Standard of Dwelling will bring together three Toronto-based architects and the developers they work with to present on a recent innovative residential project. Each pair will explore a different housing type, allowing the afternoon’s discussion to cover a variety of urban housing typologies — from the condo tower to the townhouse.

Some of the questions we’d like to address over the course of the afternoon and evening include:

• How do these projects address current housing trends and needs within the city?
• What kinds of challenges (architectural, economic, political, social, etc.) did the architects and developers face?
• How does the project contribute to a change in identity and culture of this city?
• What questions does the project raise about the relationship between architecture and real estate development in Toronto?
• What are some of the themes related to the evolution of housing in the city (whether historic or contemporary) that the project engages?
• What does this say about our ability to creatively respond to the pressures facing the provision of housing within cities, which must accommodate growth, reduce sprawl, and provide homes for a broad variety of urban lifestyles at various income levels?

Los Angeles-based architect Michael Maltzan — whose awarding-winning work has included multi-family, single-family, affordable, and transitional housing — will present the keynote lecture, providing, through an exploration of his work in Los Angeles, an outside perspective on the Toronto-focused discussion that will take place in the afternoon.

Join the conversation by using hashtag #TOdwelling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
 

Schedule overview:

1:00 - 3:45pm: Dialogues

4:00 - 4:45pm: Roundtable discussion

5:00 - 6:00pm: Reception

6:00 - 7:30pm: Keynote lecture

Dialogues

1:00 – 1:45pm:

Peter Clewes, architectsAlliance, and David Wex, Urban Capital

Over 35 years of practice, Peter Clewes has developed a body of work shaped by the clarity, simplicity and functionality of modern architecture, and by a steadfast commitment to urbanism and city-building. As aA's Managing Partner and Design Director, his vision has influenced projects as diverse as the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Athletes’ Village / Canary District, ÏCE Condominiums, UofT's Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, and the St. James Cathedral Centre. Peter is a strong advocate of the interweaving of built form and public space to ensure the vitality of the urban core, and speaks to professional, academic and civic groups across Canada and the US on topics related to design, density and urban renewal.

David Wex is a founder and partner in Urban Capital Property Group, a Toronto-based residential condominium developer with over 4,000 units developed or under development in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Winnipeg. Urban Capital has been a pioneer in developing residential buildings in former industrial or non-residential districts, typically setting a trend that results in flourishing new neighbourhoods. Urban Capital's developments have also been highly innovative in terms of architecture, interior design and environmental sustainability. Current Toronto projects include the dramatic and award-winning River City; Smart House, Toronto’s first micro-condos; and Tableau, a striking 36 storey tower built over a large plaza in the city's Entertainment District. Prior to establishing Urban Capital with partner Mark Reeve, David was a lawyer at Stikeman Elliott, a large Canadian law firm.

2:00 - 2:45pm:

Meg Graham, superkül, and Julian Battiston, Oben Flats

Meg Graham is known by her clients and the studio for her critical insight and passion for design. Developed over many years of practice, her expertise is broad and varied; she has successfully led a number of the firm’s projects in residential, institutional and retail sectors, along with initiatives in master-planning and adaptive reuse.
 
Since 2001, Meg has taught design at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto, and has been a visiting lecturer/critic at several architecture schools in Canada and the US. An articulate communicator and advocate for design, Meg has contributed her expertise in volunteer and board positions that speak to her strong leadership role both in and beyond the design community. A past Chair of the Toronto Society of Architects, she is a member of the City of Toronto Design Review Panel, the Fort York Precinct Advisory Committee and the Harvard University GSD Alumni Council. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the University of Toronto Schools.
 
Meg received her professional architecture degree from the University of Waterloo (B. Arch, 1997), winning the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in her thesis year. She also holds a postgraduate degree from Harvard University (MDesS, 2003). Meg is a registered architect with the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (FRAIC).

Julian Battiston is the president and co-founder of Oben Flats, a Toronto-based development firm pioneering the concept of design-driven rental buildings in the Canadian market. With four exclusive developments in its current pipeline, one of which is slated to launch this spring, Oben Flats is bringing its own series of boutique buildings to Toronto’s vibrant rental scene. Tapping into a growing “rent-instead-of-buy” mentality, Oben Flats’ focus is on contemporary, high-end units that appeal to aesthetically conscious urban residents, promising both worry and mortgage free living. As a quality measure to ensure the premium nature of these residences, Oben Flats started their own construction company – Oben Build. By doing so, both architecture and construction align in bringing innovative, modern designs to style-savvy Canadians through a new model of living.

3:00 - 3:45pm:

Pina Petricone, Giannone Petricone Associates, and Niall Haggart, The Daniels Corporation

Pina Petricone shares her time as Principal of Giannone Petricone Associates and as a Professor of Architecture at the University of Toronto. This dual role is a defining feature of the practice, enabling Pina to contribute intellectual rigor and research to the firm’s projects and processes, as well as to give real projects academic consideration.

As an associate professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, Pina teaches design and critical theory at every level of the graduate architecture program, and has enjoyed acting as primary advisor for numerous award-winning thesis students whose proposals tend to question socio-aesthetic practices in architecture as urban constructions.

Pina has presented her work and research at several national and international conferences and symposia, in­cluding the IFWorld Conference at the Politecnico di Milano, the Banff sessions on Architecture in Banff, Alberta, the Tectonics: Making Meaning Conference at the Eindhoven Technical Uni­versity, Netherlands, and recently at the Columbia University Think Tank on the Building Intel­ligence Project. Her work and research has been published widely in Canada, the U.S., Asia and Europe. In 2012 Pina celebrated the publication of her first book, “Concrete Ideas: Material to Shape a City”, a collection of essays and studio projects she directed that speculate on whether current nanotechnologies have provoked a shift in the cultural status of concrete.

Pina received her undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Toronto in 1991 and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University in 1995. In 2014, Pina was awarded the University of Toronto Arbor Award, and in 2015 was made a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

Niall Haggart is the Executive Vice President at The Daniels Corporation, a fully diversified building and development company, creating new homes and condominiums across the Greater Toronto Area. Daniels is the private sector development partner revitalizing Regent Park and has built award-winning buildings including TIFF Bell Lightbox, Festival Tower and Daniels' City Centre in the heart of Mississauga. Haggart oversees Daniels' land acquisitions and plays a key role in all of the company's initiatives, with a special emphasis on master community planning.

Roundtable discussion

4:00 - 4:45pm:

Featuring all participants, moderated by Hans Ibelings

Hans Ibelings is an architectural historian and critic. He teaches at the Daniels Faculty and is the publisher and editor of The Architecture Observer. Prior to this he was the editor and publisher of A10 new European architecture, a magazine he founded in 2004 together with graphic designer Arjan Groot. Ibelings is the author of several books, including Supermodernism: Architecture in the Age of Globalization and European Architecture Since 1890.

Reception
5:00 – 6:00pm
Refreshments will be provided

Keynote lecture
6:00 – 7:30pm
Featuring Michael Maltzan

Michael Maltzan founded the Los Angeles-based architecture and urban design practice Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc. in 1995. Dedicated to the design and construction of projects that engage their context and community, the firm is committed to the creation of progressive, transformative experiences that chart new trajectories for architecture, urbanism, and the public realm. The practice has been recognized with five Progressive Architecture awards, 35 citations from the American Institute of Architects, the Rudy Bruner Foundation’s Gold Medal for Urban Excellence, and as a finalist for the Smithsonian/Cooper-Hewitt Museum’s National Design Award. Maltzan's designs have been published and exhibited internationally and he regularly teaches and lectures at architectural schools around the world.

Photo: Ron Eshel