Students in Drawing and Representation 2 are assigned a neighbourhood somewhere in Toronto, which they study and draw in a series of design exercises. For their final project, they produce a neighbourhood-scale proposal for a design intervention.

Ecem Sungur

Ecem writes: "I studied an area in the Cliffcrest neighbourhood in Scarborough. The site’s road arrangement and property distribution depend on topography. This made me think about different ways property sizes and houses are distributed throughout my site. After thorough investigation, I identified five main adjacency elements that determine the characteristics of an area. I called these 'character districts.' Within these districts, I looked into yard types: What are the access conditions to the identified adjacent elements? And how have these elements affected the floor area and lot coverage ratios? By proposing a severance, I hoped to show that the properties are so large that you can fit the same sized houses in them by dividing the land. This way, I was able to carry the original exclusivity to the now divided areas. I was hoping to achieve a denser site with equal access — and, most importantly, a site with opportunities for community building and interaction."

(Instructor: Jonathan Cummings)

Gareth Dorscheid

Gareth writes: "I decided to focus on laneway housing, as this appeared to be an underutilized aspect of Toronto residences. I propose a modular laneway system with a mixture of domestic and commercial spaces that are designed to increase living density, and provide a sense of community."

(Instructor: Jonathan Cummings)