On the occasion of winning the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Gold Medal with her partner, Howard Sutcliffe, Professor Brigitte Shim took the time for a virtual interview to reflect on her 33 years of teaching at the Daniels Faculty.

You have been teaching at the Daniels Faculty at the University of Toronto since 1988. Why is teaching so important to you?

Educating the next generation of architects is essential to fostering design excellence in Canada and to helping to guide the future of our world. I see teaching as a form of design advocacy: part of permeating, contributing and being deeply invested in what really matters.

The Daniels Faculty fosters an environment of tremendous reciprocity: The Faculty is comprised of esteemed colleagues who feel equally serious about this commitment to the future of the profession and students who draw on diverse backgrounds, cultures and perspectives. Together we all invest a tremendous amount of our time, energy and optimism into our undergraduate and graduate students sharing our knowledge and experiences with them.

How do you determine the topics of your studios?

My studios always addressed pressing themes, and are often taught in collaboration with other architects, landscape architects, urban planners, artists, and academics to cultivate rich, cross-disciplinary perspectives. With each new studio, I try to seek out themes that are not just exercises, but rather opportunities to explore and test issues that are fundamentally shaping the future of cities and the broader environment.

We aim to empower our students to not only discover these themes, but to develop a different reading of the city and to think about how they can shape better futures. Take for example: advancing the intensification of Toronto laneways, building for northern climates, rethinking community-based healthcare, interrogating the challenge of contested and sacred sites, and more recently, the role of places of production linking our forests to factories – to name just a few.

How would you encourage new students to approach experimentation and invention in the design process?

The work that my students undertake while in architecture school must push the boundaries and rethink the possibilities of design to reshape the built environment. Through collaboration, exploration, and experimentation there will be invention and discovery.

Are there particular lessons from your time in university that have proven resonant as you have moved through your career?

As a young architecture student, seeing built work in person enabled me to experience different kinds of spaces and to understand the importance of landscape and context. The many field trips to visit buildings while in architecture school at the University of Waterloo had a huge impact on my understanding of architecture’s potential.

Subsequently, as a faculty member at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, I led many field trips to give Daniels students the same opportunities to see buildings and their landscapes. These travels have helped my students to develop a deep respect for, and understanding of, the physicality of architecture, landscape, and to understand the importance of site and context.

Brigitte Shim and a group of students visit Robert Smithson's earthwork "Spiral Jetty" (1970) during a reading week trip to Utah in 2017. 

Your studio, Shim-Sutcliffe Architects Inc. is recognized for uniting architecture and landscape; and for its experimentations — of materiality, craft and light. What do you think a student should understand about these themes?

Howard and I regard our practice as a part of a broader conversation about making, feeling, learning, expressing, and cultivating responsible stewardship. Each project, regardless of its scale or budget, is part of this continuum. The process is as important as the outcome. Clients and craftspeople are also friends and teachers, helping us to find great pleasure in making things. We see through drawing and model-making. There’s irrational intent behind the movement of the pencil. Drawing allows us to see and explore possibilities – it literally enables us to see.

Building buildings is a physical act. To realize architecture, we are reliant on materiality, craft, and light. Our designs develop from ideas that are rooted in materials and the landscape. We assemble materials such as brick, steel, glass, wood, and concrete and ask them to speak eloquently about who we are and what we value. This notion of connecting ideas, craft, production, materials, architecture, landscape, and the participation of clients and craftspeople is important for creating meaningful places.

And finally, do you have any other advice for current students before they enter their professional life?

I believe that the perceived boundaries between the disciplines of architecture, landscape and urban design, visual art and forestry are false. The best thing about being a student at the Daniels Faculty is that you are under one big roof with engaged students in all these disciplines. Each student must take advantage of this opportunity to discover the disciplines and the very interesting territories in-between.

The Daniels Faculty's summer camps are taking place online this year, rather than in person. And our annual camp open house is moving online, as well: anyone interested in learning more about our fun summer programming for children and teens can join us on Zoom for live Q&As with camp instructors and staff.

All open houses will take place on Wednesday, June 3, 2020. Links to the Zoom livestreams are posted below.

Zoom Open house schedule:

Daniels Bootcamp
Time: Jun 3, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83890453468?pwd=b241ZU51SUlOL21Bd3BIaVMyZEtOQT09
Meeting ID: 838 9045 3468
Password: 182323

Daniels Digital Design Camp
Time: Jun 3, 2020 03:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81095773221?pwd=SFVIMmZUZm1iRFU2NC9DWTg1KytZUT09
Meeting ID: 810 9577 3221
Password: 413460

Daniels Minecraft Camp
Time: Jun 3, 2020 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87024941887?pwd=d21zMGFUUWFWYjNsd1FmMnVQUUtYQT09
Meeting ID: 870 2494 1887
Password: 035017

This year's Daniels Faculty graduating class had an extraordinary final semester. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic a few weeks before final reviews and critiques, many final-year students had to rearrange their lives just as their studies were at their most intense. Despite all of this, they still managed to excel.

Ahead of today's virtual convocation ceremony, we caught up with five new Daniels graduates who were among the recipients of this year's Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Awards, which recognize students who demonstrate exemplary service and commitment to the university. We spoke with them about their favourite Daniels memories, the impact of the virus, and what they're planning to do next.

Yasmin Al-Samarrai (MArch 2020)

What's your favourite Daniels memory?

The community ​at Daniels really makes it what it is. I have many fond memories of time with friends. When I was a part of GALDSU (the graduate student union), we organized an end-of-year party at Hart House. We all dressed up to the nines, and we had an open bar, ​which is always fun. It was a really wonderful and collective experience — one that gave us the opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments in style.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your last semester?

I'm very lucky, because I actually defended my thesis in December, so I was able to avoid the ways in which COVID altered the experience at Daniels. The pandemic has affected our commencement ceremony, though, which is very disappointing. But we've adapted by going virtual, and hopefully we will have a chance to celebrate once things ease up a little.

What are your post-graduation plans?

I was an intern last summer at RAW Design, here in Toronto. I was lucky enough to get offered a position over the winter, while I was still finishing up my last semester. I travelled in January, before the world collapsed, and started a full-time job as soon as I returned. For now, my adult plans are to pay off my student debt. With that said, we live in a pretty precarious time where architecture and design are crucial tools for change, so I would love to do what I can to be better and effect positive change for our communities.

What advice would you give a starting Daniels student?

My advice would be to not be afraid to approach students of different cohorts, especially in the upper years. We all have experienced the struggles and stress of being first-year students at Daniels. It's important to chat with others, to not feel alone.

Also, really prioritize mental health. Go out with your friends. Sleep. School is important, and obviously we all put our lives on hold for the program — but in order to really make it worthwhile you have got to enjoy yourself, so you're not completely burnt out by the time you graduate.

Kevin Nitiema (BA 2020)

What's your favourite Daniels memory?

One of the best memories that I had at Daniels would have been this year, when the whole undergraduate thesis class visited Chicago during the reading week break. We all got to share a 10-hour-long bus ride. It was really, really great to bond with peers outside of an academic setting. We were able to socialize, but also hold academic conversations around what our thesis work would involve. It was an opportunity for us to get closer, but also to experience life in another city that I had never been to.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your last semester?

I was raised in South Africa, so my family is there right now. And a lot of borders are closed, so that's affecting me. My plan was to stay and work in Toronto. I'm adapting those plans on a weekly basis.

What are your post-graduation plans?

I'm taking online courses on topics that are interesting to me. I've also been conducting my own personal research for a couple years now. That has been affected by the global pandemic, but I'm trying to adapt. And I expect to do my master's in maybe a year or two, but probably not in Canada.

What advice would you give a starting Daniels student?

I would really encourage incoming students to not only be involved at Daniels, but also to seek opportunities outside of Daniels. I evolved my own passion for design and technology by connecting with a lot of engineering students throughout my undergrad studies. I worked with them on different projects, both academic and personal. And I've been a don at an Arts and Science residence, and that really helped me reshape my experience as an undergraduate. It really exposed me to different worlds.

Cezzane Ilagan (BA 2020)

What's your favourite Daniels memory?

One of the earliest Daniels memories that I find special was my experience as an orientation leader in second year. That was the same year when we finally moved into One Spadina, and that's when it really felt like Daniels was becoming our second home. I really bonded with a few of the students in my group. And I'm excited to say that some of them have been elected to executive positions on AVSSU for the next school year. It feels like I really had an impact on them and their experience at Daniels.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your last semester?

For my thesis, I was originally supposed to create a series of these small-scale models. I couldn't produce those models, so I presented my research, instead. And I also did a small set of collages. They were inspired by Mies van der Rohe and his style of rendering.

What are your post-graduation plans?

I'll be coming back to Daniels for my Master of Architecture. I'm excited to return to my second home and see all the familiar faces that I've missed these last few weeks.

What advice would you give a starting Daniels student?

Get involved in clubs. I think it's a really great way to meet new people and to enrich your university experience. Also, I've found volunteering at Cafe 059 to be a really fun experience. It's a great way to meet and chat with new people, and it's also a great way to get a break from studying.

Elspeth Holland (MLA 2020)

What's your favourite Daniels memory?

It might be controversial, but I had an excellent Superstudio experience. I had an amazing group. I was working with three architects, which for me is the biggest strength of the faculty: the cross-disciplinary exposure in courses. We each played our own role in this massive master plan project we were working on. And we became wonderful friends, too.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your last semester?

I've been very impressed with how the landscape architecture department has dealt with COVID. Having my thesis reviews during that time was challenging, but I had a fantastic panel of people who were able to tune in. Some of them were from far away, and I don't know if they would have been able to attend our reviews before COVID, so them being there was a positive result from all this. Also, I saw all kinds of interesting new ways of approaching graphics that were sometimes really beneficial to people's workflows.

What are your post-graduation plans?

This is the challenge of COVID. It's really difficult to answer, because I'm uncertain. I do have a contract with a firm in New York. I'm really excited and hopeful, but of course I may not be looking to go and visit New York for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, I'm still working with Justine Holzman, doing research. I'm part of a team of four other students at Daniels who are doing some work with her this summer.

What advice would you give a starting Daniels student?

One of the things that has helped me, not only at Daniels but just in general, is taking opportunities and getting involved. I think the best thing about Daniels for me was that exposure. The more you can get to know people who have different skills than you, the better off you are.

Kian Hosseinnia (BA 2020)

What's your favourite Daniels memory?

I have really good memories of being a TA, especially for Peter Sealy's JAV101 section last year. The experience of working with students — especially first-year students — and trying to communicate some of the things that I have learned, was really nice.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your last semester?

One thing that changed was the scholar-in-residence program that I was involved in. It was supposed to be an experience where students from all over campus would gather and live together for a month and do research, but it ended up being more of an online program through Zoom. The experience ended up being wonderful.

And I had to adjust my work as a TA as a result of the pandemic. Instead of desk crits and pinups, we had to provide feedback to students on Quercus, by looking at their PDF submissions every week. The final review was also very different. Students had to submit a video or audio of them presenting their work and we (Peter Sealy, a guest critic, and myself) had to record our comments and feedback to be sent to students. Overall, I think the shift was successful.

What are your post-graduation plans?

I'm starting graduate school in the fall, at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

What advice would you give a starting Daniels student?

One of the things that helped me a lot was getting involved as much as I could in different ways. I did club work, and student union work. I was in AVSSU for a while. I also worked for the Faculty for a while. All of that really helped me get to know the community. And I'd add that it's valuable for students to get to know their profs. Making the effort to connect with professors will enrich their academic lives at Daniels.

On Saturday, February 23, the Daniels Faculty is hosting the Dronesphere Colloquium, a day-long event that will delve into the use of drones in cities. The Colloquium has been organized by third year graduate student Simon Rabyniuk, whose research on aerial robotics will inform his final Master of Architecture thesis. Undergraduate student Tina Siassi spoke to Rabyniuk about the relationship between architecture and drones, the regulation of low-altitude urban airspace, and how drones may affect our experience of the city.

What prompted your interest in drones in cities?
Last year, I participated in Associate Professor Mason White’s research studio, “Velocities,” which looked at different forms of land, water, and air transportation and mapped the spatial by-products of each. Through this course, I researched the history of drones and some of the aspirations for their future use. While drones are not new, their presence in cities outside of conflict zones is, and, at present, low-altitude airspace is largely uncontrolled except in the vicinity of airports. This led to a curiosity about the intersection of drones and cities, and how drones might impact patterns of movement and lead to the need for new forms of infrastructure.

How are drones currently regulated?
No city has really integrated drones into its airspace yet. Within Toronto they are explicitly regulated based on setbacks required from buildings, cars, and people. You have to be a certain distance away from airports, and there are limits on where you are permitted to launch from. Low-altitude airspace regulations are interesting to track as they are changing quite quickly. In the Canadian context a new set of regulations will take effect June 1.

What kinds of things do new regulations around the use of drones need to consider?
National aviation regulators are concerned with safety, but it is a limited idea of safety. It seeks to ensure safe operation but ignores a broader set of issues related to use and privacy. Part of my research has focused on two pilot projects testing the integration of drones in the United States. These pilots are occurring in 17 different cities. In each context, quite complex public-private partnerships are researching and testing approaches to the integration of drones. Ciara Bracken-Roche from the University of Ottawa notes how this method of working tends to make future regulations reflect a very narrow range of interests. Issues such as ecology and the aesthetic experience of the city need to be considered as well. Orit Halpern, Jesse LeCavalier, Nerea Calvillo, and Wolfgang Pietsch have a useful article called Test Bed Urbanism, which is really helpful in broadly thinking through the nature of these partnerships for introducing new forms if information and communication technology, for which the drone is but one example, to cities.

You were able to further your research on drones in cities this past summer thanks to funding from the Howarth-Wright Fellowship. How did the opportunity to travel inform your research?
The Howarth-Wright Fellowship afforded me a great deal of time for dedicated study and to engage with materials and sites that wouldn’t have been otherwise available. I was able to attend two conferences: the Military Landscape symposium at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library in Washington and the AutoSens conference in Detroit. In August, I spent about ten days at the Avery Library, which is home to Frank Lloyd Wright’s archive. This allowed me to expand the historical frame that I was looking at this with.

The archival work was great to see in person. From very early on, it seemed that Frank Lloyd Wright imagined how communication technology, such as radio or the telephone, and vehicles such as cars, planes, helicopters, and taxis could enable a decentralized urbanism.

One thing I learned from a series of interviews I did is that we have a very narrow conception of what a drone is. We often think of it as the four-propeller quadcopter. But the form of drones enables different uses and scales of action. In this sense, understanding the geography of the drone needs to account for planetary, regional, urban, and district scale relationships. Currently there is a prototype for a drone that can carry 500 pounds 20 miles. From an architectural perspective, perhaps the device itself isn’t that important, but the geographies that it produces are. This is a very logistical example, suggesting different type of supply chain, but it invites starting to think about the relationship of the drone to the city in a different way.

[Ed. note: To learn more about travel awards available to our students, visit: https://www.daniels.utoronto.ca/graduate-awards]

What questions do you hope to explore at the Dronesphere colloquium on February 23?
As this is an emerging topic, the colloquium is taking a broad focus. The day opens with a history of airspace, and concludes with a film-based performance lecture exploring possible futures of the drone. In-between are three panels bringing together landscape/architects, artists, engineers and humanities scholars which will address early stage proposals for the use of drones by designers, the current use of military drones in domestic airspace, and the role of interdisciplinary collaboration in designers working with drones. This multi-disciplinary group of speakers will provide critique, examine histories, and delve into the nuts and bolts of drone use — but the presentations and discussions will certainly invite other possibilities.

What questions are you exploring as part of your Master of Architecture thesis?
I’m interested in understanding the conditions that might produce a more diverse aerial ecology. For example, how could an urban aviary reserve that privileges the movement of birds affect the zoning of airspace? How might property relations change if the entire city becomes and airport, if every rooftop becomes operationalized in some way for drone use? I’m curious about how we might engage with this emergent technology and its possibilities.

Images, above: stills from the dance film "landforms" (2018) made  by Simon Rabyniuk with choreographer Cara Spooner

Are you a drone pilot yourself?
Last summer, in addition to conducting interviews, visiting different sites, and digging into the archives, I bought a drone. This allowed me to engage in a form of practice-based research that forced me to figure out what current airspace regulations meant for me as a hobbyist. It made me more attentive to the airspace above me. I started seeing the places I was walking through in a different way. I thought about what I might see if I launched a drone and took in that aerial view. Flying a drone changed my relationship with my surroundings.

Will you be continuing this research after you present your final thesis? Where do you hope to go from here?
In June I will be attending a conference to share a paper I’m working on it with a friend who is doing graduate work in law at the University of Saskatoon. The paper’s working title is “Archaeology of future airspace.” Archeology in this context refers to the history of property law as it intersects with air rights in the city. It’s an interesting topic, and there’s a lot of ways to keep working with it.

The Dronesphere Colloquium is free and open to all. Click here to register for a free ticket.

Image, top: by Simon Rabyniuk, part of a section drawing created for a pamphlet (in progress) titled Dronesphere: Roofscapes

Last year, Peter Kitchen (MArch 2016) took part in the Daniels Faculty’s Student-Professionals Networking event for the first time as a professional. Now an Intern Architect with KPMB, Kitchen looked forward to providing guidance to graduate students — after all, it wasn’t that long ago that he was a student himself. Undergraduate student Tina Siassi (BA, Architectural Studies, 2019) spoke to Kitchen about his emerging career, tips for current students, and how the Daniels Faculty prepared him for life after school.

What was the best piece of advice that you received when attending the networking event as a student?
It was a number of years ago, but I recall learning about the importance of making connections in the industry and building relationships with architects at other firms and participating in your community and network.

Did you work on making connections before graduation? Did they prove fruitful?
I did an internship the summer before graduating, which lead to a full-time position.

Attending the student-professionals networking event as a professional, what was the most challenging question to answer?
The most challenging question was: “how can a student or recent grad differentiate themselves from the competition?” It is a competitive field once you graduate and begin searching for employment. There is no single answer; however, it depends on what your skills are and I would suggest curating your work to your strengths; offices will notice.

How did the Daniels Faculty’s Master of Architecture program prepare you for life after graduation?
Daniels has a large cross-section of faculty that come from a wide variety of creative backgrounds, so as a student, if you are able to foster those relationships and use them as a resource it can help you understand which direction you want to go in — whether it is something academic and research-based versus working on larger public realm projects or private residential homes. I think that is an advantage U of T offers.

What is the one piece of advice that you would give to current students who are looking for jobs?
Research the offices you are interested in working with to understand what they have to offer in terms of your growth as a designer and pursue opportunities that align with your actual interests and skills.

What events or extracurricular activities do you think would be valuable for current students to get involved in to better their chances of success after school?
There are so many things you can do! There are certainly the lectures, both the Daniels lectures and external ones, including those organized by the Toronto Society of Architects where you can easily become a member. Being aware of what is going on in the city is important — new projects and construction are on every block. Look into the planning background of the buildings you see going up and how it contributes to the architecture around us. You can also attend public hearings and reviews for more exposure to some of these designs. All of these activities will expose you to design professionals within the industry and you can make meaningful connections this way.

What was the most memorable part of your degree?
The best memories at Daniels come from the various trips I made with other classmates and professors for studio classes. In particular, during third-year Option Studio, I went to Yellowknife, NWT with Professor Mason White and the rest of my classmates. There, we had the opportunity to engage with different indigenous communities and elders — learning first hand their way of living and real needs. This experience drastically changed my perception of what my studio project really needed to become. The objective of the studio was to design an aboriginal wellness centre in Yellowknife.

What inspired your thesis topic?
This project started by analysing the real and non-real of the precepts that shape our environments, behaviours and limitations. In particular, I was interested in how borders, as arbitrated divisions of territories, have been a source of segregation between traditions, legacies, beliefs, and cultures. Yet, these divisions are merely a series of dotted lines illustrated on maps that are established, enforced, and inherited based on complex past events.  For the Raizals  —  a Creole-speaking people of Afro-Caribbean and British descent, who inhabit the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina —  the fight between Nicaragua and Colombia over their territory has created a series of inconvenient divisions in the place that they have always known, related to, and understood. These debates between nations have ignored the fact that the archipelago is a network of islands, banks, cays, and other atolls that act as one connected system. Such divisions limit the movement of the archipelago’s inhabitants — even though the borders are nowhere to be seen, as they run through water. When a border only exists on paper without a tangible physical presence, its perception, existence, and reality become uncertain. 

Using the rationale of micronations, the establishment of the Archipelago of San Andres unfolds in a defined, self-proclaimed place whose boundaries, independence and recognition exist as both fact and fiction. Through iterative graphic explorations, this project aims to question how architectural forms act as a medium through which the physical manifestation of self-determination can be explored for the Raizals. In conjunction with the non-architectural symbolic elements — such as a flag, coat of arms and currency — built structures can be seen, used, and associated with a sense of autonomy and belonging.

What advice you would give to a new student?
Don't miss any chance to travel as much as possible before and during school. It is okay to miss a semester or a year before you finish your degree if you get to work and/or travel through Europe, Latin America, Africa, Australia or Asia.

What are your plans after graduation?
Apart from working hard to become an Architect, I want to keep travelling and learning as much as possible from other cultures. Although university education is invaluable, I find that meeting people from other places always bring the biggest learning rewards.

Herman Borrego's thesis won the Kuwabara-Jackman Architecture Thesis Gold Medal.

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Convocation for #UofTDaniels students was on June 14. This month we are featuring our graduates, including their work, their memories, and their advice for new students. Follow #DanielsGrad18 for more!

What was the most memorable part of your degree?
Becoming acquainted with many professors of various specializations from media and critical theory, to post-colonialism, and cross-overs with a variety of disciplines, while developing an awareness of the socio-economic realities of a global city such as Toronto. As well as gaining memorable experiences as a teaching assistant while trying to share my interest and knowledge of what we can consider ‘architecture’. All of these aspects formed an indivisible whole that made my experience of U of T a very enjoyable one.

What inspired your thesis topic?
Before coming in Toronto, I had no idea that, after New York, Toronto was the North American city with the most high-rise buildings, many of them postwar concrete apartment buildings found in the suburbs. A consequence of their mismatched zoning and contemporary demographics, these living spaces are now in dire need of revitalization and targeted actions. As such, this was for me a very interesting topic as it was both specific to the Toronto area, and to a broader range of disciplinary issues. Building upon the inspiring work of Tower Renewal initiative and other international case studies, I was interested in expanding an existing body of knowledge by focusing on a grey zone, such as the space at the base of the towers, a common ground often left-over in these projects which could be a catalyst for a distinct approach to the problem.

What advice would you give to a new student?
University of Toronto is a big fruit; don’t be scared to take a bite! It is a great institution with many means and capacities to support good ideas and projects, do not be shy to apply to grants, awards, working positions, and ask for funding. While being an university student, you are in the best spot to initiate projects and gain meaningful experience that will propel you to where you want to be in the future.

What are your plans after graduation?
I'm ultimately interested in both architectural practice and research/teaching, I am right now taking a break from academia by gaining more practical experience here in Toronto. Who knows what will be my next step?

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Convocation for #UofTDaniels students was on June 14. This month we are featuring our graduates, including their work, their memories, and their advice for new students. Follow #DanielsGrad18 for more!

What was the most enjoyable part of your degree?
Travelling to Sarasota to study the mid-century architecture of Paul Rudolph was definitely a highlight. I will also say working through the night at 230 college just deleting extraneous lines from a 'Make 2D' in Rhino was somehow very fun and rewarding.

What inspired your thesis topic?
For my thesis I was interested in creating a narrative – inspired by architecture that is represented rather than built, in mediums such as comic books; like Jim Lai's Citizens of No Place. I liked how you could make architecture that did not respond to physical constraints necessarily, allowing the focus to lie in social concerns and thought experiments. I really wanted to explore absurdity and science fiction.

Tell us more about your thesis!
The aim of this thesis is to use the genre of science fiction as a thought experiment for imagining the future of beachfront properties in Sarasota Florida. What would become of Florida’s vulnerable coast if storms were to increase in severity and frequency? If sea levels impede current living conditions? The affects of climate and natural disasters have always been very real for the less economically prosperous – but what would it take for increasing storm severity, and increasing sea levels to feel real to everyone?

What is one piece of advice you would give to a new student?
Do work you are proud of.

What are your plans after graduation?
After I graduate I plan on working to become an architect. Right now I am working at Studio JCI, a Toronto based architecture firm.

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Convocation for #UofTDaniels students was on June 14. This month we are featuring our graduates, including their work, their memories, and their advice for new students. Follow #DanielsGrad18 for more!

Degree: Honours, Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies & Visual Studies

What was the most enjoyable or memorable part of your degree?
Visual studies studios and moments shared with friends.

Image, above: the only thing i know | Out of frustration with the circumstances that have contributed to my unfamiliarity with Chinese writing, I impulsively and obsessively fill a 4-yard length of white synthetic silk, fervently claiming the only thing I know how to write: my name.

What advice you would give to a new student?
Pour your love and effort into the things you make; really try to embrace everything you do.

Image, above: the whirlpool | I am weighed down; the whirlpool will consume me.

How has your understanding of architecture changed over the course of your degree?
I have learned that you can be more than an architect with an architecture degree.

Image, above: us | A depiction of the relationship I have with one of the shadows I have encountered.

What are your plans after graduation? How has this degree prepared you for the future?
I am looking forward to finding design and art-related work. The degree has shown me how flexible my creativity can be.

Image, above: aeh khee | White paper chrysanthemums, used as funerary flowers in Chinese communities, act as stand-ins for the bodies of the Chinese-Indonesians slaughtered during the mass killings of 1965-1966. My work seeks to dignify the hundreds of thousands lost and to serve as a reminder of the importance of reconciliation.

Illustration in slideshow, top:
uggggggggh | A self-portrait on one of my low days.

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Convocation for #UofTDaniels students was on June 14. This month we are featuring our graduates, including their work, their memories, and their advice for new students. Follow #DanielsGrad18 for more!