Celebrating a win: Bata Shoe Factory receives AIA International Merit Award

BDP Quadrangle, in collaboration with Dubbeldam Architecture + Design, has been honoured with the 2024 AIA International Merit Award for Architecture – Open International for Bata Shoe Factory. The award was formally presented at the American Institute of Architects’ AIA25 Conference on Architecture & Design, held in Boston from June 4–7, 2025.

The AIA International Design Awards celebrate excellence in architecture outside the United States, recognizing projects that demonstrate innovation, sustainability and social responsibility. The Bata Shoe Factory stood out for its visionary adaptive reuse of a 1939 industrial facility in Batawa, Ontario, transformed into a vibrant, multi-use community hub.

Originally built by the Bata family during World War II, the structure has been reimagined as a contemporary five-storey building comprising 47 rental residential units, commercial and retail spaces, a daycare and community facilities. The project retained 80% of the original concrete structure - preserving significant embodied carbon - and is powered entirely by a geothermal system, eliminating the use of natural gas and dramatically reducing operational emissions.

Designed to foster community connection, environmental stewardship and long-term livability, the revitalized factory reflects the shared vision of BDP Quadrangle, Dubbeldam Architecture + Design and the Batawa Development Corporation. The project has become a model for sustainable rural development and heritage-driven renewal.

We are honoured to be recognized by AIA International and extend our sincere gratitude to our collaborators, clients, and community partners who helped bring this transformational project to life.