Denegri Bessai Studio Architecture was established by partners Maria Denegri and Tom Bessai in 2008. Work from the office has won numerous design awards, and has appeared in a range of local and international publications. The partners have recently established DBS Fabrication, an on-site research and production lab which greatly enhances the computing and prototyping facilities of the practice, and supplements their teaching and research. Denegri and Bessai will present a series of recent projects at the Daniels Sessions lecture with an emphasis on iterative design methods and the accompanying artifacts, both digital and material, that are being produced in the studio.

Maria Denegri, BA, BArch, MArch, OAA, MRAIC, LEED AP

Maria Denegri holds a Master of Architecture from the UPC, Barcelona and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of British Columbia. Before co-founding Denegri Bessai Studio, she worked with diverse architectural practices in Vancouver, Barcelona, Los Angeles and Toronto. Maria teaches architectural design at the graduate and undergraduate level at the Daniels Faculty and at other local universities. She is currently Vice-Chair of the Toronto Society of Architects and an active mentor to many young architects. 

Tom Bessai, BA, BArch, MArch, OAA, MRAIC

Tom Bessai is a registered architect and an Assistant Professor at the Daniels Faculty. He holds an MArch from UCLA and is completing a MSc from the University of Michigan’s Taubman College with a specialization in Design and Material Systems.  His research and teaching explore computation and digital fabrication strategies for adaptive architecture. His essay, Ideal Models Vs. Hybrid Models will appear in the forthcoming publication, Paradigms in Computing: Making, Machines, and Models for Design Agency in Architecture, to correspond with the ACADIA 2014 conference, Los Angeles.

Daniels Sessions aims to explore new and alternative viewpoints on architectural practice and research. The series features speakers who present unconventional perspectives and work from both inside and outside of the discipline. Daniels Sessions aims to provoke thought and generate discussion in a less formal setting. Following the lecture, audience members are invited to continue the conversation with the speaker in the Graduate Student Lounge, located in the lower level of 230 College Street.