The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto presents its Winter 2026 Public Program.

This semester’s program of lectures, exhibitions and screenings features leading global thinkers and practitioners working across the built and natural environments, contemporary visual art and curatorial practice. 

The program explores themes such as innovative material use and the changing relationships among designers, builders, craftspeople, interactive technologies and AI. It also highlights regional ecologies and decolonizing practices in landscape, urban design, and housing—from Inuit Nunangat to the Middle East—and considers how messiness, imagination and cultural generosity can shape art and design in the public realm.

All events in the series are free and open to the public. Register in advance and consult this listing for up-to-date details. Many events will be livestreamed or recorded and made available on the Daniels Faculty YouTube channel.

Register

Thursday evening lecture series

All times ET (Eastern Time) 

January 22, 6:30 p.m.  |  Exhibition opens, 5:30 p.m.
Jeffrey Cook Memorial Lecture: A Measure of Architecture
Featuring Pierre Bidaud (The Stonemasonry Company), Amin Taha (GROUPWORK) and Steve Webb (Webb Yates Engineers)

January 29,  6:30 p.m.
The Annual George Baird Lecture
Building a Planetary Solution: Regenerative Design and Construction for the Future of Human Settlement
Featuring Alan Organschi (GOA, Yale School of Architecture)

February 12, 6:30 p.m.
Undisciplined: Conversations across Architectural Knowledge Domains
Symposium keynote lecture by Theodora Vardouli (McGill University) and Daniel Cardoso Llach (Carnegie Mellon University)

February 26, 6:30 p.m.  |  Exhibition opens, 5:00 p.m.
Unruly Intelligences: Body, Tools, AI
Featuring Humbi Song (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty)

March 5, 6:30 p.m.
2026 Michael Hough/OALA Visiting Critic in Landscape Architecture Lecture
Unravelling a colonial Legacy: Grounding landscape architecture 
Featuring Dr. Jala Makhzoumi, (International Federation of Landscape Architects, Middle East)

March 12, 6:30 p.m. 
The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces
Screening and Panel Discussion

March 19, 6:30 p.m. 
Land Narratives & Protopian Futures: From Fictions to the Just City
Featuring Toni L. Griffin (urban american city)

March 26, 6:30 p.m. 
The Harold Solomon Kaplan Lecture: Public Act
Featuring Peter Sampson and Liz Wreford (Public City)

Symposia

January 16, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sikumit Aisimajugut
At Home on Ice - ᓯᑯᒥᑦ ᐊᐃᓯᒪᔪᒍᑦ Roundtable
Organized by Mason White (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) and Lola Sheppard (University of Waterloo)

February 11-12, All Day
Undisciplined: Conversations across Architectural Knowledge Domains
Organized by Ameen Ahmed, Mono Mo, Brian Slocum, and the Daniels Faculty ALD PhD Program

• Keynote lecture by Theodora Vardouli (McGill University) and Daniel Cardoso Llach (Carnegie Mellon University): February 12, 6:30 p.m. 

Visual Studies public lectures

Learn More

January 20, 6:30 p.m. 
Allison Glenn
Curator, 2026 Toronto Biennial of Art

January 27, 6:30 p.m. 
Liam Gillick
Artist

February 25, 6:30 p.m. 
Aimée Zito Lema
Artist

March 3, 6:30 p.m. 
CANCELLED Defne Ayas
Curator, Director of the Van Abbemuseum

March 10, 6:30 p.m.
Lucy Raven
Artist
In partnership with the Vega Foundation and the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery

March 24, 6:30pm ET
Juliet Kothe
Curator
In partnership with OCAD University

March 31, 6:30 p.m. 
Alexandre Singh
Artist and Filmmaker

Exhibitions at 1 Spadina Crescent

December 9, 2025—February 16
Sikumit Aisimajugut
At Home on Ice - ᓯᑯᒥᑦ ᐊᐃᓯᒪᔪᒍᑦ
Larry Wayne Richards Gallery (DA196)

• Roundtable event: January 16, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

January 23—April 3
The New Stone Age: Towards an Ethical Architecture
Architecture + Design Gallery (DA095)

• Opening event: January 22, 5:00 p.m. / Lecture at 6:30 p.m. 

February 26—March 27
Unruly Intelligences: Body, Tools, AI
Larry Wayne Richards Gallery (DA196)

• Opening event: February 26, 5:00 p.m. / Lecture at 6:30 p.m. 

Gallery Hours of Operation
Monday to Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: Closed

Scaffold* Journal is accepting submissions for its third iteration, Re:view. This volume shifts its focus to a different architectural tradition: the review. 

As the Call highlights, the ‘re-’ of ‘review’ implies the action of looking again. In the first stage, contributors are asked to engage with the notions of repairing, recalling, reclaiming, recalculating, and reimagining as a means to explore a contemporary issue in their respective disciplines. The second stage calls contributors to review the work of another contributor, fostering conversation and manipulating the processes, hierarchies, and dialectics that have historically structured the review.

The submission period runs from November 28th, 2025 to January 30th, 2026. The journal encourages submissions from all areas of study, levels of scholarship, and institutions. To submit, visit scaffoldjournal.com.

Image: Participants at the BSMI + MTI Industry and Community Workshop held on November 28, 2025 at The Faculty Club, University of Toronto (photo Valerie Haddad). 

The Bioeconomy and Sustainable Materials Institute (BSMI) team has been engaging with industry and communities to discuss its research mandate and activity areas and collaboration for large-scale funding opportunities.

Its latest workshop, co-hosted with the Mass Timber Institute (MTI), was held on November 28 at the University of Toronto Faculty Club and focused on bringing together relevant ecosystem players to identify the most pressing issues that the BSMI should tackle.

Workshop attendees included diverse stakeholders: faculty from U of T, representatives from SvN - Architects + Planners, Mitacs, Pomerleau construction, LAAB Fund, LP, Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO), Whitefeather Forest Community Resource Management Authority (WFCRMA), First Resource Management Group, Canadian Wood Council (CWC), among others. 

Addressing the lack of resources and information available on Canadian bioeconomy, innovation for design, construction and engineering professionals, attendees stressed the need for more research and coordination to understand the state of supply chains, innovation pipelines, and knowledge, including key areas like research on standards and certification, as well as accessible and affordable materials and testing infrastructure.

Workshop participants recommended the BSMI lead on mapping the existing knowledge and convert the mapping into a centralized repository, creating a database of key trends, information and resources for researchers, practitioners, and communities. They also spoke about raising awareness through conferences and events that showcase innovators and allow for connection making between researchers, manufacturers, accelerators, designers and engineers.

Ample discussion was also had on the need to prioritize Indigenous knowledge of the forest and promote the Indigenous economy as well as conduct feasibility and case studies on emerging economies, scaling of bio-economy materials and available solutions in construction. Finally, the workshop participants articulated a need for BSMI to create ties with northern research centres and colleges, including those that have vocational programs and could serve to fill training gaps in the sector.

As a next step in January 2026, the team will compete for a five-year Institutional Strategic Initiatives (ISI) award. It plans to spread its mission widely and become a leading Canadian research network that will foster the transformation and innovation of the Canadian bioeconomy.

Watch for updates from the BSMI team in the new year!

The Autumn 2025 issue of U of T Magazine (Big Country, Big Ideas: Unapologetically bold solutions for a better Canada) highlights a collaboration between architects Public Work and Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag, a U of T-based summer employment program that connects Indigenous youth with land-based traditions and pathways into architecture design and ecological restoration.

Gathering Circle, located next to Indigenous House on the U of T Scarborough campus (expected to open in 2027), is a space to hold sacred fire, ringed by 30 large log seats and a landscape of 150 trees, 120 shrubs and 50 perennials.

Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag was co-founded by Professor Liat Margolis with Elder Whabagoon in 2018.

Read more in U of T Magazine 

Photo by Sean Liliani

The ALD PhD Program sponsors a series of presentations, in collaboration with the Architectural History Working Group, The Archaeology Centre, and Infrastructure’s Environments, a Jackman Humanities Institute Working Group. Speakers include a group focusing on Indigenous architecture from the University of Sydney and the Queensland University of Technology, and noted researchers from Princeton University, McGill University, University of Chicago, University of Rochester, and University of California at Irvine.

The 2025/2026 ALD PhD Events are organized by Professor Claire Zimmerman, Director of the Faculty's PhD Program in Architecture, Landscape, and Design. 

Fall 2025 

September 18, 2025 
Speaker: Matthew Hunter, McGill University 
Time: 5:00 PM 
Title: A Right, Not a Charity: Insuring the Artistic Life in Imperial Britain 
Location: 1 Spadina Cres., Room DA300

September 19, 2025 
Speaker: Basile Baudez (AHWG), Princeton University 
Time: 4:00 PM 
Title: Textile Architecture: Fabric and the City 
Location: AHWG – Sidney Smith Hall, 6th Floor

October 15, 2025 
Speaker: Andrew Leach, Queensland University of Technology 
Time: 4:00 PM 
Title: Territory, Property, Architecture 
Location: 1 Spadina Cres., Room DA230 (Updated)

October 16, 2025 
Speaker: Michael Mossman, University of Sydney 
Time: 6:30 PM 
Title: Aura Country Terror Refrain 
Location: Main Hall

October 21, 2025 
Speaker: Sarah Newman, University of Chicago (with The Archaeology Centre) 
Time: 5:00 PM 
Title: Animal Style: Archaeology Beyond Humans 
Location: 1 Spadina Cres., Room DA300

November 10, 2025 
Speaker: Peter Christensen, University of Rochester 
Time: 1:00 PM (TBC) 
Title: Prior Art 
Location: 1 Spadina Cres., Room DA300

November 11, 2025 — sponsored by U of T's Department of Art History
Speaker: Ed Dimendberg, University of California (AHWG) 
Time: 5:00 PM 
Title: Bread, Bricks, Cubicles, Chairs: Harun Farocki's Architecture and Design Film Quartet 
Location: University College, Room 161, 15 King's College Circle

December 8, 2025 
Stay tuned for additional details.

About the PhD in Architecture, Landscape, and Design Program

The Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture, Landscape, and Design (ALD PhD) at the Daniels Faculty is an interdisciplinary program that trains students to pursue advanced research across a spectrum of built environmental practices.

Through the highly adaptable curriculum—one that is unlike other PhD programs in architecture—the program enables students to pursue study independently and to share their research with the Daniels community at every stage. ALD PhD students explore methodologies across our disciplines, ranging from theoretical to applied research in design, history theory, building science, and visual studies.

In 2009, Toronto became the first city in North America to implement a mandatory Green Roof Bylaw, requiring new developments larger than 2,000 sq. m to dedicate part of their rooftop space to green roofs, areas designed exclusively for vegetation and not intended for public access under the bylaw’s criteria.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Toronto, Carleton University and Toronto Metropolitan University have published their novel analysis of green rooftops in Toronto, providing a framework for future of green roof planning and design in urban settings.

Their paper, entitled “Remote Sensing for Healthy Vegetation on Green Roofs,” was published this week in Nature Cities. Bringing together expertise from diverse fields including civil engineering and U of T’s department of geography and planning in the Faculty of Arts & Science, it also synthesizes contributions from forestry and landscape architecture at U of T's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

The team includes U of T doctoral graduate in forestry conservation and civil engineering Wenxi Liao; U of T master of landscape architecture graduates Madison Appleby and Howard Rosenblat; U of T forestry doctoral graduate Md. Abdul Halim; Assistant Professor Cheryl A. Rogers from the department of geography and environmental studies at TMU; Professor Jing M. Chen from U of T's department of geography and planning within the Faculty of Arts & Science; U of T landscape architecture Professor Liat Margolis, director of the Green Roof Innovation Testing Laboratory (GRIT Lab) at the Daniels Faculty; Jennifer Drake, an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Stormwater and Low Impact Development at the department of civil and environmental engineering, Carleton University; and Professor Sean C. Thomas of the Institute of Forestry & Conservation at the Daniels Faculty.

“There’s clear potential for using remote sensing tools to monitor green roofs, since they’re visible from above,” says one of the paper’s authors, Thomas. “However, satellite images are generally too coarse to distinguish individual green roofs, and urban environments pose additional challenges due to complex geometry and shading.”

The City of Toronto had previously captured multispectral airborne images with extremely high resolution – approximately seven centimetres per pixel. These images allowed the team to analyze a set of 1,380 green roof units over time, from 2011 to 2018.

“Doing technical processing on a large scale, solving problems, like image correction, and being able to follow the green roofs over time gives us some real insights and guidance on how to do a better job with green roofs,” says Thomas.  

High wind exposure and shallow soils might be expected to result in declining vegetation health, says Thomas, however, the researchers were able to conclude that most of the green roofs in Toronto are doing well and becoming greener. Thomas says among the many indices used from images, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) did best at quantifying the total amount of vegetation, by using both visible and infrared data.  

“Given all the data, we were able to look where there’s a break point. It’s clear that green roofs on top of tall buildings did much worse than ones at four stories or lower. Green roofs that are long and skinny also tend to have more degradation,” he says.

Most of the green roofs are made of low mat-forming plants, like sedum, explains Thomas, because of their extreme drought tolerance. At night, sedum stores atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is then used for photosynthesis the following day, helping reduce water loss. Thomas says, as expected, sedum-dominated roofs showed overall the best performance.  

He adds the study’s results are expected to better enhance the sustainability benefits of expanding green roofs even further.

“With a conventional flat or a slanted roof, water drains quickly off the structure. In an extreme rainfall event that can overwhelm infrastructure. Green roofs are an effective way of storing water and delaying the peak of the flood event,” he says.

“Green roofs also offer a cooling effect that helps mitigate what is known as the ‘urban heat island’, along with reducing noise pollution, improving air quality and enhancing urban biodiversity by supporting insects and birds.” 

This research was supported in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program. 

Photo by David Lee / University of Toronto

Story by Nina Haikara republished at U of T News

The SHIFT* Collective returns with its newest volume of Scaffold* Journal, a research publication exploring the nuances of contemporary design practice within and without the Daniels Faculty.

Following the success of the process-oriented Volume 1, this new issue expands the scope of the journal, broadening its community of contributors across cities, institutions and continents. Writers, designers, and practitioners from across Canada and the globe explore how drafting—both as a practice and as a concept—continues to shape the ways design is imagined, produced and received.

This ambitious volume, titled Drafting Liminalities, interrogates these themes across three subsections: (I) Counterpractice – design methods that resist, refuse, or reorient dominant spatial logics; (II) Worlding – the act of speculating alternative realities and futures of art and architecture; and (III) Technology – the frictions between established techniques and emerging tools.

Behind the pages of Volume 2 is a collaborative editorial process that continues to evolve. This year, the team expanded its system of peer and faculty review, refining each contribution with both scholarly and practitioner perspectives. While logistically challenging, this model strengthens Scaffold’s ecosystem of shared critique and support, ensuring that the work published is in active dialogue with a broader community.

As the publication enters its third iteration, the SHIFT* Collective invites students, faculty and the public to celebrate Volume 2—and even help shape its next publication.

Whether you're exploring your next academic step, considering a career change, or simply curious about the programs offered at the Daniels Faculty—we invite you to join us online this Fall for a series of Information Sessions running from October to December 2025. 

These online Information Sessions are your opportunity to learn more about our graduate and undergraduate programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, visual studies, and forestry. Hear directly from program directors, who will share insights into each program’s structure, curriculum, and admissions process—alongside opportunities to ask questions and get a closer look at what it's like to study at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. 

All Information Sessions are free to attend and open to prospective students. 

Watch the Portfolio Workshop for prospective graduate students

Wednesday, October 8 | Undergraduate 

Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies (BAAS) 

Watch the live recording with Assistant Professor Peter Sealy, Program Director

Tuesday, October 21 | Undergraduate 

Learn more about the Architectural Studies and Visual Studies programs at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Watch the live recording presented by Gwendolyn Gringhuis, Assistant Registrar, International & Recruitment 

Wednesday, October 22 | Graduate 

1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (EDT)
PhD in Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Watch the live recording with Professor Claire Zimmerman, Director of the PhD in Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Thursday, October 23 | Undergraduate 

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (EDT)
Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies (BAAS) 

Join Assistant Professor Peter Sealy, Program Director, to learn more about the Honours Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies (BAAS) program at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Watch the live recording with Assistant Professor Peter Sealy, Program Director

Tuesday, October 28 | Graduate 

9:00 to 10:00 a.m. (EDT) 
Master of Visual Studies (MVS)

Join Assistant Professor Gareth Long, program director, to learn more about the Master of Visual Studies programs at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design: Curatorial Studies and Studio Art. 

Watch the live recording with Assistant Professor Gareth Long, Program Director

Wednesday, October 29 | Graduate 

9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (EDT)
Master of Architecture (MARC)

Join Associate Professor Vivian Lee, program director, to learn more about the Master of Architecture (MARC) program at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Watch the live recording with Associate Professor Vivian Lee, Program Director

Friday, November 7 | Graduate 

9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (EST)
Master of Urban Design (MUD) and Post-Professional (MARC and MLA)

Join Professor Mason White, program director, to learn more about the post-professional design degrees at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design:   

• Master of Urban Design
• Master of Architecture (post-professional)
• Master of Landscape Architecture (post-professional) 

Watch the live recording with Professor Mason White, Program Director
 

Monday, November 10 | Graduate 

3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EST)
PhD and Master of Science in Forestry (MScF)

Join Associate Professor John Caspersen, program director, to learn more about the Master of Science in Forestry (MScF) and PhD in Forestry at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Watch the live recording with Associate Professor John Caspersen, Program Director 

Tuesday, November 11 | Graduate 

Watch the live session recording with Professor Claire Zimmerman, Director of the PhD in Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Thursday, November 13 | Graduate (In-person or virtual)

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (EST)
Master of Forest Conservation (MFC)

Join Assistant Professor Sally Krigstin, MFC program coordinator, to learn more about the Master of Forest Conservation program at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. In-person info session at Boardroom ES 1016B, Earth Sciences Centre, 33 Willcocks Street, Toronto or participate remotely via Zoom.

Tuesday, November 18 | Graduate

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (EST)
Master of Architecture (MARC)

Join Professor Vivian Lee, program director, to learn more about the Master of Architecture (MARC) program at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Session recording coming soon

Wednesday, November 19 | Undergraduate

9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (EST)
Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies (BAAS) 

Join Assistant Professor Peter Sealy, Program Director, to learn more about the Honours Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies (BAAS) program at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Session recording coming soon

Thursday, November 20 | Graduate

9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (EST)
Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) 

Join Professor Elise Shelley, program director, to learn more about the Master in Landscape Architecture at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Session recording coming soon

Thursday, November 25 | Undergraduate

5:00 to 6:00 p.m. (EST) 
Bachelor of Visual Studies (BA)

Join Professor Gareth Long, program director, to learn more about the undergraduate Visual Studies program at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Register to join us online via Zoom

Wednesday, December 3 | Undergraduate 

6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (EST)
Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies (BAAS) 

Join Assistant Professor Peter Sealy, Program Director, to learn more about the Honours Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies (BAAS) program at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Register to join us online via Zoom 

Thursday, December 4 | Graduate 

5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (EST)
Master of Forest Conservation (MFC)

Join Assistant Professor Sally Krigston, MFC Program Coordinator, to learn more about the Master of Forest Conservation at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Register to join us online via Zoom

Thursday, January 15 | Graduate (In-person or virtual)

4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EST)
Master of Forest Conservation (MFC)

Join Assistant Professor Sally Krigstin, MFC program coordinator, to learn more about the Master of Forest Conservation program at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

In-person info session at Boardroom ES 1016B, Earth Sciences Centre, 33 Willcocks Street, Toronto or participate remotely via Zoom.

Friday, March 6 | Graduate 

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. (EST)
Master of Forest Conservation (MFC)

Join Assistant Professor Sally Krigstin, MFC program coordinator, for a Q&A session about applying to the Master of Forest Conservation program at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Join online via Zoom

Welcome to the start of the 2025-2026 academic year!

Whether you’re a returning student at Daniels or this term is your first, I hope that your time at the Faculty is a happy and productive one. Our school is a special place at the University of Toronto and within the city and we want you to reap as much from your experience here as possible.

Over the next few weeks and months, I’ll look forward to connecting with as many of you as I can. If you have any questions or concerns now or throughout the coming year, please reach out to either the Office of the Dean (daniels-dean@daniels.utoronto.ca) or the Office of the Registrar and Student Services (registrar@daniels.utoronto.ca) at any time. 

This year as in previous ones, your coursework will be complemented by an exciting roster of extracurricular offerings. Launching this month, our Fall 2025 Public Program series includes lectures and presentations by some of the leading designers, artists, researchers and thinkers in their fields. 

The series will kick off in two weeks, on September 18th, with a lecture by this year’s holder of the Frank O. Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design, Yusuke Obuchi, a Professor of Architecture at the University of Tokyo, who examines how computational design, robotic fabrication, and AI-driven systems can move beyond productivity and efficiency to help redefine the irreplaceable human role in construction.

In addition, look out for the staging of two new exhibitions at 1 Spadina this term - The Howarth-Wright at 25 (opening September 23rd) and The New Stone Age: Towards an Ethical Architecture (opening November 6th)—as well as a range of year-round activities planned around the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Black History Month and other noteworthy dates. 

Your schoolwork, of course, will keep you very busy, but I urge you to attend and to take in as many of these inspiring and illuminating events as you can. The Public Program at Daniels is a valuable resource available to our entire community and we hope that you’ll take advantage of it to the fullest. 

Have a great first semester!

Robert Levit (he/him)
Acting Dean
John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Rebecca Martin, a graduate of the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, has received a 2025 Award of Excellence from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

Student awardees from around the world are recognized for graduate work in one of eight categories, providing a glimpse into the future of the profession. Landscape architects are uniquely positioned to engage complex contemporary issues such as climate change, urbanization, ecological resilience, social equity and cultural reconciliation. 

Martin received the top honour in the general design category for her Master of Landscape Architecture project, “Opaque Ground: Reimagining Human-Soil Relations in the Lower Don.” Her project proposes an urban soil survey followed by the creation of experimental gardens in existing soil along a 10-kilometer trail in Toronto’s lower Don Valley sub-watershed. The project promotes soil literacy by demonstrating its role in regulating water cycles, storing carbon and sustaining life. Her faculty advisor was Daniels Associate Professor Alissa North.

The jury citation said Martin’s project, “Richly illustrated exploration of our essential but underappreciated soil and its role in renewing our urban environment.”

Martin will be recognized at the ASLA award ceremony in New Orleans, LA this October.