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Donald Schmitt is a well-known Canadian architect whose practice is built on the transformative power of design. As a founding principal of Diamond Schmitt Architects, he is committed to the design of architecture that transcends convention and enriches everyday life. He is passionate about functionality, innovation, elegance, and sustainability.

His recent designs include the transformation of the National Arts Centre and the Senate of Canada Building in Ottawa; the Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning at Sick Children’s Hospital; Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver; Lazaridis Hall at Wilfrid Laurier University; and the mixed-use, transit connected SmartCentres Place in Vaughan, one of North America’s largest and most important new urban centres.

A Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and a member of the American Institute of Architects, Mr. Schmitt and his firm have won over 300 design awards including seven Governor General’s Medals in Architecture.

He is the Founding Chair of the Public Art Commission for the City of Toronto for which he was awarded the Civic Medal. He was a member of the Advisory Committee on Planning Design and Real Estate for the National Capital Commission in Ottawa for over a decade, with the Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel, and is currently a member of the University of Toronto Design Review Panel.

He is a member of the Canadian Art Foundation Advisory Committee and is an academician with the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Mr. Schmitt is a graduate of the University of Toronto School of Architecture where he received the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Medal in his thesis year.