Two trophies on our first try.
Linebox Studio won two trophies at the 2026 OHBA Awards of Distinction on September 29, 2026. Zed House won Custom Home, 5,000 sq. ft. and over, and 360 Laurier won Lobby Entrance. It was the first time we had ever entered.
The Ontario Home Builders' Association hands out these awards each year to the best new homes, renovations and interiors in the province. This year set a record, with more than 600 entries competing for 51 trophies at the gala at Blue Mountain. Plenty of those entries came from the province's top architects and designers, many working in the Toronto market. So yes, a few of us may have done a small happy dance on the drive home.
Zed House: a floor plan shaped by daylight.
It started with a wonderful brief. Our clients wanted a home where they would never need to switch on a light during the day, in any season. The catch was a narrow lot, which usually means long, dark middles.
Our answer was to pull the core out of the centre of the house and bend the plan into a Z. That move gave us far more exterior wall, so light reaches deep into every room, and it lets the house turn its back to the neighbours where privacy matters. Inside, a curved oak stair, the Garden of Light and a terrazzo kids' bathroom give the family plenty to smile about.
Photography by Kevin Belanger Photography.
360 Laurier: an office tower learns to be home
360 Laurier Avenue West, an adaptive reuse project by CLV Group Developments with Linebox Studio, won Lobby Entrance. The project converted a 1960s downtown Ottawa office building into residential apartments.
Turning a whole office tower into homes is one of the most satisfying puzzles in architecture. Floor plates built for cubicles have to become kitchens, bedrooms and places to unwind. Reusing the existing structure also keeps a huge amount of embodied carbon out of the landfill.
The lobby is where residents feel that change first. We designed it as a warm, detailed room where people actually want to linger, with a sunken lounge and a co-working café that give the building a social heart.
Design matters because people do.
These two projects could hardly be more different. One is a family home on a tight lot, and the other is a 1960s tower with a brand new life. What they share is the reason we do this work.
Good architecture starts with listening. A family says they love daylight, a developer wants residents to feel at home the moment they walk in, and our job is to find the move that makes it happen. Sometimes that move is a floor plan shaped like a letter of the alphabet. Sometimes it's seeing a lobby in an office building that nobody else pictured.
We care about craft and we sweat the details, because the people who live in these spaces feel every one of them. Design matters. Humans matter.
Frequently asked questions.
What awards did Linebox Studio win at the 2026 OHBA Awards of Distinction? Linebox Studio won two trophies: Custom Home, 5,000 sq. ft. and over, for Zed House with Sanchez Homes, and Lobby Entrance for 360 Laurier with CLV Group Developments.
When and where were the 2026 OHBA Awards of Distinction held? The gala took place on September 29, 2026, in Blue Mountain, Ontario. The Ontario Home Builders' Association received more than 600 entries for 51 trophies.
What is Zed House? Zed House is a custom home at 113 Northwestern Avenue in Ottawa, designed by Linebox Studio. Its Z-shaped floor plan brings daylight into every room on a narrow lot while protecting privacy.
What is 360 Laurier? 360 Laurier is an adaptive reuse project in downtown Ottawa that converted a 1960s office building into residential apartments. It was developed by CLV Group Developments with design by Linebox Studio.
Who is Linebox Studio? Linebox Studio is an architecture and interior design firm based in Ottawa, Ontario, working on custom homes, multi-residential projects and adaptive reuse. The studio was also named Firm of the Year (Gold) at the 2026 Grand Prix du Design.
Thank you.
A huge thank you to our clients for trusting us with big ideas, to Sanchez Homes and CLV Group Developments for being such generous partners, and to Kevin Belanger Photography and Serre Media for capturing the work so beautifully. And to our team: this one is yours. Every drawing, every late revision and every detail you fought for shows up in these rooms.
Source: Ottawa captures nine trophies at the 2026 OHBA Awards of Distinction, All Things Home, September 30, 2026.