Bata Shoe Factory project honoured with a 2020 Brownie Award
We are pleased to share that the Bata Shoe Factory has been honored with a Brownie Award in the Best Small Project category! Founded in 2001 by the Canadian Urban Institute, the Brownie Awards recognize the innovative efforts of professionals who transform contaminated, under-utilized sites into productive residential and commercial projects, contributing to healthy community growth across Canada.
The awards committee writes about the Bata Shoe Factory: “The redevelopment of the Bata Shoe Factory is the first phase of the late Sonja Bata’s vision for the revitalization of the town of Batawa, established as a company town in 1939. The project involved the adaptive reuse of the original Bata Shoe Factory into a mixed-use residential, commercial, and community building. The renovated building retained the original concrete structure, saving close to 80 percent of the original building’s embodied carbon, and uses a geothermal system for its HVAC needs, reducing CO2 emissions to nearly zero.”
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the jury, everyone who contributed to the success of this project, and to the Brownie Awards for this honor.