GSP Group

Awards
	Niagara Community Design Award 2010 GSP Group, in association with RCI Consulting, was honoured to receive a 2010 Niagara Region Community Design Award in the Policy & Plans category for the City of Port Colborne Downtown Central Business District Community Improvement Plan (CIP). The 2010 awards were a partnership between the Niagara Region, Niagara Economic Development Corporation, and the Niagara Society of Architects. The CIP recognizes the importance of a mix of uses, quality design, changes to the public and private realm, the heritage of the area, the relationship with the Welland Canal, and the need for tools to ensure that the improvements can be realized. The Urban Design Strategy that GSP Group prepared in support of the CIP provides a comprehensive approach for improvements to the physical built environment in Downtown, principally targeting public realm improvements that would act as catalysts for private sector investment. Click here to see more about the project.

	Waterloo's Uptown Public Square wins 2 Awards! OPPI Awards 2010 Waterloo's Public Square was created on the site of a former parking lot on King Street in Uptown Waterloo. Officially opened in May 2009, it has become a popular focal point for the city. The Uptown Public Square Study assessed alternative uses for the site, appropriate urban design for this main street location, and alternative sites for a new public square. The planning process successfully engaged the public and provided council with clear direction on the use of the land and design objectives for the new square. The design responded to a significant grade change and includes a curved accessible walk, terraced landings, amphitheatre-style seating, and a large performance space and skating plaza at street level. Since its opening, the Public Square has been used by thousands of people, in all seasons, for a wide variety of formal and informal activities. The Public Square has been a successful place-making exercise and has become the new heart of the City of Waterloo. National Design Award 2010 GSP Group is honored to receive the 2010 National Urban Design Awards - Civic Design Project the Uptown Waterloo Public Square. The awards are a collaborate effort of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada (RAIC), the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA). Follow this link to the announcement:
	GSP Group accepts a GVCA Award of Excellence The Farmer's Mutual Reinsurance Plan Inc.'s office building on Pinebush Road in Cambridge received an Award of Excellence at the Grand Valley Construction Association Building Excellence Awards Night on April 23, 2010. GSP Group provided landscape architectural services for the project which has achieved a LEED Gold certification. Carol Bacon attended the awards ceremony and received the Award of Excellence on behalf of GSP. Click here to see more about the project.