Associate Professor Shane Williamson's firm, Williamson Chong Architects, has received a 2011 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence for Abbey Gardens. 

Abbey Gardens is the master plan proposal for a prototypical community village which aims to service its immediate locale as well as a broader regional audience for those interested in food for consumption but also for those interested in food’s impact socially, agriculturally, economically, nutritionally and culturally. The scheme is centred around selective built projects which would stitch into existing open ‘rooms’ left behind what was once a gravel quarry — on a 441-acre lot two hours north of Toronto in Haliburton, Ontario.

One of only two national award programs devoted exclusively to architecture, the Awards of Excellence have recognized significant building projects in Canada on an annual basis since 1968. Awards are given each year to architects  for buildings in the design stage. Jurors considered response to the program, site, geographical and social context, and evaluated physical organization, structure, materials and environmental features.

The full list of winners with project images and descriptions can be found here:

http://www.canadianarchitect.com/Awards/Winners.aspx