Andrew Filarski

With the belief that sound building science is the foundation of elegant design solutions, Andrew leads the development and quality control for MJMA’s standards of practice, technical detailing, specifications, digital practice, and sustainable pursuits. Overseeing the studio’s drawing documentation and building specification work, he maintains a rigorous style of documentation, ensuring efficient and effective design and construction processes. His specialization in arena and aquatics design informs almost every project at MJMA. A recent example is the East Hants Aquatic Centre in Nova Scotia, which is representative of his favourite type of building — one that achieves expressive and contextually meaningful spaces through restrained and function-driven design. Andy led his team in working closely with the client to adopt local resources wherever possible in the project; a chief instance is the beautiful exposed timber roof in the aquatics hall, which uses wood harvested and fabricated close to the project site.

For over 15 years, Andy has been Partner-in-Charge overseeing a portfolio of facilities for the YMCA of Greater Toronto. He has also led the development of a number of these (such as the Steve & Sally Stavro Family YMCA) into a new typology that integrates the YMCA facility within an infill building housing multiple tenants and located on a tight urban site. This new type features innovative design and construction solutions for stacked program elements, shared spaces, and overlapping services. He has also established specification, procurement, accessibility, and air-quality standards for YMCA facilities across the Greater Toronto Area.

Andy has maintained our firm’s ethos of collaboration and collegiality as the firm has grown, serving as mentor and team leader to young architects and co-workers, many of whom remain with the firm now as senior staff. Just as MJMA is committed to delivering socially-conscious architecture that strengthens communities, Andy brings these values to volunteer and charitable work, including serving with Toronto’s Out of the Cold program since 2001 and participating every year, since 2008, in the Princess Margaret Ride to Conquer Cancer. He has also been a long-standing group leader with Bateman’s Bicycle Club: seeing this as a form of community-building, he takes great pleasure in introducing others to the joys of road riding and the beauty of Toronto’s ravines.

Andy graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1989 with a Bachelor of Architecture, for which he was awarded the AIA Gold Medal for Academic Achievement. Upon graduation he joined MJMA and became a partner in 2009.