Join editor Alissa North of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design as she discusses her new book Innate Terrain: Canadian Landscape Architecture, a collection of papers written by Canadian scholars and practitioners in the field of landscape architecture. Concerned with the practice and theories of landscape architecture in Canada, the book documents the breadth of contemporary practice from across the country, with each chapter author using works of landscape architecture to theorize a distinct approach practiced by Canadians in their national context. The book’s central argument is that Canadian landscape architecture is distinct because of the unique qualities of the Canadian terrain and the particular relationship that Canadians have with the landscapes of our nation.
Featuring Tura Cousins Wilson of SOCA, Jessica Kirk of the Wildseed Centre for Art and Activism and Jessica Hines of Black Urbanism Toronto, this conversation about what it means to take accountability within the practice of design and focus on Black community engagement is the first in a series centred around Blackness in architecture, landscape, and design within academia. As noted in the University Commitment in the Scarborough Charter, the work of Black flourishing and thriving should “be informed, shaped and co-created by communities” in order to be effective. Other discussions in this series will include Black Flourishing through Design (February 15), a workshop for designers and educators called Blackness in Architectural Pedagogy and Practice (March 1) and a student-led online event that centres Black belonging through design.
This daytime roundtable uniting urban scholars, designers, planners, community developers and policy specialists will explore how to take some of the ideas of the Housing Multitudes exhibition forward. Discussion will be especially focused on what is being forgotten or ignored in the proposed “solutions” to housing shortages and affordability that Ontario’s Bill 23, and Toronto’s Housing Action Plan, seek to address.
With questions such as Where do roads come from?, popular educators in the US Black Freedom Movement like Septima Clark have long used discussions about architecture and the built environment to unpack ideas of citizenship, politics and power. People’s observations and analyses of built form offer insights into the surroundings we share and opportunities for collective action to change it. In this lecture, Jae Shin and Damon Rich of HECTOR urban design will share stories from their attempts to learn from this tradition of popular education as a resource for architecture, urban design and planning.
Panelists for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture discussion, and photos of the winning projects.
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977 and is one of the most prestigious architectural prizes in the world. Since its launch 45 years ago, 121 projects have received the award and nearly 10,000 building projects have been documented. The Award not only rewards architects, but also identifies municipalities, builders, clients, master artisans and engineers who have played important roles in the project.
Using Toronto as a laboratory, the study and exhibition Housing Multitudes: Reimagining the Landscapes of Suburbia unlocks the DNA of the suburb to create a composite “big picture” of how the urbanism that characterizes many North American cities can be transformed for the greater benefit of all.
The work of Dhaka-based Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) often addresses the needs of marginalized communities, whose well-being has been especially threatened during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 and 2021, the firm undertook various projects that dealt with displacement, vulnerable populations and humanitarian challenges. During this lecture and presentation, MTA founder Marina Tabassum — the Daniels Faculty’s 2022-2023 Frank Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design — will be speaking about those projects, about her experience as an architect in South Asia and elsewhere, and about the changing role of architects as agents of change.
Indigenous knowledge keepers, architects and artists from across Turtle Island will gather to share their artistic work and involvement in creative projects situated at local post-secondary institutions. This is happening at a time when universities are re-imagining their role in collective education and knowledge, as well as in sharing narratives of Indigeneity, settler colonialism and Canadian identity. These presentations will explore the role of art and architecture in Truth and Reconciliation and the artists’ process of creation from their respective Indigenous cultures and points of view.
At Doors Open Toronto 2022, come see why the Daniels Building — groundbreaking home of the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design — has been named one of the best buildings in Canada of the past decade.
