The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design is excited to present its public programming for fall 2021.  

Through a series of book talks, panel discussions and lectures, our aim is to foster a meaningful dialogue on the important social, political and environmental challenges that confront our world today. How might we create new knowledge and leverage it as a tool for critical reflection and, ultimately, collective change? Our programs, and the difficult questions that motivate them, address a range of topics that are central to what we do: the relationship between the built and natural environment, land and sovereignty, the city and social justice, technology and building practice and resiliency and climate change, among others.  

Fall 2021 marks a period of new beginnings for the Daniels Faculty. As we embark on this academic year, we also reflect on our role as an institution for learning and knowledge creation. To this, we are supplementing our events with exhibitions that similarly probe at the boundaries of our various disciplines. Whether in the Architecture and Design Gallery, our corridors, or the north façade of the Daniels Building, the work on view this year asks: how do we engage with the world as it is at this moment?  

All events are free and open to the public. Register in advance and check the calendar for up-to-date details on hybrid events that offer a virtual and in-person experience: daniels.utoronto.ca/events.  

Fall 2021  

October 7, 6:30 p.m. 
How...?: Ten Questions on the Future of Education and Engagement
Dean’s Opening Dialogue  

Juan Du (Daniels Faculty Dean and Professor, University of Toronto), in conversation with: 
Shashi Kant (Forestry 1996; Professor of Forest Economics and Sustainability, University of Toronto)   
Kaari Kitawi (Landscape Architecture 2015; Urban Designer, City of Toronto)  
Bruce Kuwabara (Architecture 1972; Architect and Founder, KPMB Architects)  
Yan Wu (Visual Studies 2015; Public Art Curator, City of Markham) 
 
How...? Ten Questions on the Future of Advocacy and Change 
Exhibition – Thesis Projects in Architecture, Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Urbanism and Visual Studies 

Oct. 14, 12 p.m.  
Natural Architecture — An Archeology of the Future 
Lina Ghotmeh, 2021-2022 Frank O. Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design 

Oct. 21, 6:30 p.m. 
Robots as Companions 
Sougwen Chung (Artist, New York) 
Madeline Gannon (Artist, Researcher, Pittsburgh)  
Moderated by Maria Yablonina (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

Oct. 25, 1 p.m.  
Shared Space, Shared Vision, Shared Power: Advancing Racial Justice in American Cities 
Stephen Gray (Harvard University, Graduate School of Design) 
Co-moderated by Fadi Masoud and Michael Piper (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m. 
Book Talk: Barry Sampson: Teaching + Practice  
Editors:  
Annette LeCuyer (University of Buffalo, School of Architecture and Planning) 
Brian Carter (University of Buffalo, School of Architecture and Planning) 
 
Contributors: 
George Baird (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty)
Bruce Kuwabara (KPMB Architects) 
Jon Neuert (Baird Sampson Neuert Architects) 
Pina Petricone (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 
Brigitte Shim (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty)   
Nader Tehrani (The Cooper Union, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture) 
 
Speakers: 
Stephen Bauer (Reigo & Bauer)   
Geoffrey Turnbull (KPMB Architects)   
Novka Cosovic (Bau & Cos Studio) 

Nov. 2, 6:30 p.m.  
Artist Talk with Que Rock 
Que Rock (Artist) 

Nov. 15, 12 p.m.  
Revisiting the Commons 
Kofi Boone (North Carolina State University, College of Design) 
Co-moderated by Liat Margolis and Fadi Masoud (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

Nov. 18, 6:30 p.m.  
Book Talk: Terra-Sorta-Firma  
Editor: Fadi Masoud (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 
Contributors:
Luna Khirfan (University of Waterloo, School of Planning)  
Xiaoxuan Lu (The University of Hong Kong, Division of Landscape Architecture)  
Ben Mendelsohn (Portland State University, Film and Digital Culture)  
Michael T. Wilson (RAND Corporation) 
Moderated by Brent D. Ryan (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)  

Nov. 30, 12 p.m.  
Book Talk: Landscape Citizenships  
Editors: 
Dr. Tim Waterman (The Bartlett School of Architecture, Faculty of the Built Environment) 
Jane Wolff (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 
Dr. Ed Wall (University of Greenwich, Landscape Architecture and Urbanism) 

Learn more about News and Events and Exhibitions, follow along with the Faculty on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign-up for This Week @ Daniels to receive current information on upcoming events. 

Three Daniels Faculty student projects have won Toronto Urban Design Awards (TUDA), the biennial program announced.  

Each winner was revealed in a virtual ceremony earlier this week: Power and Place was the recipient of an Award of Excellence. Elsewhere, Embodied Energy: Living Lab and XS Spaces: A New Laneway Urbanism earned Awards of Merit. All won awards in the student category. 

Held by the City of Toronto, the TUDA program recognizes architects, landscape architects, artists, city builders and students who help improve the livability of their cities. This year, the TUDA received 170 submissions across nine categories, with the student category inviting theoretical or studio projects.  

Here’s a closer look at the three ambitious student projects that won TUDA recognition. 

Power and Place 

Developed by third-year M. Arch students Erik Roberson, Yoyo Tang and Zak Jacobi, the Award of Excellence-winning Power and Place proposes a design intervention for Princess Gardens — located in Toronto’s west end — that includes affordable housing, energy infrastructure and new community spaces.  

Initially completed as part of the Integrated Urbanism Studio — which, for fall 2020, challenged students to reimagine Toronto’s postwar neighbourhoods through the lens of the Green New Deal — the plan challenges the inequities built into an area populated with detached, single-family homes. Daniels professor Mason White was the team's studio instructor, along with fellow studio coordinators Fadi Masoud and Michael Piper. 

Developed around the site of a future Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT) station, the project proposes the addition of mixed-use, mid-rise development the reimagination of a present hydro corridor. Along Eglinton Avenue, where the LRT station will reside, Power and Place proposes the replacement of parking lots of car- and bike-sharing facilities, with buildings that will provide space for housing, offices and local retailers. Along Kipling Avenue — another major thoroughfare — mixed-use developments will step back the Princess Gardens’ interior, integrating with the existing low-rise subdivisions. 

The reimagined hydro corridor, along the Princess Gardens’ western edge, will add solar panels, wind turbines and kites that harness high-altitude wind energy to the Etobicoke Spine. With renewable energy, community space and mixed-use development, the project aims to make the suburbs more equitable — and explores the possibility hidden in Toronto’s residential neighbourhoods. 

Embodied Energy: Living Lab 

Agata Mrozowski and Madison Appleby’s Embodied Energy: Living Lab earned a TUDA Award of Merit for its reimagination of Willcocks Street on U of T’s St. George campus. Along with proposing a pedestrian-centred redesign, Embodied Energy aims to increase the area’s permeability — which will take pressure off existing city infrastructure — while adding learning spaces focused on urban ecology. The project was completed as part of Landscape Design Studio 2, led by Associate Professor Liat Margolis and Assistant Professor Elise Shelley. 

First, the project considered Willcocks’ current state. While walking the stretch, Mrozowski and Appleby noticed three things: first, boulders line the street in an attempt to direct pedestrian and car flow. Secondly, they noticed vegetation pushing its way through paving patterns. And finally, the influence of Modernist architecture was notable in the area’s usage of concrete laid along vertical plains. 

Reconstituting the site’s existing materials — ashpalt, concrete and clay, after all, all have natural origins, histories and life cycles — Embodied Energy imagines the site with five programmatic zones. Grass seams, with species common in alvar prairies, are proposed; canopy and understory layers expand from existing tree locations; rock gardens include excavated deposits of piled concrete; boulders are employed as landmarks and gathering spaces; and finally, experimental drifts are the site’s living lab, where students and passersby can note how species change over time. 

The reconstitution of existing materials was key to Embodied Energy. It’s an approach that, in the project’s description, aims to honour objects as keepers of memory — a perspective understood by many Indigenous worldviews. “By honouring the spirit and life-cycle of these materials, and centering land-based learning pedagogies, our project also responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action for more Indigenous spaces on campus,” write Appleby and Mrozowski. 

XS Spaces: A New Laneway Urbanism for Toronto 

The city’s laneways are often hidden in plain sight, but they needn’t be. As part of an undergraduate thesis project — with Jeannie Kim, an associate professor, as its instructor — Declan Roberts developed XS Spaces: A New Laneway Urbanism for Toronto, a project that aims to reclaims these spaces for city-dwellers. And, as the project’s title suggests, it imagines laneways not as excess spaces, but as untapped urban resources. 

In their current state, laneways are “functionally obsolete, devoid of ownership and surrendered to the car,” per the project’s description. The thesis project activates these spaces by turning them into decentralized, hyper-local and DIY spaces — and by framing them not simply as interstitial areas, but as connective tissue for the city. Roberts imagines a new street typology for the laneway, and one that is geared towards the pedestrian — not the vehicle. 

In examining the renderings produced for XS Spaces, the transformation is vivid. First, housing lines the newly pedestrianized laneways, and with them, come rooftop patios, colourful clotheslines and gathering spaces carved from cantilevered buildings. Between the houses, recreational and gathering spaces abound, with benches, planters, greenhouses, community gardens and even a volleyball net. In renderings, the project’s DIY proclivities are especially evident: note, for instance, a film screening projected against the side of a home. 

XS Spaces imagines that these redesigned laneways can address the housing crisis, sustainability, urban circulation and public-space access. Hidden no more. 

Welcome and acknowledgment

Welcome to the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto! I wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

The vision for our Faculty

The Daniels Faculty is diverse and dynamic, hosting nearly 20 academic programs, and home to 2,000 students, staff and faculty members from around the world. With the recent joining of U of T’s forestry programs, we continue to advance innovations in teaching and learning by bridging the studies of the built and natural environment. We ask, what happens when we position our design and research by approaching the world as it is, as one environment? More importantly, how could we generate new knowledge and leverage it as a tool for critical reflection, and ultimately, societal change?

I look forward to fostering thoughtful dialogues both on and off campus, as we seek the common ground that is fundamental to addressing urgent social, political and environmental challenges. There is exciting potential for further interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaborations across the University — as well as with communities in Toronto and around the world. As we embark on a new academic year, there is no better time to reflect on our role as an institution for learning, discovery and knowledge creation.

The evolution of our school

The University began as a royal chartered King's College in 1827. Seeking secularization and independence, it became the nondenominational University of Toronto in 1850. The study of the built and natural environments are well-established fields of academic inquiries within the University. In fact, the Daniels Faculty hosts both Canada’s first architecture program, established in 1890, and the country’s first forestry faculty in 1907 — both early programs across North America as well.

Today, the University of Toronto has evolved into one of the world’s top research-intensive universities. And the Daniels Faculty is now an unparalleled centre for learning and research, with graduate programs in architecture, forestry, landscape architecture, urban design and visual studies — as well as unique undergraduate programs that use architectural studies and visual studies as a lens through which students may pursue a broad, liberal arts-based education.

The purpose of our institution

The University and our Faculty have evolved, but it is worth remembering that they have always aspired to both intellectual and societal pursuits. I would like to share a statement of purpose published by the University’s Governing Council in 1992, for I found it to be deeply inspirational and acutely relevant as we move forward within a world with ever-increasing complexity. It reinforces the fundamental principles of our teaching, learning, research and services.

Within the unique university context, the most crucial of all human rights are the rights of freedom of speech, academic freedom and freedom of research. And we affirm that these rights are meaningless unless they entail the right to raise deeply disturbing questions and provocative challenges to the cherished beliefs of society at large and of the university itself. It is this human right to radical, critical teaching and research with which the University has a duty above all to be concerned; for there is no one else, no other institution and no other office, in our modern liberal democracy, which is the custodian of this most precious and vulnerable right of the liberated human spirit.

An invitation to participate

This statement is a reminder to our community of the responsibilities we share. Today, critical teaching and research must confront pressing social and environmental problems — issues that, in our globalizing world, impact everyone. Those problems, and the necessary solutions, transcend disciplinary and national borders. We are also reminded to cherish our individual uniqueness — cultural, political, social, racial, gender — and to recognize our common pursuit of human purpose in a shared global environment.

We invite you to join us in this humanist pursuit, through learning in classrooms, researching in labs, participating in our online and in-person public programs and working together in our communities at home and abroad.

Juan Du (she/her)
Dean and Professor
John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Excerpt from the “Statement of Institutional Purpose,” University of Toronto Governing Council, Oct. 15, 1992. 

Three recent Daniels Faculty graduates from the Class of 2021 sat down with us to remember their time at university and share advice for new and current students. From memorable courses and favourite spots on campus, to critical first-year skills and advice for maintaining balance – read on for their responses.

Sheetza McGarry – Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies

What is your favourite memory at U of T and the Daniels Faculty?   

I don't think I can pick just one. However, I would say the community in general. The friendships made at this faculty become your teammates, support network, and family away from home. The relationships formed with faculty members are so supportive and really opened my eyes to the possibilities of architecture and design beyond this academic stage.  

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when starting your program?   

Self-care and socializing are just as important as school. You need to find a balance. It's 10x harder to do your best work alone and when you're not taking care of yourself.  

What skills do you think first-year students should focus on developing?   

Getting used to synthesizing large readings will definitely help with the first-year reading requirements. It also never hurts to get a leg up on the Adobe Suite (specifically Illustrator and Photoshop), Rhino, and AutoCAD. However, most importantly I'd just say keep creating, find what gets you excited and explore it.  

What was your favourite course that you took at Daniels?  

Any of the design studios of course. I also loved Artist's Writings. It was a great way to read pieces from creatives that we learn about in theory classes. From reading their works and having critical discussions about them in class, I discovered a lot about my own practice and places I grappled with my identity within the art and architecture field. The projects that came out of this class are some that I hold closest to my heart, and have gone on to inform the way I approach my artistic practice whether that be visual arts, writing, or architecture and design.  

How do you maintain a good work/life balance?   

It's a constant process of reminding myself to take breaks and step back. Without it, it can get a bit too easy to lose perspective on your work and academics in general. Don't forget to be excited about things outside of school: a meal you're really interested in trying to cook, a park you want to read in, or a new cycling route. Also, surrounding yourself with people you mesh well with will make work/life balance seamless as you'll support one another and remind each other to have fun!  

What is your favourite spot on campus?  

​The Bamboo Garden in the Terrence Donnelly Centre! Brightens any rainy or snowy day.  

What tips for success do you have for first-year students at Daniels? 

Find people you work well with and have fun with and hold on to them. With so much change going on at this stage in life, you'll grow more than you can ever expect. Having a community to do that with is the best feeling as you enter adulthood! Your community will become your collaborators, critics, and of course friends. Finally, remember to take care of yourself and have fun - it'll go by quick so make the most of it!  

Juliette Cook – Master of Architecture

What is your favourite memory at U of T and the Daniels Faculty?   

There are a few, but one of my favourite memory at Daniels comes from first year, when two of the people in my studio and I agreed we would never stay past 10pm. Fast forward to the weekend before the first deadline, we were in studio figuring out how to unroll surfaces and glue our models together, and stayed until about 2am. While we were tired and disappointed we didn’t abide by our ‘rule’, we sort of chuckled about it, and since we all lived in the East end, Ubered home together when we were done. Those two people have remained two of my closest friends throughout the program. You definitely bond during those late nights in studio! 

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when starting your program?   

It is never worth skipping a meal – always take that time away from your computer to nourish yourself and give your brain a break. 

  What skills do you think first-year students should focus on developing?   

I think it is important to ask for support in developing skills to design with climate change in mind; in other words, thinking about embodied and operational carbon. This may take the form of learning software skills (daylighting, energy intensity, carbon accounting, etc.) to learning about societal and environmental strategies for environmental management. One course that I think should be incorporated into first-year learning is Doug Anderson’s ‘Indigenous Perspectives on Landscapes.’

I also think it would be beneficial to have some small group exercises in studio, for example for doing precedent analysis, or even site analysis. Group work is an integral part of being in the field and practicing those skills in school will translate well to any workplace where you would work alongside a team (i.e. most workplaces!) Finally, students should be open-minded to experimenting with different techniques to find what helps to make their work legible and accessible to others. 

  What was your favourite course that you took at Daniels?  

Barring studio courses, my favourite is a toss up between Peter Sealy’s Berlin in Film summer course, and Tei Carpenter’s By Other Means seminar. From the content to the format of the class, I felt very inspired and motivated by these two. 

  How do you maintain a good work/life balance?   

I worked throughout my degree, outside of school as well as a TA in 2nd and 3rd year. While shuffling around the city commuting and also having to work made my schedule quite tight, both of these activities were a welcome break from thinking about schoolwork. It allowed me to take some space from studio and come back refreshed. I also would not compromise on working out / stretching, and even kept a lacrosse ball in my desk drawer to roll out my tired feet. Reserving time for a partner, friends, and family was key – though I wasn’t physically seeing many of these people over the course of the 3-year degree, regular calls during studio breaks or commutes home were good reminders that life goes on after school. 

 What is your favourite spot on campus?  

The PIT! Great spot to have lunch / take a break with a group of friends. I am not sure if everyone calls it the pit, but it is the auditorium space leading up to the grad studio. With COVID, Daniels Gathertown Edition was also a great place to be!   

  What tips for success do you have for first-year students at Daniels?   

My main tip would be figuring out a workflow that allows you to be efficient, while staying excited about what you are working on. If I felt like working on a perspective collage in Photoshop, even without having more technical drawings completed yet, I rolled with that feeling so that I had a rendered vision of my project that would keep me inspired. Starting tests on representation techniques early helped to confirm whether or not what I imagined in my brain would work out on paper! 

Rida Khan – Master of Urban Design

What is your favourite memory at U of T and the Daniels Faculty?   

It has to be during my online thesis presentation when so many of my past and current teachers all took time out to see my final work. I couldn’t stop smiling. I owe my growth as a designer to their guidance and patience and I am grateful to have created those relationships at Daniels. 

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when starting your program?   

Speak up and ask for help, you are not supposed to know everything.  

What skills do you think first-year students should focus on developing?  

Build your communication skills, understand your strengths, and acknowledge weaknesses you can build on. There are students and faculty who can help you inside and outside the classroom to build you up if you learn how to communicate well. 

What was your favourite course that you took at Daniels?  

Superstudio (the joint course between graduate students in Urban Design, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture). It was memorable. Good memories, bad memories. I felt hopeful and powerless at the same time – it was something!  

How do you maintain a good work/life balance?   

During my time at Daniels I had to constantly remind myself that I am in school to learn and not to prove something at the cost of my physical and mental health- we are intending to become designers not participate in Fear Factor. I made a rule for myself to not do all-nighters (I ended up doing a couple) and focus on the quality not quantity of the ideas I brought forward.  

What is your favourite spot on campus?  

The Daniels building is majestic, and I love to point out to friends that I am associated with it. The Graduate Studio where all the Urban Design, Architecture and Landscape Architecture students worked together is a space of student solidarity and potential. I also love that the Multifaith Centre is just steps away for those moments when you just needed to get away, reflect, or pray.  

What tips for success do you have for first-year students at Daniels?   

Soak in where you are: a top design school in one of North America’s fastest-growing cities surrounded by the best teachers. I encourage students to learn from their instructors and proactively engage in opportunities to uplift your colleagues and communities outside of coursework. 

As we celebrate the Class of 2021, the Daniels Faculty invites you to explore the inaugural (virtual) End-of-Year Show. The End-of-Year Show represents a multi-disciplinary collection of student work in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design.

Graduate students, as well as undergraduate students who completed thesis projects, were invited to upload their work and craft their own project pages. Search the show by student name and program, or see a rotating selection of all projects through the home page.

Take me to the End-of-Year Show

The banner image features work from (L-R): 
Jiazhi (Jake) Yin, Landscape Architecture, Advisor: Fadi Masoud
Rishi Tailor, Architecture, Advisor: Adrian Phiffer
Vanessa Wang, Architecture, Advisor: John Shnier
Kurtis Chen, Architecture, Advisors: Mariana Leguia, Angus Laurie
Zainab Wakil, Architectural Studies, Advisor: Jeannie Kim

Each semester, the Daniels Faculty publishes a booklet with short descriptions of every graduate thesis project being presented during final reviews. The Winter 2021 Thesis Booklet is an easy way to get an overview of the work produced by the latest cohort of Master of Architecture, Master of Urban Design, and Master of Landscape Architecture students before you attend their presentations on April 21, 22, and 23.

The booklet can be read in its entirety below. (Download a PDF to read offline by clicking the "download" button in the upper righthand corner.)

The Urban Land Institute Hines Student Competition is a prestigious annual contest in which student teams compete to create the best solution to a complex urban design problem. In the past, the grand prize has always gone to students from American universities. That streak ended this week when a Canadian team, including two students from the Daniels Faculty, took the competition's top spot for 2021.

The winning team included Ruotian Tan, a Daniels Faculty Master of Urban Design student, and Chenyi Xu, a Daniels Faculty Master of Architecture student. They had three teammates from other Toronto universities: Frances Grout-Brown and Leorah Klein, urban planning students at Ryerson University, and Yanlin Zhou, a student in York University's Master of Real Estate and Infrastructure program. The group was supervised by Steven Webber and Victor Perez-Amado, both assistant professors at Ryerson's School of Urban and Regional Planning. Raymond Lee, a senior associate at Weston Williamson + Partners, and Christina Giannone, vice president of planning and development at Port Credit West Village Partners, acted as advisors.

The group made its final submission to the competition's jury on April 8, in a videoconference presentation. The Urban Land Institute, which holds the competition, announced the win on Monday.

The all-Toronto team bested a field of 104 other entires from schools around North America. The four other finalists represented a number of America's top schools, including Penn State, Columbia, Berkeley, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

In addition to the bragging rights that come with having impressed the competition's high-powered jury of practitioners from the fields of design, land use, and real estate, the students will get something a little more tangible: a $50,000 (U.S.) prize to split.

"Reflecting on this experience in its entirety, it’s surreal how much we’ve learned along the way," the team said in a statement to the Urban Land Institute. "Though each member of the team brought different skills to the table, we were strongly aligned in our aspirations for the site and were proud to present our proposal rooted in enabling physical and social connectivity and achieving economic and environmental resilience."

The group's master plan includes a 107,000-square foot community centre.

The ULI Hines Student Competition asks students to form multidisciplinary teams and tackle a multifaceted urban design project. This year's competition brief called for groups to develop master plans for the East Village, a neighbourhood in Kansas City, Missouri. Student proposals had to take into account a number of goals, including positive economic impact, sustainability, housing affordability, and access to transportation. Teams were required not only to design ways of transforming the neighbourhood, but also to develop phased implementation plans and financial pro formas.

The Daniels/Ryerson/York team's design, titled "Fusion," was unique among the competition's finalists in that it didn't include any tourist infrastructure. Instead, the group chose to focus on building a lively pedestrian promenade for locals, lined with mixed-income residences, office space, retail, and a 107,000-square-foot community centre with housing for seniors inside.

The Fusion site plan.

The group's master plan also included a network of green infrastructure intended to control the flow of stormwater across the site. Permeable pavement and street bioswales would allow the East Village to absorb rain and store it for reuse in a series of local gardens and green roofs. A vertical farming greenhouse would make it possible for the neighbourhood to produce some of its own food.

This attention to environmental sustainability and agriculture won the competition jury's approval. "Fusion stood out as it pushed a new paradigm for an urban neighborhood based on the strong regional legacy of agriculture," ULI Hines jury chair Diana Reid wrote in a statement. "Their financing plan and design enabled economic resilience through small scale food growth and distribution, local culinary incubation, and research-driven employment opportunities."

Learn more about Fusion and the other ULI Hines Student Competition 2021 finalists on the Urban Land Institute Americas website.

Top image: The group's design for a vertical farming greenhouse.

Alumni, future students, and members of the public are welcome to join us online for final reviews (April 15-23). Daniels Faculty students in architecture, landscape, and urban design will present their final projects to their instructors, as well as guest critics from the professional community and local and international academic institutions.

Daniels On Air is the Faculty’s online platform to navigate through final reviews. Here you’ll sign up, browse the schedule, and learn more about each studio. Daniels On Air will re-launch in time for reviews beginning on April 15. All reviews will take place over Zoom (create a free account here).

Current students do not need to sign up for Daniels On Air to access reviews. Check the Review and Examination Schedule for all dates and times.

Follow UofTDaniels on Twitter and Instagram and join the conversation using the hashtag #DanielsReviews. Reviews take place 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. unless otherwise stated. Please note that the times and dates may change, and there may be scheduled breaks in a Zoom throughout the day.

Undergraduate 

Thursday, April 15 

Design Studio I | JAV101 
Time: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Instructors: Jay Pooley (Coordinator), Alex Josephson, Danielle Whitley, Peter Sealy, Jennifer Kudlats, Katy Chey, Luke Duross, Chloe Town, T. Jeffrey Garcia, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco, Nuria Montblanch, Scott Sorli, Anne Ma, Marcin Kedzior, Avi Odenheimer 

Friday, April 16 

Design Studio II | ARC201 
Time: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. 
Instructors: Fiona Lim Tung (Coordinator), Daniel Briker, Carol Moukheiber, Tei Carpenter, Maria Denegri, Alex Josephson, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco, Andrew MacMillan 

Drawing and Representation II | ARC200 
Time: 2-6 p.m. 
Instructors: Michael Piper (Coordinator), Jon Cummings, David Verbeek, Reza Nik, Fiona Lim Tung 

Monday, April 19 

Architecture Studio IV | ARC362 
Instructors: Dina Sarhane (Coordinator), Chris Cornecelli, Sam Ghantous 

Landscape Architecture Studio IV | ARC364 
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. 
Instructor: Alissa North 

Technology Studio IV | ARC381 
Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. 
Instructors: Tom Bessai (Coordinator), Tomasz Reslinski  

Thursday, April 22 and Friday, April 23 

Senior Seminar in History and Theory (Thesis) | ARC457 
Instructor: Jeannie Kim 

Senior Seminar in Design (Thesis) | ARC462 
Instructor: Jeannie Kim 

Senior Seminar in Technology (Thesis) | ARC487 
Instructor: Nicholas Hoban 

Graduate 

Monday, April 19 

Design Studio 2 | ARC1012 | MARCH 
Instructors: Adrian Phiffer (Coordinator), Tei Carpenter, Petros Babasikas, An Te Liu, Brigitte Shim, Tom Ngo, Aziza Chaouni, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco 

Design Studio 2 | LAN1012 | MLA  
Instructors: Liat Margolis (Coordinator), Elise Shelley, Terence Radford 

Urban Design Studio Options | URD1012 | MUD 
Instructors: Ken Greenberg, Simon Rabyniuk 

Tuesday, April, 20 

Design Studio 4 | ARC2014 | MARCH 
Instructors: Sam Dufaux (Coordinator), Carol Moukheiber, James Macgillivray, Chris Cornecelli, Aleris Rodgers, Maria Denegri, Anne-Marie Armstrong, Francesco Martire 

Design Studio 4 | LAN2014 | MLA 
Instructors: Behnaz Assadi (Coordinator), Todd Douglas 

Wednesday April 21 

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 | ARC3021 | MARCH 
Instructors: Adrian Phiffer, Vivian Lee, Mason White 

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 | ARC3039 | MARCH 
Instructors: Jesse LeCavalier, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco 

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 | ARC4018 | MARCH 

(L9101) Redeployable Architecture for Health—Pop-up Hospitals for Covid-19 
Instructor: Stephen Verderber 

(L9109) Towards Half: Climate Positive Design in the GTHA 
Instructor: Kelly Doran 
 

Design Studio Thesis | LAN3017 | MLA 
Instructors: Liat Margolis (Coordinator), Behnaz Assadi, Fadi Masoud, Peter North, Alissa North, Jane Wolff, Elise Shelley, Matthew Perotto, Megan Esopenko, Aisling O’Carroll 

Urban Design Studio Thesis | URD2015 | MUD 
Instructor: Angus Laurie 

Thursday, April 22 

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 | ARC3021/ARC4018 | MARCH  

(L9103) STUFF  
Time: 1-6 p.m.
Instructor: Laura Miller 

(L9105) ARCHITECTURE ♥ MEDIA 
Instructors: Lara Lesmes, Fredrik Hellberg 

(L9106) Designing Buildings with Complex Programs on Constrained Urban Sites that include Heritage Structures 
Time: 1-6 p.m. 
Instructor: George Baird 

(L9107) What is Inclusive Architecture (Landscape Architecture, Urban Design)? 
Time: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. 
Instructor: Elisa Silva 

(L9108) The Usual Suspects  
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. 
Instructors: Filipe Magalhaes, Ahmed Belkhodja, Ana Luisa Soares 

Design Studio Thesis | LAN3017 | MLA 
Instructors: Liat Margolis (Coordinator), Behnaz Assadi, Fadi Masoud, Peter North, Alissa North, Jane Wolff, Elise Shelley, Matthew Perotto, Megan Esopenko, Aisling O’Carroll 

Post-Professional Thesis 2 | ALA4022  
Time: 12-4 p.m. 
Instructors: Mason White (Coordinator), Adrian Phiffer, Maria Yablonina, Carol Moukheiber, Jesse LeCavalier, Paul Harrison 

Friday, April 23 

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2 | ARC3021/ARC4018 | MARCH  

(L9110) Anthropocene and Herd 
Instructor: Gilles Saucier, Christian Joakim, Gregory Neudorf 

(L9103) STUFF  
Time: 1-6 p.m.
Instructor: Laura Miller 

Architectural Design Studio 7: Thesis | ARC4018 | MARCH 
Time: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. 
Advisors: Petros Babasikas, Michael Piper 

Architectural Design Studio 7: Thesis | ARC4018 | MARCH 
Time: 1-6 p.m. 
Advisors: John Shnier, Mauricio Quiros Pachecho, Carol Moukheiber, An Te Liu 

Design Studio Thesis | LAN3017 | MLA 
Instructors: Liat Margolis (Coordinator), Behnaz Assadi, Fadi Masoud, Peter North, Alissa North, Jane Wolff, Elise Shelley, Matthew Perotto, Megan Esopenko, Aisling O’Carroll 

Photo by Harry Choi.

Each year, hundreds of student teams from across North America make submissions to the ULI Hines Student Competition, in which entrants are challenged to tackle a complex urban planning and design exercise. Only four teams advance to the competition's final round. This year, one of those teams includes two Daniels Faculty students: Ruotian Tan, a student in the Faculty's Master of Urban Design program, and Chenyi Xu, a Master of Architecture student.

Ruotian and Chenyi are working as part of a five-member, multidisciplinary crew. The other three students on the team are Frances-Grout Brown and Leorah Klein, both Ryerson University urban planning students, and Yanlin Zhou, a student in York University's Master of Real Estate and Infrastructure program. The group was supervised by Steven Webber and Victor Perez-Amado, both assistant professors at Ryerson's School of Urban and Regional Planning. Raymond Lee, a senior associate at Weston Williamson + Partners, and Christina Giannone, vice president of planning and development at Port Credit West Village Partners, acted as advisors.

The students will give their final presentation during a video call with the ULI Hines Student Competition jury on April 8. The competition's winning team receives a prize of $50,000. The three runner-up teams receive $10,000 each.

The competition is a rare opportunity for students to work with people in disciplines other than their own. "It was a great multidisciplinary learning experience for me," Ruotian says. "It was a very good chance for me to practice and get some good results before I actually go into a professional career."

The competition brief called for each student group to develop a detailed master plan for the East Village, a neighbourhood in Kansas City, Missouri. The East Village is a lightly developed 16.2-acre site located within the city's central business district. The student proposals had to take into account a wide variety of ambitious goals, including positive economic impact, sustainability, housing affordability, and easy access to transportation. In addition to redesigning the site, students had to produce implementation plans and financial pro formas that described exactly how their designs might be made into reality.

The Daniels Faculty/Ryerson/York team designed its master plan, titled "Fusion," around two central ideas: connectivity and resilience. Although the East Village is a relatively blank slate, with plenty of room for megaprojects, the group's plan doesn't contain any large tourist attractions, like stadiums or museums. "One thing that distinguished our proposal from the other finalists is that we wanted to create a community for people who are actually living there, rather than attracting tourists or visitors to the site," Ruotian says.

In the first phase of the group's three-step implementation plan, the city would build a new pedestrian promenade at the centre of the neighbourhood, then line it with the beginnings of a dense new urban neighbourhood. The plan calls for an initial 615 mixed-income rental units, a 107,000 square-foot community centre with some seniors housing inside, plus office space and ground-floor retail.

The group's site plan.

Over two subsequent phases of redevelopment, the neighbourhood would evolve into a continuous row of mixed-use housing, office, and retail structures. The community centre and an adjacent water-feature park would serve as gathering points not only for neighbourhood residents and workers, but also for other Kansas City residents, who would be channeled into the East Village by cross streets and bus routes parallel to the pedestrian promenade.

The "resilience" piece of the group's plan manifests in the form of a neighbourhood-wide network of green infrastructure aimed at allowing the site to gracefully accept rainwater. Permeable pavement would allow precipitation to seep into the ground. Street bioswales would collect rainwater for reuse. A series of rain gardens, community gardens, and green roofs would use stormwater for irrigation. And a vertical farming greenhouse would allow the neighbourhood to produce food at scale, in an environmentally friendly way.

The vertical farming greenhouse.

"Kansas City has a long history with agricultural industries," Leorah says. "We noticed to the east of the site, they have really strong community networks with urban agriculture, so we wanted to build on networks that were already existing and provide a place for them to build up their networks and build up their businesses. And COVID really showed the importance of a local food system."

Visit the ULI Americas website to learn more about this year's ULI Hines Student Competition finalists.

In the Daniels Faculty's Integrated Urbanism Studio, students from the Master of Architecture, Master of Landscape Architecture, and Master of Urban Design programs spend a semester working together on shared, large-scale projects.

The studio is one of the most complex in the Daniels Faculty's curriculum and is a staple of its interdisciplinary design pedagogy. Now, it has a web presence to match its importance. The new Integrated Urbanism Studio website launched last semester, and will be the studio’s permanent online home.

The new site, designed under the direction of studio coordinators Fadi Masoud, Michael Piper, and Mason White, is a clearing house of information. “It is a repository of the incredible research and design work produced by over 100 graduate students across 11 teaching sections," Masoud says. "It is our hope that we can continue to build on the rich work presented here year after year."

Visitors to the website can view an interactive map of the city of Toronto, browse through an extensive catalogue of urban precedents, and view project proposals.

In the first week of the studio, students mapped the locations of various social, environmental, demographic, and infrastructural policies as well as a wide list of geospatial conditions. By combining various research and mapping layers, students identified a series of “design action zones” — areas of the city that are especially vulnerable to environmental, economic, and social pressures, and are therefore particularly ripe for design intervention.

These design action zones became sites of urban transformations. Students imagined projects that followed prompts from the international Green New Deal Superstudio to create designs that bring new, equitable, and environmentally sustainable forms of housing, mobility, and social services to their study areas.

All of the studio's final projects from the fall 2020 semester are available for viewing online.

Take me to the Integrated Urbanism Studio website