James Parakh

About

James Parakh is a Fellow of the CTBUH and is an award winning architect who is the urban design manager for Toronto & East York District of the City of Toronto's Planning Division.

James is globally respected as a leader in the field of Tall Building Urban Design through his role as Chair of the CTBUH Urban Habitat Assembly as well as for his professional work in the cities of Toronto and Ottawa, Canada. James has chaired the CTBUH UH/UD Assembly since 2014. In that role James has written several research papers on tall building urbanism as well as being a principal author of two CTBUH Books: The Space Between and the Space Within Tall Buildings. James has also spoken at several CTBUH Conferences since 2014 including being on the opening Keynote panels in 2018 (Dubai) 2021 (Chicago) and 2024 (London). James also participated in the CTBUH City Advocacy Forums in London, as well as the inaugural forum in Miami, both in 2024. Through his role as the UH Assembly Chair, James has also organized annual global walking tours, each of which follows a specific theme exploring urban different issues Images from the walks are posted on social media using the hashtag #CTBUHwalks. James was appointed to the CTBUH College of Fellows in 2020.

No other city in North America has experienced as much tall building construction as Toronto has over the last two decades. During this time, James has led the urban design studio that has helped guide the review of development in Downtown Toronto, Midtown Toronto and surrounding urban areas. A portfolio that includes well over 300 tall buildings ranging in height from 15 stories to over 105 storeys.

James is also Vice-Chair of the Urban Design Review Panel for Canada's Capital City of Ottawa and also serves on design panels for the National Capital Commission (N.C.C.). James is also frequently invited to participate on or chair international design juries for Tall Building Design for both the CTBUH as well as for WAN (World Architecture News) Awards.

Prior to joining the City, James was a lead designer with WZMH Architects, Toronto where he oversaw the designs for projects in Canada, China and the United Arab Emirates. Among the projects he was the lead designer of, included the ING Bank headquarters in Toronto, Parc Island in the Dubai Marina, U.A.E., Etisalat Headquarters in Sharjah and Fujairah, U.A.E, The Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Tower in Pudong, P.R.C., and the Infield Master Plan for Toronto Pearson International Airport.

James' main interests are in how Tall Buildings fit within their urban context including a greater understanding of the role of a tall building on a City Skyline as well as how Tall Building's meet the streetscape. James is also very much interested in quality of life issues and how tall buildings affect the quality of life of people that live or work within them. Issues such as how Tall Buildings affect the public realm and the spaces created in between Tall Buildings.

James is a member of the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) and holds a Bachelor of Technology in Architecture Degree from Toronto Metropolitan University, a Masters of Architecture Degree from the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture at the University of Houston, and a Master of Science in Urban Design Degree from Columbia University in New York.