On November 22 2012, the first annual City of Oshawa Urban Design Awards presented Trent University Oshawa’s Thornton Road Campus with an Award of Excellence.

“Trent University Oshawa is an expression of good urban design,” reads the rationale for the award being granted to the architect (Barry Bryan Associates) with respect to the Thornton Road Campus. “An existing closed school was brought to life again as a new university campus. It is a positive contribution to the City of Oshawa and brings staff and students into the area to support growth. … Landscaping on the site creates a sense of place with river rock, various plants, trees, bike racks and an outdoor circular seating area. Native trees were planted along the west side to represent the five colleges at the Peterborough campus. The building is barrier-free and provides a creative solution to save existing infrastructure while providing new facilites to serve the City of Oshawa.”

The City of Oshawa established the Urban Design Awards Program to acknowledge the significant contribution that architects, landscape architects, urban designers, planners, developers, builders, renovators and other individuals make to the appearance, livability and quality of life in the City.