Lara McKendrick Named 2026 President of Ontario Association of Architects

Ottawa-based architect Lara McKendrick has been named the new council president of the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA).

With 25 years of experience, she was elected to the one-year position during the council meeting held on January 22, 2026.

“I am so excited for this opportunity to help lead our governing board of directors. This is the final year of the OAA’s current Strategic Plan, which includes Climate Action and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion as the two main lenses through we view all the work we undertake,” said McKendrick. “I was fortunate to be a Councillor when OAA Council and senior staff crafted this plan. As president, I will continue to pursue the worthy priorities and projects currently underway.”

McKendrick has been a licensed architect since 2003 and is the founder of Lara McKendrick Architecture Inc. (LMA), specializing in adaptive reuse, custom residential projects, and deep energy retrofits. Her work is guided by a first-principles approach to sustainability, creating healthy, flexible, durable, and beautiful spaces.

Prior to establishing her practice in 2011, McKendrick worked with several prominent Ottawa firms, honing her expertise in institutional, commercial, and residential architecture. A graduate of Carleton University’s School of Architecture, her passion for architecture began at an early age.

“I wanted to be an Architect even when I was five years old. At one point, I considered engineering, but architecture won out after I attended school in Europe,” she said, adding that her motivation to run for OAA council president stemmed from a desire to give back to her profession.

McKendrick has been an active member of the OAA Council since 2021. Over the years, she has held numerous roles on council, including senior vice president and treasurer, as well as being on the Complaints, Registration, and Finance and Audit Committees, and chairing the Building Committee and the Continuing Professional Education Committee (CPEC). She has also sat on the board for Pro-Demnity Insurance Co.

Among her goals leading the Association’s council, McKendrick looks forward to continuing work to modernize the Architects Act, supporting interns on the path to licensure, and strengthening relations with the Local Architectural Societies across Ontario. She also wants to help foster stronger connections between the architecture profession and the communities it is entrusted to serve.

McKendrick succeeds the OAA’s 2025 council president, Ted Wilson. Joining her on the 2026 OAA Executive Committee are senior vice president and treasurer Anna Richter, and vice presidents Kristiana Schuhmann, Susan Speigel, and Settimo Vilardi. Together, they will help lead the Association’s governing Council, which includes architects and a licensed technologist elected by the OAA membership and public representatives appointed by the provincial government.