The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto is excited to present its Winter 2023 Public Program.  

Through a series of exhibitions, lectures, book talks, panel discussions and symposia, we aim to foster dialogue and knowledge exchange among our local and international communities on important social, political and environmental challenges confronting our disciplines and the world today.  

Our Public Program this semester addresses a range of pertinent issues concerning the natural and built environments, including design and social justice, urbanization and housing, art and media, and ecology and landscape resilience. 

All events are free and open to the public. All lectures will be held in the Main Hall of the Daniels Building unless otherwise stated. Register in advance and check the calendar for up-to-date details at daniels.utoronto.ca/events.  

January 26, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Housing Multitudes Lecture: Freedom Schools for Accountable Architecture 
Featuring Jae Shin and Damon Rich (HECTOR) 
Moderated by Richard Sommer (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) 
 
February 1, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Designing Black Spaces with Community Accountability  
Featuring Tura Cousins Wilson (Studio of Contemporary Architecture), Jessica Kirk (Wildseed Centre for Art and Activism) and Jessica Hines (Black Urbanism Toronto) 
Moderated by Anne-Marie Armstrong (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) 
 
February 7, 12:30 p.m. ET  
Understanding and Predicting the Changing Environment in the Coming Decades 
Featuring Brian Leung (Department of Biology, McGill University)  
Moderated by Patrick James (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) 

February 9, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Book Launch—Innate Terrain: Canadian Landscape Architecture  
By Alissa North (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) 

February 14, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Exhibition Opening—Recent Work by Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA)  
Curated by Marina Tabassum, 2022-2023 Frank Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) 

February 16, 6:30 p.m. ET 
George Baird Lecture: Becoming Frank Gehry  
Featuring Jean-Louis Cohen (The Institute of Fine Arts, New York University) 
Moderated by Jason Nguyen (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto)  

March 2, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Michael Hough/OALA Visiting Critic in Landscape Architecture Lecture: What Would Cornelia Do? 
Featuring Julie Bargmann (School of Architecture, University of Virginia) 
Moderated by Elise Shelley (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) 

March 7, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Phyllis Lambert: Observation Is a Constant That Underlies All Approaches 
Featuring Phyllis Lambert (Canadian Centre for Architecture) 
Moderated by Juan Du (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) 

March 14, 12:30 p.m. ET 
Civic Urbanism Without Borders 
Featuring Jeffery Hou (College of Built Environments, University of Washington)  
In collaboration with the Global Taiwan Studies Initiative at the Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto 

March 16, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Exhibition Opening—Resolutions for the Antarctic: International Stations & the Antarctic Data Space
Curated by UNLESS and featuring works by International Collaborators  

March 30, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Ruinophilia 
Featuring Lyndon Neri (Neri&Hu Design and Research Office) 
Moderated by Juan Du (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) 

A tree planting and additions to Forestry’s commemorative Woodwall were on the program when the Daniels Faculty community gathered at the Earth Sciences Centre on November 24 to celebrate past and present forestry achievements. 

The ironwood tree (Ostrya virginiana) was planted in the Carolinian Forest Courtyard in honour of former professor Erik Jorgensen, who founded the University of Toronto’s Shade Tree Research Laboratory in the 1960s and is considered the father of urban forestry, a previously unexplored branch of forestry studies that he largely defined and promoted. 

Born in Denmark in 1921, Jorgensen and his colleagues at the Shade Tree Lab were especially instrumental in the study and control of Dutch Elm Disease (DED). Jorgensen passed away in 2012. 

Others honourees on the 24th included a dozen new additions to Forestry’s commemorative Woodwall, located inside the Earth Sciences Centre. Initiated in 2007, when Forestry at U of T celebrated its 100th birthday, the Woodwall recognizes illustrious alumni, faculty and staff on an artfully hung array of individual square wood plaques. 

The installation of the 12 new plaques — an initiative supported by Forestry’s Class of 1966 and led by alumnus Derek Coleman, who acquired his Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry that year — completes the current display.  

“Our increasing awareness that forestry reserves are key to mitigating climate change,” says Dean Juan Du, who attended both events and addressed attendees afterward, “makes forestry knowledge more important than ever. The research and instruction done in forestry at the University of Toronto has been vital in contributing to regional and national practices and policies. Now that our various forestry programs share a home with our programs in architecture, landscape architecture, visual studies and urban design, we have an opportunity to refine our educational and research approaches with a more comprehensive understanding of one environment, the natural alongside the built.” 

This perspective resonated with many in attendance, says Forestry Director Sandy Smith, who describes attendees as “a very receptive crowd of urban foresters who have been waiting for this opportunity to build on the beginnings of urban forestry at U o T.” 

“It was great to get together in person and to celebrate past achievements in urban forestry,” she adds. “Everyone who participated was excited by the new vision for forestry at Daniels shared by the Dean.” 

Among those on hand for the planting in the Carolinian Forest Courtyard, a studiously maintained space studded with native trees and shrubs, was Erik Jorgensen’s granddaughter, Stoney Baker.  

The names completing the Woodwall include Dr. Smith, Dr. Coleman, Dr. Shashi Kant, Dr. Sally Krigstin, Dr. Jay Malcolm, Deborah Paes, Fred Pinto, Dr. Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, Dr. Mohini Sain, Dr. Sean Thomas, Tony Ung and Amalia Veneziano. 

Image slideshow: 1. Attendees gather in the Earth Sciences Centre after the November 24 tree planting honouring former professor Erik Jorgensen, a pioneer of urban forestry. 2. Forestry Director Sandy Smith and alumnus Derek Coleman (Class of ’66) unveil the newest honourees on Forestry’s Woodwall, which recognizes illustrious alumni, faculty and staff both past and present. 3. Daniels Faculty Dean Juan Du addresses the gathering after both ceremonies. (Photos by Evan Donohue and George Wang)

Banner image: Erik Jorgensen’s granddaughter, Stoney Baker (holding shovel), joined Dean Du (third from right), Forestry Director Smith (second from right) and others for the tree planting ceremony in honour of her grandfather. Jorgensen founded the Shade Tree Research Laboratory at U of T in the 1960s. (Photo by Evan Donohue)

Monday, December 5 to Tuesday, December 20
Daniels Faculty Building,
1 Spadina Crescent, Toronto, Ontario 

Throughout December, students in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, visual studies and forestry will present final projects to their instructors. Students of the Daniels Faculty will also present to guest critics from both academia and the professional community in attendance. 

Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations is strongly encouraged, and UCheck continues to be available for uploading proof of vaccination. Please see the latest University of Toronto COVID-19 FAQS. 

Follow the Daniels Faculty @UofTDaniels on Instagram, and join the conversation using the hashtag #DanielsReviews22.
 

Monday, December 5 | Graduate

Design Studio I
LAN1011Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Behnaz Assadi (Coordinator), Pete North, Elnaz Sanati
Rooms: 230, 330

Tuesday, December 6 | Graduate

Design Studio I
ARC1011Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Vivian Lee (Coordinator), Fiona Lim Tung, Miles Gertler, Chris Cornecelli, Julia DiCastri, Carol Moukheiber, Tom Ngo
Rooms: 230, 330, Main Hall (170)

Wednesday, December 7 | Graduate

Intergraded Urbanism Studio
ARC2013Y, LAN2013Y, URD1011Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Roberto Damiani (Coordinator), Fadi Masoud (Coordinator), Michael Piper (Coordinator), Christos Marcopoulos, Aziza Chaouni, Laurence Holland, Drew Adams, George Baird, Lisa Rapoport, Jon Cummings, Natalia Echeverri, Rob Wright
Rooms: 215, 230, 240, 330

Architectural Design Studio:  Research 1
ARC3020Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Marina Tabassum
Room: 340

Thursday, December 8 | Graduate

Intergraded Urbanism Studio
ARC2013Y, LAN2013Y, URD1011Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Roberto Damiani (Coordinator), Fadi Masoud (Coordinator), Michael Piper (Coordinator), Christos Marcopoulos, Aziza Chaouni, Laurence Holland, Drew Adams, George Baird, Lisa Rapoport, Jon Cummings, Natalia Echeverri, Rob Wright
Rooms: 215, 230, 240, 330

Friday, December 9 | Graduate

Design Studio Options
LAN3016Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Ivan Valin
Room: 230

Design Studio Options
LAN3016Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Liz Wreford, Rob Wright
Rooms: 330

Tuesday, December 13 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Architectural Design Studio:  Research 1
ARC3020Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Jeannie Kim
Rooms: 230

Architectural Design Studio:  Research 1
ARC3020Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Zachary Mollica
Rooms: 330

Architectural Design Studio:  Research 1
ARC3020Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Brian Boigon
Rooms: 240

Architecture Studio III
ARC361Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Petros Babasikas (Coordinator), Shane Williamson, Carol Moukheiber
Rooms: Main Hall (170), 215

Capstone Project in Forest Conservation
FOR3008H
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Catherine Edwards
Rooms: 200

Wednesday, December 14 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Architectural Design Studio:  Research 1
ARC3020Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Petros Babasikas
Rooms: 330

Architectural Design Studio:  Research 1
ARC3020Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Shane Williamson
Rooms: 230

Architectural Design Studio:  Research 1
ARC3020Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Laura Miller
Rooms: 315, 340

Architectural Design Studio:  Research 1
ARC3020Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: John Shnier
Rooms: 1^st Floor Hallway

Architectural Design Studio:  Research 1
ARC3020Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Lukas Pauer
Rooms: 240

Architectural Design Studio 7:  Thesis
ARC4018Y
9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET

Instructors: Michael Piper, Miles Gertler, Reza Nik
Rooms: 209, 242

Landscape Architecture Studio III
ARC363Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Behnaz Assadi
Room: 215

Technology Studio III
ARC380Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Nicholas Hoban (Coordinator), Nathan Bishop
Rooms: Main Hall (170)

Capstone Project in Forest Conservation
FOR3008H
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Catherine Edwards
Rooms: 200

Thursday, December 15 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Architectural Design Studio:  Research 1
ARC3020Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Marc McQuade
Rooms: Graduate Studio

Drawing and Representation I
ARC100H1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: James Macgillivray (Coordinator), Brandon Bergem, Saarinen Balagengatharadilak, Sonia Ramundi, Si Fei Mo, Danielle Whitley, Monifa Charles-Dedier, Jeffrey Garcia, Anamarija Korolj, Quan Thai, Ji Hee Kim, Anne Ma, Angela Cho, Kara Verbeek, Andrea Rodriguez Fos, Nicholas Barrette
Rooms: Principal Hall (170), 215, 230, 240, 315, 330, 340

Friday, December 16 | Graduate & Undergraduate 

Thesis 1
ALA4021Y
9 a.m.–12 p.m. ET

Instructor: Mason White
Rooms: 242

Urban Design Studio Options: Density
URD2013YF
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Angus Laurie, Lorne Cappe, Mariana Leguia
Rooms: 209

Drawing and Representation II
ARC200H1
9 a.m.–2 p.m. ET

Instructors: Roberto Damiani (Coordinator), Phat Le, Michael Piper, Rez Nik, Matthew DeSantis, Sam Dufaux, David Verbeek, Katy Chey, Simon Rabyniuk, Nova Tayona, Noheir Elgendy, Kara Verbeek
Rooms: Main Hall (170), 215, 230, 240, 315, 330, 340
 

Monday, December 19 | Undergraduate

Design Studio II
ARC201H1
9 a.m.–2 p.m. ET

Instructors: Miles Gertler (Coordinator), Brian Boigon, Jennifer Kudlats, Jamie Lipson, Jeffrey Garcia
Rooms: 170C, 209, 215, 240, 242

Senior Seminar in History and Theory (Research)
ARC456H1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Simon Rabyniuk
Room: 230

Senior Seminar in Design (Research)
ARC461H1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Laura Miller
Room: 330

Senior Seminar in Technology (Research)
ARC486H1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Nicholas Hoban
Rooms: Main Hall (170)

Tuesday, December 20 | Undergraduate

Senior Seminar in History and Theory (Research)
ARC456H1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Simon Rabyniuk
Rooms: 230

Senior Seminar in Design (Research)
ARC461H1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Laura Miller
Rooms: 330

Senior Seminar in Technology (Research)
ARC486H1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Nicholas Hoban
Rooms: Main Hall (170)
 

Banner photo courtesy of GALDSU

It is with sadness, respect and tremendous gratitude that the Daniels Faculty reflects on the recent death and extraordinary life of alumnus and benefactor John H. Daniels (BArch, 1950; Hon LLD, 2011), who passed away on Saturday, October 22. 

An architect, developer, philanthropist and civic leader, Daniels had an immeasurable impact on the city of Toronto, on the University of Toronto, and on the Faculty, which has been forever transformed by the magnanimity and vision that he and his wife, Myrna Daniels, displayed over many years.

“The legacy of Mr. Daniels’ life will be felt for a very long time,” says Dean Juan Du. “His commitment to lifting communities around him, his dedication to excellence, and his optimism for the future are values that inspire and drive our school. John and Myrna’s generosity has contributed not only to the creation of the Faculty’s dynamic world-class hub at 1 Spadina Crescent, but to the lives and futures of the many who have passed and will pass through it. Our thoughts are with John and Myrna’s families, friends, and colleagues, and with the many people whose lives he has touched.”

Born in Poland in 1926, John H. Daniels immigrated to Canada when he was 12 years old, escaping Nazi oppression on the cusp of World War II. He later graduated from Toronto’s Central Technical School, addressing the rights and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship in the speech he made as class valedictorian. In 1949, while a student in the architecture program at the University of Toronto, he made his first foray into real estate development by co-founding Modern Age Construction. Though only intended as a summer building project to raise tuition money before he graduated in 1950, the work demonstrated Daniels’ entrepreneurial capacities and established the tenor of his future career. 

As CEO of the Cadillac Fairview Development Corporation, he later helped build such impressive properties as the Eaton Centre in Toronto and the Erin Mills community in Mississauga. In 1983, Daniels left Cadillac Fairview to start The Daniels Corporation, a company that would quickly become synonymous with vibrant communities, affordable housing, social infrastructure and architectural innovation. Responsible for countless Canadian residential developments, The Daniels Corporation also worked closely with government agencies to create thousands of not-for-profit rental units and to lower market barriers for first-time homebuyers. Among its many noteworthy projects, the company was instrumental in revitalizing the Regent Park neighbourhood, transforming it from a failed public housing estate into a vital, growing community at the centre of Toronto.

Beyond Daniels’ work as a developer, he was also a remarkable Toronto philanthropist. Together with Myrna, he invested in a broad number of causes and gave significantly to cultural, healthcare and academic institutions, changing the city for the better at every step.  

John and Myrna Daniels’ gifts to the Daniels Faculty through their Foundation are unprecedented, totalling more than $30 million and resulting in its gateway building at 1 Spadina Crescent, a host of new scholarships, and an expanded global reputation. 

In 2008, John and Myrna Daniels gave the University of Toronto a $14-million gift, the largest private donation ever given to a Canadian architecture school. In recognition, the Faculty was officially named the  John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. The $14 million was designated to the capital renewal and expansion of the school (at that time located on College Street) and created an endowment and award program named The John and Myrna Daniels Scholars.

Gift to 1 Spadina Crescent Building Project 

The revitalized 1 Spadina Crescent site, to which John and Myrna Daniels contributed $10 million through their Foundation, opened in 2017.

In 2013, John and Myrna Daniels donated an additional $10 million through their Foundation to revitalize and expand an existing landmark building at 1 Spadina Crescent. Daniels Building, the Faculty’s new home, opened in November of 2017. Heralded in The Globe and Mail as “one of the best buildings in Canada of the past decade,” it has been awarded 30 international awards for its design so far. 

“John would joke that his favourite hobby was pouring concrete, an allusion to the more than 300 buildings he created during his lifetime,” says Richard Sommer, former dean of the Faculty and director of the Global Cities Institute. “In our case, John asked a deceptively simple question: How could he and Myrna help us make our school one of the best in the world, and in the process raise the prospects for young people from a broad section of society wanting to study architecture. The answer was Daniels Building, which speaks to John’s passion for architecture and cities. Together with the John and Myrna Daniels Scholars award fund and other financial-aid programs they support, they have created a unique place at 1 Spadina Crescent as well as the endowments that sustain many students who study there.” 

Former University of Toronto president David Naylor (standing in opening photo) joins John and Myrna Daniels for the design reveal of the future Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent in June 2013. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels (in second photo) at the official opening of the Daniels Building in November 2017. U of T president Meric Gertler (at right in third photo) and Professor Ronald Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University, take part with Mr. and Mrs. Daniels in the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Daniels Building opening.

The John and Myrna Daniels Scholars

To date, the endowment has provided 287 individual awards to 128 graduate students, many of whom are the first in their families to access post-secondary education.

John and Myrna Daniels pose with former Daniels Faculty dean Richard Sommer and a group of John and Myrna Daniels Scholars. (Photo by Yvonne Bambrick)

In 2013, John and Myrna Daniels Scholar Nicholas Gosselin addressed Mr. and Mrs. Daniels at a luncheon, noting: “You are influential city builders in Toronto and beyond. However, you also shape cities indirectly — through the unbelievable support you provide the University of Toronto and future professionals. Toronto is going through incredible change and, consequently, behaves as a laboratory for students to experiment with different ideas and concepts. Unfortunately, not all students can support themselves to participate in this endeavour. Your generous donation to U of T makes a world of difference for students and has personally made graduate school a possibility for me — thank you.” 

John and Myrna Daniels Scholar Devin Tepleski with Mr. Daniels.

In 2016, Scholar Devin Tepleski spoke about the impact of John and Myrna Daniels’ support at a celebration at the school, saying: “What excites me most about my studies in landscape architecture is the opportunity to work on solutions — answers to the questions I’ve been asking for the last five years since finishing an undergraduate degree in anthropology. What makes places matter to the people who live there? What is worth protecting?

“I have been extremely lucky to be able to travel with my work, firstly to Ghana, where I worked as an ethnohistorian and documentarian with communities displaced by a hydroelectric dam. From there I went on to spend four years working with Cree and Dene communities in northern Alberta and on a marine use study with Salish nations of southern Vancouver Island. I got to interview everyone from the wisest elder to the youngest schoolchild about what matters to them about the places they live.

“Such opportunities have continued in no small part due to the generosity of the Daniels. Over the course of the last year, it is clear to me that John and Myrna have been asking these same questions about the importance of community and place. We could all learn a lot from the answers they have no doubt reached over their years of community service and philanthropy. I am inspired by their genuine curiosity in others and commitment to making a difference in Toronto. I thank them wholeheartedly for all that they have done for me and those around me.” 

Mr. and Mrs. Daniels with John and Myrna Daniels Scholar Bahia Marks.

At an event in honour of John and Myrna Daniels in 2018, Scholar Bahia Marks thanked them for bringing everyone together and spoke about the opportunities she had had as an undergraduate in the U.S. and then as a Master of Architecture student at the Daniels Faculty: “When you are in the trenches of people’s lives in the projects of Brooklyn, you can see how the design of the projects and housing affects the lives of families and young people. You begin to see the direct impact of design on people's lives. It is this search for justice that led me to pursue architecture and choose the Daniels Faculty. In my research, I was really looking for a school that would allow me to learn the skills, attitudes and qualities of an architect, the role of housing in society, and about empowering youth to contribute to the betterment of their neighbourhoods.” 

The John and Myrna Daniels Foundation Opportunity Awards

In April 2018, the couple gave an additional $6 million, establishing The John and Myrna Daniels Foundation Opportunity Awards, an endowment prioritizing the financial need of undergraduate and graduate students within the Faculty.

On November 12, 2018, Mr. and Mrs. Daniels were hosted by University and Faculty leadership at a luncheon recognizing graduate-student beneficiaries of the John and Myrna Daniels Scholars award program.

“In a way, John Daniels never left his alma mater,” says David Palmer, U of T’s Vice-President, Advancement. “His giving at U of T was strongly tied to a desire for future generations of students to enjoy the education he had, to make Canada a global leader, and to share in his vision for sustainable, innovative architecture that is accessible to all. For that, we will be forever grateful.”

The Daniels Faculty’s Centre for Landscape Research, led by Assistant Professor Fadi Masoud, will host the first post-pandemic gathering of the Great Lakes Higher Education Consortium this week during a three-day invite-only conference dedicated to the health and resilience of the vast Great Lakes Basin.

From Thursday to Saturday (September 29 to October 1), more than 30 designers, policy experts, planners, engineers and ecologists from around the Great Lakes region will meet in Toronto for a workshop on the critical role that blue-green infrastructure will play in the future adaptation of the basin to climate change. The majority of discussions and panels will take place in the Daniels Building on Friday and Saturday. This workshop will be preceded by a tour on Thursday of important aquatic sites in the Greater Toronto Area, including the Lower Don Lands on downtown Toronto’s waterfront and the Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area and Bayview Village Site in Mississauga.

“This workshop,” say conference co-organizers Masoud and James Wasley of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, “aims to chart a clear path for the practice of integrative blue-green infrastructure design in service of a more climate-ready and resilient Great Lakes Basin.”

Launched in 2020, the Great Lakes Higher Education Consortium was co-founded by the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR), the University of Toronto and the University of Illinois System to address the most pressing socio-economic and environmental challenges facing the region by promoting regular and impactful collaborations among academics, industry and governments. In 2021, four other major universities joined the Consortium. It is currently being administered by the CGLR.

This week’s conference, entitled Reimagining Water and sponsored by the CGLR, will look at blue-green infrastructure design through the lenses of just about every relevant field, including architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, civil and environmental engineering and the related sciences and public policy arenas.

Among the specific topics to be covered during the workshop, which Dean Juan Du will kick off with welcoming remarks on Friday morning, include conservation governance, emerging obstacles to design and governance innovation, keeping up with the changing science, and projective future models and partners.

“Synthesizing these diverse fields of knowledge,” say Masoud and Wasley, “is the daily work of design professionals in this field. Our goal is to better connect academic research to the cutting edge of the profession.”

For more information on the workshop and its mandate, contact Assistant Professor Masoud.

The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto is excited to present its Fall 2022 public program. Through a series of book talks, panel discussions, lectures and symposia, our aim is to foster meaningful dialogue on the important social, political and environmental challenges confronting our world today. Among the questions raised: 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, including design and social justice, art and new media, urban development and housing, and ecology and landscape resilience.

All events are free and open to the public. Register in advance and check the calendar for up-to-date details at daniels.utoronto.ca/events. 

September 15, 6:30 p.m. ET
Gehry Chair Lecture: Marina Tabassum on Architecture of Transition
Featuring Marina Tabassum (2022-2023 Frank Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design, Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto)
Moderated by Juan Du (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto)

September 27, 6:30 p.m. ET
Artist Talk
Featuring Montreal-based new-media artist and composer Erin Gee
Moderated by Mitchell Akiyama (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto)

October 3, 12:30 p.m. ET
Afterall Vol. 53 Launch
Featuring Stan Douglas in conversation with Charles Stankievech (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto)

October 5, 12:30 p.m. ET
Site Constructed: Alvar Aalto, Luis Barragan
Featuring Marc Treib (College of Environmental Design, University of California at Berkeley)
Moderated by Georges Farhat (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto)

October 6, 6:30 p.m. ET
Serious Fun: The Landscapes of Claude Cormier
Featuring Claude Cormier (Claude Cormier + Associés, Montreal) with Susan Herrington (School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of British Columbia) and Marc Treib (College of Environmental Design, University of California at Berkeley)
Moderated by Elise Shelley (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto)

October 20, 6:30 p.m. ET
Housing Multitudes: Reimagining the Landscapes of Suburbia
Exhibition Opening
Conceived and curated by Richard Sommer (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) and Michael Piper (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) in collaboration with Daniels Faculty colleagues, students and others

October 27, 6:30 p.m. ET
Hough Lecture: Dilip da Cunha on Ocean of Wetness: Where Design Begins
Featuring Dilip da Cunha (Michael Hough/OALA Visiting Critic in Landscape Architecture)
Moderated by Elise Shelley (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto)
 
November 3, 6:30 p.m. ET
A Retrofitting Suburbia Agenda for Equity, Health and Resilience to Climate Change
Featuring June Williamson (Spitzer School of Architecture, The City College of New York) in association with the exhibition Housing Multitudes: Reimagining the Landscapes of Suburbia
 
November 8, 1:00 p.m. ET
Magnificent Modular  
Featuring Lina Lahiri (Sauerbruch Hutton, Berlin)
Moderated by Roberto Damiani (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto)
 
November 10, 6:30 p.m. ET
Contemporary Indigenous Performance and Artist Discussion  
Featuring Sandra Laronde (Misko Kizhigoo Migizii Kwe) and Red Sky Performance
 
November 17, 6:30 p.m. ET
Feminist Architectural Histories of Migration
Featuring Anooradha Iyer Siddiqi (Architecture Department, Barnard College) and Rachel Lee (Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft) with Juan Du (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto), Alexandra Pereira-Edwards (Canadian Centre for Architecture), Armaghan Ziaee (California State University San Marcos), Meredith TenHoor (School of Architecture, Pratt Institute) and Pamela Karimi (Art Education, Art History and Media Studies, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth)

November 22, 12:30 p.m. ET
Resilient Urban Forests Require All Hands on Deck: Lessons from Ecology, Community Science and Working Across Disciplines
Featuring Carly Ziter (Biology Department, Concordia University)
Moderated by Sean Thomas (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto)
 
November 29, 6:30 p.m. ET
The Art of Being of Service to Art
Featuring Cheryl Sim (Director and Curator, Phi Centre)
Moderated by Mitchell Akiyama (Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto) 
 

This year’s International Youth Day theme — solidarity across generations — shines a spotlight on the fostering of successful intergenerational relations so that “no one is left behind.” The Daniels Faculty’s summer outreach programs — Minecraft and Design Discovery— were created with just such a mandate in mind, aiming to teach kids, youths and young adults the design skills they’ll need to pursue careers in creative fields. 
 
The summer programs began on June 27 and will be concluding on August 19. Daniels Design Discovery has been held online and, for the first time this year, also in person. During a four-week intensive program based in the Daniels Building, participants are working in a simulated studio environment on an architectural proposal for the Toronto Islands, producing a finished design for their portfolios by the end.  

The on-site experience is beneficial for many reasons, say Lara Hassani and Erik Roberson, the Daniels Faculty alumni co-directing the in-person component. In addition to exposing them to a bona fide design school atmosphere, it is also easier to guide the students in physical model making and to demonstrate techniques. By being in the Daniels Building, they can also see firsthand many of the projects and models made by both undergraduate and graduate students, gaining a sense of the work involved.  

A pin-up board in the graduate studio of the Daniels Building showcases work created by students in this summer's Daniels Design Discovery program.

“We are also able to organize trips to different places,” Hassani and Roberson add, “including building tours, campus tours, a visit to the Toronto Islands and tours of architectural offices in the city.” 

The Daniels Minecraft program, meanwhile, uses the participants’ love of the classic video game to explore the fundamentals of design and architecture while building teamwork and communication skills. 
 
This year, says student lead Jason Zhang, “we have the campers learning about architecture and its applications through three different levels: Foundations of Architecture, Cityscapes and World Building/Game Design.” 

The campers are trained in basic concepts and topics related to architecture in the Foundations of Architecture level, which they can then apply in the next two levels. Those specialize in urban design (infrastructure, sustainable architecture, etc.) and world building (immersion, storytelling, etc.). 

One of the many cityscapes built by students on the Minecraft server as part the Faculty's Minecraft summer camp.

Observed annually by the United Nations, International Youth Day seeks to foster youth development in numerous areas in every corner of the globe. This year’s focus on intergenerational solidarity is somewhat unique, emphasizing the benefits of collaboration. 

“I think it is very fulfilling to watch the campers grow and improve as the session progresses, as it shows everyone that what we do together can produce great results,” says Zhang of the Faculty’s efforts. 

“I especially enjoy seeing campers come back from previous terms or years and it is always nice to see a familiar face join the camp again.” 

To learn more about the Faculty’s summer programs, visit the individual program pages on the Daniels Faculty website. 

Newly minted BAAS grad Jessie Pan’s research into the use of trees in building simulation has come full circle in a little over a year.

It started in May of 2021 when she won the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award to study how better tree modelling could improve building designs. Flash forward 12 months and she will be presenting the fruits of her research, which include a framework for the creation of more dynamic tree models than typically used by designers, at the e-Sim conference in Ottawa on June 22.

“I am excited about the presentation,” says Pan, who received her Honours Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies degree on June 15. “It is a great honour to be presenting my first paper at my first conference.”

Titled Simulating the Impact of Deciduous Trees on Energy, Daylight and Visual Comfort: Impact Analysis and a Practical Framework for Implementation, the peer-reviewed paper that Pan will be presenting at eSim encompasses the research she undertook with Assistant Professor Alstan Jakubiec over the past year.

The current practice in building simulation, she notes, tends to use solid or simplified trees, disregarding their complex and fluctuating effects, especially when it comes deciduous varieties. 

“Deciduous trees are sophisticated due to tree phenology and leaf senescence that impact their foliage density and colour throughout the year,” Pan explains. “We created a framework for developing dynamic tree models that integrate temporal schedules of colour change, leaf drop and regrowth, as well as physical measurements of gap fractions.”

What she and Jakubiec discovered was that, “when compared to our detailed tree models,” there are “significant differences in lighting, heating and cooling loads when using simplified models…or no trees at all.”

More sophisticated tree modelling, in short, can quantifiably lead to better, more energy-efficient buildings.

The eSim Building Simulation Conference — organized by Carleton University, National Research Council Canada and Natural Resources Canada — is slated to be held at Carleton on June 22 and 23. The theme this year — the conference’s 12th — is Simulating Buildings for the New Normal, with a focus on “using building performance simulation to model and research indoor air quality and other strategies for mitigating risks related to transmission of infectious disease.”

Typically, some 200 delegates attend each conference, with more than 75 peer-reviewed papers presented. Pan is scheduled to present hers on the first day of the event.

In addition to receiving the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, Pan also won the 2021 Project StaSIO Summer Challenge, which was focused on the subjects of daylight and glare, for her graphics illustrating her findings.

She created the graphics using Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Excel, Grasshopper/Rhino and Python. The tools used in the simulation analysis were ClimateStudio, Radiance and Python.

The entire project was “my first exposure to academic research and I am very grateful for this experience with Professor Jakubiec,” Pan says. “This opportunity has jumpstarted my research interest, skillset and background, and I look forward to applying it all during my future graduate studies.”

Banner image: BAAS student Jessie Pan poses for a portrait after receiving an Academic Merit Award during the Daniels Faculty’s Graduation and Awards Celebration at 1 Spadina Crescent on June 14. (Photo by Sara Elhawash)

They may be leaving the Daniels Faculty, but the Daniels Faculty isn’t likely to ever leave them. In addition to gaining foundations in their respective disciplines, the school’s most recent or near-future alums did so under some of the toughest circumstances of recent times, making their accomplishments all the more impressive. In the first instalment of a two-part series, three departing Daniels Faculty students paused on the eve of this month’s Convocation ceremonies to share their experiences of the last few years, what comes next for them, and how current students can both cope and thrive in their footsteps. 

Robert Raynor 

One of soon-to-be MARC grad Raynor’s just-presented theses (he actually completed two) reimagines a sprawling suburban community currently being built on former farmland east of Toronto as a potential model of carbon-neutral living. A big part of his focus is construction practices, which he developed a personal affinity for — much to his surprise — in the woodworking shop at 1 Spadina. Raynor is currently doing life-cycle carbon analysis for a design-build firm.

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty?  

My strongest memory of Daniels is undoubtedly the time I spent with my lovely colleagues in the woodworking shop. I first set foot inside it having only held a screwdriver a handful of times, let alone a hammer or any power tools. I never would have learned how to comfortably work with my hands had I not had the chances to try.  

What community-based or international experience did you acquire? 

Outside of school I’ve worked with Toronto Tiny Shelters, a group of volunteer carpenters who build small, insulated shelters for unhoused people living in Toronto parks in the winter. I became educated in the downsides of the homeless shelter system in Toronto, met dozens of wonderful people living in encampments, and have a deeper drive as a designer and maker to contribute to a world where everyone has a safe place to call home.  

What are some of your future plans?  

This summer I’ll be doing life-cycle carbon analysis at the firm I'm interning with, and I’ll also be collaborating on the Canadian pavilion for the 2023 Venice Biennale. I don’t have a single job goal in mind; I’d like to pursue my architectural passions — sustainable design and suitable housing — however is most impactful.  

Any tips for current students? 

Just try to grow as a human. Learn what ideas move you, be aware of what little moments actually motivate you, and compare yourself to nobody but your past self. Also, stay hydrated. 

Samantha Arpas 

Arpas graduated in November with an Honours BAAS (Comprehensive Stream) and a certificate in the sustainability of the built environment. In her third year, she took the opportunity to study at the University of Amsterdam for one semester, calling the experience one of the most “important” of her personal and educational development. Indeed, Arpas composed the answers to this q&a in the Netherlands, where she is “touring schools for next year. I hope to attend grad school somewhere in Europe for Landscape Architecture or Sustainable Innovation.” 

What is your favourite memory of the Daniels Faculty? 

There are too many good memories to just pick one, but my favourites at the Daniels Faculty are a draw between hanging out between classes with friends at Cafe O59 and stepping into another world through the [2019] New Circadia exhibit in the then-new Architecture and Design Gallery at 1 Spadina. 

Did you have a favourite project? 

My favourite was one I did for ARC386 Landscape Ecology with Professor Fadi Massoud. We were told to pick one of the cities on a list and then analyze a specific narrative of the land in its past and present to be able to envision what it would look like in the future. I had picked Ushuaia in Argentina and focused on the topic of Terrain. I truly have to say that this project changed my perspective on what I wanted to do in my life. I became very interested in geology, changes in topography over time and hydrology as a result. 

Any tips for current students? 

My biggest tip is to step outside of your comfort zone and to say yes to any opportunities that may come to you, whether they be academic or extracurricular, and even if they don’t seem to relate directly to architecture, landscape or design. From my experience, opportunities that I thought would have no relation to my studies all ended up being extremely related to architecture and design. Furthermore, experiences like these diversify your portfolio and give you an eclectic edge, especially when applying to internships, jobs and grad school. 

Maha Abbas 

Visual Studies grad Abbas earned her specialist degree last fall, but still recalls the numerous late hours she logged in its pursuit. “In first year, during our first ever studio pinup, I remember running to Daniels at, like, 3 a.m. to print something,” she remembers. “It was the first of many nights that I spent in that building.” In spite of frequent all-nighters, however, she plans on returning for graduate studies, with an eye on pursuing work in heritage and preservation. 

Do you have a favourite project from your time at Daniels? 

My favourite project was honestly something I worked on recently for my Visual Studies thesis class. I basically made a video game — more specifically a chess game — which used the idea of play to visualize the socio‐political narratives in South Asia. The video game was a way to address war and conquest strategies by breaking them down to a series of planned and articulated moves. 

Were you involved with any clubs or organizations at Daniels? 

I wasn’t involved in any clubs or organizations at Daniels, but, looking back now, I wish that I had joined some and that I was a little more active within the Daniels community. I guess that’s what my advice would be for future or current students: Join the clubs! Be more present at Daniels! It’ll make your struggles at school a lot easier! 

Any other tips for students? 

Do not stay up past 3 a.m.! If you haven’t figured it out by then, you aren’t going to figure it out after that, so call it a night and address the issue in the morning. Also, one bad studio pinup isn’t the end of it all: Design is very subjective and there is always room for improvement, but cut yourself some slack and be proud of your work. 

More than ever today, landscape architecture and design have become key aspects of planning and building, which can no longer afford to ignore the natural world. This wasn’t always the case. For Earth Day, three University of Toronto graduates with diverse experience in the field convened to take stock of how far the discipline has come – and how far it can go. Below, the unabashed ecology advocates Doris Chee, Eha Naylor and Shelley Long share their thoughts on the changing perceptions and approaches of their profession, how landscape architects can lead the way in addressing issues such as climate change, and a few of the game-changing projects they themselves have worked on.

Tell us a little bit about yourselves.

Doris Chee: I graduated from University of Toronto in 1984. I worked at various private and public offices for most of my career, until I landed at Hydro One, which is where I have been for the last 14 years.

Doris Chee was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada when she was nine years old. (Photo provided by Chee)

I was always passionate about landscape architecture. I volunteered with the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA) newsletter when I became a member, helped mentor junior landscape architects, and represented the association at various meetings and committees. I’m still doing that. I worked my way up, so to speak, to the position of OALA president from 2016 to 2018. I also became involved with the Governing Council of the University of Toronto.

Eha Naylor: I studied at U of T, at what was then known as the Faculty of Architecture and Landscape. I graduated in 1980, and was lucky enough to have some rather good female mentors along the way.

Eha Naylor grew up in Toronto. Her parents immigrated to Canada from Estonia in 1940. (Photo provided by Naylor)

I chose landscape architecture because it was a field where I could combine art and science – I had an interest and natural affinity for both, particularly natural science. It was really exciting when I found a program and a profession where I thought I could be happy working for the rest of my life. And I’ve been working there for 40 years now.

I’m now a partner emeritus, which means I’m retiring soon. So that’s a good thing, but I don’t think I’ll ever give up being part of the landscape architecture profession and advocating for it. I think it’s just the next logical step. I met Doris when she was OALA president, and I was chair of the practice legislation committee at the association. And I’m also currently the president of the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation, which is the foundation that provides scholarships and grants for research and scholarships to students.

Shelley Long: In my high school years, I was quite the environmental activist: started a green club at my high school (secured lots of funding for it) and participated in eco art contests. When I went to university, I was looking again for a profession where I could blend art and science. I think that’s really common for a lot of people who are in landscape architecture.

Shelley Long was born and raised in Calgary. Her father initially immigrated to Canada from south China to do his PhD, and ended up bringing his wife with him as well. (Photo provided by Long)

In terms of how I ended up where I am today, I graduated from U of T in 2015, then worked for five years in Vancouver in both private practice and as adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, which I found a very rewarding experience. I love teaching, and I love being involved in both aspects of practice and academia.

Four years ago, I moved to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, to join the team at West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture. I had read [founder] Adriaan Geuze’s book when I was a student in Vancouver and actually attended his lecture when I was studying at the Daniels Faculty. I really wanted to work with him, so I guess I made that dream come true.

I’m a registered landscape architect in Ontario and B.C. and I do most of my work in Toronto, but also in the U.K. I don’t teach anymore because I don’t have time for that with this job.

Eha, you were recently appointed to the U of T’s governing council. Congratulations!

Naylor: Yes, thank you. It was announced in February. The council is essentially the University’s board of directors, and I’m one of the alumni governors. My role is, I believe, to champion the interests of the alumni, and to be part of the decision making for the University and its implications for alumni.

It doesn’t start until July, so I’m in training mode at the moment. There’s a learning curve for it. I have to give thanks to Doris, because she gave me a little push; she was very gentle about it, but she said you should do this. I’m looking forward to it. It is part of that transition from active practice to personal [endeavours].

How would you define that spectrum between active practice and personal pursuits?

Naylor: It’s the ability to have time to give back. I think I’ve been lucky in my professional life. I started in private practice and remained in private practice, and was part of a smaller, very progressive firm, led by Michael Hough and Jim Stansbury, in the 1980s. I ultimately became president of that firm. In 2009, we joined Dillon Consulting, a larger, multidisciplinary engineering firm.

These days, climate change, sustainability and protecting natural systems are paramount aspects of designing landscapes. How do they intersect with your work? And why are they important to you?

Long: As landscape architects, our role is to help connect people with natural systems. For my master’s studies, I had to choose between architecture or landscape architecture. I chose landscape architecture because it dealt with open systems and not closed ones. Landscapes only become better with time, whereas buildings start to fall apart the moment they’re complete. I thought, instead of making a fixed-point contribution, why not make something that gets better and more beautiful with time.

Naylor: I agree with Shelley. I think that is fundamentally not only why we choose to be landscape architects, but also why we continue to be landscape architects. About five years into my training, when I was first hired, I was quite frustrated. Not because of the work, but just because of the state of the business in those days. There wasn’t yet this kind of acceptance or understanding of how important it was to have a big picture of the environment. Landscape was relegated to tinkering around the edges.

To stay in this profession, you have to be able to embrace and articulate the larger vision of what it does. There have been environmental catastrophes, including climate change, that have made taking care of the physical environment and natural systems more understandable and urgent, whether they’re urban systems that provide natural environments or larger ecosystems.

Chee: These issues, as Eha said, have come to the fore because of events that are happening now. But that’s how we’ve always projected our work: adapting to climate change, being more sustainable, being more diverse in our work. And whatever we do, small or big, there’s a ripple effect, a downstream effect that becomes exponential.

Looking back on your careers now, is there a paradigm shift that you see within the profession when it comes to addressing these issues?

Naylor: Absolutely. In the 1980s, the concept of large-scale ecological restoration just wasn’t accepted. For example, I think it was probably in the early eighties that Michael Hough developed the strategy for the Lower Don Lands, and it involved recreating wetlands. He worked with a geomorphologist. And the work was certainly accepted, but it wasn’t widely accepted by other professionals.

Stormwater management was still viewed as putting in a pipe; water was a nuisance to get rid of as quickly as possible. If you look at the work that’s happening now in the Port Lands, it is a huge change in thinking. The Don River [which is being renaturalized at its mouth] is becoming an enormous resource and the catalyst for a very important and high-quality renewal of the port.

That idea, I think, was initially outlandish for many and now it is mainstream thinking. But it’s probably taken 25 or 30 years for it to be accepted. I really admire the work that has been going on forever in the Netherlands. They’ve had to address these questions [of flooding and resiliency] for a long time, and have been able to explore those ideas physically.

A map from the Port Lands Flood Protection Project, showing the Don River flowing into Lake Ontario. (Illustration from slide presentation PDF)

Chee: What they’re doing in the Port Lands is ecology-based. And I go back to thinking about how it has shifted. Well, let’s look at trees, for instance. In the early days, we were choosing trees to plant for their aesthetics, not so much their ecological effects. Now, we’re planting for sustainability, for carbon capture.

Shelley, as someone who’s part of the younger generation of landscape architects, have you noticed any changes in how these issues have evolved within the profession?

Long: By the time I came into the profession, a lot of the things that Eha is characterizing as paradigm shifts were already in place, which is a good thing, I guess, in how this way of thinking has become ingrained in the profession. But I could speculate that it might also be a bad thing. We sometimes put a lot of pressure on ourselves as young professionals to say that landscape architecture is going to save the world. I don’t think it is. And I need to be realistic about that, with my peers and also with students. We need to work together across disciplines and backgrounds to solve climate change, and also convey to our clients, for instance, that landscape architects can’t and shouldn’t go at this alone.

Naylor: Climate change is a really messy problem requiring a complex methodology for resolution, and the skills of many different disciplines. Landscape architecture is one of those disciplines and frankly a very valuable one, because we understand that idea of systems-based thinking for our physical environments. I’d say very regularly, as part of the lead of the practice legislation committee, that landscape architects must have a voice at the table when these kinds of issues are being addressed. We have to weave in our expertise with those of engineering, architecture and science to be able to come up with solutions that not only make sense and are sustainable, but also benefit communities. So, I agree, it’s not something that landscape architects alone can solve.

Can you cite some of the projects that have addressed these issues through landscape architecture?

Chee: One project we just finished is the Clarington TS Project. Eha’s company, Dillon, has helped us with it. Hydro One is in the business of transmitting electricity throughout Ontario and this was one of the major transmission projects that we designed and developed over 10 years. It’s a major centre that transmits 500-kilovolt power to the eastern borders of Northern Ontario. It is very unusual for Hydro One to own a large piece of property, where we can build a major station and still have leftover land. It just so happened that this piece of land sits on moraine, has two streams running through, a little woodlot, and most of it was cultivated for agriculture.

Schematic of Oak Ridges Moraine. (Illustration from Hydro One)

Due to the number of towers that had to go into this project, as well as the station itself, we couldn’t allow the farmers to come back and use that land. We looked at the various ecosystems, and the different methods to enhance the natural system. We worked with the local conservation authority, which helped us greatly in finding the right methodologies to incorporate into this piece of property. And the last thing that we did was create a small wetland to help ease up on some of the runoffs that was happening downstream.

Long: In the Netherlands, there’s a project called the Noordward polder, where the Dutch government decided that the river needed more room to allow it to flood because of the extreme events that are happening more frequently. To address this, they broke the project into small, different regional projects, which were awarded to engineering companies. One of them was to take this old historic polder that was farmed for hundreds of years, and open it to become basically a place that the river could flood into during storms. All of the farmers there were to be moved away, in order to transform it into an ecological park.

West 8 was the sub-consultant on this project and had this idea of, let’s look at the nuances of the different flood levels when they’re happening, where they’re happening, and propose to the ministry: how about we raise the inundation dikes, raise all the lands that the farmers are on? They go away for a few years, we rebuild their houses on higher ground, and they then live within the changing landscape. We built a new series of slices and dikes, which is all very much in the language of the Dutch water system. And now what you see is that the farmers are able to stay in their homes, and you have a new type of place created, [a paragon of] what we call flood tourism. People actually go there and can see when everything is flooded except for the little rows, the little farmhouses, and the little pump stations.

People, I think, are craving that. They want to understand how the landscape works, in relation to extreme events and climate change. I think that’s a wonderful example of the systems-based thinking of landscape-led infrastructure and place-making.

If people would like to read on this further, and see some of the images, topos magazine has a great issue on it called infrastuctures. I was involved in the curation, peer review, editing and writing of a number of pieces for this issue.

Naylor: One of the projects that I spent a lot of time working on was the Windsor-Essex Parkway [now called the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway] which is the extension of the 401 Highway right through the city of Windsor, Ontario. We took the results of multiple environmental assessments conducted over the years and developed a design strategy, which essentially put the highway into a trench. We created 11 land bridges across the trench. There was, I believe, almost 100 hectares of ecological restoration of tallgrass prairie and oak savanna. It was an incredible project, because it took what would normally be and what the community thought would be a blight and turned it into an incredible ecological resource. We also had the privilege of working the local Indigenous community, the Walpole Island First Nation, and we were able to express both their culture and the project through art and signage.

Renderings of the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Parkway project from Dillon Consulting.

The other project I’m currently working on is the long-term vision plan for Parliament Hill. The physical setting for Parliament Hill is complicated. It’s also politically complicated. The Parliament Building is perched on a hill which is the remnants of a valley that over a decade have been degraded. There’s a huge opportunity to restore the natural environment to contribute to both the cultural environment as well as the political environment. It’s a significant challenge, but if it’s solved through the right lens, it can encourage Indigenous reconciliation, and it can make the public realm on the Hill a better place. It can be a place of incredible pride for Canadians.

What advice do you have, finally, for people who are either new to landscape architecture or already in the profession on how they can prioritize and centre ecological perspectives and values in their practice?

Chee: I think of the profession of landscape architecture as a gift. And if I could be a little bit spiritual here for a moment, if we go back to the book of Genesis, the Garden of Eden was given to Adam and Eve to live in, and they were also given the task to look after it. Our profession has similarly been given the gift to be the stewards of the land. I really cherish that value, that image even, if you will. It is a gift that the result is the betterment of people, of animals, of our natural environment.

Naylor: For students in the landscape architecture program, and those who are graduating, I would encourage them to really stay focused on continuing to learn, to continue to build their skills and keep their eyes open to how the world is changing. I think we have a lot to contribute, but I also think it requires practitioners to stay in touch and be the best they can be in order to contribute meaningfully to people and to the planet.

Long: My piece of advice, on the occasion of Earth Day, is that when we talk about sustainability, we should focus on longevity as a concept. I think it’s important that we, as people in the ecological field, are able to differentiate between what’s green and what’s greenwashing. And also to explore the ideas of circularity and life cycles, what our First Nations colleagues would call the seven generation principle. I think that if you start thinking in your profession at an early stage about these concepts, it totally changes how you go about and relate to the world.