26.03.20 - A look at the work-from-home spaces of Daniels Faculty instructors
After two weeks of remote instruction, many of us are missing spending our days at 1 Spadina. There's no real substitute for being at the building — but the Daniels Faculty community is nothing if not resourceful.
Professors and lecturers have turned their home offices into digital classrooms. Their private spaces are now serving as temporary lecture halls as they videoconference with students in an effort to finish the winter 2020 semester without interruption amid the worst viral outbreak in a century.
But the webcam view of a professor's home doesn't tell the whole story. Daniels instructors are known for their meticulous research and flair for design, but are their work-from-home setups as stylish as they are?
Judge for yourself. Below, some shots of notable Daniels Faculty home offices.
Dean Richard Sommer:
Dean Sommer says: "I’m peripatetic, and can’t stand siting in one place for more than a few hours — so I have more than one 'desk' at home, move around, and let others in my household have the dedicated office space. This is roughly what people might see while ‘online’ with me, but I am looking in the other direction out the window, towards the street."
Professor emeritus George Baird:
Professor Baird says: "This is where I work at home, and where I did so even before the coronavirus. It is a 1911 sunroom on the back of my house. Enough room for me, even if the books have to be kept elsewhere."
Sessional lecturer Aleris Rodgers:
Aleris says: "I work from home on a daily basis so not too much has changed for me!" (Follow her on Instagram.)
Lecturer and digital fabrication coordinator Nicholas Hoban:
Sessional lecturer Reza Nik:
Reza says: "Last January I was imagining what kind of studio space I'd like to have — one divided between a 'clean' side for computer work and reading/research, and a 'dirty' side for sculptures, painting, and model building, etc. Seems like it kinda happened like that naturally." (Follow him on Instagram.)
Associate professor Steven Fong:
Master of Urban Design director Mark Sterling:
Mark says: "Yes that is a pile of rocks in the corner. Big air-photo of Rome on the wall. Painting and soccer play diagrams by my daughter when she was small."
Sessional lecturer June Pak:
Adjunct professor Anne Koven:
Anne writes: "I teach forest conservation, so I prefer being outdoors. My view is the atrium over the Whole Foods checkout, so that’s what happens in Toronto."
Assistant dean of academic planning and governance Jen Hill:
