The need for more green space in low-income urban settings. Why contemporary forestry needs to be interwoven with Indigenous knowledge. The history and future of China’s eucalyptus trees.

These were just a few of the wide range of subjects elucidated during the 2021 Capstone presentations by students in the Master of Forest Conservation (MFC) program. Held on December 14 and 15, the hybrid presentations took place in person at 1 Spadina Crescent for students and examiners, with external audience members joining in virtually.

A total of 22 MFC students individually presented their work, the projects organized under the themes of forest management, forest health, monitoring, policy, wildlife, mass timber and urban forestry.

“The hybrid format allowed a broader range of external examiners, from places like Oregon and Barcelona, who would not have been able to participate if we were 100 per cent in person,” says Professor Patrick James, the Capstone course coordinator. “The success of this first hybrid presentation event has potentially opened doors for broader participation in the future.”

The 2021 presentations showcased a diverse mix of issues and case studies. Aditi Chanda’s Capstone project, for instance, focused on the harvesting impacts of Indigenous traplines on marten habitats in northeastern Ontario. Through her presentation, she demonstrated why it is critical for Indigenous knowledge to be woven into forestry.

“It is important to focus on Indigenous perspectives not just because they had been silenced, but because they provide generational knowledge of concepts that are championed in forest management today, such as sustainability or adaptive management,” Chanda says. “Given the often-fraught relationship and history between First Nations and the Canadian forest industry, I firmly believe it is irresponsible for us to do otherwise.”

During his presentation, James Marcucci discussed how social housing can be spaces for urban forest stewardship. “There is a measurable inequality of urban tree-canopy cover in Toronto neighbourhoods that is directly related to median household incomes,” he says. “Non-profits such as Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests (LEAF) have identified this issue and are partnering with the City of Toronto to empower Toronto Community Housing tenants to plant and steward trees in their communal green spaces.”

Qinyu Chen, meanwhile, spoke on the history of eucalyptus trees in China, the importance of having species diversity there, and how this could be achieved through the planting of three alternative eucalyptus species. “Globally, China ranks first in plantation area, of which eucalyptus is the most widely planted tree species,” Chen says. “Making even small improvements in terms of diversity will have a significant impact on the whole timber industry and country.”

Chen had the unique experience of working at two different universities for his Capstone project: Nanjing Forestry University (NJFU) in China and the University of Toronto in Canada.

“It was great taking part in two different programs: earning lab experience at NJFU and theories knowledge through the course-based MFC program here at the Daniels Faculty,” he says.

“Having gone through the majority of the program in a COVID-required virtual format,” James concludes, “the class of 2021 deserves particular recognition for its perseverance and resilience.”

Dean Juan Du adds: “I was able to attend some of the presentations and was truly impressed by the range and depth of the students’ research. I am excited to see how this future group of forestry leaders will shape their fields in the coming years.”

Photos by Harry Choi

The complete list of the 2021 MFC Student Capstone presentations is below:

Monique Dosanjh
Forest restoration in Southern Ontario's conservation areas impacted by emerald ash borer: a case study with Credit Valley Conservation
Supervisors: Sandy Smith and Danijela Puric-Mladenovic
External Examiner: Alana Svilans
Presentation video

Guo Cheng
Improving the dissemination of pest management information for urban forest health: a case study with box tree moth (BTM)
Supervisor: Sandy Smith
External Examiner: Allison Craig

Rainer Dinkelmann
Preventing regeneration of American beech following harvest in response to beech bark disease – effects of glyphosate application to beech stumps one year after treatment
Supervisor: John Caspersen
External Examiner: Adam Gorgolewski
Presentation video

Adrienn Bokor
Are eastern grey squirrels a big problem for bigleaf maple?
Supervisor: Sean Thomas
External Examiner: Dave Shaw
Presentation video

Vanessa Nhan
The sustainability of Ontario’s wood supply for mass timber
Supervisor: Anne Koven
External Examiner: Glen Foley

Verna Valliere
Long-term impact of silvicultural treatments on the regeneration of American beech following beech bark disease outbreaks
Supervisor: Patrick James
External Examiner: Thomas McCay
Presentation video

Sylvia Jorge
The relationship between residential parcel size and permeable land on urban tree cover in Long Branch, Toronto
Supervisor: Danijela Puric-Mladenovic
External Examiner: Judy Whitmer Gibson

Zoe Bedford
Identifying forests with old growth potential in the Credit River Watershed
Supervisor: Jay Malcolm
External Examiner: Laura Timms
Presentation video

Aditi Chanda
Assessing harvesting impacts on marten habitat at the scale of Indigenous traplines – a study in support of future Indigenous consultation
Supervisors: Jay Malcolm and Ben Kuttner
External Examiner: David Flood
Presentation video

Sara Deslauriers
Effects of landscape configuration on flying squirrel occurrence and abundance in Rouge National Urban Park
Supervisor: Jay Malcolm
External Examiner: Leonardo Cabrera
Presentation video

Catherine Muir
Effect of tree landscape composition on insect communities in a temperate hardwood forest
Supervisor: Jay Malcolm
External Examiner: David McCorquodale

Qinyu Chen
Characterization of shrinkage of three alternative eucalyptus species for Chinese eucalyptus plantation
Supervisor: Sean Thomas
External Examiner: Tianyi Zhan
Presentation video

Lorraine Li
Identifying tree planting priorities for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB)
Supervisor: Danijela Puric-Mladenovic
External Examiner: Karen Dobrucki
Presentation video

James Marcucci
Urban forest stewardship potential for social housing in Toronto
Supervisors: Danijela Puric-Mladenovic and Tenley Conway
External Examiner: Brian Millward
Presentation video

Darya Shinwary
Investigating mechanical damage to trees at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB)
Supervisor: Danijela Puric-Mladenovic
External Examiner: Karen Dobrucki
Presentation video

Lauren Ohayon
Corporate stewardship of urban green space: a Sanofi Pasteur case study
Supervisor: Sandy Smith
External Examiners: Paul Scrivener and Murray Fulmer
Presentation video

Sanda Violoni
Sustainable private forest management and fair taxation in Ontario
Supervisors: Ben Kuttner and Sally Krigstin
External Examiners: Malcolm Cockwell and Mark Kuhlberg
Presentation video

Kunsang Ling
A look at access to green space in Toronto using the 3-30-300 rule for greener cities
Supervisor: Sean Thomas
External Examiner: Cecil Konijnendijk
Presentation video

Ben Gwilliam
A comparison of parametric and non-parametric modelling approaches for a temporally misaligned LiDAR dataset
Supervisor: Ben Kuttner
External Examiner: Murray Woods
Presentation video

Bridget Trerise
A regeneration monitoring protocol for the restoration of coniferous plantations to hardwood forests in Southern Ontario
Supervisor: Ben Kuttner
External Examiner: Aaron Day
Presentation video

Joshua Quattrociocchi
The ecological value of veteran trees in urban landscapes
Supervisor: Sandy Smith
External Examiner: Philip van Wassenaer
Presentation video

Shan Shukla
Analysis of the forestry co-operative pilot projects developed by the Ontario Woodlot Association
Supervisor: Sally Krigstin
External Examiner: John Pineau
Presentation video

A team of Daniels Faculty architecture students has begun construction on an installation titled Introspection, selected as one of six projects to be featured in the upcoming Winter Stations 2022 exhibition. The winners were announced on January 17.

“We are very proud to be representing the Daniels Faculty at this year’s Winter Stations,” says Christopher Hardy, a second-year student in the Master of Architecture program and team lead for Introspection. “This project is an opportunity for us to not only showcase our design talents and creativity but also to reconnect with our fellow peers after almost two years of remote learning.”

Illustrations of Introspection’s floor plan and interior rendering.

Launched in 2014, Winter Stations is a yearly exhibition of outdoor installations that invite the public to reenvision and interact with spaces and objects usually avoided in winter. Erected along the shoreline of Toronto’s east-end beaches, the projects are selected through a single-stage international design competition and stay up for six weeks. To date, the Winter Stations competition has received entries from more than 90 countries.

Conceived by a team of 10 Daniels students, Introspection joins a number of previous Faculty projects that have been presented at the exhibition: Midwinter Fire in 2017, I See You Ashiyu in 2017 and Calvacade in 2019.

In response to the pandemic and how people have adapted to it, the exhibition’s theme this year is “resilience.” With that in mind, the Introspection team members designed a red pavilion – plywood sheets covered with wooden slats – surrounding a lifeguard tower. The pavilion’s inner walls will be lined with mirrors. “We chose to base our design on the emotions felt throughout the past two years’ worth of quarantine and isolation,” the project description reads. It goes on to explain:
 

“Playing with the idea of reflection, we utilize mirrored walls to cast the visitors as the subjects of our bright red pavilion. While the trellis roof allows the sun to illuminate the interior and its visitors, the red lifeguard tower stands unyielding in the centre of the pavilion, reminding us of the inherent stability within us.”
 

Dean Juan Du looks forward to visiting Introspection and the rest of the installations when Winter Stations opens in late February. “This pavilion is a timely and creative expression of a theme we’ve all had to navigate intimately,” she says. “Our faculty, students and staff have come together and risen to incredible challenges these last couple of years. Both Introspection and the larger exhibition invite people to reflect on our vulnerabilities and strengths, on what it means to be resilient both individually and collectively.”

On a separate but related note, the Dean will also be hosting a symposium on April 2 titled Design for Resilient Communities. Details of the event will be available closer to the date.

Hardy and his team hope to start installing Introspection at Woodbine Beach during the week of February 7. The exhibition runs from February 21 to March 3.

“We invite Daniels community members to check out our pavilion,” he says. “It’s a space that hopefully will inspire people to not only think about what we’ve been through, but also what we’re capable of.”

The Introspection team is comprised of the following members:

Christopher Hardy - Master of Architecture
Tomasz Weinberger - Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies
Clement Sung - Master of Architecture
Jason Wu - Master of Architecture
Jacob Henriquez - Master of Architecture
Christopher Law - Bachelor of Arts, Architectural Studies
Anthony Mattacchione - Master of Architecture
George Wang - Master of Architecture
Maggie MacPhie - Master of Architecture
Zoey Chao - Master of Architecture

Fiona Lim Tung, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, serves as project sponsor and supervisor.

For more information about Winter Stations 2022, please click here.

Introspection project members assemble the pavilion at the Daniels Faculty on January 22, 2022. (Photos by Christopher Law)

On January 22, members of the Daniels group Black Students in Design (BSD) launched a new initiative to support young Black students interested in the architecture and design fields. The mentorship program, called Building Black Success through Design (BBSD), is the first of its kind at the Daniels Faculty.

“We are incredibly excited to kick off Building Black Success through Design,” says Clara James, founder and president of BSD. “Through a lot of work and collaboration between BSD members and the Daniels Outreach Office, we were able to develop a mentorship program dedicated to building interpersonal relationships between Black university and high school students.”

The program’s inaugural cohort includes six high school students from across the Greater Toronto Area and one from Calgary. Centred around a design competition, the program guides mentees through each step of the design process as they work toward creating individual submission packages. They will be mentored over the next two months by six BSD members, including James.

Among the exercises that the high schoolers will take part in are design and technical workshops with other student groups (such as Applied Architecture & Landscape Design), lectures by Daniels faculty members, and sessions with Black design professionals. Participants will present their final projects at a showcase with prizes the week following March Break.

Dean Juan Du has warmly welcomed the launch of the program, noting its significance both within the Faculty and beyond. “This program is an important demonstration of our commitment at the school to acknowledging the existence of anti-Black racism and to building a more supportive and inclusive Daniels Faculty,” she says. “I congratulate and thank the tireless members of Black Students in Design for leading this initiative. I wish the participants all the best and look forward to seeing the showcase later this year.”

The mentorship program is just one of the many initiatives organized by BSD, which was founded in 2021 to “create a community for Black students to de-stress, to talk about racial issues in the design industry, and to connect with Black design professionals and with each other,” as James describes it. “It’s created by Black students for Black students.”

In addition to BBSD, the group will be hosting In Conversation with Black Students in Design: Building Black Spaces, an upcoming panel featuring Toronto writer and scholar Rinaldo Walcott, U.S. academic Rashad Shabazz, and Dr. Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall, the Dean of Design at OCAD University. The event is part of the Daniels Faculty’s 2022 winter programming and is scheduled to take place on February 3.

“It can feel a bit overwhelming sometimes keeping up with BSD work, our studies and just life in general,” says James. She feels, however, that the group is only getting started. “I am beyond excited to see how the program and our group will evolve in the coming years.”

Over the past several years, Daniels Faculty graduate student James Bird has worked tirelessly toward reconciling Canada-First Nations relations, liaising with top government officials and disseminating Indigenous teachings. And he has done it all while working toward his Master of Architecture degree, which he achieved earlier this month.

In December and January, the residential-school survivor and knowledge keeper from the Nehiyawak and Dene Nations was recognized not once but twice for his ongoing efforts, receiving both a prestigious Challenge Coin from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and a 2022 Clarkson Laureateship from Massey College, where Bird is a junior fellow.

Named after Adrienne Clarkson, Canada’s 26th Governor General, “the Clarkson Laureateships in Public Service are the highest honour that the College awards annually,” Bird explains. “This award dates back to 2004, during the final year of Madame Clarkson’s term. The Laureateships honour her many years of service to Canada by recognizing members of the Massey College community who also contribute to the public good.”

At Massey, Bird is one of three tobacco keepers of the college’s Chapel Royal, which was given that status by the Queen in 2017 and is known in Anishinaabek as Gi-Chi Twaa Gimaa Kwe Mississauga Anishinaabek AName Amik (The Queen’s Anishinaabek Sacred Place). A tobacco garden sits outside the Chapel Royal, the crop being a “sacred” resource long central to Crown-Indigenous relations. 

In June, Bird had co-hosted a luncheon and tour of the garden for the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor.  About a month before Bird accepted his Clarkson Laureateship during a virtual ceremony on January 14, he was at Queen’s Park, receiving his Challenge Coin from Dowdeswell in her office on December 10.

The Challenge Coin, a medallion bestowed annually to a select few, is a more personal honour, given by the Lieutenant Governor as a token of appreciation for supporting her office over the years of her term. 

In addition to hosting Dowdeswell at Massey College, Bird had also joined her for a July 1 Sunrise Ceremony, where he delivered the opening prayer. Such ceremonies are “a time to welcome goodness into the world and to move our collective intentions to kindness,” Bird said at the time. “As we move into these difficult times, let us all remember our collective humanity and move gently on Mother Earth.”

True to form, Bird will not be resting on his steadily growing laurels. Academically, a Doctorate of Philosophy in Architecture, Landscape, and Design will be next on his radar, while his work as a member of the University of Toronto’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission steering committee continues.  

“Although I am grateful for these [honours],” he says, “there is still so much more to be done, and I will continue to work on these issues that plague so many First Nations peoples in Canada.” 

Image Credits: First image: James Bird holds the Challenge Coin given to him by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario as a token of appreciation for supporting her office during her term. Second image: Bird receives the Challenge Coin from the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell at Queen’s Park on December 10. (Photos courtesy of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor)

The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto is excited to present its Winter 2022 public program. Through a series of book talks, panel discussions, lectures and symposia, our aim is to foster a meaningful dialogue on the important social, political and environmental challenges that confront our world today. 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: design and social justice, building technology and climate change, urban development and real estate, community resiliency, among others.  
 
All events are free and open to the public. Register in advance and check the calendar for up-to-date details: daniels.utoronto.ca/events.  

Winter 2022 

January 18, 12 p.m. ET 
Forest For the Trees: The Tree Planters 
Rita Leistner (Author and Photographer) 
Moderated by Sandy Smith (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

January 27, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Black Bodies, White Gold: Art, Cotton, and Commerce in the Atlantic World 
Anna Arabindan-Kesson (Author; Princeton University, Department of Art and Archaeology) 
Moderated by Jason Nguyen (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

February 3, 6:30 p.m. ET 
In Conversation with Black Students in Design: Building Black Spaces  
Rashad Shabazz (Arizona State University, School of Social Transformation) 
Elizabeth (Dori) Tunstall (OCAD University, Faculty of Design) 
Rinaldo Walcott (University of Toronto, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies) 
Moderated by Black Students in Design (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

February 4, 10 a.m. ET 
Sea Machines 
Keller Easterling (Yale University, School of Architecture) 
Larrie Ferreiro (George Mason University, Department of History and Art History) 
Carola Hein (Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment) 
Niklas Maak (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) 
Meredith Martin (New York University, Department of Art History) 
Prita Meier (New York University, Department of Art History) 
Sara Rich (Coastal Carolina University, HTC Honors College) 
Margaret Schotte (York University, Department of History) 
Elliott Sturtevant (Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation)
Gillian Weiss (Case Western Reserve University, Department of History) 
Co-moderated by Jason Nguyen and Christy Anderson (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

February 10, 12 p.m. ET 
Thinking Like a Mountain 
Stephanie Carlisle (University of Washington, Carbon Leadership Forum) 
Rosetta Elkin (McGill University, Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture) 
Joseph Grima (Space Caviar) 
Scott McAulay (Anthropocene Architecture School)  
Co-moderated by Kelly Doran, Sam Dufaux and Douglas Robb (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

February 15, 12 p.m. ET 
Wigs and Women: Korean and Black Migrations and the American Street 
Min Kyung Lee (Bryn Mawr College, Department of Growth and Structure of Cities) 
Moderated by Jason Nguyen and Erica Allen-Kim (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

February 17, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Tower Renewal and Overcoming Canada’s Retrofit Crisis: Research / Advocacy / Practice 
Graeme Stewart (ERA Architects), presenting research undertaken with Ya’el Santopinto (ERA Architects) 
The George Baird Lecture 
Introductions by Dean Juan Du and Professor George Baird (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

March 3, 6:30 p.m. ET 
A Place for Life – An Archeology of the Future 
Lina Ghotmeh (2021-2022 Frank O. Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design) 
Moderated by Juan Du (Dean and Professor, University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty)  

March 29, 12 p.m. ET 
After Concrete 
Lucia Allais (Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation) 
Forrest Meggers (Princeton University, School of Architecture) 
Moderated by Mary Lou Lobsinger (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty)  

March 31, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Urban Urgencies 
Marion Weiss (Partner, Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism; Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Stuart Weitzman School of Design)
Michael Manfredi (Partner, Weiss/Manfredi Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism; Senior Urban Design Critic, Harvard University Graduate School Of Design)
Moderated by Juan Du (Dean and Professor, University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

April 5, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Little Jamaica 
Elizabeth Antczak (Open Architecture Collaborative Canada) 
Romain Baker (Black Urbanism TO) 
Cheryll Case (CP Planning) 
Tura Cousins Wilson (Studio of Contemporary Architecture)
Co-moderated by Otto Ojo and Michael Piper with Black Students in Design (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

April 7, 6:30 p.m. ET 
Reimagining ChinaTOwn: Speculative Fiction Stories from Toronto's Chinatown(s) in 2050 
Linda Zhang (Organizer and Facilitator; X University, School of Interior Design) 
Biko Mandela Gray (Facilitator; Syracuse University, African American Religion) 
Michael Chong (Author) 
Amelia Gan (Author) 
Eveline Lam (Author) 
Amy Yan (Author and Illustrator) 
Moderated and facilitated by Erica Allen-Kim (University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 

April 8, 10 a.m. ET
Design for Resilient Communities International Symposium 
In association with UIA Word Congress 2023: Sustainable Futures - Leave No One Behind
Convenors: 
Juan Du (Dean and Professor, University of Toronto, Daniels Faculty) 
Anna Rubbo (Senior Scholar, Columbia University, Center for Sustainable Urban Development, The Earth Institute) 

Learn more about News and Events and Exhibitions, follow along with the Faculty on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and sign-up for This Week @ Daniels to receive current information on upcoming events. 

Miles Gertler (Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream) and his design practice Common Accounts recently presented Parade of All the Feels at Greater Toronto Art 2021, the Museum of Contemporary Art’s (MOCA) inaugural triennial exhibition.

Common Accounts created a scale architectural model of a parade float installed on the ground floor of MOCA, shown next to pieces by Ghazaleh Avarzamani, Tom Chung, Walter Scott and Julia Dault. The triennial spans all three of the museum’s floors.

“Parade of All the Feels is an architectural expression of the concern for the contemporary phenomenon of feelings-as-facts and ‘emotional geo-spoofing’,” Gertler explains. “It considers the niche ecosystems that form a society of radically independent pluralities and positions ceremonies like parades as pragmatic tools for city-building.”

Photo by Tori Hadkenscheid.

Encased in an acrylic dome equipped with miniature video screens and lights, Parade of All the Feels is drawn from of a more extensive series of floats recently developed by Common Accounts, including a Parade of Healthy Oceans, a Parade of Social Anxiety, a Parade of Cancelled Personalities, and a Parade of Uncomfortable Memes, which will be released in the forthcoming issue of Perspecta (The Yale Architectural Journal).

“This piece builds on our ambition to offer a glimpse both five seconds into the future and into the rear-view mirror of the immediate past,” Gertler says. “It is a meditation on the current moment – on the prioritization, valuation, and organization of emotional information as a political tool and as cultural medium.”

The piece is interactive, with two digital filters that project animated events around the installation, developed in collaboration with Mingus New.

An animated, digital version of some of the parts of the Parade, along with other digital artworks produced by other participants in the show, can be found in MOCA’s GTA360: a virtual environment developed by Daniels Sessional Lecturer, Andy Bako and Master of Architecture graduate student Niko Dellic. Visitors there can interact with each other in real-time, engage in conversations around the hosted works, and the role of digital tools within contemporary art and design practices.

Learn more about Common Accounts.

Photos by Common Accounts.

“Eb Zeidler was a humanist, seeing design in terms of service to the community. His work was innovative and in many cases iconic, but ultimately he wanted to create places for people, not monuments.”

So notes urban designer Ken Greenberg of celebrated architect Eberhard Zeidler, who passed away on January 7 at the age of 95.

In addition to creating some of Canada’s most recognizable structures, from Ontario Place and the Eaton Centre in Toronto to Canada Place for Expo 86 in Vancouver, the German-born architect had a sustained relationship with the Daniels Faculty, culminating in the establishment of the Eberhard Zeidler Library in the revitalized Daniels Building, to which he and his wife Jane (MA Art History, 1989, U of T) generously contributed.

“Eberhard Zeidler leaves important architectural and civic legacies to the city and to the Daniels Faculty at the University of Toronto,” said Dean Juan Du upon learning of his death. “We at the school are deeply saddened by the loss.”

“The name Eberhard Zeidler,” former dean Richard Sommer noted during the 2019 dedication of the Eberhard Zeidler Library and Zeidler Family Reading Room, “is firmly ensconced in the school’s history as one that continues to inspire and shape the architecture education of many faculty, alumni and current students.”

The 37,000-volume library, which also contains a trove of maps, drawings and manuscripts as well as copious digital resources, is only the most prominent of Eberhard and Jane’s contributions to the University. Having established his own practice, now known as Zeidler, in the 1960s, Eberhard was a visiting lecturer and critic at the Faculty before serving as an adjunct professor from 1983 to 1995.

He and Jane were also pleased to invest in and recognize the next generation of architectural talent by establishing the Eberhard Zeidler Scholarship in 1999. Last bestowed this fall, it’s awarded on the basis of academic achievement to a student concluding his or her first year of the Master of Architecture program.

“He was very passionate about the teaching of architecture,” Dr. Zeidler’s son Robert tweeted this weekend. Both Eb and Jane passed on their civic-mindedness to their four children: Margie, Robert, Kate and Christina.

Dr. Eberhard Zeidler and Mrs. Jane Zeidler with their children, from top left, Christina, Kate, Margie and Robert. (Photo by John Hryniuk)

Filmmaker and artist Christina has become a well-known preservationist, transforming neglected historic gems such as the Gladstone Hotel, while alumna Margie (BArch, 1987, U of T) is 401 Richmond’s president and creator; these two projects are now thriving cultural hubs in Toronto. Robert, meanwhile, developed the Cotton Factory project in Hamilton, Ontario, while Kate is a leading interior designer, with more than 25 years in the business.

Such creative acumen owes a debt to Dr. Zeidler’s example. “Eb Zeidler began the transformation of a rather conservative Toronto in the late ’70s by reinterpreting classical architecture spaces in surprising new ways,” says Marianne McKenna, a founding partner at KPMB Architects.

“He cleverly jump-started today’s contemporary Toronto with modern materials and fresh architectural forms. His genius was in creating new public spaces that people actually love to be in. He was an architect who put our spatial experience first.”

Over the years, Dr. Zeidler had been acknowledged with gratitude by the country, city and institutions to which he devoted his talents. In 1989, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Architecture by the University of Toronto. He was also made an Officer of the Order of Canada and received a gold medal from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

According to those who knew him best, however, his real rewards were in the creation and improvement of spaces we collectively use and enjoy.

“He was an exemplary Torontonian [who] involved himself throughout his career in the issues of the day, taking positions when others in the profession did not,” recalls Greenberg.

“At the time of the Central Area Plan [in the 1970s], Toronto’s reform Council wanted to bring people to live in the city’s core, which was rapidly becoming an office monoculture. Eb and a few others stepped up to challenge the development industry of the time by showing how mixed-use could be done.”

For Greenberg, Dr. Zeidler’s work with Michael Hough on Ontario Place is “one of the great demonstrations of a powerful fusion of architecture and landscape.” It is also reflective of his overall approach to architecture and life.

“He was,” says the urban designer, “a great collaborator.”

To learn more about Dr. Zeidler’s life and legacies, visit this website.

Banner image: Dr. and Mrs. Zeidler sign the guestbook at the Zeidler Family Reading Room in 2019. (Photo by John Hryniuk)

This December, students in architecture, landscape architecture, urban design and forestry will present their final projects in-person at the Daniels Building on One Spadina Crescent, to their instructors. Students of the Daniels Faculty will also present to guest critics from both academia and the professional community in attendance.  

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The University of Toronto will not be holding in-person exams or reviews effective 8 a.m. on Thursday, December 16, 2021. Instructors will contact individual students. Please see the latest University of Toronto COVID-19 planning update.

Follow the Daniels Faculty @UofTDaniels on Twitter and Instagram and join the conversation using the hashtag #DanielsReviews.

Thursday, Dec 9 | Graduate

Design Studio 1 
ARC1011Y 
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
Instructors: Vivian Lee (Coordinator), Fiona Lim Tung, Miles Gertler, Sam Ghantous, Aleris Rodgers, Julia DiCastri, Maria Denegri 
Rooms: 215, 230, 240, Gallery, DA170-Raked Seating 
 
Design Studio 1 
LAN1011Y  
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. 
 
Instructors: Behanz Assadi (Coordinator), Peter North  
Room: 330 
 

Friday, December 10 | Undergraduate

Drawing and Representation 1 
ARC100H1 
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
Instructors: Vivian Lee (Coordinator), Brandon Bergem, Matthew DeSantis, Daniel Briker, Chloe Town, Danielle Whitley, David Verbeek, Jamie Lipson, Anamarija Korolj, Andrew Lee, Luke Duross, Anne Ma, Angela Cho, Kara Verbeek, Andrea Rodriguez Fos, Nicholas Barrette 
Rooms: 215, 230, 240, 330, 2nd Floor Hallway, Gallery  
 

Monday, December 13 | Graduate & Undergraduate 

Integrated Urbanism 
ARC2013Y, LAN2013Y, URD1011Y 
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
Instructors: Roberto Damiani (Coordinator), Fadi Masoud (Coordinator), Michael Piper (Coordinator), Christos Marcopoulos, Pina Petricone, Mariana Leguia, Lukas Pauer, Delnaz Yekrangian, Laurence Holland, Jon Cummings, Drew Adams, Robert Wright, Megan Esopenko 
Rooms: 209, 215, 230, 240, 330 

Design Studio II 
ARC201H1 
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
Instructors: Miles Gertler (Coordinator), Chris Cornecelli, Jennifer Kudlats, Luke Duross, T. Jeffrey Garcia 
Rooms: 242, DA-170-Raked seating, 1st Floor Hallway, 2nd Floor Hallway, Gallery 

Tuesday, December 14 | Graduate

Integrated Urbanism 
ARC2013Y, LAN2013Y, URD1011Y 
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
Instructors: Roberto Damiani (Coordinator), Fadi Masoud (Coordinator), Michael Piper (Coordinator), Christos Marcopoulos, Pina Petricone, Mariana Leguia, Lukas Pauer, Delnaz Yekrangian, Laurence Holland, Jon Cummings, Drew Adams, Robert Wright, Megan Esopenko 
Rooms: 209, 215, 230, 240, 330 
 

Research Studios / Option Studios 

Landscape Design Studio Research   
Slow Landscape: to a new expression of place 
LAN3016Y  
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Instructor: Victoria Taylor 
Room: Gallery 

Urban Design Studio Options 
URD2013Y  
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
Instructor: Angus Laurie 
Room: DA-170 Raked Seating 

Capstone Project Presentations in Forest Conservation 
FOR3008H 
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
See detailed agenda and zoom links here 
 

Wednesday, December 15 | Graduate

Capstone Project Presentations in Forest Conservation 
FOR3008H  
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
Capstone Project Presentations 
See detailed agenda and zoom links here 

Research Studios / Option Studios 

Mediated Alps: Reconstructing mountain archives and futures 
LAN3016Y 
9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm 
 
Instructor: Aisling O’Carroll  
Room: 330 
 
Reconceptualizing a 1960’s urban renewal project in downtown Hamilton, Ontario: The Jackson Square Shopping Mall 
ARC3020Y F 
12:00pm - 6:00pm 
 
Instructor: George Baird 
Room: 209 

Framing, Looping & Projecting Quantum Architecture 
ARC3016Y S 
9:00am - 1:00pm 

Instructor: Brian Boigon 
Room: 209 & 242 

Half Studio 
ARC3020Y F 
9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm 

Instructor: Kelly Alvarez Doran  
Room: 230 

BROWSE, the Gathering 
ARC3020Y F 
9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm 

Instructor: Lara Lesmes, Fredrik Hellberg 
Room: TBA (Online) 
 

Thursday, December 16 | Graduate

Technology Studio III 
ARC380Y1 
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
Instructor: Nicholas Hoban (Coordinator), Nathan Bishop 
Online 

 
Research Studios / Option Studios 

Meuble Immeuble 
ARC3020Y F 
9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm 
 
Instructor: An Te Liu 
Online 

STUFF 
ARC3020Y F 
9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm 

Instructor: Laura Miller 
Online

Interstellar Architecture: Designing and prototyping a home beyond Earth 
ARC3020Y F 
9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm 

Instructor: Brady Peters 
Online

Reappraising the Design of Long-Term Care Residential Environments in the Context of COVID-19 
ARC3020Y F 
9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm 

Instructor: Stephen Verderber 
Online
 

Friday, December 17 | Undergraduate

Post Professional Thesis 1 
ALA4021Y 
10a.m. - 2 p.m. 

Instructor: Roberto Damiani, Coordinator 
Online

Architectural Design Studio 7: Thesis 
ARC4018Y 
12 p.m. - 5 p.m. 

Instructors: Vivian Lee, Mary Lou Lobsinger, Adrian Phiffer, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco, Mason White 
Online

Research Studios / Option Studios 

Bridging the Divide: An Architecture of Demographic Transition 
ARC3020Y F 
9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm 

Instructor: Shane Williamson 
Online 

Potent Voids 
ARC3020Y F 
9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm 

Instructor: Lina Ghotmeh 
Online

ARCHIPELAGO, 3.0: Storytelling, Activism, Re-Building 
ARC3020Y F 
9:00am - 1:00pm, 2:00pm - 6:00pm 
 
Instructor: Petros Babasikas 
Online 
 

Monday, December 20 | Undergraduate

Architecture Studio III 
ARC361Y1 
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
Instructors: Adrian Phiffer (Coordinator), Nova Tayona, Shane Williamson 
Online

Landscape Architecture Studio III 
ARC363Y1 
9 a.m. - 6 p.m. 
 
Instructor: Behnaz Assadi 
Online

Digital Twinning 
ARC465H1 
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 

Instructor: Jay Pooley 
Online
 

Tuesday, December 21 | Undergraduate

Drawing and Representation II 
ARC200H1 
9 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
 
Instructors: Michael Piper (Coordinator), Sonai Ramundi, Reza Nik, Mohammed Soroor, Sam Ghantous, Katy Chey, Sam Dufaux, Scott Norsworthy, Kfir Gluzberg, J. Alejandro Lopez 
Online

Undergraduate Thesis I 
ARC456H1/ARC461H1/ARC486H1 
10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
 
Instructors: Laura Miller, Nicholas Hoban, Simon Rabyniuk 
Online

The Daniels Mural Project team is launching a week-long series of programming for Treaties Recognition Week from November 1  to 5. Treaties Recognition Week helps to honour the importance of treaties and increase awareness about treaty rights and treaty relationships. Please see the list of events below.

Graphic by Mariah Meawasige (@Makoose)

Monday, November 1

Treaties Recognition Week: Opening Ceremony 
7:44 a.m. Stantec Architecture Courtyard

Join us at 7:44 a.m. outside at the north façade patio of the Daniels Building (Stantec Architecture Courtyard) as we commence the start of Treaties Recognition Week with a sunrise ceremony led by Elder Whabagoon and a Jingledance by Robin Rice. 

Registration is not required 

Treaties Recognition Week: First Story Toronto Story Walk of University of Toronto St. George with Jon Johnson and Jill Carter 
1:00 p.m. online via Zoom

Much of the contemporary and historic relationships, injustices, and struggles related to Indigenous nations in Canada is rooted in treaties. Join Dr. Jon Johnson and Dr. Jill Carter, and others from First Story Toronto for a virtual walk and interactive discussion of places and stories that exemplify some of the historic and contemporary treaties of the Toronto area. Stories will focus on injustice, Indigenous resistance and resilience, and our collective ongoing treaty responsibilities with First Nations communities. 

Register 

Treaties Recognition Week: Canada By Treaty  
6:30 p.m. online via Zoom

Join James Bird and Dr. Heidi Bohaker and Nathan Tidridge as they discuss their travelling exhibition "Canada by Treaty," which explains Canada's history of treaty-making with Indigenous peoples. 

Register 

Tuesday, November 2

Treaties Recognition Week: Artist Talk with Que Rock 
6:30 p.m. online via Zoom

Join artist Que Rock for a discussion on his work, process, influences and mural at the Daniels Faculty and a Q&A with Carolyn Taylor, Project Manager at StreetARToronto at the City of Toronto.

Register

Wednesday, November 3   

Treaties Recognition Week: 'Anishinaabe 101' (including Treaties) with Perry McLeod-Shabogesic 
12:00 p.m. online via Zoom

Learn more about Anishinabe culture and traditions, including Treaties, with Perry McLeod-Shabogesic of the Crane Clan from N’biising First Nation. Truth before Reconciliation.

Registration is not required. Access via the link here.

Treaties Recognition Week: Film Screening “Trick or Treaty” by Alanis Obomsawin 
5:30 p.m. In-person screening

Join us for an in-person screening at the Daniels Faculty of Alanis Obomsawin’s seminal work “Trick or Treaty?” Co-presented with StreetART Toronto. 

Location:
1 Spadina Crescent
Main Hall - Section C (DA170)

Register

Friday, November 5

Treaties Recognition Week: Workshop with John Croutch “Reconciliation: Walking the Path of Indigenous Allyship”  
1:00 p.m. online via Zoom

What does it mean to be an ally to Indigenous peoples? And is it even possible to call yourself an ally or is it more correct to say that one can only aspire to be an ally as allyship is a continuous process of self-reflexivity, learning and acting in a way that decenters whiteness. These are some of the questions and issues that will be explored in this hour and a half presentation, Reconciliation: Walking the Path of Indigenous Allyship. 

Workshop space is limited. Please RSVP at events@daniels.utoronto.ca

Treaties Recognition Week: Closing Ceremony 
3:00 p.m. Stantec Architecture Courtyard

When you open a circle, you must come full circle and close the circle. This closing ceremony led by Elder Whabagoon concludes the our Treaties Recognition Week programming. Additional workshops and events will come throughout the month of November. Join us in saying Milgwetch to all.

Registration is not required.

Generously supported by Postsecondary Education Fund for Aboriginal Learners and StreetARToronto

Resources for the Daniels Faculty community 

We Are All Treaty People - Indigenous Education (utoronto.ca)  

About Treaties (Government of Ontario) 

Anishinabek Nation Educational Resources 

Toronto Area Treaties - The Indigenous History of Tkaronto - Research guides at University of Toronto 

Community Organizations 

LANDBACK is a movement that has existed for generations with a long legacy of organizing and sacrifice to get Indigenous Lands back into Indigenous hands. Currently, there are LANDBACK battles being fought all across Turtle Island, to the north and the South. 

The Ogimaa Mikana Project is an effort to restore Anishinaabemowin place-names to the streets, avenues, roads, paths, and trails of Gichi Kiiwenging (Toronto) - transforming a landscape that often obscures or makes invisible the presence of Indigenous peoples. Starting with a small section of Queen St., re-naming it Ogimaa Mikana (Leader's Trail) in tribute to all the strong women leaders of the Idle No More movement, the project hopes to expand throughout downtown and beyond. 

Christopher Hardy, Master of Architecture student, and Tomasz Weinberger, second-year undergraduate student, have received first place and a $3,000 award out of 81 entries from student teams around the world in the Canadian Academy of Architecture for Justice (CAAJ) competition: Breaking the Cycle Student Design for their project Black Creek Community Corridor. 
 
The CAAJ invited architecture students to design a new Community Justice Centre, an informal community setting that challenges the present justice system and the issues faced by communities. As CAAJ shares “the long waits for trials, high rates of recidivism, harsh sentences for minor infractions, failure to rehabilitate offenders, and the overrepresentation of certain racial groups is one of these institutions being challenged in the context of social unrest, systematic racism and discrimination, and violent protests.” The design was evaluated by a jury of justice experts, architects and industry professionals.   

Black Creek Community Corridor - Christopher Hardy and Tomasz Weinberger

Located within an underutilized hydro-corridor at Jane and Finch, the Black Creek Community Corridor aims to provide the residents of an underserved neighbourhood with a mix of recreational and judicial services. The site was selected based on its proximity to a popular community garden, a recreational trail, and its multiple access points to different modes of public transport.  

The cut-outs within the rammed earth walls separate community and justice programming to facilitate an ease of wayfinding between the provided social, legal and recreational services. The motive was to create a striking and welcoming multi-program floor plan that can address all the needs of the Jane and Finch area. As a way to destigmatize the surrounding community, the project names its public amenities after notable citizens from the neighbourhood, such as Anthony Bennet, Jessie Reyez, and Paul Nguyen. The intent was to highlight their contributions to society in an effort to celebrate the community’s achievements and to inspire the youth to fight against stigma and adversity. They abolished the linearity, darkness and hierarchical seating of the Ontarian court.  
 
Hardy and Weinberger share: “We’re very thankful to have been given the opportunity to explore how architecture can act as a tool for social change in disadvantaged communities. Through our ethnographic study of the neighbourhood of Black Creek, we devised a scheme that would restore the connections between the community and justice system through the integration of key social services and much-needed public amenities.” 

They recently presented their winning competition entry at the AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) Fall 2021 Conference discussing the topic of the emerging typology of Community Justice Centre with fellow panelists David Clusiau (NORR Architects, CAAJ Chair), Jacob Kummer (Montgomery Sisam Architects, CAAJ Communications & Competition Co-chair), Julian Jaffary (Justice Architecture Specialist, AIA Liaison & Competition Co-chair), and Julius Lang (Community Justice Expert, former Sr. Advisor at Center for Court Innovation). 
 

Learn more about the CAAJ competition