Congratulations on your admission to the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design—an unparalleled centre for learning and research offering graduate programs in architecture, landscape architecture, forestry, urban design and visual studies, as well as unique undergraduate programs that use architecture and design as bases for pursuing a broader education.     

When you choose to join us at Daniels, you’ll be a part of and have access to:  

•   The No. 1 university in Canada, the most sustainable university in the world, plus the fourth-best public university in North America and 12th worldwide 
• A dynamic downtown campus in the heart of Canada’s largest and most diverse city 
• Unparalleled extracurricular opportunities, including varsity athletics, clubs, international exchange programs and leadership/mentorship  
• Canada’s No. 1 university for graduate employability and top 20 globally 
• The highest scholarship and financial funding amongst all Canadian universities 

At the Daniels Faculty, the environment in which our students learn and congregate is as unique as our program offerings. Our hub at 1 Spadina Crescent—the Daniels Building—is a bold work of architecture and landscape on a prominent urban site between U of T’s St. George campus and the vibrant centre of Toronto. Across Spadina Crescent, the North and South Borden buildings (home to our visual studies programs) and the Earth Sciences Centre (HQ for forestry studies) complete the Faculty’s trifecta of sites. 

Whether you’re travelling to Canada to begin your studies, navigating a move to Toronto, or choosing our Faculty to continue your academic journey—we’re here to support you in all the steps ahead.   

So, what comes next?

Visit the Newly Admitted Students section of the Daniels website for resources, key contacts and important dates. 

• New Undergraduate Students (BAAS, BAVS) 
• New Graduate Students (MARC, MLA, MFC, MUD, MVS) 
• New Research Stream Students (MScF and PhD programs)

Have a question? Get in touch with us!

Please feel free to contact the Office of the Registrar and Student Services.

• undergraduate@daniels.utoronto.ca
• graduate@daniels.utoronto.ca
• researchstream@daniels.utoronto.ca

Currently on display across all three floors of the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent, the 2023/24 End of Year Show spotlights student work from each of the degree programs at the Daniels Faculty, including graduate and undergraduate studies in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Forestry, Urban Design and Visual Studies.

On view until the end of June, the annual exhibition this year encompasses “three-dimensional, two-dimensional, audio and digital projects,” say Brandon Bergem and Jeffrey Garcia, co-curators of the 2023/24 Show.

Both are sessional lecturers at the Faculty as well as the co-founders of the interdisciplinary design practice Office In Search Of (OISO).

“Our best approximation,” they say, “is that 300-plus students are represented [in the show], with contributions ranging from…a four-foot-by-four-foot orthographic drawing [and] a collection of gifs on a monitor [to] a three-foot-long section drawing and a handcrafted wooden lounge chair.”

According to the curators, the selection and organization of the vast body of student submissions was based largely on two guiding principles.

“The first was how to celebrate the immense collective creative output produced by students at the Faculty and not focus on individual students or prioritize any course or program. The second was how to best represent the projects optimally without compromising the integrity of the work.”

For example, they say, “students in the Forestry program produce exceptional research, and Visual Studies students often display work in formats that require different consideration than what we are accustomed to in studio reviews.”

As a whole, the exhibition offers a comprehensive and revealing survey of the wide-ranging yet synergistic study taking place at the school right now.

Still, say Bergem and Garcia, how to exhibit the breadth of this work presented no small challenge.

“The layout of an entire exhibition catalogue was spread across every pin-up panel in the main-floor hallway. In the second-floor hallway, each pin-up panel was dedicated to specific drawing types (site plans, sections, elevations, etc.), then covered in a wallpaper of black and white drawings from students’ projects, assembled like puzzle pieces. 

“On the second floor, we devised a continuous 16-foot strip composed of collages and renderings that were mounted on the walls in one of the rooms that projected into the space by wrapping around the columns. In another, tree-based objects like mallets, chairs and a memorial sculpture were staged like a tableau in the centre of the room, with research graphics attached to the walls.

“In a room on the third floor, most of the 2D material was suspended rather than pinned to the walls and the 3D objects were placed on a clustered field of plinths and light tables.”

Through these various entry points, visitors are consequently invited “to discern the themes based on commonalities and differences—for example, how can design be used as a method to advocate for biodiversity and the prevention of environmental degradation? How can the intersection of urbanism, architecture and social equity be used to inspire a higher quality of living? [And] how can the concept of a building site transcend physical location to be inclusive of cultural, historical and ecological influences?"

At the same time, questions based on medium and methodology—such as the effectiveness of orthographic drawings in communicating design intent and organization or the degree to which unconventional two- and three-dimensional forms challenge expectations of how design is interpreted—are also posed in the show.

The End of Year Show in its current building-wide incarnation will be on view at 1 Spadina until the end of June. A curated selection will then be installed in the Larry Wayne Richards Gallery and the Commons until early September. 

The Daniels Building is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. every weekday, with fob access only on Saturdays and Sundays.

All photographs by Adrian Yu + Office In Search Of

The SHIFT* Collective, a student-run publishing group based within the Daniels Faculty, will be hosting a launch event this week to celebrate the first edition of its new digital and print publication, called Scaffold* Journal.

The launch will take place on Friday, May 31, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., in the Student Commons at 1 Spadina Crescent. Remarks will be made by the editorial team, accompanied by refreshments and a complimentary zine. No tickets are required, and all interested students, faculty and members of the public are invited to attend.

Focusing on the various methodologies of design research and visual inquiry used by students, scholars and practitioners, the first edition of Scaffold* includes the work of 21 contributors, as well as interviews with six emerging scholars and practitioners, plus visual contributions.

As noted in the call for submissions in December, the journal “intends to demystify the research process and present researchers with the opportunity to curiously and critically reflect upon their own creative and design processes.”

To that end, a diverse range of published works has been assembled, deconstructing methods from the use of interviews and ethnography in the design process to architectural reconstruction and speculative fabulation. Contributions include essays, drawings and mixed-media works spanning architecture, landscape architecture, visual studies and urban design, with projects and ideas from students at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels.

Drawing on the legacy of the previous journal SHIFT* as a risograph publication, the collective will release an exclusive zine that reflects on the inspirations behind the new journal and its formation over the past months. Three commissions from undergraduate and graduate students also reflect on the process of “what it means to scaffold a project,” from the role of social media in curating precedence to self-scaffolding and the ongoing projects of SHIFT* team members.

In addition, the team has designed a small installation detailing the works behind the publication, displayed on the ground level of the Daniels Building (pictured at top).

The SHIFT* Collective “would like to express its immense gratitude for the ongoing support” of the Daniels Faculty and of the Office of the Dean, “both of which have been instrumental in the realization of this first publication.”

The journal’s faculty advisory board, which includes head operational advisor Lukas Pauer and internal advisor Jewel Amoah, “has also played a crucial role in the development and curation of the project.”

The digital publication can be accessed at theshiftcollective.net on May 31.

A full printed volume including the first and second editions will be released in the fall.

Ever wondered what's inside 1 Spadina Crescent? Curious about the history of the revitalized neo-Gothic building at its centre? Whether you have always wanted to wander the halls or simply haven’t visited in a while, there is something for everyone to discover during Doors Open Toronto 2024.

More than 150 buildings and sites are on the roster of this year’s instalment of the popular annual event, which sees local landmarks throw their doors open to the public. The Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent will be open for self-guided tours on Sunday, May 26 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Originally built as a prospect to the lake, the historic structure was the first site of Knox College in 1875, a military hospital during the First World War and the place where Connaught Laboratories manufactured insulin in the 1940s. Today it’s home to the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto, which reimagined the complex for the 21st Century.

A striking contemporary addition, designed by NADAAA and completed in 2018, combines the Knox College structure with cutting-edge facilities, from versatile new studios to a digital fabrication lab. In addition to taking in the architectural splendours and storied history of the revitalized 1 Spadina hub, visitors will have plenty of current work to take in as well.

Here’s a glimpse at what will be on view:

End of Year Show 2023/2024 

A Daniels Faculty tradition encompassing a wide range of projects, this exhibition showcases student work from across the Faculty’s degree programs in Architecture, Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design and Visual Studies. Student work can be seen on all three floors of the Daniels Building. 

Outer Circle Road by Seth Fluker 

Outer Circle Road by Seth Fluker is a collection of Toronto photographs depicting a city’s energy in constant flux. On view in the first-floor Larry Wayne Richards Gallery and presented in partnership with CONTACT Photography Festival, the series reflects the dynamism of our urban context, a landscape of abundance, waste and regeneration.  

Robotics in Architecture and Design  

Throughout the building you will encounter robotic arms as well as a variety of installations and objects created with their help. Many of these were produced over the past week as a part of workshops run during ROB|ARCH 2024, an international conference centred on robotics in architecture and design. Outside, don’t miss Geosphere, a larger, immersive display by the faculty’s John Nguyen, Nicholas Hoban, Paul Kozak and Rahul Sehijpaul, that is installed at the south entrance.

Building Black Success through Design Showcase 

Head to room DA240 on the second floor for a celebration of the outstanding design achievements by the young designers who recently completed the Building Black Success Through Design (BBSD) program. BBSD is a free mentorship program at the Daniels Faculty for Black high-school students that inspires them to pursue excellence and innovation within design industries and academia, enhancing diversity in the fields. 

Eberhard Zeidler Library 

The library is open to the public, offering students, researchers, urban planners, design professionals, journalists and design aficionados access to art, architecture, landscape architecture and urban design collections unrivalled in Toronto.  

Admission to the Daniels Building and to all Doors Open venues is free. A dedicated brochure with map of the Daniels Building will be available for visitors.

Visit the Doors Open Toronto website for a full list of participating sites.

The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) has named Elise Shelley (Associate Professor, Teaching Stream) one of the 2024 inductees into its prestigious College of Fellows.

Fellows are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the profession of landscape architecture.

The College of Fellows will welcome the newest members—10 in total—during a ceremony at the CSLA’s next Congress, taking place in Winnipeg May 30 to June 1.

Investiture to the College is the highest honour that the CSLA, founded in 1934 to advance the art, science and practice of landscape architecture, bestows on its members. A jury of six Fellows, representing regions across Canada, selected the new ones based on extensive submissions documenting each candidate’s contributions to the profession.

“It is humbling and empowering to be nominated to the College of Fellows by my peers, as it validates that the work I do as an educator and practitioner has significance in the field of landscape architecture,” says Shelley, who is Director of the Faculty’s Master of Landscape Architecture program.

“As a CSLA Fellow, I will represent the Daniels Faculty and our students as I continue to pursue excellence for our program and for the discipline. I appreciate this honour and will do all I can to live up to the great work of those that have come before me.”

Since the inception of the CSLA’s College of Fellows in 1964, 270 members have seen induction, which comes with the designation “FCSLA.”

Shelley is being inducted in the categories of Professional University Instruction and Executed Works of Landscape Architecture. Other categories include Administrative Professional Work in Public Agencies or Government Service and Direct Service to the CSLA.

In addition to her roles at the Faculty, Shelley is the Director of Landscape at the Toronto-based interdisciplinary firm gh3*. Among her current projects are Warehouse Park in Edmonton and Olympic Plaza in Calgary, both collaborations between gh3* and CCxA. 

When the CSLA meets in Winnipeg at the end of May, it will be celebrating its 90th anniversary. For the full list of 2024’s inductees, click here

The annual Thesis Booklets showcasing the final thesis projects of both graduate and undergraduate students at the Daniels Faculty are available for viewing.

The Graduate Booklet features the work of Master of Architecture (MARC), Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA), Master of Urban Design (MUD) and Master of Visual Studies (MVS) students at the Faculty, while the Undergraduate Booklet showcases the final project work of students in the Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies (BAAS) and Bachelor of Arts in Visual Studies (BAVS) programs.

Thesis booklets are a Daniels Faculty tradition, printed for and distributed to thesis students, as well as thesis advisors, external reviewers and guests.

The Booklets contain images and brief statements by students who are presenting final projects for the semester listed at the culmination of their studies.

Flip through the latest booklets below or download PDFs by clicking here: graduate, undergraduate.

GRADUATE FLIPBOOK

UNDERGRADUATE FLIPBOOK

And flip through a special digital edition of the Thesis Booklet featuring a diverse array of Post-Professional Master of Architecture (MARC) projects. The post-professional MARC is an advanced design and research program for individuals already holding a professional degree in architecture.  

POST-PROFESSIONAL FLIPBOOK

Hart House Farm is a 150-acre property in Caledon, Ontario, located within the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere buffer zone, in the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Managed by the University of Toronto’s Hart House for a range of outdoor, co-curricular opportunities, this site, and its layered context, was the setting for last term’s Advanced Design Research Studio (LAN3016) led by Associate Professor Liat Margolis.

In the wake of U of T’s Truth and Reconciliation report, Answering the Call: Wecheehetowin, Hart House wanted to consider how the Farm might contribute to realizing the commitments contained in the document. Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) students subsequently researched the environmental and Indigenous-settler history of the Farm to create design proposals and forest management plans that explore its future as a locus for Indigenous-led land-based teaching, research and guardianship training community-engaged programs.

“The goals of this studio,” says Margolis, “were to develop an understanding of the environmental history of the land under a decolonization lens, create a framework of understanding of the Farm as part of a larger landscape mosaic and network of stewardship, and develop a set of values, designs, management protocols and partnerships as part of Hart House’s forthcoming strategic plan.”

In addition, the studio has been featured in the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Network (NEBN) report for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and the International Coordinating Council of the MAB (Man and Biosphere) Programme.

“This studio led by Liat Margolis is a prime example,” says the report, “of how experiential education within the landscapes of the Biosphere can profoundly shape the learning of the students and provide them with genuine connections to the land and partners within it.”

MLA students in the Hart House Farm Studio on a site visit during the Fall 2023 semester. The dolomite rock formations that span the site consist of fissures, caves and dramatic escarpment cliffs.

The design proposals presented by the MLA students exhibited a possible future for the Farm based on an interdisciplinary and integrated lens of Indigenous-led and community-centered land relations, landscape architecture, and ecological conservation.

Adrienne Mariano and Jessica Palmer, two students who participated in the studio, shared their perspectives in the report:

What did it mean for you to have this experiential learning on the land at Hart House Farms?

Adrienne Mariano and Jessica Palmer: The opportunity for experiential learning meant that our conversations with treaty rights holders, organizations working in the region, and community members were able to be framed within the context of colonial land-based practices that were highly specific to observations on the property at Hart House Farm. Having the chance to frame these conversations with experiences such as walks, fieldwork, and even pond swimming meant that we were actively able to form deeper relationships with the land as we explored it from an academic lens.

What did it mean for you to work with all our studio contributors at the farm and throughout the term?

Mariano and Palmer: Getting all these people together for walks and presentations meant that they were also a part of this learning process, and were encouraged to reflect on how their ongoing work contributes to or works against decolonial land views and practices. Getting these conversations out of the classroom and into the world with working professionals was important because, as students, we often are encouraged to think as changemakers but it takes time to become established in our fields, whereas working professionals can make changes in more immediate ways.

Mariano and Palmer's project focuses on the former quarried areas of the Bruce Trail Conservacy-owned Quarryside Property, which has turned into a series of lush successional wetlands at the base of the Niagara Escarpment.

What does it mean for you to have explored this site from a decolonial lens?

Mariano and Palmer: Exploring Hart House Farms from a decolonial lens allowed us to think more critically about landforms and how they are shaped on a time scale that is so large it is almost incomprehensible to humans. This thinking helps to frame our relationship with the natural world and foster deep respect for the time it takes for cliff faces, rocks, and fossils to form. Comparing these ancient geological forms to the impacts caused by industrial quarrying in the region allowed us to question the impacts of ongoing extractive practices along the Niagara Escarpment and how the University of Toronto can use Hart House Farms to advocate for its protection.

Their project allows Hart House Farm visitors and Bruce Trail hikers the opportunity to experience lush novel habitats in their evolutionary stage, as they continue to mature and expand over time. A system of boardwalks spans slag piles and wetlands, allowing visitors to interact with a landscape that extraction practices have dramatically altered, and through subtle didactic panels at rest points.

What are you excited about / what do you hope to see in the near future, or in the long term?

Mariano and Palmer: In the near future, we hope to see the non-Indigenous partner organizations (especially those who work in conservation) work more actively to support Indigenous-led conservation practices and co-governance models. We are excited about the response from the team at Hart House and look forward to seeing how they incorporate and run with our research in making concrete changes at the property both immediately and in the long term.

Using a series of interconnected trails and boardwalks, their design focuses on bringing people to the areas of former quarrying to learn about the impacts of extraction on these delicate ecosystems. 

The principles and recommendations explored at the final review of the studio by the MLA students, the partners and rights holders, and Hart House Farm staff will be summarized and integrated in the strategic planning for the Farm.

The Hart House Farm studio was supported by and co-created in partnership with University of Toronto Hart House, Waakbiness Institute for Indigenous Health, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN), Niagara Escarpment Commission, Niagara Escarpment UNSECO Biosphere Network, Credit Valley Conservation, Bruce Trail Conservancy and Town of Caledon Heritage Department.

Wednesday, April 10 – Friday, April 26
Daniels Building
1 Spadina Crescent

Whether you're a future student, an alum, or a member of the public with an interest in architecture, landscape architecture or urban design—you're invited to join the Daniels Faculty for Winter 2024 Reviews. Throughout April, students across our graduate and undergraduate programs will present final projects to their instructors and guest critics from academia and the professional community.

All reviews will take place in the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (unless otherwise stated). Follow @UofTDaniels on social media and join the conversation using the hashtags #DanielsReviews and #DanielsReviews24.

Please note that times, dates and locations are subject to change.

Wednesday, April 10 | Undergraduate

Design Studio I (JAV101H1)
Coordinator: Jay Pooley
Instructors: Kara Verbeek, Mariano Martellacci, Phat Le, Sifei Mo, Katy Chey, Scott Sorli, Reza Nik, Harry Wei, Brian Boigon, Danielle Whitley, Jamie Lipson, Jeffrey Garcia
Rooms: 215, 230, 240, 330, 340, Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Thursday, April 11 | Undergraduate

9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET
Design Studio II (ARC201H1)
Coordinator: Fiona Lim Tung 
Instructors: Dan Briker, Shane Williamson, Carol Moukheiber, Kara Verbeek, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco, Behnaz Assadi, David Verbeek, Maria Denegri, Francesco Martire
Rooms: 209, 215, 230, 240, 315, 330, 340, Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Friday, April 12 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio 2 (LAN1012Y)
Instructors: Liat Margolis, Terence Radford
Rooms: 230, 330

Urban Design Studio Options (URD1012Y)
Instructors: Samantha Eby, Zahra Ebrahim
Room: Main Hall B

9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET
Drawing and Representation I (ARC200H1)
Coordinator: Roberto Damiani
Instructors: Jon Cummings, Dana Salama
Rooms: 215, 240

Monday, April 15 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio 2 (ARC1012Y)
Coordinator: Behnaz Assadi
Instructors: Chloe Town, Anne-Marie Armstrong, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco, Brian Boigon, Aleris Rodgers, Julia DiCastri
Rooms: 230, 330, Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Design + Engineering I (ARC112H1)
Coordinator: Jay Pooley
Instructors: Jennifer Davis, Clinton Langevin
Room: 200

Tuesday, April 16 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio 4 (ARC2014Y)
Coordinator: Samuel Dufaux
Instructors: Brigitte Shim, Steven Fong, Chris Cornecelli, James Macgillivray, Maria Denegri, Francesco Martire
Rooms: 230, 330, Main Hall A, Main Hall B

Landscape Architecture Studio IV (ARC364Y1)
Instructor: Peter North
Room: 315, 340

Wednesday, April 17 | Graduate

Design Studio 4 (ARC2014Y)
Coordintor: Samuel Dufaux
Instructors: Brigitte Shim, Steven Fong, Chris Cornecelli, James Macgillivray, Maria Denegri, Francesco Martire
Rooms: 230, Main Hall A, Main Hall B

Design Studio 4 (LAN2014Y)
Instructors: Todd Douglas, Reinaldo Jordan
Room: 330

Thursday, April 18 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio Thesis (LAN3017Y)
Coordinator: Elise Shelley
Instructors: Behnaz Assadi, Peter North, Alissa North, Liat Margolis, Francesco Martire, Matthew Perotto
Rooms: 209, 230, 242, 330

Architecture Studio IV (ARC362Y1)
Coordinator: Jon Cummings
Instructors: Chloe Town, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco
Rooms: Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Friday, April 19 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio Thesis (LAN3017Y)
Coordinator: Elise Shelley
Instructors: Behnaz Assadi, Peter North, Alissa North, Liat Margolis, Francesco Martire, Matthew Perotto
Rooms: 209, 242, 330

Urban Design Studio Thesis (URD2015Y)
Coordinator: Mason White 
Room: 230

Technology Studio IV (ARC381Y1)
Instructors: Paul Howard Harrison (Coordinator), Suzan Ibrahim
Rooms: Main Hall A, Main Hall B

Monday, April 22 | Undergraduate

Senior Seminar in History and Theory (Thesis) (ARC457Y1)
Instructor: Petros Babasikas
Room: Main Hall B

Senior Seminar in Design (Thesis) (ARC462Y1)
Instructor: Laura Miller
Room: 230

Senior Seminar in Technology (Thesis) (ARC487Y1)
Instructor: Nicholas Hoban
Room: 330

Tuesday, April 23 | Undergraduate

Senior Seminar in History and Theory (Thesis) (ARC457Y1) 
Instructor: Petros Babasikas
Room: Main Hall B

Senior Seminar in Design (Thesis) (ARC462Y1)
Instructor: Laura Miller
Room: 230

Senior Seminar in Technology (Thesis) (ARC487Y1)
Instructor: Nicholas Hoban
Room: 330

Wednesday, April 24 | Graduate

9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET
Post-Professional Thesis 2 (ALA4022Y)
Coordinator: Mason White
Room: 242

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 (ARC3021Y)
Instructors: Jeannie Kim, Stephen Verderber, Lukas Pauer, Carol Moukheiber
Rooms: 209, 230, 315, 330, Main Hall B

Thursday, April 25 | Graduate

9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET
Thesis 2 (ALA4022Y)
Coordinator: Mason White 
Room: 242

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 (ARC3021Y)
Instructors: Petros Babasikas, John Shnier, Miles Gertler, Brady Peters
Rooms: 200, 209, 230, 240, 330, Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

Friday, April 26 | Graduate

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 (ARC3021Y)
Instructors: Petros Babasikas, John Shnier, Shane Williamson, Zachary Mollica, Laura Miller
Rooms: 209, 230, 240, 241, 242, 330, Main Hall A, Main Hall B, Main Hall C

The second design studio in the Master of Landscape Architecture sequence, Land(scape) and Memory (LAN1012), introduces concepts, terminology and design research tools for academic and professional work concerning cultural and political history, community engagement and multicultural collaborations, as well as the creation of spaces for ongoing public participation, dialogue, stewardship, shared governance and civic expression. 

For their first project, titled Memory, Healing and Cultural Resurgence: Reconstructing the Counter Monument, LAN1012 students engaged in an analytical reconstruction of case study precedents through models and written interpretations. The aim was to generate a collective vocabulary on the range of dilemmas, aesthetics, places and unfolding of counter monuments, counter ceremonies and cultural regeneration projects relative to memory, loss, healing, narratives, engagement, accountability, prospect, identity and land. 

Projects included analyses of memorials to enslaved workers and to murdered and missing Indigenous women, as well as studies of colonial impositions on land and water, of a decentralized “counter monument” in Berlin, and of the dichotomy between one monument’s intent and its reception. Completed work looked at examples of monuments and memorials from Canada and the U.S. to Germany and South Africa. 

LAN1012 is taught by Associate Professor Liat Margolis and Sessional Lecturer Terence Radford. The projects depicted in the slideshow above are detailed below.

Images 1, 2: The University of Virginia Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, by Howler Yoon, Dr. Mabel O. Wilson, Dr. Frank Dukes, Gregg Bleam Landscape Architect and Eto Otitigbe, was the focus of student Kiana Rezvani Baghae, who explored the carving and stacking of 4,000 sheets of paper, each symbolizing the records, newspaper adverts and receipts of purchase of the enslaved laborers that belonged to and built the University of Virginia.

Images 3, 4: Patrick Minardi studied Every One, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Queer and Trans Relatives Bead Project, a traveling exhibition by Cannupa Hanska Luger. The Native Women’s Association of Canada reports that more than 4,000 individuals have been lost—a number that is staggering, anonymous and unfathomable to most.

Image 5: Claire Leverton studied the 2017 performance King Edward VII Equestrian Statue Floating Down the Don by Life of Craphead. Through a series of mappings from the 1700s to the present day, she traces a history of relentless colonial Impositions on the river and landscape.

Images 6, 7: Georgia Posno studied The Witness Blanket, a traveling art piece commemorating the survivors of the Residential School system, by Indigenous artist Carey Newman/Hayalthkin’gemeto. Over 10,000 Residential School survivors contributed to the making of The Witness Blanket, sharing their stories, gifting objects and walking through sites that held deep memory.

Images 8,9: Benjamin Dunn studied Freedom Park, a post-apartheid heritage monument in Pretoria, South Africa, by NBGM and the Office of Collaborative Architects. Dunn’s model critically analyzes the memorial’s intent to signify a reconciled and unified national consciousness relative to its actual reception.

Images 10, 11: Garry Buchan studied Places of Remembrance by Renata Stih & Frieder Schnock, a decentralized counter monument in Berlin. In this double-sided, life-size model enclosure, 80 of the 400 Nazi laws and public policies between 1933 and 1945 are listed alongside archival photos.

Images 12, 13: Suet Wing (Sylvia) Lo studied the Indigenous Cultural Markers at Humber College by Brook McIlory, led by Ryan Gorrie. Lo’s model investigates the relations of the Anishinaabemowin place names along the Carrying Place’s terrain and waterways.

Based at the Daniels Faculty’s Centre for Landscape Research, Parks in Action is a multidisciplinary, multi-year design-research initiative investigating the untapped potential of public and private open spaces in Toronto’s inner suburbs.

It has included a partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Urban and Regional Planning and is funded by the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant, TransformTO’s Neighbourhood Climate Action Champions Program and Environment Canada.

Recently, Parks in Action launched a comprehensive website, parks-in-action.webflow.io, where is outlines and archives its research to date and documents the workshops and exhibition connected to it.

Entitled “Parks in Action: Co-designing Inclusive Open Spaces,” that exhibition (pictured in slideshow below) opened in June of last year and is still on view at the World Urban Pavilion in Toronto’s Regent Park.

The Parks in Action project, writes Associate Professor Fadi Masoud, Director of the Centre for Landscape Research, “underscores the vital role of suburban parks, open spaces and the public realm in Toronto’s climate adaptation and mitigation,” particularly with relation to air pollution, urban heat-island effect and urban flooding.

“One of its primary objectives,” he continues, “is to assess and quantify the social and environmental value of public and private open spaces in the city’s inner suburbs, specifically its ‘Tower in the Park’ neighbourhoods.”

It also “investigates the untapped potential of these parks in suburban communities,” and asks what kind of design and management strategies are needed to reflect the diversity and heterogeneity of the population they serve, as well as how they might be retrofitted to increase their environmental and social performance.

In June of 2019, the City of Toronto launched its first Resilience Strategy at the Daniels Faculty. This strategy identified the overlap of climate risks and social vulnerability in Toronto’s aging high-rise rental apartment towers as “the single most pressing, urgent priority for the city’s resilience.”

Toronto is home to North America’s largest concentration of postwar apartment towers, with vast green spaces, ravines, parks and schools typically surrounding over 1,500 buildings throughout the city.

Over the years, the Parks in Action team has engaged in “Knowledge Exchange” sessions with grassroots leaders, city officials and community members, with members co-creating and distributing risk and opportunity maps (such as maps that illustrate the links between surface heat temperature, air pollution, land cover and tree canopy) to local leaders. Local leaders and climate champions then connected this data with lived experience and existing policy to advocate for neighbourhood change, building a shared language for considering green open spaces’ critical role in residents’ daily lives and long-term health and well-being.

Based on the “Knowledge Exchange” sessions, the Parks in Action team devised a set of Climate Design Action Cards that identify a slate of design solutions to climate change ranging from small and easy interventions to more significant ones that can be enacted or advocated by leaders and residents. The Climate Design Action Cards informed spatial scenarios on prototypical transect cross-sections of Toronto’s inner suburbs, offering innovative tools to engage with local leaders and residents, facilitate engagement, and empower community members to better advocate for local climate action.

Congruently, a series of Community Climate Action Hubs were designed for parks in equity-deserving neighbourhoods. The installations exemplified the project’s commitment to reinventing outdoor spaces, providing environmental education, increasing accessibility and offering spaces for socialization. The first set of installations is currently under construction in various parks in the city. 

Overall, Parks in Action has showcased how building resilience requires a holistic approach that considers public open space as part of the shared infrastructure of climate adaptation. To that end, the design research is shaped by the lived experiences of individuals and communities, highlighting the interconnectedness of social climate action and design thinking.

For more information on the Parks in Action project and to peruse its research to date, visit its site here.