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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great first semester!

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