After a months-long process of consultation and collaboration, the Daniels Faculty is excited to announce the members of its First Peoples Leadership Advisory Group, created in partnership with Indigenous stakeholders both within and outside the University to diversify the range of Indigenous knowledge at the Faculty and to increase the availability of the Advisors to students, faculty and staff. 
 
The new Advisors — Elder and Traditional Teacher Dorothy Peters, educator and advocate Amos Key Jr., and artist and community planner Trina Moyan — were brought together after an open call for members this past summer and a series of consultations with Indigenous members of the Faculty and University. 

The Advisors will provide regular and ongoing guidance to members of the Faculty, including its academic and administrative leadership teams, to facilitate a range of important goals, including greater incorporation of Indigenous knowledge into coursework and research activities, connecting students and faculty with Indigenous peoples and communities in productive and meaningful ways, and supporting the next generation of students through focused outreach and planning.   

Elder Peters, Key and Moyan will maintain regular office hours in Room 220 of the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent, providing both in-person and online advisory time for Indigenous students at U of T as well as all members of the Daniels Faculty.   

In addition to the on-site Advisory Group, acclaimed architect Douglas Cardinal, who served as the Faculty’s Frank O. Gehry Chair in 2020-2021, will join the Faculty as Decanal Advisor on Indigenous Knowledge. In this role, Dr. Cardinal will work closely with Dean Juan Du and the Faculty’s leadership team on the strategic development of Indigenous knowledge and research, its integration with the school’s curriculum, its dissemination through courses and public programs, and the ongoing recruitment of Indigenous faculty, students and staff. 

Dr. Cardinal’s appointment, along with those of the Advisory Group members, significantly enhances Indigenous presence and capacity at the Faculty, as well as increases its ability to answer the Calls to Action articulated by the University’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Steering Committee.  

“I am very pleased by this appointment,” said Dr. Cardinal upon accepting the role of Decanal Advisor on Indigenous Knowledge. “Although I do not speak on behalf of all Indigenous people, I do look forward to contributing my perspective and to working with the Dean and the Faculty on enhancing the dissemination of Indigenous teachings.”  

Adds Dean Du: “We have made great strides in terms of promoting and integrating Indigenous knowledge over the past few years, but there is much more work to be done. Elder Peters, Amos, Trina and Douglas each brings a wealth of educational, professional and lived experience to our school, and I look forward to continued learnings from them. Under their guidance, our commitment as a Faculty to pursuing Truth and Reconciliation and to addressing the Calls to Action will only be strengthened in the years and decades to come.” 

Elder Dorothy Peters 

A Traditional Teacher and Community Nookmis, Elder Peters is a member of Jiima’aaganing (Seine River) First Nation. Throughout her career, she has worked in various consultative capacities with multiple Indigenous organizations in Toronto, including Aboriginal Legal Services and Anduhyaun Inc., and she has previously supported Indigenous students at the University of Toronto through First Nations House, where she served until recently as an Elder-in-Residence. A residential school survivor, Elder Peters is regularly called upon to share her stories, teachings and cultural expertise at events throughout the city.

Amos Key Jr. 

A member of the Mohawk Nation, Key is an educator, advocate and Traditional Faith Keeper of the Longhouse at Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. The long-time Director of First Nations Language at Woodland Cultural Centre, where he co-founded the Gaweni:yo Cayuga/Mohawk Immersion School System, Key is a leading figure in the ongoing language revitalization movement among First Nations people in Canada. He has also taught as an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Indigenous Studies, and was the inaugural Vice-Provost, Indigenous at Brock University in St. Catharines.

Trina Moyan 

Artist and activist Moyan is nehiyaw iskwew (Plains Cree) from the Frog Lake First Nation in Alberta. She began her career as a writer and producer for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and co-produced and directed the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards (now Indspire) for CBC Television. Moyan is a co-founder of Toronto-based Bell & Bernard, a First Nations consulting firm dedicated to including the histories and current realities of Indigenous peoples within urban planning projects, and has spoken widely on Indigenous inclusion and empowerment. Moyan is also a muralist, a traditional dancer and a University of Toronto alumna.

Douglas Cardinal 

One of the world’s most prominent Indigenous architects, Dr. Cardinal is known for his lifelong commitment to sustainable design and for such landmark buildings as the Canadian Museum of History. Born in Calgary to a father of Blackfoot heritage and a German/Métis mother, he served as the Daniels Faculty’s Frank O. Gehry Chair in 2020-2021 and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the University of Toronto in June 2022. In 2018, Dr. Cardinal led a team of Indigenous architects and designers who represented Canada at the Venice Architecture Biennale, and he continues to design residential, institutional and industrial buildings. His role as Decanal Advisor on Indigenous Knowledge at the Daniels Faculty continues his longtime advocacy for the dignity and advancement of Indigenous Peoples.

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 Daniels Faculty’s buildings have been full of much activity of late. For many of you returning to our classrooms, labs and offices this month, it’ll be the first time in a long while that we are all fully back in person for the start of a new school year. For others, this month will mark your first-ever time at the Faculty or even at the University of Toronto. Whichever the case, I want to welcome everyone to the 2022-2023 academic year. I am thrilled that we are all together again. The coming year promises to be an exceptional one in many ways.
 
Over the past two years, we have all had to rethink how we learn and come together as a community. As a result, the Faculty has garnered many valuable lessons that we hope will serve us all better as we embark on this new term. For our students, our aim is to restore as great a degree of normalcy and access as possible, so that you can enjoy the full benefits of your experience here in safe and vibrant learning spaces.  
 
These benefits include not only a world-class education at one of the most interdisciplinary design schools on the continent, but also a full roster of inspiring extracurricular offerings. This fall’s public programming series includes lectures, panel discussions and performances by some of the leading designers, artists and thinkers in their fields; it’ll be kicked off on September 15 with the annual Gehry Chair Lecture, to be delivered by Dhaka-based architect Marina Tabassum, the 2022-2023 Frank Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design. Look out, too, for two major exhibitions in the Architecture and Design Gallery at 1 Spadina Crescent this year, as well as a multitude of activities planned around the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Black Heritage Month, and other noteworthy dates.
 
One of the most exciting and important developments at the Faculty this semester is the presence of our newly assembled First Peoples Leadership Advisory Group, created after an open public call this summer. Part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing Indigenous knowledge and capacity at our school, the multi-person Group will be working closely with the Faculty leadership team and with all members of our community. More information on the Advisory Group, as well as collaborative Faculty learning and awareness facilitated by the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, will be shared very soon.

As these initiatives suggest, equity, diversity and inclusion are among our greatest priorities at the Faculty, which is why I’m also happy to welcome, among the impressive new additions to our academic and administrative team, our inaugural Assistant Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Dr. Jewel Amoah, who joined us in July, has been tasked with working with all of us to facilitate the kind of institutional changes required to foster equal access and representation across the Faculty. She brings a wealth of international advocacy and academic experience to the role, and I look forward to working closely with her as we strive toward this important goal.
 
As our Advisory Group and our Assistant Dean EDI conduct their work, they will seek to build as many relationships with faculty, students and other stakeholders as they can, meaning that their doors will always be open. Mine, too. Part of the joy of working at the Daniels Faculty is how uniquely connected we all are in our distinct yet intertwined pursuits. I very much look forward to strengthening those connections even more this term, and to a great year ahead!
 
Juan Du (she/her)
Dean and Professor
John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Photos by Emma Hwang

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) 
 

The Daniels Faculty is pleased to announce that Dhaka-based architect Marina Tabassum is the 2022-2023 Frank Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design. 

Since establishing her practice, MTA, in 2005, Tabassum has built a growing body of work acclaimed for its sustainability, ultra-locality and thoughtful material choices.  

In 2016, she was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for what is perhaps her best-known project to date: the Bait ur Rouf Jame Mosque in the Bangladeshi capital. Last year, she received the prestigious Soane Medal, which recognizes the work of architects, educators or critics who have furthered the public’s understanding of architecture. Tabassum has taught at architecture schools in Bangladesh, Europe and the United States, and has lectured around the world. 

“We are thrilled that Marina will be serving as the Daniels Faculty’s Gehry Chair this year,” says Dean Juan Du. “Her work uniquely addresses the social and ecological challenges of today through architectural design. With all of her projects, Marina consistently engages local culture and environmental context sensitively and innovatively to create meaningful, enduring architecture for and with communities.” 

MTA's Bait ur Rouf Jame Mosque in Dhaka won the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

During her appointment as Gehry Chair, Tabassum will lead a year-long research studio for third-year Master of Architecture students at the Faculty. She will kick off her time here with a public lecture in the Main Hall of the Daniels Building on September 15 at 6:30 p.m.  

“I am looking forward to my time at the University of Toronto,” says Tabassum. “The Gehry Chair is a research-based studio. In the era of the Anthropocene, we need to reassess the agendas of architecture and explore the new roles architects can adopt as agents for change. The studio will explore current exemplary models being tried out by architects around the world in order to formulate their own ideas.” 

In particular, Tabassum adds, “my studio will focus on Architecture of Transition. We will study various forms of mass displacement of people due to war, conflict and climate-related crises, among others, and seek out various responses by architects and other professionals. We will also address the issues of permanence and temporality in architecture and the roles materials and construction play in it.”   

“Marina’s practice,” says Wei-Han Vivian Lee, director of the Faculty’s Master of Architecture program, “is unique in its devotion to the planning of sustainable communities. Her projects address humanitarian issues through thoughtful design, a celebration of vernacular craft, and experimentation with material use. So many of our faculty and students are interested in these issues, and we are honoured that she will be here to share her expertise with the Daniels Faculty community.” 

Named in honour of Frank O. Gehry, the Toronto-born designer of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Gehry Chair brings an international architect to the Faculty every year to deliver a public lecture and enrich the student learning experience. The endowed role was established in November 2000 by Indigo Books and Music founder Heather Reisman and 45 other donors; they contributed $1 million, which was matched by U of T.  

Over the years, past Gehry Chairs have included Daniel Libeskind (2002-2003), Preston Scott Cohen (2003-2004), Merrill Elam (2004-2005), Diane Lewis (2005-2006), Will Bruder (2006-2007), Jürgen Mayer H (2007-2008), Wes Jones (2008-2009), Mitchell Joachim (2009-2010), Nader Tehrani (2010-2011), Hrvoje Njiric (2011-2012), Josemaría de Churtichaga (2013-2014), Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee (2016-2017), Amale Andraos and Dan Wood (2017-2018), Aljoša Dekleva and Tina Gregorič (2019-2020), Douglas Cardinal (2020-2021) and Lina Ghotmeh (2021-2022). 

For more information on Tabassum and MTA, click here. 

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. 

The Daniels Faculty is pleased to announce that, as part of our ongoing commitment to developing and enhancing Indigenous knowledge and capacity in our Faculty, the role of the First Peoples Leadership Advisor is being expanded to a First Peoples Leadership Advisory Group in order to diversify perspectives and include multiple experiences and expertise from broader Indigenous communities. The expanded role and responsibilities, as well as the public open call for applications, have been made in close consultation with U of T’s Office for Indigenous Initiatives and First Nations House.  

In expanding this role to an Advisory Group to include three members, the Daniels Faculty, its students and our community will benefit from the contributions and advice of multiple perspectives. This group will work closely with a Faculty leadership team and use Wecheehetowin: Answering the Call, U of T’s response to the TRC report, to guide the directions of our efforts and build on work already undertaken within the Faculty.  

This First Peoples Leadership Advisory Group will provide leadership and guidance within the Faculty to enable greater incorporation of Indigenous knowledge into the teaching curriculum and research activities. It will also expand connections and engagement with Indigenous peoples and communities for our students and faculty. And, perhaps most importantly, they will further support the next generation of students in the Daniels Faculty.   

Key responsibilities include: 

Curriculum enrichment: 

• Providing curriculum and research support to the Daniels Faculty to ensure relevant and culturally grounded elements are included 
• Collaborating with faculty on the design and implementation of Indigenous research and education content 
• Supporting targeted requests from faculty for perspective and insight 

Student support: 

• Supporting current Daniels Faculty Indigenous students on culturally specific, financial, academic support or other issues as they arise; liaising with the Registrar or First Nations House as appropriate 
• Advising non-Indigenous students seeking cultural perspective, input, resources or guidance  

Advisory and outreach: 

• Offer advice and counsel to the Dean and Faculty leadership 
• Facilitating outreach or introduction into communities for projects or initiatives 
• Supporting cultivation of pathways for future students to the Daniels Faculty 
• Providing advice on pathways to admission for Indigenous youth and other potential students.  

Service: 

• Establish connections with the U of T Office of Indigenous Initiatives 
• Working with Assistant Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion on broader Faculty initiatives 
• Advising or participating in ceremonies as requested  
• The First Peoples Advisory Group will lead the creation of its Terms of Reference 

Open Call: Those interested may apply via the following link by Friday, July 29, 2022:  

First Peoples Leadership Advisory Group – Application Form 

Applications will be reviewed by a committee comprised of members from U of T’s Office for Indigenous Initiatives and the Daniels Faculty Leadership Team, as well as representatives from Daniels Faculty Indigenous students and alumni. 

Banner image: This year’s Design Studio 2 (ARC 1012) tasked Master of Architecture students with designing a seedbank for the non-profit Kayanase organization (student Alice Dong’s is pictured above) using both science-based approaches and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge. Part of the Daniels Faculty’s ongoing commitment to integrating meaningful Indigenous content into the curriculum, the first-year core MARC course was developed in collaboration with multiple Indigenous experts and directly addresses Call to Action No. 17 in U of T’s response to the report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. (Photo by Harry Choi)

Nicollo Abe, a fourth-year architecture student, has been recognized by the University of Toronto Libraries for his innovative research project on mobility and architecture, called “Architecture on Modern European Banknotes: In Search of Stability through Abstract Circulation.” 

Each year, U of T Libraries recognizes undergraduate students from various faculties with the Patricia and Peter Shannon Wilson Undergraduate Research Prize. This prize provides students writing a research essay or assignment with an opportunity to reflect on their information-seeking experience while showcasing their research skills beyond the classroom. Abe’s effective and innovative use of various university libraries’ information sources led to his recognition.  

Completed as part of the ARC451H: Mobility and Architecture course at the Daniels Faculty, Abe’s essay explores the cultural impact of currency imagery on architecture by focusing on the Euro banknotes of 1996. He considers how architecture performs as a vehicle of symbolic power and is utilized as a cultural technique that shapes national identities while maintaining global imaginaries. Figures and photographs guide readers as they go through 12 pages of content, concluding with a question concerning architecture’s role in the digital age. 
 
“What I learned throughout this information-seeking process,” Abe says, “was the value of images and photos [in both] the Eberhard Zeidler Library and U of T Libraries’ online database. Whether my primary or secondary sources were printed or digital, there were many times when I relied upon the images that are embedded in them. Perhaps this was due to the nature and scope of the research, but I found that photographs and illustrations are essential components in knowledge-making and research.”  

Abe’s sponsoring faculty member was Daniels Faculty Sessional Lecturer Ipek Mehmetoğlu, who worked closely with him throughout his research process. Abe was able to critically reflect, says Mehmetoğlu, “on the contribution of his sources to the development of his topic on European banknotes and architectural abstraction and mobility. His research proves his curiosity for innovation, self-reliability and good understanding and effective use of secondary and primary sources.”

As an undergraduate student, Abe was able to use the knowledge he acquired in his architecture program to contribute to an international discussion on imagery and architecture. His research can now be found on TSpace, U of T’s research repository, here.  

With files from a U of T News story by Larysa Woloszansky

Banner image: Daniels Faculty architecture student Nicollo Abe, winner of a 2022 Patricia and Peter Shannon Wilson Undergraduate Research Prize, is pictured second from left. The prize is given out by U of T Libraries annually to undergraduate essay writers who demonstrate superlative research skills.

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)

Assistant professor Bomani Khemet is the 2022 beneficiary of the Mayflower Research Fund, the research endowment established four years ago at the Daniels Faculty. 

An expert in building science and HVAC systems, Khemet will direct his grant, totalling $10,000, into his research on improving fresh-air circulation in multi-unit buildings, an issue that has taken on extra resonance in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Khemet’s specific area of focus is the feasibility in Canada of skip-stop and single-loaded corridors, designs that give building occupants greater control over indoor air quality. 

“As a new faculty member, this financial assistance helps me jumpstart my research exploration into how building air movement in the form of natural ventilation can impact various aspects of occupant comfort and building operations,” he says. 

“The first step of the research is to (1) create a comprehensive design catalogue of existing buildings using single-loaded and skip-stop treatments, and (2) understand the design barriers, financial barriers and regulatory barriers to implementing these design strategies in a Canadian context.” 

The Mayflower Research Fund was established by a generous donor in 2018 to encourage and stimulate research in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design, and allows for collaboration with other areas of the University when deemed appropriate. Since then, $10,000 has been given annually to three assistant professors in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design: Fadi Masoud, Maria Yablonina and Alstan Jakubiec. Any faculty member with a full-time appointment at Daniels is eligible to apply.  

Khemet, who began teaching building science at Daniels in 2018, became a permanent member of the school as a tenured assistant professor in 2021. In addition to teaching building science and HVAC courses to undergraduate and graduate architecture students, he has conducted a number of groundbreaking studies during his time at the Faculty, including a large-scale analysis of airtightness in Canadian single-detached homes (his data was culled from a Natural Resources Canada survey of over 900,000 properties) and another on the airtightness of the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent itself. 

Khemet’s newly funded research into skip-stop and single-loaded corridors — a response to the fact that most of Canada’s mid- and high-rise residential buildings “use double-loaded corridor floor plans [that] prevent effective natural ventilation” — is in keeping with his interests in air quality, building performance and resilient design.  

The corridor designs he aims to catalogue and promote have also been cited as effective ways of combating the transmission of airborne viruses such as SARS and COVID-19.  

“Skip-stop and single-loaded designs are highly recommended as best practice for multi-unit residential buildings primarily due to the placement of operable windows on opposing facades,” Khemet said in his funding proposal. “Unfortunately, there is precious little information on the implementation of skip-stop and single-loaded corridors in multi-unit housing for Canadian climates.” 

Khemet’s research, which will be conducted with co-investigator Marianne Touchie, an assistant professor at U of T of civil engineering and of mechanical and industrial engineering, aims to remedy that. 

U of T's Marianne Touchie

In addition to creating a record of Canadian buildings that utilize skip-stop and single-loaded corridor designs and to cataloging any barriers to their incorporation, the research team aims to disseminate its findings through a variety of media, including public lectures, trade publications and academic journals.  

Two research assistants — Master of Architecture students — will be engaged to work on the project, in Fall 2022 and Fall 2023 respectively.  

Khemet and Touchie plan to have the research completed by 2024. 

Banner image: Assistant professor Bomani Khemet, who joined the Daniels Faculty in 2018, will apply his Mayflower Research Fund grant to researching how certain corridor designs might improve air circulation and quality in Canadian multi-unit buildings.