Building Place!—the Engage-Design-Build show designed to highlight the cultural identities and stories of the many ethnic groups that call Toronto’s Little Jamaica home—will end this Sunday (July 30) with an exhibition wrap party.

Located in a storefront gallery at 1476 Eglinton Avenue West, Building Place! opened on July 16. The exhibition features community-based artwork and urban furniture by students from York Memorial Collegiate Institute and the Daniels Faculty.

It was coordinated by faculty and students in the Master of Urban Design (MUD) program through Engage-Design-Build, a partnership between the Daniels Faculty and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) aimed at connecting city high schoolers with the community around them through hands-on design and building projects.

One of the main goals of the experiential-learning initiative, which is funded by U of T’s Access Program University Fund (APUF), is to open pathways for youth who are underrepresented in the design professions because of economic or racial barriers to careers in architecture, design and planning.

Engage-Design-Build, say its organizers, a group led by Assistant Professor Michael Piper and Sessional Lecturer Otto Ojo, “connects with multiple course streams, with the aim of creating collaborative cross-curricular projects at multiple scales.”

They do this, they add, by engaging with “multiple stakeholders to broker a dialogue between the school and the community, fostered through multiple field trips and youth participation in community events. This interchange informs and shapes the student projects.”

On Sunday, the wrap party will be held between 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., but the exhibition itself can be seen from noon to 6:00 p.m. Visitors can also take in Building Place! on Thursday (July 27) from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

For more information on Engage-Design-Build and its projects to date, click here.

The Daniels Faculty is pleased to announce that Assistant Professor Adrian Phiffer has been appointed Director of the Master of Architecture (MARC) program for a one-year term, effective July 1, 2023.  

He takes over from Assistant Professor Wei-Han Vivian Lee, who is beginning a one-year Research and Study Leave this summer and will resume her directorship of the MARC program in 2024.   

“I have been teaching at Daniels since 2009 and in many ways it has been like a second home for me,” says Phiffer, who is originally from Romania. “I am excited to continue the tremendous work Vivian Lee has grounded in the program and the open collaboration with our students, faculty, staff and school supporters.” 

Phiffer is director of the Office of Adrian Phiffer, whose work includes international building and master planning projects in Nurnberg, London, Delhi, Beijing, Prague, Riga and Montreal. He is also the author of the book Strange Primitivism and director of the short film Hero of Generic Architecture.

Phiffer looks forward to growing the interdisciplinary approach to the MARC program. “We live in a very creative time when new ways of thinking but also new relationships between different disciplines and agents are possible and necessary,” he says.

“Because of its proximities and overlaps with the landscape architecture, urban design, visual studies and forestry programs, as well as its direct partnerships with the First Nations of Southern Ontario, city communities and national and international groups, the architecture program at Daniels is strongly positioned to offer one of the most relevant professional education nowadays.”  

Photo by: Codrut Tolea

A film created as part of Daniels Faculty architecture grad Batoul Faour’s thesis project two years ago is currently on view in a group show at Ottawa’s SAW art centre.

Faour, who has also been working as a sessional instructor at the Faculty since January 2022, graduated from the post-professional Master of Architecture program in 2021. That same year, she was awarded the Avery Review Essay Prize for her treatise on how architectural glass exacerbated the damage from the August 2020 port explosion in Beirut, Lebanon.

Faour’s thesis project comprised both the prize-winning essay and a film that she screened during the final review. The film, titled Shafāfiyyāh, which means transparency in Arabic, is one of the works being presented at SAW in the group show Beirut: Eternal Recurrence.

Co-curated by Daniels Faculty sessional lecturer Amin Alsaden, the exhibition features the work of about a dozen international contemporary artists, its title taken from a text by theorist-artist Jalal Toufic on the philosophical notion of “eternal recurrence.” The show proposes that time and events repeat themselves in an infinite loop—a concept especially resonant in the long-suffering Lebanese capital.

“The participating artists do not necessarily pass judgment about Beirut, its repetitions or how coming to terms with the cyclicality of certain phenomena could perhaps create a new consciousness that might begin to change the course of history,” the exhibition’s curators note. “But to observe their replications is to recognize parallels between a past and a future entangled in a difficult present.”

In her thesis project, Faour examines how both the narrative and material lifecycles of glass are entangled in Beirut’s history and politics.

In her essay and her film, she notes how, after the 2020 explosion, “Beirut’s windows and streets have become palimpsests of broken glass, telling of generational cycles of sectarian violence in a country still ruled by the same warlords who tore the city apart decades ago, erased their traces, and disguised this history in a dysfunctional present normality.”

In addition to disseminating her research among a wider audience, the exhibition, Faour says, is a great example for current students of alumni pursuing “alternative trajectories beyond commercial practice.”

Beirut: Eternal Recurrence, which opened on July 15, runs until September 23. SAW is located at 67 Nicholas Street just north of the University of Ottawa.

Top image of hand organizing pieces of glass: still from film by Batoul Faour. (Below) Exhibition images by Ava Margueritte.

All first-year undergraduate students are invited to participate in Critical Perspectives (Ways of Looking), a co-curricular opportunity that aims to strengthen the Daniels Faculty student community and foster critical thinking.

Through shared materials, media and workshops, incoming students will address a range of pressing issues, such as the climate crisis, racial and spatial justice, Indigenous allyship, land stewardship and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

“Critical Perspectives is an open resource and a greeting to our new students,” says assistant professor Petros Babasikas, director of the Honours Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies (BAAS) program. “It creates a common starting point to their liberal arts education while uncovering different ways of looking at the world and fostering shared understanding.”

In addition to a reading list, video interviews with faculty and staff and a future film series, the program includes an upcoming Writing Workshop from August 14 to 25. The two-week workshop offers incoming students practical tools and exercises to become better writers, and to explore the joy of writing. Students should indicate their interest in the in-person or online workshop by completing the participation form before July 15, 2023.

Visit the Critical Perspectives page to learn more and register for the Writing Workshop.

The Daniels Faculty’s Jason Nguyen has co-edited a special Journal of Architecture issue centred on the theme of “un-making architecture.”

The special issue, which he co-edited with Elizabeth J. Petcu of the Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh, “surveys the concept of ‘un-making’ as an overarching facet of architectural thinking and production that has yet to be considered at a synoptic scale.”

The co-editors define un-making in this context as “the actions that result in the dismantling of architectural forms, modes of thought and means of production.” 

A historical study of these operations, they hope, “might generate necessary theoretical frameworks to conceptualize transformations in architecture amid today’s unprecedented socio-political and environmental challenges.”

The aim of the special issue, which was released in June, is twofold, Nguyen and Petcu write in their introduction. “First, it brings into dialogue topics from across different periods and geographies that explore varied yet related notions of un-making.” Second, “it introduces a range of theoretical approaches to analyze architectural disassembly that might further conversations and actions to reimagine the discourses, institutions and practices in the field today.”

Among the scholars who have contributed articles to the issue are Victoria Adonna of McGill University, Matthew Mullane of Radboud University, Eliyahu Keller of the Negev School of Architecture, Ana María León of Harvard University and Delia Duong Ba Wendel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

To access the issue—Volume 28, Number 2 of The Journal of Architecture—click here.

Homepage and banner image, courtesy of AFP/Getty Images, offers a view of Dresden Frauenkirche (1726-1743, rebuilt 1994-2005) in 1952. The church was destroyed during World War II. 

As National Indigenous History Month 2023 comes to a close, the Daniels Faculty is proud to announce an initiative that also looks to the future: the establishment of the Nelda Rodger Indigenous Student Award in Architecture and Design, an endowed award intended to support the recruitment of First Nations, Métis and Inuit students interested in those fields.  

Historically, Indigenous groups have been underrepresented in architectural education and consequently in the profession and practice of architecture. Of the more than 7,000 registered architects in Canada last year, only about 20 were First Nations or Métis, according to a 2022 report in The Globe and Mail.  

“The Faculty is thrilled to introduce this award as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance Indigenous representation both at the Daniels Faculty and in the design professions,” says Dean Juan Du. “As co-founder of Azure Media and editor-in-chief of Azure magazine, Nelda Rodger was a long-time advocate for contemporary architecture and design and for inclusivity and community in the design professions. We are grateful to her husband and partner, Azure Media CEO Sergio Sgaramella, for endowing this award in her honour.” 

Based in Toronto, Rodger (pictured below) served as editor-in-chief of Azure, the internationally respected architecture and design publication, for nearly three decades, from 1985 (the year that she and Sgaramella co-founded it) to 2013. In addition to spearheading the magazine, she was instrumental in launching the annual AZ Awards, which recognize worldwide excellence in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, product design and other related disciplines. Rodger passed away after a long illness in January of this year. 

“Nelda and I both wanted to establish a way of helping young Indigenous students access higher education, something to which we understood many face barriers,” Sgaramella says. “In collaboration with the Daniels Faculty, we have established this bursary to recognize and assist qualifying Indigenous students pursuing degrees in architecture—the first initiative of this kind at U of T.” 

Preference for the new award will be given to full-time undergraduate students in the Faculty’s Architectural Studies program, although graduate students in the Master of Architecture program will also be considered. 

The award is a renewable one, meaning that recipients continue to receive it in subsequent years of enrolment, providing that they continue to demonstrate financial need. 

Amos Key Jr., one of the three members of the Daniels Faculty’s First Peoples Leadership Advisory Group, welcomed the award, noting the importance of now spreading the word about it among Indigenous high schoolers in Ontario and the rest of Canada. 

“I don’t think [a career in architecture] is necessarily on their radar,” elaborates Key, a member of the Mohawk Nation and a leading figure in the ongoing language revitalization movement among First Nations people in Canada. “This is a good start.” 

Contributions to the Nelda Rodger Indigenous Student Award in Architecture and Design, to be granted for the first time in 2024, may be made by clicking here. For more details, contact Stacey Charles at 416-978-4340 or stacey.charles@daniels.utoronto.ca.  

Resolutions for the Antarctic: International Stations & the Antarctic Data Space, the multi-media exhibition on view in the Faculty’s Architecture and Design Gallery since March, has been reviewed by The Globe and Mail.

The newspaper’s architecture critic, Alex Bozikovic, calls the show, which includes a film, an open-access digital database and a timeline chronicling exploration and design on the remote southern continent, an “intriguing” one that “asks probing questions about climate change, science and global diplomacy.”

Curated by Italian architect Giulia Foscari and her non-profit research agency UNLESS, Resolutions for the Antarctic “opens up several major issues in architecture and spatial design,” Bozikovic notes, citing, among others, the creation of architecture “under the most extreme pressure” and the disassembly of buildings without leaving “ruins or waste.”

The exhibition, which runs until July 21, assembles the interdisciplinary research and design work of some 200 architects, landscape architects, artists and scientists, including Dean Juan Du, who ran the Polar Lab at the University of Hong Kong.

Located on the lower level of the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent, the Faculty’s Architecture and Design Gallery is free and open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, closed on weekends.

To read the Globe and Mail review, click here.

Banner and homepage photo by Harry Choi

Between analog and digital, home workshops and design-build studios, Zachary Mollica has been using trees in all aspects of his teaching and research since joining the Daniels Faculty last year as an Emerging Architect Fellow. 

An architect, maker and educator, Mollica had previously been Warden of the Architectural Association’s woodland campus in England and founding director of the AA Wood Lab before returning home to Canada in 2022.

The two-year Emerging Architect Fellowship Award, a non-tenure appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor, was established by the Daniels Faculty to offer early-career architects an opportunity to teach in a supportive environment as well as the resources to develop focused research. 

Now entering the second year of his Fellowship, Mollica reflected recently on his first 12 months at U of T and shared what’s coming up. 

What area of research did you explore during the first year of your Emerging Architect Fellowship? 

My work this past year has been primarily concerned with trees (of all sorts), wood and building. These three have admittedly been my key focus areas for years now, but in returning home to Toronto for the inaugural Emerging Architect Fellowship at Daniels, I have taken the opportunity to study and begin to work with wood and tree pieces specifically found around the city. This has included both receiving big bits of trees from arborists and finding lots of interesting wooden furniture in need of repair or deconstruction near our school.  

I’ve also been working on a few large-scale maps and diagrams of the relations between Toronto’s trees, streets and history of landscape change. Throughout these kinds of works, I apply 3D scanning and other tools of close observation to work in reaction to specific rather than generic materials with minimal energy. 

The fellowships also involve teaching both undergraduate and graduate students. What courses did you teach and what has the experience been like? 

I had two courses in the first year. Last July, I had the opportunity to lead a two-week design-build studio in Wellington, Ontario. Joined by a crew of 12 motivated undergraduate students and a teaching assistant, Zakir Hamza, we had two weeks to sketch out, detail and construct a new gatehouse for a community-run beach. The result was a fantastic bright little yellow hut (pictured below) that unfolds to provide protection from sun and wind.  

Through the fall and winter, I then headed up the Using Trees in the City Master of Architecture research studio (@usingtrees), a third-year course that supports the development of students’ individual thesis projects over two terms.

In term one, students were led through a fast-paced series of hands-on projects during which their thesis topics emerged. Through term two, the students and I worked collaboratively on their main project, seeking out expert guidance from individuals within our diverse faculty and beyond. I was blown away by the results students achieved in our first year (shown in the slideshow below) and am looking forward to round two with a new group next year. 

Here’s what we did in short: 

• [Student] Chunying deconstructed and remade IKEA furniture to understand/expose its processes. 
• Jiashu engaged the characteristics of birch bark and traditions to propose a new cladding. 
• Jin exposed the qualities of old wood through a series of artifacts made from salvage. 
• Lulu exploited wood’s elastic properties to make temporary shelters with minimal material. 
• Pablo prototyped a tree-climbing machine to take photogrammetry scans in tree crowns. 
• Sam designed uses for the parts of conifer trees neglected by the industry. 
• Tingxu crafted staircases designed to take advantage of non-linear wood grain. 
• Xiaoyu imagined new programs for deteriorating wood barns across Ontario. 
• Xuansong studied the circular materials to be found in common Toronto house types. 
• Yi observed and engaged broadly with processes of soil erosion in the Don Valley. 
• Yinuo worked to develop long-life applications for the lowest-quality paper and wood fibre. 

Your fellowship project will ultimately be exhibited and disseminated within and beyond Daniels. Any hints on what it might look like or involve? 

My way of working is both very analog and very digital. In drawing (illustrated below), I use up a tonne of graph paper as well as straining my eyes interrogating high-resolution 3D scans of forests on a screen. In making, I use hand tools from my grandfather as well as digital fabrication equipment.

My intention for the exhibition and publication that will come out of this fellowship is to demonstrate all these methods together—and the value I see in their combination—through a series of Toronto-centric studies of landscape, trees and wood building. During the fellowship, I have set up a rather lovely home workshop tailored exactly to my range of methods (and pictured in the banner image at the top of this page) that I also have schemes to try to share an experience of with visitors to the exhibition.  

What have been some of the highlights of your time at the Faculty to date? 

There has been plenty of good this year, but a few come to mind. 

• Wrapping up last summer's design-build project at 9:00 p.m. on a Friday night on the beach with headlights pointed at the build was the right kind of way to jump into this new role. 
• In joining Daniels, I now work with colleagues who are old friends made in Halifax, Vancouver, Germany and London. And that’s a treat. 
• Our first project for the Using Trees studio, Stoop, was a special one. It saw each student tasked to find disused wood furniture on the streets, to bring these back to school and then have some fun interrogating them. 
• Participating in conversations and evening events organized by our students in groups like the FLL and AVSSU. I have been beyond impressed to find our students leading the push for critical discussions on the future of building. 

What’s on the horizon for your second year? 

Year two is exciting. For teaching, I have a design-build this summer where we are going to bring some big bits of tree to examine and create with together in the Daniels workshops. Then in the fall, I have the fun of teaching both first-year undergraduates and a second run through the research studio sequence with a new group of third-year MARC students taking on their theses. 

For research, I want to make a particular push on finishing up and making available a set of teaching resources for unusual wood design projects I have been working on. A sort of reflection on the last 10 years’ worth of unusual wood projects I have participated in, and an attempt to make these valuable to others. 

As the 2022/2023 academic year closes, we asked 10 recent graduates to reflect on their time at the Daniels Faculty. From courses that changed the way they think about their field to the advice they’d share with new students and what the future holds, their responses were incisive and insightful. Take a look at what they had to say.

Angela Yue Gou (she/her)
Program: Master of Architecture   
Hometown: Lanzhou, China  
 
Were you involved with any clubs or organizations at Daniels?  

I have been involved with GALDSU for the past three years and am lucky to have had the chance to serve as president in my final year of studies. Being involved with the school community has been one of the most memorable and enriching experiences of my life.    

Did you have a favourite project and/or course?  

From designing the Mohawk Cultural Centre for ARC1012 (Design Studio II) led by Professor Adrian Phiffer to the House for Piranesi: Drawing as Thesis led by Professor John Shiner, these courses, profs and classmates that I have met have inspired and encouraged me to push my boundaries of how to think about design.   

What community-based or international experience did you acquire?  
 
I have been able to be part of the Little Jamaica Outreach program—an Engage Design Build Project in collaboration with Daniels and high school students from the Toronto District School Board—led by Professor Michael Piper and Otto Ojo.  

We worked with students through various design and construction workshops, tours and events with stakeholders in their local community to help foster design interest and help them create an end of year showcase. It was very inspiring to see the future generation engage with design and explore its career possibilities.   
 
Any tips for current or future students?
 
Be proactive and be open to new ideas, perspectives and information. Join clubs that you are interested in and be involved with the school community, as you will meet and learn from so many people through these activities. Don’t be afraid to reach out for support and support those around you as the journey is much more enjoyable taken with others. Most importantly, enjoy and have fun with your time at Daniels!   

Callum Gauthier (he/him) 
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies
History and Theory Specialist stream 
Hometown: Merrickville, Ontario  

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty?  

I loved working in the studio with friends and peers at crunch times throughout my degree. Though I was more often writing than working on models and drawings, it was great to be in a space that was so social and supportive—and where I could bug my friends in the Design stream for Photoshop help when I was making something visual. Our Faculty studies the importance of spaces and places, so it was great to experience a school culture so meaningfully tied to its spaces.  

Did you have a favourite project and/or course?  

Architecture and Media (ARC353), taught by Mary Lou Lobsinger, was an incredible course that offered challenging and enriching ways of thinking about architecture. I found the short writing assignments, in response to course readings, were very helpful in developing my writing: a skill that everyone in the disciplines of architecture and design—not just historians and critics—should constantly be working on.  

What are some of your future plans?  

I’ll be starting a master's degree in Critical, Curatorial and Conceptual Practices at Columbia University’s GSAPP in September. I’m very excited to continue my development as an architectural researcher, and maybe work in exhibition or publication during and after that degree. I think soon after that I may do a Ph.D. in Architectural History, but I’ll have to see where my research takes me.  

Any tips for current or future students?  

Don’t be afraid to explore different types of courses and broaden your horizons, especially in the early years of undergrad. Bachelor’s degrees are a great time to develop your critical thinking, communication and values; ideally, this should be as much, if not more, of a focus than developing specific skills for the professional world. Having a broad knowledge base and keen cultural awareness will make you a better designer, artist or architect in the long run, and better candidates for graduate programs. 

Nazanin Naserian (she/her)
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Visual Studies  
Hometown: Tehran, Iran; Toronto, Ontario 
 
Did you have a favourite project and/or course?  

My favourite classes were those that challenged me while also allowing me to experiment with new mediums and reimagine new ways of interpreting the world around me. Contemporary Printing (VIS209) in particular gave me a renewed appreciation for printmaking and how, in collaboration with textiles, it can be a way to link past and present experiences in a process-oriented and tactile way.  
 
What are some of your future plans?  

My future plans include finding a place in a community where I can work with others to realize a collective artistic vision. I can’t imagine a future where I’m not a creative and don’t get to witness others’ artistic processes. Daniels has taught me that, despite my introverted nature, I find great joy and fulfillment in working together with others to create something bigger than one individual could. 

Any tips for current or future students?  

Even though it’s easier said than done, try to enjoy the process as much as the final product/vision. Your process does not always have to consist of working on your individual project without breaks; it can also include connecting with others in their processes and any difficulties they may be experiencing. In other words, your friends and classmates are a part of your journey and growth as much as you are! 

Samantha Miotto (she/her)
Program: Master of Landscape Architecture 
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario 

Were you involved with any clubs or organizations at Daniels?  

I was part of the mentorship program during my first year and I highly recommend it. The program was a great way to get to know each other, upper-year classmates, and learn from their experiences.  

Did you have a favourite project and/or course?  

Design Studio II was a favourite for so many reasons. The theme focused on Indigenous culture and knowledge, and taught us to navigate the ever-present relationship between culture and landscape. The process involved a lot of unlearning and relearning to see the world through a non-Western lens, understanding reciprocal relationships between people and plants, and curating meaningful, purposeful material and plant palettes. I feel like this studio truly taught me to see the world through a different lens and its teachings resonate with me still to this day. 

What community-based or international experience did you acquire?  

In my third year at Daniels, I had the opportunity to travel to Vietnam through my Option Studio. It was a great way to learn about landscape practices around the world, especially regarding global issues such as coastal flooding and stormwater management. The studio was driven by community-based solutions and engagement with local residents while in Vietnam. I feel like the studio fostered community-led growth, which is crucial if we want to design landscapes that last for generations. 

Any tips for current or future students?  

Enjoy the experience and soak it all in! Three years will fly by—you will grow so much during this short but memorable chapter. Find people you enjoy collaborating with, and really lean into the sense of community that the studio culture fosters. Work together and build each other up and you will develop friendships that will last a lifetime. 

Anusha Prakash (she/her)  
Program: Master of Urban Design 
Hometown: Bengaluru, India 

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty?   

The MUD Program offered many exciting experiences as we had the opportunity to explore various locations, ranging from Toronto to as far as Yukon. Along the way, I formed strong connections with my cohort, and what started as mere teammates evolved into deep friendships. The collaborative nature of the program allowed us to learn from each other, and I truly appreciate the invaluable guidance provided by the Daniels faculty.  

What community-based or international experience did you acquire?  

I had the opportunity to engage in a community-based experience through volunteering at the Climate Solution Research Workshop at ChocoSol. This experience allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of Canadian climates and how garden roofs can contribute to sustainable solutions.  

What are some of your future plans?   

Urban Design has equipped me with a comprehensive knowledge base, enabling me to approach projects with a holistic perspective. I am keen on exploring an intricate relationship between architecture, urban development and the social fabric of communities. I aim to contribute to the creation of sustainable and inclusive urban environments that promote well-being and enhance the quality of life for residents.  

Whether it's through working in a design firm, collaborating with urban planning organizations, or pursuing research opportunities, I am eager to apply my skills and contribute to the field of urban design in a meaningful way. 

Any tips for current or future students?  

I would recommend prioritizing a good work-life balance by taking frequent breaks between assignments. Additionally, I recommend managing your time effectively by completing the majority of your design work a week before the deadline. Furthermore, don’t hesitate to explore various elective courses that align with your interests and broaden your skill set. Lastly, networking is crucial. Take advantage of opportunities to connect with professionals in your field and build meaningful relationships that can benefit your future career. 

Aileen Duncan (she/her) 
Program: Master of Forest Conservation
Specialization in Environmental Studies 
Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario 

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty?   

I really enjoyed the campus tree walks led by alumni and some of our teaching assistants. It was a fantastic way to learn about biodiversity without going very far. The St. George campus has a great variety of trees that represent several forest types in Canada.  

Did you have a favourite project and/or course?  

So hard to choose! I really enjoyed the field courses. The Masters of Forest Conservation program is very hands-on, and I think this is one of its great strengths. For our in-class activities, I really enjoyed learning how to use Geographic Information Systems (ArcGIS). Spatial data is incredibly valuable for forestry, and learning this software inspired me to do my Capstone research project on mapping access to green space in Ottawa. 

What are some of your future plans?   

I am currently working as a policy analyst with the Canadian Forest Service, which is part of Natural Resources Canada. In February, I was granted a provisional license to practice forestry as a Registered Professional Forester in Training. I am particularly interested in urban forestry and sustainable forest management, and I have also discovered how much I enjoy learning how best to look after the health of individual trees. To this end, I am gaining work experience and studying to take the ISA-Arborist certification exam.  

Any tips for current or future students?  

Even if you are busy, spend the time to look for and apply to scholarships. It can really help finance your studies, and it may open you up to new networks or experiences. Also, don’t be afraid to take a break from school, but also know that it is there for you when you are ready to come back. I worked for eight years after my Bachelor’s, and that time was essential for me to understand what I wanted to be doing and what education I needed to do that. I was nervous about going back to school in my early 30s, but trusting my decisions and doing a graduate degree was absolutely worth it. 

Julie Seeger (she/her) 
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies
Design Specialist stream 
Minor in Buddhism Mental Health and Psychology 
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario 

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty?   

I completed my undergraduate design thesis in April, titled “This is How We Heal.” It investigated how an attitude of care through design can transform the Koffler Centre into a space where students can embody a sense of belonging. I wrestled with what the final design should look like for months, had countless iterations, and had honest conversations about mental health. My final presentation was the cumulation of my interests and experiences I had undergone throughout my degree, and it was very special to share it. 

What community-based or international experience did you acquire?  

Mental health has been an increasingly important topic, both on an individual level and on a wider institutional level. In my second year I joined AVSSU, as well as Health and Wellness’ student advocacy team. I took these experiences with me to VUSAC, where I led the Mental Wellness Commission for two years. Through viewing mental health from different perspectives including policy-making, healthcare and institutional culture, it has become clear that this wicked problem requires a collective effort from multiple fronts. My experiences have driven me to continue pursuing how design can begin to solve this problem. 

What are some of your future plans?   

I am returning to Daniels in the fall to pursue my Master’s of Architecture and I’m really excited to continue exploring the ways design can be used to solve problems surrounding human health.  

Any tips for current or future students?  

Design becomes much more exciting when it is used to solve problems. I tend to bring my personal experiences into my work, and it has made it much more meaningful for me. As you move through the world, pay attention to the experiences or events that elicit strong reactions from you, and learn how you can use your education to begin to solve them. 

Audrey Ammann (she/her) 
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Visual Studies 
Hometown: Barrington, New Hampshire, USA 

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty?   

One of my favourite memories was the Artists' Multiples exchange we did in VIS321. Everyone in the class made 20-something small art pieces for the final assignment that got distributed so that each person went home with one of each. It was so special to carry home a goody bag full of little heartfelt artworks from such a talented bunch. Some were even customized with names and initials, which totally made me cry. 

Were you involved with any clubs or organizations at Daniels?  

Yes! I was elected as one of the curators of the Daniels Art Directive in my third year, and I was an honorary member of the Applied Architecture and Landscape Design club for my contributions as a lecturer for the Daniels Minecraft Camp.  

Did you have a favourite project and/or course?  

I can say my favourite project was my site-specific sound-art performance at El Mocambo for VIS340: Advanced Sound Studio. I got to play a field recording that I made of myself dancing along to the Rolling Stone’s Honky Tonk Women from their Live at the El Mocambo album on the house sound system, and then host my critique on stage at the historic venue. 

Any tips for current or future students?  

Asking for help serves two purposes: It shows you are committed to doing well, and it shows that you are interested in what your professor (or any faculty member) has to offer. Either way, you are squeezing the most out of your university experience and opening doors to new insights and opportunities. 

Liane Werdina (she/her) 
Program: Master of Architecture 
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario 

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty?   

Definitely all the amazing connections I made at Daniels. Specifically, the final thesis year was filled with memories with my classmates, peers and professors. The studio culture and camaraderie at Daniels was truly memorable in that last year, as was finishing thesis year by not only presenting my own thesis but attending my colleagues’ thesis presentations. This felt like a great culmination and celebration of years of hard work and was such a rewarding learning experience.  

What community-based or international experience did you acquire?  

My thesis research was rooted in collecting experiences of diaspora in the Kurdish regions of modern-day Turkey. Being allowed to do research on such an important and sensitive topic allowed me to reach out to and connect with many Kurdish people, architects and designers who were also interested in the research of my thesis and helped to contribute to its development. Being able to use the Daniels Faculty and resources to reach out to communities and work abroad helped ground my work in reality.

What are some of your future plans?   

I hope to continue the research I conducted during my time at Daniels, by addressing how design and architecture can be used to expose and represent power relationships in space. My goal is not only to be a good designer and contribute to architecture but to continue to develop methods in which design tools can positively impact and change the way we shape social, cultural and political dynamics.  

Currently, I am working with Lukas Pauer in the Vertical Geopolitics Lab, a research-based practice. We are working on a future exhibition that aims to decode and expose relationships between space and power.  

Any tips for current or future students?  

The program goes by a lot quicker than expected, so take advantage of all the great opportunities available to you at the Daniels Faculty. The studios, specifically thesis, are great opportunities to explore your interests before making your way into the profession of architecture. Some of the best advice I received was to use these as the jumping-off point for discovering where you want to take your career, and to see them as beginnings rather than ends. 

Chloë Quinn Lauder (she/her) 
Program: Master of Landscape Architecture 
Hometown: Unionville, Ontario 

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty?   

Thesis reviews were one of my favourite memories at the Daniels Faculty. It was incredible to see the deeply personal, innovative and beautiful work that my peers presented. It made me feel so proud to be a part of this talented body of students.  

Did you have a favourite project and/or course?  

My favourite project, titled “Unearthed,” took place in the Integrated Urbanism Studio. I had so much fun working with an amazing team to produce drawings at the urban fabric scale, and investigating the impact that inequitable policy and planning has on landscapes in Toronto.  

What community-based or international experience did you acquire?  

I visited Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam during my Option Studio. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience where I worked with international faculty and students from the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City (UAH) to better understand the challenges of climate change, and how culture shapes common spaces.   

Any tips for current or future students?  

Time flies, so make the most of your experience and remember to put your mental health first. Be bold, try new things, and have fun! 

A research project exploring “the practice of perspective” in the works of 16th-century French architect Jacques Androuet du Cerceau held at the British Museum has garnered the Daniels Faculty’s Georges Farhat a Visiting Fellowship from the British Academy.

The British Academy’s Visiting Fellowships provide outstanding academics based in any country overseas (and active at any career stage and in any discipline within the humanities and the social sciences) with the opportunity to be based at a U.K. higher education or other research institution of their choice for up to six months.

Dr. Farhat, a landscape historian specializing in the history of knowledge and technology as applied to garden and landscape design, will use his Fellowship to further develop his long-standing research on built-in optical devices and topographical perspective that has previously been supported by, among others, the Académie d’Architecture de Paris, the Centre de recherche du château de Versailles, the Descartes Centre at Utrecht University, the Society of Architectural Historians, and Garden and Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C.

“This collection,” Dr. Farhat says of du Cerceau’s works in the British Museum, “is key to understanding the intertwined histories of perspective and landscape design in the West. Yet, despite growing scholarship on du Cerceau, the practice of perspective in his British Museum works remains a puzzle.”

Although du Cerceau’s oeuvre encompassed buildings, ornament, furniture and metalwork, he is largely remembered today for his detailed and often fanciful engravings of French chateaux, gardens and architectural elements. These works were influential among contemporary and later designers and even aided in garden preservation efforts in the 20th century.

For more information on Dr. Farhat’s project, entitled The Practice of Perspective in the Works of du Cerceau at the British Museum, click here. For more information on the British Academy’s Visiting Fellowships, click here.