Newly minted BAAS grad Jessie Pan’s research into the use of trees in building simulation has come full circle in a little over a year.

It started in May of 2021 when she won the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award to study how better tree modelling could improve building designs. Flash forward 12 months and she will be presenting the fruits of her research, which include a framework for the creation of more dynamic tree models than typically used by designers, at the e-Sim conference in Ottawa on June 22.

“I am excited about the presentation,” says Pan, who received her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies degree on June 15. “It is a great honour to be presenting my first paper at my first conference.”

Titled Simulating the Impact of Deciduous Trees on Energy, Daylight and Visual Comfort: Impact Analysis and a Practical Framework for Implementation, the peer-reviewed paper that Pan will be presenting at eSim encompasses the research she undertook with Assistant Professor Alstan Jakubiec over the past year.

The current practice in building simulation, she notes, tends to use solid or simplified trees, disregarding their complex and fluctuating effects, especially when it comes deciduous varieties. 

“Deciduous trees are sophisticated due to tree phenology and leaf senescence that impact their foliage density and colour throughout the year,” Pan explains. “We created a framework for developing dynamic tree models that integrate temporal schedules of colour change, leaf drop and regrowth, as well as physical measurements of gap fractions.”

What she and Jakubiec discovered was that, “when compared to our detailed tree models,” there are “significant differences in lighting, heating and cooling loads when using simplified models…or no trees at all.”

More sophisticated tree modelling, in short, can quantifiably lead to better, more energy-efficient buildings.

The eSim Building Simulation Conference — organized by Carleton University, National Research Council Canada and Natural Resources Canada — is slated to be held at Carleton on June 22 and 23. The theme this year — the conference’s 12th — is Simulating Buildings for the New Normal, with a focus on “using building performance simulation to model and research indoor air quality and other strategies for mitigating risks related to transmission of infectious disease.”

Typically, some 200 delegates attend each conference, with more than 75 peer-reviewed papers presented. Pan is scheduled to present hers on the first day of the event.

In addition to receiving the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, Pan also won the 2021 Project StaSIO Summer Challenge, which was focused on the subjects of daylight and glare, for her graphics illustrating her findings.

She created the graphics using Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Excel, Grasshopper/Rhino and Python. The tools used in the simulation analysis were ClimateStudio, Radiance and Python.

The entire project was “my first exposure to academic research and I am very grateful for this experience with Professor Jakubiec,” Pan says. “This opportunity has jumpstarted my research interest, skillset and background, and I look forward to applying it all during my future graduate studies.”

Banner image: BAAS student Jessie Pan poses for a portrait after receiving an Academic Merit Award during the Daniels Faculty’s Graduation and Awards Celebration at 1 Spadina Crescent on June 14. (Photo by Sara Elhawash)

Assistant professor Bomani Khemet is the 2022 beneficiary of the Mayflower Research Fund, the research endowment established four years ago at the Daniels Faculty. 

An expert in building science and HVAC systems, Khemet will direct his grant, totalling $10,000, into his research on improving fresh-air circulation in multi-unit buildings, an issue that has taken on extra resonance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Khemet’s specific area of focus is the feasibility in Canada of skip-stop and single-loaded corridors, designs that give building occupants greater control over indoor air quality. 

“As a new faculty member, this financial assistance helps me jumpstart my research exploration into how building air movement in the form of natural ventilation can impact various aspects of occupant comfort and building operations,” he says. 

“The first step of the research is to (1) create a comprehensive design catalogue of existing buildings using single-loaded and skip-stop treatments, and (2) understand the design barriers, financial barriers and regulatory barriers to implementing these design strategies in a Canadian context.” 

The Mayflower Research Fund was established by a generous donor in 2018 to encourage and stimulate research in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design, and allows for collaboration with other areas of the University when deemed appropriate. Since then, $10,000 has been given annually to three assistant professors in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design: Fadi Masoud, Maria Yablonina and Alstan Jakubiec. Any faculty member with a full-time appointment at Daniels is eligible to apply.  

Khemet, who began teaching building science at Daniels in 2018, became a permanent member of the school as a tenured assistant professor in 2021. In addition to teaching building science and HVAC courses to undergraduate and graduate architecture students, he has conducted a number of groundbreaking studies during his time at the Faculty, including a large-scale analysis of airtightness in Canadian single-detached homes (his data was culled from a Natural Resources Canada survey of over 900,000 properties) and another on the airtightness of the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent itself. 

Khemet’s newly funded research into skip-stop and single-loaded corridors — a response to the fact that most of Canada’s mid- and high-rise residential buildings “use double-loaded corridor floor plans [that] prevent effective natural ventilation” — is in keeping with his interests in air quality, building performance and resilient design.  

The corridor designs he aims to catalogue and promote have also been cited as effective ways of combating the transmission of airborne viruses such as SARS and COVID-19.  

“Skip-stop and single-loaded designs are highly recommended as best practice for multi-unit residential buildings primarily due to the placement of operable windows on opposing facades,” Khemet said in his funding proposal. “Unfortunately, there is precious little information on the implementation of skip-stop and single-loaded corridors in multi-unit housing for Canadian climates.” 

Khemet’s research, which will be conducted with co-investigator Marianne Touchie, an assistant professor at U of T of civil engineering and of mechanical and industrial engineering, aims to remedy that. 

U of T's Marianne Touchie

In addition to creating a record of Canadian buildings that utilize skip-stop and single-loaded corridor designs and to cataloging any barriers to their incorporation, the research team aims to disseminate its findings through a variety of media, including public lectures, trade publications and academic journals.  

Two research assistants — Master of Architecture students — will be engaged to work on the project, in Fall 2022 and Fall 2023 respectively.  

Khemet and Touchie plan to have the research completed by 2024. 

Banner image: Assistant professor Bomani Khemet, who joined the Daniels Faculty in 2018, will apply his Mayflower Research Fund grant to researching how certain corridor designs might improve air circulation and quality in Canadian multi-unit buildings.

Acclaimed architect Douglas Cardinal, who served as the Daniels Faculty’s Frank O. Gehry Chair in 2020/21, has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Toronto. 

Known for his longtime commitment to sustainable design and for such landmark buildings as the Canadian Museum of History, the 88-year-old received his degree during the spring Convocation ceremony for Daniels Faculty students. 

“I feel so honoured to be here,” Cardinal told the assembly in Convocation Hall on the morning of June 15, adding that he was also representing the Elders “who have taught me to live in harmony with the land and with each other.” 

Born in Calgary to a father of Blackfoot heritage and a German/Métis mother, Cardinal is one of the world’s most prominent Indigenous architects, although he didn’t fully embrace his Indigenous heritage until he was a young man and has eschewed describing his work simply as “Indigenous architecture.” 

“I never thought of expressing myself as an Indigenous architect,” Cardinal once told CBC Radio. “I thought of expressing myself as an organic architect that emphasized the beauty and vitality and richness of nature.” 

In addition to the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Cardinal’s body of work includes a number of iconic structures, from St. Mary’s Church in Red Deer, Alberta (designed very early in his career, it was featured on a Canada Post stamp in 2007) to the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. (completed between 1993 and 1998). 

In 2020/21, he served as the Frank O. Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design, an endowed chair that brings an internationally recognized architect to the Daniels Faculty each year. This spring, Cardinal returned to Daniels to serve as a reviewer and advisor during final thesis presentations. 

Over his long career, Cardinal has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Governor General’s Award for Visual and Media Arts, a Gold Medal from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and a National Aboriginal Achievement Award. 

In 2018, he led a team of Indigenous architects and designers who represented Canada at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and he continues to design residential, institutional and industrial buildings. 

Cardinal has also been an influential voice for the dignity of Indigenous Peoples. 

With files from a U of T News story by Scott Anderson

Banner image: Honorary degree recipient Douglas Cardinal addresses the Daniels Faculty’s Class of 2022 at Convocation Hall on June 15. (Photo by Harry Choi)

Watch Douglas Cardinal's speech at Convocation Hall:

How do you transform a standard shopping-plaza parking lot into a thriving community space that people actually want to be in?  

In late spring, students enrolled in the Design Build Studio architecture course called Corner Commons pondered just that, designing and then building two shade pavilions and a stage canopy in an area outside Toronto’s Jane Finch Mall. 

Architect, urban designer and Daniels Faculty alumnus Clint Langevin co-led the course alongside Amy Norris, an architect at Diamond Schmitt Architects, as a social-purpose exercise with the Jane Finch Community and Family Centre. The result was Corner Commons, a temporary informal gathering space that transformed a portion of the Jane Finch Mall into a multifaceted public resource that the community will be using all summer long. 

Among the interventions that the students made on the site were a new focal point for visitors, a substantial shaded area where residents could gather and relax, and a flexible space for performances and other community-led programming.   

“These studios are an incredible learning experience for everyone involved,” says Langevin, an architect at Perkins&Will. “For the students, it is often the first time they encounter the real challenges and rewards of designing a built project for an actual client, who they meet, present to and receive honest feedback from.” 

“For us,” adds Norris, “it is hugely energizing to jump into this wild sea of ideas and perform the balancing act of guiding the group toward something that is achievable within our timeframe and budget but retains their design aspirations for the project. The design week alone is super satisfying, but the real magic is the week of turning the lines on paper into an occupiable public space with our own hands.  

“There are too many personal and professional lessons learned to list, but watching the development of everyone’s skills, knowledge and confidence over that week and ultimately their pride in building a unique public space for the community is hugely rewarding.” 

With the Mall’s support, the Jane Finch Community and Family Centre will be hosting a wide range of activities and events in the space this summer, with local artists, resident leaders, grassroots groups and various community organizations from the neighbourhood participating.  

The Corner Commons project was awarded a 2022 National Urban Design Award of Excellence by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), which called it the product of “an exceptional community-driven process.” 

“It is clear,” one jury member wrote, “that the community came together under the banner of this initiative. Because of this ownership in process and purpose, the result is a space for the community and by the community. With enough infrastructure to sponsor a wide diversity of programming, from community gardens to performance spaces to spaces for protestation, it is truly the hallmark of authentic public space.” 
 
Additional studio and site support was provided by Jonathan Wong and Perkins&Will staff. To learn more about the course, visit this web page.  

Photos by Urban Designer, Eunice Wong of Perkins&Will.

They may be leaving the Daniels Faculty, but the Daniels Faculty isn’t likely to ever leave them. In addition to gaining foundations in their respective disciplines, the school’s most recent or near-future alums did so under some of the toughest circumstances of recent times, making their accomplishments all the more impressive. In the second instalment of a two-part series, three departing Daniels Faculty students paused on the eve of this month’s Convocation ceremonies to share their experiences of the last few years, what comes next for them, and how current students can both cope and thrive in their footsteps. 

Alexandra Farkas

Farkas, who currently works as a Forest Ecologist for the Town of Oakville in Ontario, completed the Master of Forest Conservation program last December, and will be picking up her diploma at this month’s Convocation ceremony. “Due to COVID-19, I was only able to spend my first semester and a few months of my second semester on campus. That was from September 2019 to February 2020,” she recalls. “But even though things were cut short and we quickly had to transfer to a virtual experience, I was still able to create friendships and connections within my program that will continue long after graduation.” 

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty? 

The MFC program came with a lot of hands-on experiences, and having to spend weeks at a time in places like Haliburton and Mattawa created an amazing environment to have meaningful experiences together. I still speak with many of my cohort on a daily basis, whether in a professional or personal capacity. I’m happy that, despite going virtual in early 2020, the foundation for making great friendships had already been set. 

Did you have a favourite project? 

A critical component of the MFC program is the capstone project that was the summation of my years’ work in 2020. Undertaken in partnership with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), we explored utilizing computer software to model the ecosystem services green infrastructure provides on a watershed scale, including an assessment of the inequitable distribution of green infrastructure in urban areas. 

Any tips for current students? 

My only tip for anyone, in or out of school, is to always take time for yourself. Post-secondary education can be stressful, so taking the time to set school or work aside and engage in something I genuinely loved without interruption was what saved me throughout my graduate experience. 

Stefan Herda 

Although Herda just completed the Master of Landscape Architecture program, presenting an impressive wall-mounted thesis project — Seven Generations of Pickering Nuclear — that wrapped around most of an exhibition room, he won’t be leaving the Faculty quite yet. “I am looking forward to being at Daniels all summer and into the early fall,” he says, “working with [the Indigenous design program] Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag.” He also aims, he adds, to spend more time with his baby daughter Audrey, and is “extremely excited to start my professional journey” with Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) later in the year. 

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty? 

My favourite memory was coming full circle with the first-year Field Studies course. It was exciting and overwhelming to learn so much within a short timeframe in Year 1 back in 2019. After the successful conclusion to my thesis, it was a treat to be able to relax a bit and get outside and experience unique landscapes with the first-year students as the Field Studies TA. 

Did you have a favourite project? 

My favourite was my thesis project, Seven Generations of Pickering Nuclear. It was by far the most challenging and allowed me to embrace everything I was most passionate about, which is the transformative power of trees and plants while finding new uses for outdated infrastructure. I am also grateful that I was able to present and produce a project experienced in person after two years of Zoom life. 

Any tips for current students? 

Given your course load, and the range of topics and projects you have a chance to work on, there isn’t enough time to sweat all the details. I am no stranger to having a perfectionist mindset, and although it can lead to success, it can come at a cost. Maintaining a hobby and cultivating interests outside of academics helped me find a healthier balance between work and life even if I still was putting in long hours. 

Maya Freeman

Freeman graduated last fall with an Honours B.A. in Architecture and a Specialist in the Design Stream at the Daniels Faculty. Most of her time as a Daniels student was spent remotely, which made one of her final pre-pandemic assignments at the school especially significant. 

Do you have a favourite project from your time at Daniels? 

One that comes to mind is A House for Two Inhabitants, done in Design Studio III with Petros Babasikas. Exhausted from spending hours on a screen for all my other courses, I decided in this case to do all the design work, both drawing and modelmaking, by hand. Ironically, this was during the fall 2019 semester, my last fully in-person semester before the pandemic. Little did I know how much time I would be spending in front of a screen in the near future. 

What did you gain from the experience? 

Designing by hand was an incredible learning experience for me. The process really makes you consider every single detail more carefully. Drawing a single line on a piece of paper with a pencil holds an entirely different weight than drawing one on a screen with your mouse. The position of every wall is a critical gesture that cannot just be deleted with one click, but must physically be erased. 

Any tips for current students? 

Stop designing a week before your final review. Focus on representation, test printing and your presentation. It makes all the difference. Design can continue forever, and you must know when to stop. Working on your presentation and convincing reviewers of all your hard work is critically important. It's as simple as that. 

They may be leaving the Daniels Faculty, but the Daniels Faculty isn’t likely to ever leave them. In addition to gaining foundations in their respective disciplines, the school’s most recent or near-future alums did so under some of the toughest circumstances of recent times, making their accomplishments all the more impressive. In the first instalment of a two-part series, three departing Daniels Faculty students paused on the eve of this month’s Convocation ceremonies to share their experiences of the last few years, what comes next for them, and how current students can both cope and thrive in their footsteps. 

Robert Raynor 

One of soon-to-be MARC grad Raynor’s just-presented theses (he actually completed two) reimagines a sprawling suburban community currently being built on former farmland east of Toronto as a potential model of carbon-neutral living. A big part of his focus is construction practices, which he developed a personal affinity for — much to his surprise — in the woodworking shop at 1 Spadina. Raynor is currently doing life-cycle carbon analysis for a design-build firm.

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty?  

My strongest memory of Daniels is undoubtedly the time I spent with my lovely colleagues in the woodworking shop. I first set foot inside it having only held a screwdriver a handful of times, let alone a hammer or any power tools. I never would have learned how to comfortably work with my hands had I not had the chances to try.  

What community-based or international experience did you acquire? 

Outside of school I’ve worked with Toronto Tiny Shelters, a group of volunteer carpenters who build small, insulated shelters for unhoused people living in Toronto parks in the winter. I became educated in the downsides of the homeless shelter system in Toronto, met dozens of wonderful people living in encampments, and have a deeper drive as a designer and maker to contribute to a world where everyone has a safe place to call home.  

What are some of your future plans?  

This summer I’ll be doing life-cycle carbon analysis at the firm I'm interning with, and I’ll also be collaborating on the Canadian pavilion for the 2023 Venice Biennale. I don’t have a single job goal in mind; I’d like to pursue my architectural passions — sustainable design and suitable housing — however is most impactful.  

Any tips for current students? 

Just try to grow as a human. Learn what ideas move you, be aware of what little moments actually motivate you, and compare yourself to nobody but your past self. Also, stay hydrated. 

Samantha Arpas 

Arpas graduated in November with an Honours BAAS (Comprehensive Stream) and a certificate in the sustainability of the built environment. In her third year, she took the opportunity to study at the University of Amsterdam for one semester, calling the experience one of the most “important” of her personal and educational development. Indeed, Arpas composed the answers to this q&a in the Netherlands, where she is “touring schools for next year. I hope to attend grad school somewhere in Europe for Landscape Architecture or Sustainable Innovation.” 

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty? 

There are too many good memories to just pick one, but my favourites at the Daniels Faculty are a draw between hanging out between classes with friends at Cafe O59 and stepping into another world through the [2019] New Circadia exhibit in the then-new Architecture and Design Gallery at 1 Spadina. 

Did you have a favourite project? 

My favourite was one I did for ARC386 Landscape Ecology with Professor Fadi Massoud. We were told to pick one of the cities on a list and then analyze a specific narrative of the land in its past and present to be able to envision what it would look like in the future. I had picked Ushuaia in Argentina and focused on the topic of Terrain. I truly have to say that this project changed my perspective on what I wanted to do in my life. I became very interested in geology, changes in topography over time and hydrology as a result. 

Any tips for current students? 

My biggest tip is to step outside of your comfort zone and to say yes to any opportunities that may come to you, whether they be academic or extracurricular, and even if they don’t seem to relate directly to architecture, landscape or design. From my experience, opportunities that I thought would have no relation to my studies all ended up being extremely related to architecture and design. Furthermore, experiences like these diversify your portfolio and give you an eclectic edge, especially when applying to internships, jobs and grad school. 

Maha Abbas 

Visual Studies grad Abbas earned her specialist degree last fall, but still recalls the numerous late hours she logged in its pursuit. “In first year, during our first ever studio pinup, I remember running to Daniels at, like, 3 a.m. to print something,” she remembers. “It was the first of many nights that I spent in that building.” In spite of frequent all-nighters, however, she plans on returning for graduate studies, with an eye on pursuing work in heritage and preservation. 

Do you have a favourite project from your time at Daniels? 

My favourite project was honestly something I worked on recently for my Visual Studies thesis class. I basically made a video game — more specifically a chess game — which used the idea of play to visualize the socio‐political narratives in South Asia. The video game was a way to address war and conquest strategies by breaking them down to a series of planned and articulated moves. 

Were you involved with any clubs or organizations at Daniels? 

I wasn’t involved in any clubs or organizations at Daniels, but, looking back now, I wish that I had joined some and that I was a little more active within the Daniels community. I guess that’s what my advice would be for future or current students: Join the clubs! Be more present at Daniels! It’ll make your struggles at school a lot easier! 

Any other tips for students? 

Do not stay up past 3 a.m.! If you haven’t figured it out by then, you aren’t going to figure it out after that, so call it a night and address the issue in the morning. Also, one bad studio pinup isn’t the end of it all: Design is very subjective and there is always room for improvement, but cut yourself some slack and be proud of your work. 

The Daniels Faculty’s summer outreach programs for kids, youths and young adults are back, offering introductions to the design process to participants of all ages. 

Starting on June 27, the popular Daniels Minecraft Program, which uses the participant’s love of the now-classic video game to explore the fundamentals of design and architecture while building teamwork and communication skills, is now open to registrants aged eight to 14.  

Three levels will be offered this year: Level 1 (which tackles the Foundations of Architecture), Level 2 (which explores Cityscapes) and Level 3 (all about World Building and Game Design).  

The Minecraft camp will be offered in one-week full-day sessions or two-week half-day sessions. Each will feature live instruction as well as team and individual work, with mentors monitoring and supporting students during their team and solo activities.  

Also starting on June 27, the Daniels Design Discovery program kicks off with both online and in-person versions. 

The online camp, designed for any late-high-school and undergraduate students who are interested in architecture either personally or as a potential career, provides a comprehensive introduction to the field, giving participants the opportunity to experience different ways of seeing, thinking and making through the lens of design.  

The program encompasses four courses that can be taken individually or in bundled form, with the overall aim being the development of skills in a broad range of design tools and techniques.  

Course activities include lectures by practicing architects and faculty, virtual field trips to local buildings and professional offices, one-on-one instruction and feedback, and training in representation, model-building and related skills.  

The in-person Daniels Design Discovery program, meanwhile, provides an unparalleled opportunity to experience the intensive studio culture that characterizes most architecture programs, allowing participants to build up a collection of drawings and models that will complement an admissions portfolio.  

Students will be able to use the design facilities at the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent. The in-person program will consist of a pair of two-week courses. 

Both the online and the in-person programs are open to registrants aged 15 to 18-plus, although this range is a guide. A certain level of maturity will be expected among all participants.  

For complete details regarding registration, dates, fees, course curricula and more, contact program manager Nene Brode at nene.brode@daniels.utoronto.ca or visit the individual program pages on the Daniels Faculty website. 

In a fitting tribute coinciding with Asian Heritage Month, Architecture Professor Brigitte Shim has been recognized by the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs (ACCE) with its 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award. 

A not-for-profit organization, the ACCE was incorporated in 1994 to encourage Chinese Canadian entrepreneurship and to enhance the global competitiveness of Chinese Canadian business. It established its Lifetime Achievement Award, among other honours, to recognize outstanding citizens who have made significant contributions to Chinese Canadian business as well to local communities. 

“Receiving this lifetime achievement award from the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs is truly an honour,” Prof. Shim says. “The previous recipients, including architect Bing Thom, former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and [businessman and philanthropist] Raymond Chang, have been an enormous source of inspiration to me personally.” 

Born in the Jamaican capital, Kingston, to Hakka emigrants from southern China, Prof. Shim started teaching at the Daniels Faculty in 1988, overseeing core design studios, advanced design studios, thesis studios and courses in the history and theory of landscape architecture.  

In 1994, she and her partner, A. Howard Sutcliffe, founded the architectural design practice Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, which has won 16 Governor General’s Medals and Awards for architecture as well as an American Institute of Architects National Honor Award. Among the firm’s projects are the widely esteemed Integral House in Toronto and the soon-to-open Ace Hotel Toronto in the city’s Entertainment District.  

In 2013, the pair were made members of the Order of Canada. Eight years later, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada awarded them its 2021 Gold Medal, the country’s highest architectural honour. 

Prof. Shim is the 16th recipient of the ACCE Lifetime Achievement Award, which this year was sponsored by RBC. The Association presented its 2022 program in association with the Centre of Entrepreneurship at Centennial College, Ming Pao Daily News, PwC Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.  

Daniels Faculty members past and present are among the recipients of this year’s Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) Awards.  

Announced in April, the 2022 recipients were honoured during a May 12 ceremony for invited guests at the Toronto Event Centre. Called a “Celebration of Excellence” by the OAA, it was also streamed live on the organization’s YouTube channel. 

A double winner this year is Kohn Shnier Architects, the practice co-founded by Associate Architecture Professor John Shnier, which has been awarded two Design Excellence Awards for a pair of Toronto projects: a striking residential design known as Tile House in the city’s midtown area and the revitalization of University College, undertaken with E.R.A. Architects, at U of T. 

Located in midtown Toronto, Tile House by Kohn Shnier Architects has been recognized with a 2022 Design Excellence Award by the Ontario Association of Architects. “The exaggerated shadows and minimal material palette of the clay tile,” said the OAA in its citation, “ensure this house is distinct without being abstentious or trendy.” (Photo by Michael van Leur)

“Every effort was made to approach the existing fabric deftly,” said the OAA of the UC project, “to ensure the requirements for access and program modernization did not overwhelm or compromise the qualities of the building the community holds so dear.” 

“Every new element,” it added, “was carefully considered in its relationship to the historic fabric, but also in how it could service the requirements of contemporary education, both now and [in] the future.” 

Also representing the Daniels Faculty on this year’s awards roster is Adjunct Lecturer Diarmuid Nash, winner of a Service Award for Lifetime Design Achievement.  

A partner at Moriyama and Teshima Architects since 1998, Adjunct Lecturer Diarmuid Nash is the recipient of this year’s OAA Award for Lifetime Design Achievement.

A partner at Moriyama & Teshima Architects since 1998, Nash was described by the OAA “as an architect with a career-long commitment to the promotion and achievement of architectural design excellence.” 

Nash is a pillar of the architectural community in Ontario and Canada. In addition to instructing future architects on matters of professional practice for more than two decades at the Faculty, he has also served as president of both the OAA and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. 

Finally, the OAA has also posthumously added Eberhard Zeidler to its Honour Roll, which recognizes prominent deceased members of the architectural profession. The late architect, who passed away at the age of 95 in January, designed such iconic Canadian structures as the Eaton Centre and Ontario Place in Toronto and Canada Place for Expo 86 in Vancouver. 

The late Eberhard Zeidler, who had a long professional and philanthropic relationship with the Daniels Faculty, was added posthumously to the OAA’s Honour Roll. (Photo courtesy of Zeidler Architecture)

After serving as a visiting lecturer and critic, Zeidler was an adjunct professor at the Faculty from 1983 to 1995. Starting in 1999, when the Eberhard Zeidler Scholarship was established, he and his wife Jane also became long-standing benefactors of the school, their generosity culminating in the 37,000-volume Eberhard Zeidler Library in the revitalized Daniels Building at One Spadina Crescent. 

Banner image: Kohn Shnier Architects’ University College Revitalization, undertaken in association with E.R.A. Architects, is one of two projects by the firm of Associate Architecture Professor John Shnier to garner a 2022 Design Excellence Award from the OAA. (Photo by doublespace photography)

This Thesis Booklet showcases final thesis projects produced by Master of Architecture (MARC), Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) and Master of Urban Design (MUD) students at the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. Thesis booklets are a Daniels Faculty tradition, printed and distributed to graduate thesis students, as well as thesis advisors, external reviewers and guests.

The booklet contains images and brief statements by students who are presenting thesis projects this winter semester, at the culmination of their studies. Feel free to flip through the booklet below, or download a PDF.