A change in leadership is taking place at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montreal, where the current chief curator, Giovanna Borasi, has been tapped to take over the institution as long-time director Mirko Zardini steps aside.

Zardini has led CCA for over 14 years and is responsible for the organization's enhanced international reputation, as well as its evolving approach to conveying architectural concepts and issues. Borsai, speaking with The Globe and Mail, said, "Our specialty is to take a broad societal issue, and bring it into a dialogue with architecture.”

After nearly 15 years of disruptive provocation, Mirko Zardini will step down as our Director this December. Today, we are thrilled to announce that Giovanna Borasi, Chief Curator since 2014, will take over the role in January 2020. pic.twitter.com/anJMjUo397
— CCA (@ccawire) September 11, 2019

CCA was founded in 1979 by influential architect and curator Phyllis Lambert and has rocked the boat ever since, producing a range of provocative exhibitions and events over the years. During this time, the organization's emphasis on archival work has also expanded, as have CCA's archival holdings themselves. CCA now hosts a collection of important works, including the archives of Pritzker Prize winning architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, Canadian landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, and architectural historian Kenneth Frampton, The Globe and Mail reports. 

Moving forward, Borsai seeks to maintain CCA's essential and provocative nature. She tells The Globe and Mail, "Maybe it’s because I come from a journalistic background, but I want CCA to be like The Guardian, [...] an independent voice, with a very specific point of view, which you can challenge or be skeptical, but you know that it will always be there to point you to things that are fundamental to look at.”