JANNA LEVITT
BA, BArch, OAA, NWTAA, FRAIC
Founding Partner, LGA
Janna Levitt co-founded LGA Architectural Partners with Dean Goodman in 1993 with a vision to help diverse and often under-resourced clients to realize places that spark positive cultural and environmental change. Through research, public consultation, and design Janna aims to improve lives: creating places that advance equity, wellness and community, educating and mentoring the next generation of designers, and collaborating with artists, scientists and others to draw attention to pressing issues impacting our world.
Janna has earned wide respect for her inquisitive, thoughtful and imaginative approaches that demonstrate fresh possibilities for everyday living. Her diverse initiatives – such as community hubs that foster arts and culture, public spaces that connect citizens with ecology, and residences that contribute to equitable cities – underscore the expansive role that architects play in redesigning our world.
Janna’s love of architecture extends to teaching, mentoring and community causes. She has held teaching appointments at University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and Dalhousie University. She regularly lectures and serves on award juries across North America and abroad. She presently sits on Toronto’s Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel. In 2015 she led the creation of an annual scholarship fund for an Indigenous student entering Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture.
Janna was made a Fellow of the RAIC in 2009. She received the 2018 G. Randy Roberts Service Award from the Ontario Association of Architects. In 2019 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Green Building Council, and she was named as one of the top 30 “Essential Women in Architecture and Design” by Azure Magazine.
Janna attended Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Halifax and The Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston before finalizing her Honors Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Toronto. She graduated from the Master in Architecture Program at University of Toronto.
BA, BArch, OAA, NWTAA, FRAIC
Founding Partner, LGA
Janna Levitt co-founded LGA Architectural Partners with Dean Goodman in 1993 with a vision to help diverse and often under-resourced clients to realize places that spark positive cultural and environmental change. Through research, public consultation, and design Janna aims to improve lives: creating places that advance equity, wellness and community, educating and mentoring the next generation of designers, and collaborating with artists, scientists and others to draw attention to pressing issues impacting our world.
Janna has earned wide respect for her inquisitive, thoughtful and imaginative approaches that demonstrate fresh possibilities for everyday living. Her diverse initiatives – such as community hubs that foster arts and culture, public spaces that connect citizens with ecology, and residences that contribute to equitable cities – underscore the expansive role that architects play in redesigning our world.
Janna’s love of architecture extends to teaching, mentoring and community causes. She has held teaching appointments at University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and Dalhousie University. She regularly lectures and serves on award juries across North America and abroad. She presently sits on Toronto’s Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel. In 2015 she led the creation of an annual scholarship fund for an Indigenous student entering Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture.
Janna was made a Fellow of the RAIC in 2009. She received the 2018 G. Randy Roberts Service Award from the Ontario Association of Architects. In 2019 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Green Building Council, and she was named as one of the top 30 “Essential Women in Architecture and Design” by Azure Magazine.
Janna attended Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Halifax and The Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston before finalizing her Honors Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Toronto. She graduated from the Master in Architecture Program at University of Toronto.
Project Spotlight
MABELLEARTS-THE BELLE
MABELLEpark will serve as a model for social and cultural innovation to bolster community and collective resiliency in areas of dense vertical housing.
MABELLEpark, set to open in the fall of 2024, marks the culmination of a 16-year urban renewal effort led by the not-for-profit organization, MABELLEarts to transform what was once a residual landscape that provided a pedestrian shortcut to the subway station and school, into a vibrant community hub.
The Etobicoke property is owned by Toronto Community Housing (TCH) and is surrounded by four towers that are home to approximately 4,000 residents who are predominantly low-income and racially diverse newcomers to Canada. Our work with MABELLEarts drew on the organization’s core mission to infuse activities with art, theatre, and design, engaging the residents in an innovative consultation process that both outlined their needs and built trusting, long-term relationships.
The park’s focal point will be The Belle, a sculptural beacon and an open-ended pavillion that can be used for an array of functions. The Belle will include staff workstations, a small kitchenette for food service, public washroom facilities, and two multi-purpose work rooms that can be combined into one larger room. Folding glass doors will open to a covered deck that will serve as both a porch and a performance stage.
Toughness and resiliency were important design considerations as The Belle will have both a limited maintenance budget and limited supervision, particularly overnight. To limit both maintenance and vandalism, we wrapped the building in a sustainably produced and highly durable diamond-shaped aluminum shingle that is tightly fitted to the building so that people cannot pull on it, hang on it, nor hide in its corners.
MABELLEpark is about a lot more than creating a space for wonder, it’s about leveraging creativity to bring people together and strengthen community wellbeing.
MABELLEARTS-THE BELLE
MABELLEpark will serve as a model for social and cultural innovation to bolster community and collective resiliency in areas of dense vertical housing.
MABELLEpark, set to open in the fall of 2024, marks the culmination of a 16-year urban renewal effort led by the not-for-profit organization, MABELLEarts to transform what was once a residual landscape that provided a pedestrian shortcut to the subway station and school, into a vibrant community hub.
The Etobicoke property is owned by Toronto Community Housing (TCH) and is surrounded by four towers that are home to approximately 4,000 residents who are predominantly low-income and racially diverse newcomers to Canada. Our work with MABELLEarts drew on the organization’s core mission to infuse activities with art, theatre, and design, engaging the residents in an innovative consultation process that both outlined their needs and built trusting, long-term relationships.
The park’s focal point will be The Belle, a sculptural beacon and an open-ended pavillion that can be used for an array of functions. The Belle will include staff workstations, a small kitchenette for food service, public washroom facilities, and two multi-purpose work rooms that can be combined into one larger room. Folding glass doors will open to a covered deck that will serve as both a porch and a performance stage.
Toughness and resiliency were important design considerations as The Belle will have both a limited maintenance budget and limited supervision, particularly overnight. To limit both maintenance and vandalism, we wrapped the building in a sustainably produced and highly durable diamond-shaped aluminum shingle that is tightly fitted to the building so that people cannot pull on it, hang on it, nor hide in its corners.
MABELLEpark is about a lot more than creating a space for wonder, it’s about leveraging creativity to bring people together and strengthen community wellbeing.
