Fadi Masoud is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Toronto and the Director of the Centre for Landscape Research (CLR). His design and research work engages with the landscape as an operational force in shaping the built environment. More specifically, his work focuses on how environmental systems, policy, sociocultural considerations, and design interact to support urban climate adaptation resilience. Masoud coordinates studio pedagogy and contributes widely to conferences, publications, competitions and exhibitions that offer an imaginative commitment to addressing the climate emergency.  

Before joining the University of Toronto, Masoud held teaching and research positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo's School of Planning, with a focus on Urban Design and Urban Development, a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Toronto, and a Post-Professional Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, where he graduated with distinction.  

As director of the Centre for Landscape Research (CLR), Masoud emphasizes interdisciplinary design, education, and research that advance urban climate resilience through novel urban codes, geospatial decision-making tools, and the design of parks as a form of climate action. He is currently a Principal Investigator and the lead at the University of Toronto on a multi-million dollar, multi-year research partnership grant funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). This project involves collaboration with 14 Canadian universities and various municipal, professional, and citizen partners to develop analyses, dialogues, and actions aimed at addressing and challenging existing definitions of quality in the built environment. Through the CLR, Masoud has also expanded his collaboration with different public agencies, research institutions, and governments across North America. 

Masoud is the editor of Terra-Sorta-Firma: Reclaiming the Littoral Gradient (Actar, 2020), a book that delves into the risks and realities of constructing on reclaimed coastal land. He has authored several peer-reviewed journal articles that emphasize the enduring connections between landscape architecture and resilient design, as well as the often-overlooked potential of using landscape to reshape land use zoning as a means of climate adaptation.  

Masoud has received numerous awards, including the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA) Research and Innovation Award, the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) Teaching Excellence Award, the Fulbright Fellowship, the Heather M. Reisman Gold Medal in Design, the ASLA Certificate of Honor, and the Jacob Weidenmann Prize. He was a National Olmsted Scholar Finalist and received the Charles E. Beveridge Fellowship from the Olmsted Friends of Fairsted. 

Masoud serves on various competition and award juries, is a member of Waterfront Toronto’s Design Review Panel, and contributed to the City of Toronto’s first Resilience Strategy as part of the Urban Flooding Working Group.