Zanira Ali chose the University of Toronto to pursue her master's studies in architecture because it was a place that she could explore her community-based approach to the field.

“I enjoy the community engagement aspect of architecture,” she says. “I want to understand and hear from communities about how they interact with public spaces.”

This morning (June 12) Ali walked across the stage at Convocation Hall with a master’s degree from the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design determined to continue work that fuses advocacy, communities and architecture. Most importantly, she has her sights set on making her mark—and impact—in mentorship within the field, as she recently told the Black Research Network.

Read the full article on the Black Research Network website.

A Daniels Faculty tradition, the 2022/2023 End of Year Show showcases a wide range of student work from architecture, landscape architecture, forestry, urban design and visual studies.  

By the end of this academic year—the first since the Faculty’s full return to in-person learning—our studios, classrooms, labs, shops and galleries were flooded with objects and things. The return was met with exceptional enthusiasm, optimism and an unparalleled appetite to engage again with the culture of making. The models, artwork, plants and equipment left behind are a testament to the energy exerted in their production. 

Curated by Assistant Professor Mauricio Quirós Pacheco, the 2022/2023 End of Year Show not only displays what we produce as a school, but honours this work by inviting the community to experience its scope, range and quality. It is also an effort to invite the public into our walls to directly experience the nature of the output we create and the spaces we inhabit. This year’s exhibition coordination included Associate Professor Jeannie Kim, Taryn Magee, Sifei Mo and Kari Silver.  

The exhibition is on view in the Student Commons area of the Daniels Building until June 16. The building is open to the public 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, closed on weekends. 

Image Credit: (1-2) Mauricio Quirós Pacheco; (3) Taryn Magee.

A team of researchers led by Professor Sean Thomas of Forestry has been awarded a $1.3-million grant by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

The grant, provided through NSERC’s Alliance Mission program, is one of the largest single research grants ever provided for an individual project at the Daniels Faculty.

The funding is intended to support the creation of “novel strategies” for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from urban forestry waste.

“Everyone has seen urban forestry waste, but it kind of goes unnoticed,” says Professor Thomas, who is also the Faculty’s Associate Dean, Research. “Think of the tree-pruning guys with the aerial lift and the noisy chipper. Where does all that stuff go? It turns out that all the chipped bits of branches and leaves are first taken to large storage yards, and then mostly end up in compost facilities. A large part, unfortunately, also goes to landfill. From forestry studies, we know that this kind of material can be a large source of greenhouse gas emissions—not just carbon dioxide, but also methane, which now represents about 30 percent of climate forcing. The GHG emissions specific to urban forestry waste have not previously been quantified.”

To measure and potentially mitigate those emissions, Thomas has been joined by a cadre of co-researchers. Fellow “principal investigators” include Sandy M. Smith and Rasoul Yousefpour of Forestry, Alison D. Munson and Janani Sivarajah from Université Laval, Carly Ziter of Concordia University and Scott Chang of the University of Alberta.

Other collaborators include Liat Margolis of the Daniels Faculty, Deborah Wunch from U of T’s Department of Physics and Nathan Basiliko of Lakehead University.

The endeavour also extends beyond academia. Among the project’s municipal partners are City of Toronto Forestry, Quebec City Forestry and City of Edmonton Parks and Roads Services. Partners from the private sector include Titan Smart Carbon Technologies, Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve Ltd., Airex Énergie, Innovative Reduction Strategies and Seed the North.

In addition to better quantifying direct GHG emissions from urban soils and vegetation in Canada, including the elucidation of urban GHG-emission “hotspots” connected with urban forestry waste, the far-flung team aims to explore novel soil amendment and vegetation planting strategies to reduce emissions, with a focus on the use of modified forms of pyrolyzed organic matter (biochar) as an urban soil amendment to enhance urban soil C sequestration, reduce direct GHG emissions, and increase urban vegetation growth and resilience to stresses. 

“Integration, modeling and life-cycle analysis components of the project,” the grant proposal states, “will address the potential for novel strategies to generate a ‘virtuous cycle’ in which waste material from urban vegetation is recycled via pyrolysis for use in urban green infrastructure, with knock-on benefits that include reduced urban energy demand.”

Examples of “urban green infrastructure,” Professor Thomas says, run the gamut from green roofs to bioswales to street trees—any kind of vegetation or soils “valued for providing ecosystem services, like reducing urban flooding and mitigating the urban heat-island effect.”

He adds: “Urban forestry waste isn’t exactly glamorous, but urgent action is needed on climate change, which is ultimately driven by various kinds of waste. This project addresses a small part of the big picture of GHG emissions, but it is a part we can really do something about in the short term. The most gratifying part is to work as part of a team to actually have an impact.”

On that note, Professor Thomas says, “it’s great to get this grant, but I need help. We have funding in hand for students (undergrads, Masters, PhDs) to make the measurements, implement experiments, do inventories, run the economic numbers, take action. It’s important.”

Any students who are interested in participating, he notes, should connect with him via e-mail at sc.thomas@utoronto.ca. 

“If you’re grabbed by this, please contact me. You can be part of this unglamorous but important effort.”

Tree waste image: A significant amount of urban tree-pruning waste, shown above next to a chipper, ends up in landfills. It is also a source of GHG emissions.

The annual Thesis Booklet showcasing the final thesis projects of Master of Architecture (MARC), Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA), Master of Urban Design (MUD) and Master of Visual Studies (MVS) students at the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design is now available for viewing.

Thesis booklets are a Daniels Faculty tradition, printed for and distributed to graduate thesis students, as well as thesis advisors, external reviewers and guests.

The booklet contains images and brief statements by students who are presenting thesis projects for the semester(s) listed at the culmination of their studies.

Flip through the latest booklet below or download a PDF here.

Ingrid Jones, an independent curator, multidisciplinary artist and student in the Daniels Faculty’s Master of Visual Studies in Curatorial Studies program, is the recipient of this year’s Reesa Greenberg Curatorial Studies Award. 

Now in its ninth year, the award was established by the internationally renowned art historian, scholar and museums consultant Reesa Greenberg to recognize outstanding work by students in their first semester of graduate studies in the MVS Curatorial program. The award comes with a monetary prize of $5,000 and is adjudicated annually by the Faculty's visual arts and curatorial studies faculty.

“I feel honoured and very thankful to have won the award after a year of rigorous study,” Jones says. “I am in a fantastic cohort, and it feels great to be recognized by the jury and supported by my peers.”

This summer, Jones will be completing an unpaid internship in Europe as part of her degree, most likely at a gallery in Berlin. Next spring, she will be mounting her thesis exhibition. Both endeavours, she says, “will require a substantial amount of subsidizing. Like most of my cohort, I’ve applied for a few grants and await replies. That will determine how these [award] funds will be spent.”

With a background in design and creative direction, Jones’s curatorial practice encompasses a range of formats, including installation, media and collaborative projects, “to interrogate themes of marginalization and refusal.”

Past projects include the the 2009-2012 indie magazine Poor But Sexy, a 2021 collaborative project that blind-paired six interdisciplinary artists called DEALR, and a hybrid on-site and digital exhibition called Nostalgia Interrupted (2022). 

Jones has also developed master classes and lectures for Sheridan College and Toronto Metropolitan University on photographic best practices and design as a tool for innovation and activism, and has previously received grants, awards and recognition for her work from the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Design Exchange and the Toronto Short Film Festival. 

In its announcement of Jones’s Reesa Greenberg win, the Art Museum at the University of Toronto described her first-semester MVS work as “exceptional.”

As well as the annual monetary award, Greenberg’s donation supports an additional biannual award of $10,000 for students in the MVS Curatorial program to pursue international travel or a paid internship position.

Architect and alumnus Irving Grossman, well-known for his socially conscious design work, is the namesake of a new Fund aimed at inspiring innovation in an area challenging Toronto and other major cities around the world right now: housing affordability. 

The Irving Grossman Fund in Affordable Housing, named for the award-winning Toronto modernist who acquired his Bachelor of Architecture degree from U of T in 1950, will recognize and support Daniels Faculty students, professors and community partners tackling the urgent issue of how to make housing more accessible to all. 

Grossman, who also taught at U of T’s School of Architecture for many years, designed a wide range of buildings throughout his 45-year career, from single-family homes to synagogues to the Administration Building at Expo 67, but he was especially noted for his social and mixed-income projects, including such milestone Toronto housing developments as Flemingdon Park, Edgeley Village and the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood. 

“My working-class background, together with my interest in art, led to architecture being a natural creative outlet for me, especially social housing,” he once said. 

Irving and Helena Grossman’s son, Jonas Grossman, established the Irving Grossman Fund in Affordable Housing to honour his father’s legacy and to inspire a new generation of architects and urbanists to make a contribution in the field, a prominent area of teaching and research at the Faculty. 

Over the past several years, more and more students across disciplines have been exploring affordability issues, which are especially resonant in Toronto, a city increasingly marked by income and housing disparities. New faculty with expertise in the subject are being appointed, while exhibitions such as the recent Housing Multitudes show highlight ongoing Faculty research on the topic. 

“The Irving Grossman Fund in Affordable Housing will further enable our Faculty to advance and disseminate novel knowledge on housing with an emphasis on social equity, urban affordability and design innovation,” says Dean Juan Du. “It’s a fitting tribute to Irving Grossman, who made significant contributions in these areas, especially through his projects here in Toronto. We appreciate the Grossman family’s continued contributions to the city and the Faculty.” 

The new Fund, which takes effect in 2023-2024, is the second initiative to bear Irving Grossman’s name at the Faculty.  

In 2002, Helena Grossman led family and friends in the establishment of the Irving Grossman Prize, which is awarded annually to two Master of Architecture students demonstrating excellence and innovation in their final design theses on the subjects of multiple-unit housing or the adaptive reuse of buildings for housing purposes. 

To date, more than three dozen students with demonstrated professional promise have been awarded the Irving Grossman Prize. 

For their sustained contributions to the University of Toronto, both Irving and Helena Grossman received Arbor Awards, the highest honour bestowed on volunteers by U of T.   

In 2018, Helena Grossman (here flanked by U of T President Meric Gertler and U of T Chancellor Rose M. Patten) received an Arbor Award for her significant volunteer contributions to the Daniels Faculty. 

As a student, Irving Grossman was already garnering accolades, winning the Ontario Association of Architects Scholarship, the Architectural Guild Medal and the prestigious Pilkington Glass Fellowship. Among his professional awards were the Massey Medal for Architecture and a Canadian Centennial Medal. He was also a fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. 

In 1995, the year of Grossman’s death, he and fellow architect Jerome Markson, a good friend, were honoured by the Toronto Society of Architects with a fellowship award in recognition of their “exceptional contribution to the profession of architecture and the cultural life of Toronto.” 

More than a decade later, Irving Grossman was awarded his very last prize: a posthumous Landmark Award from the OAA for his role in the design of the still-vibrant St. Lawrence Neighbourhood, regarded by many as a paragon of mixed-income development and, as The Globe and Mail described it in 2013, “a template for urban housing.” 

Banner image: Architect Irving Grossman surveys the burgeoning St. Lawrence Neighbourhood in 1979. Graham Bezant photo courtesy Toronto Star Photograph Archives

9 a.m., Tuesday, April 11 to 6 p.m., Friday, April 28
Daniels Faculty Building,
1 Spadina Crescent, Toronto, Ontario

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

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

Tuesday, April 11 | Undergraduate

Design Studio I
JAV101H1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Jay Pooley (Coordinator), Anamarija Korolj, Batoul Faour, Phat Le, Jeffrey Garcia, Katy Chey, Kara Verbeek, Kearon Roy Taylor, Samantha Eby, Jennifer Kudlats, Brian Boigon, Monifa Charles-Dedier, Mariano Martellacci, Jamie Lipson, Mohammed Soroor

Rooms: 215, 230, 240, 315, 330, Main Hall

Wednesday, April 12 | Undergraduate

Design Studio II
ARC201H1
9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET

Instructors: Fiona Lim Tung (Coordinator), Dan Briker, Quan Thai, Carol Moukheiber, Shane Williamson, Nova Tayona, David Verbeek, Anne Ma, Tomg Ngo, Gonzalo Munoz Vera, Francesco Martire

Rooms: 209, 215, 230, 240, 315, 340, Main Hall

Landscape Architecture Studio IV
ARC364Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Pete North

Room: 330

Thursday, April 13 | Undergraduate

Architecture Studio IV
ARC362Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Mauricio Quiros Pacheco (Coordinator), Chloe Town, Jon Cummings

Rooms: 215, 230, 240, 330

Technology Studio IV
ARC381Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Andrew Bako (Coordinator), Timothy Boll

Room: Main Hall

Friday, April 14 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio 2
LAN1012Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Elise Shelley (Coordinator), Terence Radford, Agata Mrozowski

Room: 330

Urban Design Studio Options
URD1012Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Simon Rabyniuk

Room: 230

Design + Engineering I
ARC112H1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Jay Pooley (Coordinator), Jennifer Davis, Clinton Langevin

Rooms: 200

Drawing and Representation I
ARC200H1
9 a.m.–1 p.m. ET

Instructors: Roberto Damiani (Coordinator), Jon Cummings, Francesco Valente-Gorjup, Otto Ojo, Scott Norsworthy

Rooms: 215, 240, 315, 340

Monday, April 17 | Graduate

Design Studio 2
ARC1012Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Adrian Phiffer (Coordinator), James Bird, Chloe Town, Anne-Marie Armstrong, Mauricio Quiros Pacheco, Behnaz Assadi, Julia DiCastri

Room: Main Hall

Tuesday, April 18 | Graduate

Design Studio 4
ARC2014Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Samuel Dufaux (Coordinator), Brigitte Shim, Steven Fong, Chris Cornecelli, James Macgillivray, Carol Moukheiber, Carol Phillips, Francesco Martire

Rooms: 230, 330, Main Hall

Wednesday, April 19 | Graduate

Design Studio 4
ARC2014Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Samuel Dufaux (Coordinator), Brigitte Shim, Steven Fong, Chris Cornecelli, James Macgillivray, Carol Moukheiber, Carol Phillips, Francesco Martire

Rooms: 230, 215, Main Hall

Design Studio 4
LAN2014Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Alissa North, Todd Douglas

Room: 330

Thursday, April 20 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio Thesis
LAN3017Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Fadi Masoud (Coordinator), Elise Shelley, Behnaz Assadi, Pete North, Alissa North, Jane Wolff, Francesco Martire, Matthew Perotto, Megan Esopenko

Rooms: 209, 230, 242, 330

Senior Seminar in Design (Thesis)
ARC462Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Laura Miller

Room: Main Hall A

Senior Seminar in Technology (Thesis)
ARC487Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Nicholas Hoban

Rooms: Main Hall B & C

Friday, April 21 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Design Studio Thesis
LAN3017Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Fadi Masoud (Coordinator), Elise Shelley, Behnaz Assadi, Pete North, Alissa North, Jane Wolff, Francesco Martire, Matthew Perotto, Megan Esopenko

Rooms: 209, 230, 242, 330

Urban Design Studio Thesis
URD2015Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Michael Piper, Otto Ojo

Rooms: 315, 340

Senior Seminar in Design (Thesis)
ARC462Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Laura Miller

Room: Main Hall A

Senior Seminar in Technology (Thesis)
ARC487Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Nicholas Hoban

Rooms: Main Hall B & C

Monday, April 24 | Graduate

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2
ARC3021Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Brian Boigon, Lukas Pauer, Laura Miller, Zachary Mollica, Petros Babasikas

Rooms: 215, 230, 240, 330, Main Hall

Tuesday, April 25 | Graduate

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2
ARC3021Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Jeannie Kim, Laura Miller, Petros Babasikas, Zachary Mollica, John Shnier

Rooms: 209, 215, 230, 240, 242, 330, Main Hall, 1st Floor Hallway

Wednesday, April 26 | Graduate

Architectural Design Studio: Research 2
ARC3021Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructors: Jeannie Kim, Shane Williamson, Marc McQuade, Marina Tabassum, John Shnier

Rooms: 209, 215, 230, 240, 242, 330, Main Hall, 1st Floor Hallway

Thursday, April 27 | Graduate & Undergraduate

Thesis 2
ALA4022Y
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Mason White (Coordinator)

Rooms: 215, 240

Senior Seminar in History and Theory (Thesis)
ARC457Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Simon Rabyniuk

Room: Main Hall

Friday, April 28 | Undergraduate

Senior Seminar in History and Theory (Thesis)
ARC457Y1
9 a.m.–6 p.m. ET

Instructor: Simon Rabyniuk

Room: Main Hall

This year’s Building Black Success through Design (BBSD) Showcase—a presentation of the work of Black high-school-aged design mentees—will be held in the Main Hall of the Daniels Building on Saturday, April 15.

Now in its second year, BBSD is a 12-week mentorship program offered through the Daniels Faculty for Black high-school students who are interested in architecture and design. The goal of the program is to inspire Black students to pursue excellence and innovation within design industries and academia, thereby enhancing diversity within the fields and building Black success through design.

The BBSD Showcase, held last year at Collision Gallery in Toronto’s Commerce Court (pictured below and on the homepage), exhibits the final projects of participating students. The 2023 Showcase on April 15 will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at 1 Spadina Crescent.

The event is free and open to all. Attendees are invited to register for tickets here.

This year, 18 students from high schools across the Greater Toronto Area and as far away as Sudbury will be completing the program, the theme of which is Design for Belonging. Grades 9 to 12 were represented; 10 of the students undertook the program in person, while eight participated online.

To guide the students, eight mentors were hired—four for the online cohort and four for the in-person group. All of the mentors were either Black current students or Black alumni.

Serving as Faculty advisors were Assistant Professor Bomani Khemet, Assistant Professor Petros Babasikas and Dr. Jewel Amoah, Assistant Dean, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The program was administered by a coordinating team of six, including program supervisors Clara James and Rayah Flash, program facilitators Renée Powell-Hines and Mariam Abdelrahman, outreach and recruitment coordinator Julien Todd, and graphic designer Angelica Blake.

Although the two students cohorts each received initial instruction in the fundamentals of the design process, from tools to techniques, the focus of their designs ultimately diverged. The in-person group was tasked with making Toronto’s David Pecault Square, characterized by its hardscaping and location in the city core, more welcoming and inclusive, while the online cohort looked at achieving similar results for two lakeside parks near Ontario Place.

By many accounts, the exercises and outcomes were well received.

“My favourite part of the program,” one mentee wrote in a recent survey, “is learning how to rethink spaces to account for the people near them.”

“I like that this is a space to grow and develop your talents while feeling supported and encouraged,” said another.

In addition to the Showcase on the 15th, the drawings, models and other design work produced by the mentees may also be used by those who want to pursue further education “in an admissions portfolio to various post-secondary programs,” a key goal of the program.

For a sneak peek at the students’ process and work so far, link to the BBSD feed on Instagram by clicking here.

A student team from the Daniels Faculty—Dorottya Kiss, Hashem Hashem, Jacob Muller and Orly Sacke—have been awarded a 2022-2023 Adams Sustainability Grant for a trivia game they’ve developed to foster environmental awareness.

Every year since 2020, the U of T President’s Committee on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability (CECCS) has provided U of T students with three grants of $5,000 each to advance sustainability on campus. The grants are awarded to current undergraduate or graduate students from any faculty and discipline with a concrete plan promoting sustainability at the University.

The winning proposal from the Daniels Faculty team centres on a trivia game that draws on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to create a new educational tool addressing “both human and environmental wellbeing (instead of simply focusing on reducing environmental damage).”

“Our focus,” the team members say, “is on the multidisciplinary path of creation through collaboration, encouraging dialogues around the SDGs.”

According to its creators, the game consists of 16 rounds corresponding to the first 16 SDGs and together forming Goal 17. Each round is completed by answering three fact-based and one thought-based discussion question.

“We aim to demonstrate the essence of the SDGs, where each goal has individual importance but can only work when united: a building piece is added after each correct answer, so if one fails the entire structure collapses.”

The team will test a pilot version of the game during a Trivia Night this spring, inviting students, staff and faculty from all disciplines to participate. The members will then hold workshops in the summer, “engaging students to fine-tune and create a U of T-wide game collaboratively.”

The grant funding, they add, will be used for three purposes: to facilitate events such as the Trivia Night and idea-development workshops; to fabricate the game's pilot, prototype and final versions; and for student honoraria.

A final product is scheduled for unveiling in Fall 2023.

For more details on the Adams Sustainability Grant and the other 2022-2023 winners, click here.

Pictured in banner image from left to right are Dorottya Kiss, Jacob Muller and Hashem Hashem. Photo by Tianlei Wu

The Daniels Faculty is in the process of creating a new Academic Plan (2024-2029) to articulate our vision and define our priorities for the coming years. An integral part of this process is the consultation phase, a period for our community to share ideas and priorities regarding the future of our school. To that end, the Faculty is canvassing faculty, students, staff and alumni for their input on this important project over the coming weeks. 

There will be a number of ways for all to participate.

*For students, a dedicated Townhall will be held from noon to 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 30 in the Main Hall of the Daniels Building. To register to attend, click here. 

*For faculty and staff, a Townhall Workshop will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 31 in the Main Hall of the Daniels Building (a calendar invite will be issued). Those who are unable to make this in-person event may attend an Online Workshop on Tuesday, April 4 (a calendar invite will be issued).

Furthermore, all members of the Daniels Faculty community will be able to participate through: 

*A Pop-up Studio, for drop-in conversations and feedback throughout the day. It will be operating daily, from Monday, March 27 to Thursday, April 6, in the Graduate Student Lounge (DA165) off the Student Commons at 1 Spadina Crescent.

*A Digital Survey, available from Wednesday, March 29 to Monday, April 10; fill it out by clicking here. 

The ideas and input of the Daniels Faculty community are vital as we map out the future of our school, and everyone is encouraged to contribute to this important vision plan. Thank you in advance for your feedback!