Alumna Monica Adair (MArch 2005) was recently profiled in the Toronto Star as one of two emerging architects who are “turning heads in the profession.” The article highlights the difficulty that talented practicing architects under 40 have in winning large, prestigious projects, compared to year's past.

“Richard Sommer, dean of the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at U of T, says a pervasive risk aversion has set in among institutional clients and their banking backers in this country,” writes Joseph Hall. “That attitude sends most Habitat or Science-Centre-scale works to rock star architects or established, major firms.”

Adair discussed similar issues in an interview with Daily Commercial News last month after serving as a presenter at the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada's 2016 Festival of Architecture in Nanaimo, B.C.

Earlier this year, Adair and partner Stephen Kopp (MArch 2005) were featured in an article in Huddle about balancing both work and home life. Adair admits that sometimes it’s not always possible to achieve a balance, so she and Kopp changed their perspective on their experience with an overwhelming workload.

“If we don’t think of life as a balance but think of it as a timeline of what you want to remember in this world; we’re trying to focus on making sure that those things are fulfilled and important and we’ll find ways around that to make that happen,” Adair told Cara Smith.

Two weeks ago, an group of architects and artists came together for the Building Museums: Building Cities (Part 2) panel discussion at the Art Museum; among them were Daniels Faculty alumni Adrian Blackwell (MUD 2002) and Shirley Blumberg (BArch 1976), as well as Dean Richard Sommer. Other panelists included French architect Eric Lapierre, Charles Renfro of New York-based Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Paris-based writer and critic Philippe Trétiack. The panel was introduced by Associate Professor Barbara Fischer.

The discussion centred on the changing museum culture in light of international development and its effect on urban renewal and gentrification. Part 1 of the Building Museums: Building Cities events, which took place last year, considered Toronto’s recent cultural building revival, the surge of large capital projects, and the renewals of museum spaces currently developing across Canada.

This year’s event was recently covered by U of T News: “Imagine Toronto without the Royal Ontario Museum or the Art Gallery of Ontario,” writes Romi Levine. “The ROM’s Lee-Chin Crystal and Frank Gehry’s long glass and wood façade at the AGO have reached iconic status in the city – and Toronto would feel emptier without them. The buildings themselves have become as important as the artifacts they house.”

As Levine writes, attendees of the event included students, alumni, and professionals in the architecture and curatorial fields. “For attendee Cynthia Roberts, who holds a Masters of Museum Studies from U of T, the event highlighted the importance of talking about art and architecture so that decision makers are aware of its importance and the need for funding."

The event was organized by Fischer and the staff of the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, and was a joint initiative between the Art Museum and the French Consulate of Toronto with additional support by the Institut français.

For the full article, visit the U of T News website.

Current MArch student Evan Wakelin created architectural collages for his thesis research project that represent the emotional and physical experience of migration. The illustrations were recently featured in Dezeen — an online magazine dedicated to showcasing architecture, design, and interior projects from around the world.

"The drawings illustrate hypothetical migrations to the city, whereby the original home of the migrant is layered with their current home within the city of Toronto," explains Wakelin in his thesis research paper. "This intersection of past and present, over different geographical locations, describes a divided identity where the sense of belonging and sentiment exist somewhere in between."

“In the drawings, elements of architecture and interior design that evoke particular residential styles are stacked and presented in section,” writes Dezeen's Alyn Griffiths. “Like dolls' houses, they offer an insight into the past lives of the occupants.”

Wakelin has previously created other architectural imagery; his illustrations printed on various accessories are available for purchase from Society6.

The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) have named Denegri Bessai Studio — the firm of Daniels Faculty Lecturer Maria Denegri and Assistant Professor Tom Bessai — Best Emerging Practice as part of its annual OAA Awards.

The Best Emerging Practice award recognizes "the contribution of young firms that have been in practice for five years or less and demonstrate a clear vision, well-articulated goals and proven effective strategies that provide a competitive advantage."

Duncan Sabiston (MArch 2014), pictured with Denegri and Bessai above, is also part of the firm.

Toon Dreessen, President of the OAA, says the Denegri Bessai Studio is to be commended “for its commitment to pushing the boundary of cutting edge, experimental architecture in Canada."

"With each project, the studio strives to innovate and, in the process, uncovers new techniques and finds new uses for cutting-edge technologies," says Dreessen. "As one of our jury members noted: 'a firm showing such commitment to the exploration of new ideas, with such excitement and enthusiasm, will always be able to distinguish itself as new and emerging.’ Additionally, the firm embraces new avenues in business, creating a niche market for their talent that sets them apart.”

This isn't the first time the OAA has commended Denegri and Bessai. Last year the firm received recognition in the “Concepts” category of the OAA Awards for “Dancing Cubbies,” designed for Huron Public School in Toronto.

Last summer, the OAA highlighted panAMaze a temporary installation design by Denegri Bessai for the International Plaza of the Athletes’ Villiage built for 2015 Pan-Am Games in Toronto.

Denegri Bessai Studio has also been recognized in local media in the recent past. In 2014, the firm was featured in the summer issue of Designlines magazine, which highlighted many of the daring ideas they bring to small living spaces. Likewise, the Globe and Mail commended Denegri Bessai for the imaginative and innovative ways it has made small downtown living spaces appear large.

Writes Mike Doherty in Designlines, Denegri and Bessai "consider themselves 'translators' who bring ideas from academia into the domestic sphere. Their Annex studio features a fabrication laboratory (nicknamed the FabLab) full of quizzical objects that recall boomerangs, paper planes and alien artefacts." Pictured above is Mangrove Structure, an installation completed for the Design Exchange's pop up exhibition at 363 King St. W. last spring.

This backyard project, which tackled the design of a small outdoor living space in the city by creating a courtyard between a house and garage was also profiled in the Globe and Mail.

As part of their research, Denegri and Bessai study the role of computation in architecture and design, and present regularly at conferences and forums.

The OAA will present its awards at a Celebration of Excellence Awards Ceremony & Dinner on May 13.

Several faculty and alumni will be recognized at the Ontario Association of Architects annual OAA Awards, presented May 13th. 

The OAA Awards offers the Ontario architectural profession an annual opportunity to present its work to a public and professional audience. It advertises the excellence of both individual award winners and the profession as a whole, and it fosters a greater appreciation of architecture and architects among all levels of society, professional and non-professional.

The Daniels Faculty would like to extend its congratulations to alumni and faculty members recognized this year.

The Design Excellence category recognized the “innovative skills of Ontario architects in creating spaces, buildings and communities that respect and enhance the environment an enrich human activity.”

• Harbord Towns by Superkül Inc. — the firm of Daniels Faculty Instructor Meg Graham
   
• Prince Arthur’s Landing, Thunder Bay Waterfront by Brook McIlroy Inc. — the firm of Anne McIlroy (BArch 1986) and Calvin Brook (BArch 1982)
   
• Richard Ivey Building, Western University by Hariri Pontarini Architects — the firm of David Pontarini (BArch 1983)
   
• Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, University of British Columbia by KPMB Architects — the firm of Bruce Kuwabara (BArch 1972) and Shirley Blumberg (BArch 1976) — and HCMA Architecture + Design in a joint venture
   
• Toronto Public Library Scarborough Civic Centre Branch by LGA Architectural Partners Ltd. — the firm of Janna Levitt (BArch 1986) and Dean Goodman (BArch 1983) — and Phillip H. Carter, Architect in joint venture

​

The Concepts category recognized the “clarity and uniqueness of expression of an architectural idea as well as promoting the involvement of individuals in the areas of design presentation, art and other design related endeavors.”

• Dominique Cheng (MArch 2007): Planespotting

The Landmark Designation category recognized the “buildings that demonstrate architecture’s beauty, endurance and lasting contribution to community and society.”

• 299 Queen Street West renovation by Quadrangle Architects — the firm of Sheldon Levitt (BArch 1980)
   
• St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church by John Stefura (BArch 1953) and Carl Skerl (BArch 1958), Townend Stefura Baleshta and Pfister Architects

Additionally, Professor Emeritus George Baird received the Lifetime Design Achievement Award for his career-long contribution to Architectural Design Excellence. William N. Greer (BArch 1948) received the Order of da Vinci for his significant and meaningful contribution to the profession of architecture. Finally, Douglas Cumming Johnson (BArch 1950) was included in the OAA Honour Roll, a category that recognizes prominent members of the architectural profession who are now deceased.

The final three awards (the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Design Excellence in Architecture, the Michael V. and Wanda Plachta Award, and the People’s Choice Award) will be announced at the Celebration of Excellence on May 13th as part of the OAA Conference 2016 being held in Toronto.

Place-Holder, a graduate student-run publication, has been awarded a grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. The third edition of the journal, edited by Michael Abel (MArch 2016) and Mina Hanna (MArch 2014), includes work by contributors Patrick Pregesbauer, Maarten Lambrechts, Daniel Tudor Munteanu, Nancy Webb, Zoé Renaud-Drouin (MArch 2014), Elliott Sturtevant (MArch 2014), Max Powell (MArch 2015), and many more.

Place-Holder was started in 2012 as “an active catalogue of design, for contemporary use and future reference, a repository and mediator of ideas that are floating in our (corporeal and digital) memories.”

From the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts website:

This student-run journal addresses the unspoken aspects of architectural pedagogy and reveals the relics of the architecture design process, which form an archive of unseen products, set-aside ideas, and scrapped technologies. Whether they are temporary trends or resilient values, these, too, are part of the public discourse on design and cities and should be part of the conversation. Place-Holder creates a home for that which is otherwise lost—off-hand musings, abandoned models, interviews with practitioners—as well as the residual effects of the making of architecture. It is active catalogue of design, for contemporary use and future reference, a repository and mediator of ideas that are floating in our (corporeal and digital) memories. Place-Holder is an open conversation.

Last year, Place-Holder’s interview with Greg Lynn — conducted by Roya Mottahedeh (MArch 2014), Mark Ross (MArch 2014), and Paul Harrison (MArch 2014) — was featured in Archinect’s Screen/Print series.

“The so-called Issue 1/2 takes a look at the things that may seem out of architecture’s wheelhouse, but in the end prove themselves as major influencers,” writes Archinect in its introduction to the interview, “in short, the life around architecture always bleeds back in.”

The third edition of Place-Holder will be released soon. This most recent edition will focus on the influence of the network in the public domain and the implications it has on architecture’s autonomy as a discipline. For more information, visit www.place-holder.net

The exhibition titled How to Make Space, curated by Jennifer L. Davis (MArch 2011) and Su-Ying Lee (MVS 2011) featuring work by Tings Chak (MArch 2014), has received a 2016 Grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. The exhibition explores temporary structures built by women in Hong Kong as gestures of female spatial agency. Other artists featured in the exhibition include Stephanie Comilang, Devora Neumark, and Rowena Yin-Fan Chan.

From the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts website:

How to Make Space is an exhibition that frames the temporary architectures built by Hong Kong's population of female migrant domestic workers (MDWs) as gestures of female spatial agency. Three commissioned projects reveal the oppressive legal and cultural forces that compel the women to occupy public spaces and build structures of provisional materials in which to spend their Sundays off from work. The projects are researched and authored by artists Stephanie Comilang (Toronto/Berlin), Tings Chak (Toronto), and Devora Neumark (Montreal) with Rowena Yin-Fan Chan (Hong Kong). By presenting these works in an accessible and unconventional setting, the exhibition heightens awareness in a broad audience and directly engages the spaces and people with which it is concerned. Together, the projects point toward the possibility of a feminist architecture by striving to employ tactics learned from the MDWs, questioning existing disciplinary and social power structures, and developing new methodologies of How to Make Space.

How to Make Space is one of the projects organized by Davis and Lee under the name of Rear View (Projects). Both a curatorial collective and an itinerant site for art, Rear View (Projects) experiments with unconventional platforms to mobilize new interactions between art, place, and audiences. Recent exhibitions include Flipping Properties (2014), a large-scale installation commissioned for a Toronto Laneway designed by architect Jimenez Lai (HBA 2002, MArch 2007) with Bureau Spectacular.

How to Make Space will be on display from June 25 to July 23, 2016 in Hong Kong, China. For more information, visit rearviewprojects.com