When people talk about spending to stimulate the economy, governments are often quick to turn to “shovel ready” projects. According to Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the CanInfra Challenge, we have an infrastructure deficit of hundreds of billions of dollars. We tend to think of infrastructure as big ticket things like bridges, transit projects, pipelines and highways. Infrastructure is architecture: schools, community centres, social housing, theatres and arts facilities. The reality is that most of our infrastructure is designed by architects.

During a debate at Queens Park on the Infrastructure for Jobs and Prosperity Act, MPP Vic Fideli said, “historically 60% of all infrastructure is bricks and mortar. It’s buildings: hospitals, schools. That’s infrastructure as well.” He couldn’t have been more right. What we’re missing in our current debates about infrastructure is the role architects play in creating our society.

Buildings create the social infrastructure that is vital to who we are. The creativity that architects bring to the table, makes new opportunities and innovates on new ways to solve problems. Architecture is about solving problems and delivering excellence that has sustained, generational impact.

In the years after WWII, huge investment was made in just this sort of social infrastructure. Toronto Community Housing, for example, has 2,200 buildings, representing over 50 million square feet of residential space, an asset worth more then $9 billion of which more than half is more than 50 years old.

In this same period, Canada invested in new universities, colleges and libraries to meet the demands of a growing population. We saw massive investment in, and understanding of, the role of the built environment in creating community well-being that have resulted in places that have become iconic parts of our cultural psyche.

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