Paul Raff Studio is an architecture, art, and design practice dedicated to a creative vision of the highest calibre. Based in Toronto, Canada, we have achieved international distinction and are the only firm ever to receive both the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Allied Arts Medal for artistic excellence and its Innovation Award for technical ingenuity.
We embrace sustainability, integrating environmental performance with artistry to create designs that are as responsible as they are inspiring.
From intimate residences to transformative developments and sculptural landmarks, we approach each project as unique and site-specific, crafted to deliver exceptional experiences and enduring value. Our global perspective, grounded in deep cultural literacy and experience working across diverse urban and natural landscapes, enriches every design.
Beyond architecture, our acclaimed public artworks explore the interplay of material, craft, meaning, and context. This, in turn, informs how we design buildings of exceptional refinement and originality, distinctive in both form and execution.
Services
We provide full architectural and interior design services, guiding projects from concept through completion. We also create site-specific artworks and offer art direction for landscape and building projects.
Services include site assessment, visioning, and development strategy across a range of project types:
Residential
Cultural
Commercial
Multi-Unit
Net-Zero & Carbon Neutral
Public Art
Sculptural Works
Hotels, Resorts & Spas
Renovations
Adaptive Reuse
Master Planning
Landscape Spaces
Awards
| 2025 | RAIC Fellowship, The Royal Architecture Institute of Canada |
| 2019 | AIANY + ASLA-NY Structures Honor Award (Atmospheric Lens), Design Excellence Awards Award of Merit (Atmospheric Lens), AZ Awards |
| 2018 | CODAAwards — Transportation Category Winner (Atmospheric Lens), CODAworx Design Excellence Award (Limelight Bandshell), Ontario Association of Architects |
| 2016 | IES Illumination Section Award (Wavelengths), IES Toronto Illumination Section Awards 10+5+X Awards — 22nd Cycle (Echo House), World Architecture Community Concepts Award (Shoreline Commemorative), Ontario Association of Architects |
| 2015 | Award of Excellence (Mirage), Toronto Urban Design Awards Award of Merit (Shoreline Commemorative), Toronto Urban Design Awards Award of Excellence (Echo House), Ontario Association of Architects |
| 2013 | Artifact Honourable Mention (Knob Portrait: Mayor Ford), Ontario Association of Architects |
| 2012 | Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement, Canada Council for the Arts Architecture Multiple Residence (Bluepoint), International Property Awards – Asia Pacific Development Multiple Units (Bluepoint), International Property Awards – Asia Pacific Award of Excellence (Bluepoint Pavilion), Ontario Association of Architects Concepts & Presentation – Artifact Award (Regina Gateway), Ontario Association of Architects |
| 2011 | 20+10+X Awards – 9th Cycle (Cascade House), World Architecture Community Canadian Green Building Award, Sustainable Architecture & Building Awards |
| 2009 | Best of Canada Award (Cascade House), International Interior Design Exposition Prix de Rome / Rome Prize (as director of RVTR), Canada Council for the Arts Allied Arts Medal (Lifetime Achievement), Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Innovation Honourable Mention (Bluepoint Façade), Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Award of Excellence (Cascade House), Ontario Association of Architects Best Green Design (Cascade House), Green Source Magazine |
| 2008 | Award of Merit (Cascade House), Design Exchange |
| 2007 | House of the Year (Cascade House), The Globe and Mail |
| 2006 | Canadian Selection for NAFTA lecture on architecture, University of Illinois-Chicago |
| 2005 | Michael V. & Wanda Plachta Award (Garden Pavilion), Ontario Association of Architects |
| 2004 | Wood Design Award (Garden Pavilion), Architectural Design Excellence |
| 2001 | Allied Arts Award (Lifetime Achievement), Ontario Association of Architects Creative Residency (Architecture and the Sky), Banff Center for the Arts |
| 1999 | Governor General’s Award (Strachan House by Levitt Goodman Architects), Artist Consultant |
| 1998 | Selected for Arts & Culture Highlights Annual Review (Fall), Bravo! TV |
| 1995 | Best Art Exhibition of the Year (Unbuilding Ways), Now Magazine Selection |
Publications
| 2026 | Banff Makeover: Input Sought Before Big Changes Made, CTV News |
| 2025 | Paul Raff Taps Into Puerto Rico’s ‘Architectural Roots’ for House Renovation, Dezeen |
| In Puerto Rico, a Screened-In Villa Deftly Connects With the Outdoors, Azure | |
| Villa Brisana / Paul Raff Studio, ArchDaily | |
| Villa Brisana Is a Puerto Rico Home Renovated by Paul Raff Studio, Trend Hunter | |
| Villa Brisana: Nature at Every Turn, The Plan | |
| 2024 | Rewarding Experiments — An Interview With Paul Raff, Untitled (The Public Art Zine) No. 4 |
| 2023 | Building a Bright Future, Matthew Hague, Designlines |
| Artworx TO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art 2021–2022, City of Toronto | |
| 2021 | Reconsider Arts Complex at Station C, Dave Leblanc, The Globe and Mail |
| Atmospheric Lens, Shadi Abou Samra, Archiroots Magazine | |
| Memorials, Ruth Jones, The Site Magazine | |
| 2019 | Construction Begins on Rejigged Victims of Communism Memorial, Ottawa Citizen |
| Paul Raff’s Kaleidoscope House Channels the Sun, Simon Lewson, Designlines | |
| Exhibit: ROMA XL, Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Toronto | |
| 2018 | Vaughan TTC Installation Wins a 2018 CODAworx Award, Canadian Interiors |
| Paul Raff Studio Wins CODAworx Award for TTC’s Vaughan Station, Canadian Architect | |
| Construction Begins on Ottawa Memorial for Victims of Communism, Construction Canada | |
| Victims of Communism Memorial: a Decade in the Making, Ottawa Citizen | |
| Timeline: Memorial to the Victims of Communism, Liisa Tuominen, Ottawa Citizen | |
| A Modern Home Gets a Garden to Match, Eric Mutrie, Designlines | |
| A Sound Sculpture for North York, Sara Cunningham, Designlines | |
| In the Limelight, Elsa Lam, Canadian Architect | |
| CODA Awards Honor the Best Site-Specific Artwork, Georgine McWhirter, Interior Design | |
| Underpass Park is the Original Play Space Under the DVP, Tanya Mok, BlogTO | |
| 2017 | A Subway Station Worth Lingering In, Guy Dixon, The Globe and Mail |
| A Sun-Drenched ‘Kaleidoscope House’ in Toronto, Simon Lewsen, Azure Magazine | |
| 2016 | Illusion Versus Reality, Alex Bozikovic, Interior Design Magazine |
| Spirit in the Sky From the Backyard, John Bentley Mays, The Globe and Mail | |
| 2015 | For Yorkville, Ice Cream Castles in the Air?, John Bentley Mays, The Globe and Mail |
| 2014 | A Clear Advantage, John Bentley Mays, International Architecture & Design Magazine |
| Breaking Away From Traditional, John Bentley Mays, The Globe and Mail | |
| 2012 | Underpass Park Now Open, Our Toronto, Volume 5, Issue 3 |
| A Stylish Overhaul in Toronto’s Best-designed Subdivision, J.B. Mays, The Globe and Mail | |
| 2010 | City Chooses Sculpture Design, Joe Couture, Regina Leader-Post |
| 2009 | Interpreting the Collage of the Physical World, John Bentley Mays, The Globe and Mail |
| Green Light, John Bentley Mays, Azure Magazine | |
| 2008 | Housing With More Bang, John Bentley Mays, The Globe and Mail |
| Matters of Concern, Esther Shipman, Pandora Press | |
| 2007 | XS Green: Big Ideas, Small Buildings, Phyllis Richardson, Thames & Hudson |
| 2006 | Rebirth of the Rex Through Architectural Magic, John Bentley Mays, The Globe and Mail |
| Modern Tree Houses in a Lush Landscape, John Bentley Mays, The Globe and Mail | |
| 2005 | Garden Pavilion, Toronto, Hans Fonk, Objekt |
Team
Our team shares a deep engagement with culture, informing a rigorous and considered approach to architecture, design, and sustainability.
