently took a Friday off to enjoy a 22 km paddle down the Grand River, starting at Kaufman Flats and finishing at the Freeport bridge. With sightings of dozens of herons and other interesting birds, lower water levels that occasionally left us stranded on the rocks, and a picnic stop at the Stanley Park Optimist Natural Area, it was a Grand adventure.

Our team.

A renewed Delhi Kinsmen Pool officially reopened on Friday. The pool house interior was redesigned to meet present standards, including those for accessibility and inclusion. The revised plan allows for fluid movement from the front entrance to the pool deck, and intuitive navigation among the various rooms.

We’d like to thank the many who attended our Jane’s Walks last weekend. We were pleased to be part of a full and diverse line-up of walks around Waterloo Region.

We’re looking forward to seeing some familiar and new faces this weekend. Our team invites you to join us to observe, reflect and re-imagine our community on two Jane’s Walks.

Tonight’s walk will focus on Countryside and McLennan Park, looking at how our values and ideas of public parks have evolved over the decades.

John’s walk on Sunday will use our city as a backdrop for a conversation about how our built environments and the forces that isolate us, as well as the actions we can take to counter these forces.

Eclipse viewing in Victoria Park

Our team enjoyed a skate this afternoon at City Hall, right across the street from our office. Special thanks to the Homewood / Brock St neighbourhood who helped make this happen by loaning us some skates. Some enjoyed their first skate, while others enjoyed their first time on the ice in years.

Happy Holidays from everyone at JMA. Please note that our office will be closed next week and will reopen on Tuesday, January 2nd.

This Sunday’s Festival of Neighbourhoods gathering celebrated 30 years of the festival. The milestone was recognized by Kitchener Centre MP Mike Morrice, who presented a certificate of recognition on behalf of the Government of Canada.

Over the last three decades of the Festival, there have been over 250 distinct participating neighbourhoods, gathering in over a thousand ways. Some gathered just once, many have grown in stature and confidence, with yearly traditions that gather and welcome neighbours, and a few have registered their gatherings with us for each and every one of those 30 years. All conceived and led by citizens of every age, origin and ability. They have stepped forward: reaching out to their neighbours and connecting those ages, those origins, and those abilities to one another.

Kitchener's Festival of Neighbourhoods celebrated its 30th anniversary in the Kitchener City Hall rotunda, this Sunday, November 19th. This was a time for the festival to look back, for enjoying the many achievements of neighbours this year, and for looking forward.

We have come a long way from the first year when 4 people approached City Council with their outrageous ideas of creative gatherings in the middle of the street, a civic parade of neighbourhoods, neighbourhoods floating around in the City Hall fountain, and improvement projects where the citizens were in charge. Our vision was for neighbourliness to become a fundamental building block of our community. Together with our City and the Festival, Neighbours have brought it to life.

The Festival of Neighbourhoods Annual Celebration returns November 19th from 1 to 3pm at Kitchener City Hall Rotunda.

Two lucky recipients will be awarded $20,000 City of Kitchener Capital Improvement Grants

RSVP - https://mailchi.mp/04805d670a53/fon-e-neighbour-winter-edition-6677383

Thanks to everyone who visited our office in the Public Utilities Commission building for Doors Open Waterloo Region last weekend. Well over a hundred people attended our tours, including neighbours, newcomers, students, other architects, others who were interested in what we do, and a number who admired the building but had never been inside.

A preview of our office in the Public Utilities Commission building, which we invite you to visit this Saturday, September 16th for Doors Open Waterloo Region. Among the highlights is one of the oldest elevators in the country, operational since the building’s completion in 1932.

We’re just over a month away from the return of in-person Doors Open Waterloo Region events, on Saturday, September 16th. The 2023 lineup features 20 sites, including WPL's Eastside Branch and the PUC building in downtown Kitchener, where our office is located.

This interactive map shows all 20 sites: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/e6239f0837224b3d916c82931b275b58

Tape, Paper, Pencil: the tried and true way to measure a small house

Blog post: https://www.johnmacdonaldarchitect.ca/blog/tape-paper-pencil.htm

Also featured in the Doors Open Waterloo Region lineup this year is the Waterloo Public Library's Eastside Branch, which "boasts a vibrant, contemporary space with soaring ceilings, inviting lounge areas, light-filled interiors and an outdoor nature courtyard.”

We’ll be co-hosting tours on Saturday, September 16th with WPL and ward99 architects inc.

We’re looking forward to inviting you into our downtown Kitchener office in the historic Public Utilities Commission building this September 16th. Waterloo Region will have 20 participating sites this year, including noteworthy buildings, interesting places & heritage sites.

The excellent illustrations for this year’s Doors Open Waterloo Region were created by local artist Della vanDokkumburg of Conestogo.

Nice to see further recognition for the Eastside Branch's Trombe wall, which provides passive solar heating for the Library

Privately owned public spaces: what are they, and how do we design them better?

Blog post: https://www.johnmacdonaldarchitect.ca/blog/privately-owned-public-spaces.htm

Earlier this week, we were honoured at the City of Kitchener’s Business Heritage Awards for our 25 year milestone, achieved in 2020. Aside from a great evening, our rewards for our longstanding commitment to doing business in Kitchener including a certificate and a mildly awkward hug with the mayor.

A big thanks to the 45+ who attended our Jane’s Walks this weekend. We were glad to be part of the return to a full and diverse line-up of walks around Waterloo Region.

We’re looking forward to seeing some familiar and new faces this weekend.

Our team invites you to join us to observe, reflect and re-imagine our community on two Jane's Walks: https://www.johnmacdonaldarchitect.ca/blog/janes-walk-2023.htm Jane's Walk Waterloo Region

This Sunday, John is looking forward to leading a Jane's Walk in downtown Kitchener. Families and children are welcome.

EVENT: Jane's Walk - Visions of Downtown Kitchener, Past and Present.

Date: May 7
Time: 2 PM - 4 PM

They will look at various built artifacts (streets, buildings and other public offerings) that tell the stories of the many visions..

For more info: https://oaa.on.ca/whats-on/events-calendar/event-detail/janes-walk-visions-of-downtown-kitchener-past-and-present

We're looking forward to participating once again:

Jane's Walks returning to Cambridge, region this May An information session about local Jane's Walks is happening March 30

It has been a privilege to have been of service to oneROOF.

We look forward to continuing to contribute how we can to the well-being of youth experiencing homelessness in our community

As our property continues to evolve, we are proud to be unveiling this bench in recognition of John MacDonald.

This new addition to The Quad is a special thanks to John for his commitment, time and expertise as we developed this wonderful space. His philanthropy has aided us greatly in our tremendous growth over the last few years. The generosity and dedication of John and his team has ensured that this new and improved campus meets the needs of our young people.

We are humbled and honoured to have worked with John MacDonald Architect to better our community and expand our services. He will forever be a part of oneROOF Youth Services history.

Great neighbourhoods have propinquity. So what is it?

Our latest blog post: https://www.johnmacdonaldarchitect.ca/blog/Propinquity.htm

Heritage staff considering plan to expand, renovate ‘gateway property’ in Kitchener Building is the last original one at the ‘Five Points’ intersection

Happy Holidays from everyone at JMA. Please note that our office will be closed next week and will reopen on Tuesday, January 3rd.