Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) President's Award for Architectural Journalism, 2008

Lisa Rochon has won the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada President's Award for Architectural Journalism for her article (here) on Moshe Safdie’s decision to quit the McGill University Health Care Centre after realizing his role as an architect was being negated by the process. 

• This annual award is given for “excellence in the coverage of an Architectural issue or idea”
• The award recognizes a unique story, article or radio or television piece for its contribution to the wide-spread dissemination of architectural values and ideas
• The award is presented to the publisher, editor, producers as well as the individual journalist

2007 National Newspaper Award Nomination

For the third straight year, Lisa Rochon was nominated for an NNA; she won the award on both previous occasions. Links to the three articles for which Lisa was nominated are provided below:

• Time to build outside the box (January 2007): Lisa looks at urban planning in Vancouver with a new planner at the helm (here)
• Crystal scatters no light (June 2007): Lisa's critique of Daniel Libeskind's extension to Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum (here)
• My Pilgrimage to a modern masterpiece (October 2007): Lisa writes about her visit to Louis Kahn's masterwork, the National Assembly of Bangladesh in Dhaka (here)

2006 National Newspaper Award

Lisa Rochon has won a National Newspaper Award for the second straight year in Arts and Entertainment.

• Click here to read The Globe and Mail report on its Awards
• Click here for a report on the Awards from the Canadian Newspaper Association website

2005 National Newspaper Award

Lisa Rochon won a National Newspaper Award in 2006 in Arts and Entertainment. These are the articles for which Lisa received the Award:

• A Towering Shame: This article (November 3 2005) focuses on a lack of clarity in Toronto's urban planning and development efforts (more)

• Raw metal is a major turn-on: This early article on Libeskind's Renaissance ROM Project (July 21 2005) takes a hard look at the "excruciating honesty of the steel" of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal (more) (photo)

• Modest and Courageous: Writing about Moriyama & Teshima Architects' Canadian War Museum in Ottawa (April 30 2005), Lisa notes that the building "heralds a brave new expressionism in Canadian architecture" (more)

2006 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction Nominee

Up North (Lisa's "definitive guide to Canada's contemporary architecture”) was shortlisted for the Edna Staebler Award in October 2006

• The award is administered by Wilfred Laurier University, and supports and encourages a beginning Canadian writer publishing a work with national significance
• To learn more about Up North, click here