Toronto, ON – Lara McKendrick is the new Council President of the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA), which regulates the practice of architecture to protect the public interest. An Ottawa-based Architect with 25 years of experience, she was elected to the one-year position during the Council meeting held on January 22. 

“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,” McKendrick says. “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. She 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. 

Before 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 shares, adding that her motivation to run for OAA Council President stemmed from a desire to give back to her profession. 

“I initially ran for Council because I was at a point in my career where I had more control of my time and saw it as a way to do some work for my profession,” McKendrick says. “I’ve learned that the OAA is not some overlord in isolation. For Architects and Licensed Technologists, this is our profession and our regulator—it is up to us to get involved. We rely on volunteers.” 

McKendrick has been an active member of the OAA Council since 2021, playing a pivotal role in shaping the Association’s strategic initiatives. 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. 

“We know that architecture is an integral part of our quality of life and the well-being of society. Beautiful, low-carbon, durable, resilient, adaptable, inclusive architecture is a community-builder,” McKendrick says. “Under the Architects Act, the OAA has a secondary object to promote the public appreciation of architecture. How can we help our members impactfully engage with their communities as they work to solve local issues? What can we do so the architecture profession is meaningfully involved in helping find new approaches to community problems? 

“There is so much to be done on solving the housing crisis, building communities that are truly inclusive and resilient, adapting to the ever-changing tools of our industry, including AI, and helping the next generation of Architects and Licensed Technologists find their way,” she explains. “The OAA can be a hub to support and connect our members in this.” 

McKendrick succeeds the OAA’s 2025 Council President, Ted Wilson. Joining her on the 2026 OAA Executive Committee are Senior Vice President & 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.