John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Renowned architect Bruce Kuwabara receives ��ϲ�� honorary degree

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 19:40:50 +0000

Renowned architect Bruce Kuwabara receives ��ϲ�� honorary degree Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 06/20/2024 - 15:40

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(photo by Steve Frost)

Scott Anderson

Topic

Our Community

Convocation 2024

Alumni

Honorary Degree

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

One of Canada’s most distinguished architects, Bruce Kuwabara has designed some of the country’s finest structures. An accomplished city-builder, he is also a valued campus-builder – a ��ϲ�� alum who has helped shape the university’s development and contributed to the success of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

Today, for his superlative architectural and design sensibility, and for his outstanding contributions to the university, Kuwabara will receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from ��ϲ��.

Born in Hamilton, Ont in 1949, Kuwabara earned a degree in architecture from ��ϲ�� in 1972. After graduating, he joined the teaching studio of architect George Baird, whose interest in public spaces, Jane Jacobs and Scandinavian urban design influenced how Kuwabara thought about city-building. (Decades later, Baird would serve as dean of the Daniels Faculty.)

Following the apprenticeship with Baird, Kuwabara joined Barton Myers Associates, where he worked for 12 years. When Myers left in 1987, he handed over his Toronto practice to Kuwabara and two of his fellow associates at the firm – Marianne McKenna and Shirley Blumberg – and a friend, Thomas Payne. Together, they created the new firm KPMB. (Payne ventured out on his own in 2013, but the remaining principals kept the “P.”)

As an architect – and a citizen – Kuwabara is deeply engaged with how architecture and landscape design can work together to bring about a more diverse, equitable and sustainable city. In his projects, he aims to marry performance with aesthetics in ways that improve people’s well-being, while also being kind to the planet. His philosophy is visible in the evolution of Waterfront Toronto and ��ϲ��, where he has helped steer design choices to create a greater number of beautiful and vibrant public spaces.

(photo by Steve Frost)

His work in Toronto includes cultural and academic institutions such as the Gardiner Museum, the Rotman School of Management, Canada’s National Ballet School and TIFF Bell Lightbox, in which he often blends contemporary details with historical elements. His designs for Kitchener City Hall, Richmond City Hall and Vaughan City Hall have all won Governor General’s Medals in Architecture. “What’s important to [KPMB] is to be very consistently good,” Kuwabara told the Globe and Mail in 2014.

Larry Richards (who has also served as dean of the Daniels Faculty) wrote in Canadian Architect that “Kuwabara’s agenda is not just about making objects and places of great beauty but something more active, more profound. Something that is simultaneously both culturally stabilizing and transforming.”

As part of his creative process, Kuwabara still sketches every day, putting ideas onto paper at every stage of design. In an interview with the CBC earlier this year, he described what he does as a “tug of war” between his “intuition about what things should be like” and “the reality of not having it all figured out…. For me, it’s a way of tracking thought.”

His colleagues have tried to convince him to switch to a computer or tablet, but he prefers the old-fashioned way. “The key,” he told the CBC, “is to find a way to slow things down so you can actually make a really good decision ... There’s so much flux, there’s so much confusion, there’s so much thrown at you every single day.”

In Kuwabara’s body of work, it’s difficult to discern a single, unifying “look.” Globe and Mail architecture critic Alex Bozikovic observed two commonalities in his 2014 article: “an intense attention to the public realm” (such as creating spaces for people to gather) and “carefully conceived details and material choices.”

“Those two impulses – to look out to the city and inward to small things – have been KPMB’s since the beginning,” Bozikovic wrote.

Even before climate change became the high-profile issue it is today, Kuwabara found ways to integrate sustainability into his practice. As the principal designer for the Canadian Embassy in Berlin, he studied international strategies for reducing energy consumption, and continued to put the ideas into use when he returned home.

The foundation for his commitment to sustainability formed early. In his 2006 acceptance speech for the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Gold Medal (the country’s highest award for architecture), Kuwabara made a connection between the tropical fish he kept as a child and his green mindset: “Aquariums are finite ecologies, fragile environments within which everything needs to be balanced and maintained,” he said.

In his convocation address to this year’s architecture graduates, Kuwabara encouraged them to think about the challenges of the day. “We have a collective responsibility as architects, landscape architects, urban designers, visual artists and foresters to engage with the issues of our time. We can only be contemporary. Your area of study will be meaningful if it serves the needs of society and the world.

“Develop your natural intelligence while asking what you can do to enhance the lives of others. Keep working towards making the world we want. Keep reminding yourself to move beyond ‘what’s good for me is all that counts.’ Keep thinking and acting in citizenship.”

Kuwabara is an officer of the Order of Canada. His firm, KPMB, has won 18 Governor General Awards, with Kuwabara himself the lead partner on 14 of the winning projects.

Architecture graduate finds inspiration for community-building in mentorship and representation

siddiq22 — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 19:45:39 +0000

Architecture graduate finds inspiration for community-building in mentorship and representation

siddiq22 Mon, 06/12/2023 - 15:45

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New graduate Zanira Ali plans to continue mentoring other young people as she pursues an architecture career rooted in community engagement (supplied image)

Tina Adamopoulos

Topic

Our Community

Black Research Network

Convocation 2023

Community

Graduate Students

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Mentorship

Subheadline

'I want to be that person for someone': When Zanira Ali didn't see role models in her field, she decided to lead by example

Zanira Ali chose the ��ϲ�� 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. I want to understand and hear from communities about how they interact with public spaces,” Ali says.

Ali is graduating with a master’s degree from the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, determined to continue work that fuses advocacy for communities and architecture. Most importantly, she has her sights on making her mark – and impact – in mentorship within the field.

As a graduate, Ali was a mentee with the nonprofit Black Architects and Interior Design Association (BAIDA), where she was paired with a mentor from Diamond Schmitt Architects. The program gave her a chance to enhance her portfolio and ask questions about the field.

During her time at ��ϲ��, Ali became heavily involved in mentoring students interested in a career in architecture through the faculty. For her, it was important that students saw representation in the field.

“Growing up, it was difficult for me to find mentors – I didn’t see anyone or know of someone who looked like me and studied architecture. I want to be that person for someone who is interested in the field.” Ali says.

Ali volunteered with Somali Scholars, an organization that provides mentorship for Somali youth and undergraduates. She was also a mentor with the Building Black Success Through Design (BBSD) program, a 12-week workshop series which offers weekly sessions for Black high school students interested in architecture to be mentored by Daniels Faculty students.

Ali’s thesis project demonstrated how funds could be redistributed to create neighbourhoods full of opportunity for communities that rely on public housing (photo submitted by Zanira Ali)

The program’s theme this year was "building for belonging." Mentees made sketches and models to envision how to restructure public spaces in Toronto neighbourhoods and understand equity in architecture – a value that is the foundation of Ali’s work.

For her thesis project, presented in April, Ali explored how the architecture of prisons contributes to oppression. When she considered her thesis topic, Ali knew that she wanted to shine a light on the social aspects in architecture not typically highlighted in the field, which led her to base her project on the critique of design.

“It’s about critiquing the spaces of confinement and control that are designed by architects. These are spaces that specifically affect racialized, Black and Indigenous communities in Canada,” Ali says.

For example, the Toronto South Detention Centre cost $700 million to build – money that could instead go toward community services to build vibrant neighbourhoods and housing, Ali explains. Using this as a source of inspiration, she developed a project titled “The $69-Million Block” for her thesis presentation.

Ali designed a model neighbourhood featuring 20 row houses and services such as a school, community centre, library and a park to demonstrate how funds could be redistributed to create neighbourhoods full of opportunity for communities that rely on public housing.

“By using those numbers, I was able to add up to $69 million to create this community block. This demonstrates how one detention centre could build nine of these community blocks – and that’s how we should be allocating the funds.”

By exemplifying how funding can be streamed to strengthen communities, Ali built a case as to why prison reform is needed to break the cycle of overrepresentation of minority groups in Toronto’s incarceration system.

After convocation, Ali plans to seek out opportunities to further her passion for social justice, equity and architecture and will continue her role as a mentor with Somali Scholars and the BBSD program.

Ali says mentoring has given her an opportunity to learn from others, and also help youth from underrepresented groups succeed – something she wants to continue throughout her career.

“I’d like to use my experience here to further my interest in community engagement," she says.

"I’d also like to continue my thesis in the field and use architectural tools to explore the injustices in the realm of architecture and public spaces.”

Ali's advice for incoming students is to remember that personal connections are just as important as academics – and it’s important to find the balance in both.

“Join a club or association to connect with different people," she says.

"Be open to trying new things – even though it may seem hard at first, especially in your first year. It will be worth it in the end.”

Sustainable Future – Challenge Accepted! Climate Justice Ep. 4

siddiq22 — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 17:35:35 +0000

Sustainable Future – Challenge Accepted! Climate Justice Ep. 4 siddiq22 Thu, 06/01/2023 - 13:35

Topic

Our Community

Sustainable Future

Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Environment

Faculty of Law

Indigenous

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Sustainability

Truth and Reconciliation

How is Indigenous sovereignty and justice fundamental to climate change policy and action?

The fourth episode of the ��ϲ��’s five-part video series, Sustainable Future - Challenge Accepted!, explores the climate justice work of Indigenous researchers at the university, the challenges they face and how they are leading change.

One way Indigenous communities learn about law is through the land, says John Borrows, professor in the Faculty of Law and inaugural Loveland Chair in Indigenous Law at ��ϲ��.

“When I take my students out in the land, they get an opportunity to experience the land directly and hear about the stories, the garments, the water, the birds and the insects,” he says.

To enrich land-based learning, Liat Margolis, associate professor in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, and Elder Whabagoon, an Ojibway Elder who is the First Peoples Leadership Advisor to the General Manager of Transportation Services for the City of Toronto and the Daniels Faculty’s former First Peoples Leadership Advisor to the Dean, co-founded the Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag Youth Program at ��ϲ��.

The program provides Indigenous youth with employment, mentorship and pathways to post-secondary education in fields related to design and the environment.

Angela Mashford-Pringle, assistant professor with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and associate director of the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health, says when she teaches her students about land-based learning, she’s telling them about the beliefs of Indigenous health policy as well.

“[It’s] the balance between the spiritual, the emotional, the physical and the mental,” she says.

“That helps students to connect not only to the work, but then they can see how it connects to the world.”

Watch Episode 4 of the Sustainable Future series

��ϲ�� launches new tri-campus Minor in Global Leadership

siddiq22 — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 01:43:34 +0000

��ϲ�� launches new tri-campus Minor in Global Leadership siddiq22 Wed, 03/01/2023 - 20:43

Tabassum Siddiqui

Topic

Global Lens

Centre for International Experience

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Joseph Wong

��ϲ�� Mississauga

��ϲ�� Scarborough

The ��ϲ�� is launching a new Minor in Global Leadership that will begin in September 2023.

With a focus on interdisciplinary curricular and experiential opportunities, the tri-campus program aims to prepare students to become globally confident future leaders who recognize and embrace diversity, face challenges with empathy and champion respectful collaboration in a globalized world.

It will be available to students from different disciplines and represents the third element of ��ϲ��’s Global U initiative, which also includes the Global Citizen and Global Scholar programs.

“The world needs ethical leadership now more than ever,” said Joseph Wong, ��ϲ��’s vice-president, international, noting that ��ϲ�� is a globally top-ranked institution that draws students from around the world.

"At the same time, opportunities are now global in scope so it’s imperative that our graduates be equipped with the competencies, open-mindedness, curiosity and skills to really lead with impact globally – both here and abroad. The Minor in Global Leadership is an exciting opportunity that offers a unique experience for students looking to develop that expertise."

The program will initially be open to undergraduate students at ��ϲ�� Mississauga and ��ϲ�� Scarborough, as well as in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education and the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

The minor will include a core series of three global leadership courses to be taken in students’ second, third and fourth years – each delivered by one of ��ϲ��'s three campuses.

"This will be the first global-focused program at ��ϲ�� that intentionally brings students together from across our tri-campus, who are studying the full spectrum of our disciplinary offerings, as part of an annual intimate cohort,” said Lynn Tucker, associate dean of experiential and global learning at ��ϲ�� Scarborough.

“This model opens up the potential for new opportunities and dialogue from which students who are pursuing a range of career pathways will learn together."

��ϲ�� Mississauga will host the first of three courses planned for the program. Global Leadership: Past, Present, Futures “will address the evolving concepts both of globalization and leadership – juxtaposing, contextualizing and applying them to the challenges of the 21st century,” said Spyridon Kotsovilis, assistant professor, teaching stream, in the department of political science at ��ϲ�� Mississauga.

"Increasingly complex and global problems cross borders and affect people at all scales and levels, from the global to the local," Kotsovilis said. "We hope students will come to learn about current global challenges and what it takes to lead in efforts to address them."

At ��ϲ�� Scarborough, the department of management will be the home base for the program, offering the second core course, Global Leadership: Theory, Research and Practice.

"Students will do a deep dive into global leadership approaches through a set of diverse lenses and explore and develop global competencies through experiential learning opportunities," Tucker said.

"They will engage with experienced leaders in a variety of sectors and grow networks so that upon completion of the program, they will be poised and confident to take the next steps on their unique learning and career journeys."

The final course, a hands-on capstone project, will be based at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering on the St. George campus.

Students taking the minor will complete the three core courses plus elective courses within each participating division. The courses will be delivered online via synchronous and asynchronous methods and include regular in-person meetings, guest speakers and embedded co-curricular activities.

Beginning in the second week of March, first-year students will be able to apply to the new minor for a second-year start. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the end of April with decisions determined by June. Course registration begins in July.

The program is open to students from the participating faculties who have a modified GPA of 2.7 based on a student’s top 3.0 full-course equivalents. Previous leadership experience is not required, but applicants are expected to have an interest in the study of leadership, global and cultural perspectives, and a willingness to engage with students from diverse backgrounds, experiences and disciplines of study.

Students interested in learning more about the Minor in Global Leadership can attend one of three virtual information sessions on March 8, March 21 or April 12.

A launch event for the new minor will be held at ��ϲ�� Mississauga on March 6, featuring remarks on global leadership by keynote speakers and reflections on leadership by student speakers representing each campus.

"We want to develop a real esprit de corps among the students as they move through this new program," Wong said. "It’s the kind of network that these students are going to be able to draw on for the rest of their lives – a cohort of leaders who will help shape our global future."

‘Liquid windows’ inspired by squid skin could help buildings save energy

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 16:09:33 +0000

‘Liquid windows’ inspired by squid skin could help buildings save energy

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 01/31/2023 - 11:09

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Prototypes of a multilayered fluidic system designed by ��ϲ�� Engineering researchers contain several layers of channels that contain fluids with various optical properties (artist’s impression courtesy of Raphael Kay, Adrian So)

Tyler Irving

Topic

Breaking Research

Alumni

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Research & Innovation

Sustainability

Inspired by the dynamic colour-changing skin of organisms such as squid, ��ϲ�� researchers have developed a multilayered fluidic system that can reduce the energy costs of heating, cooling and lighting buildings.

The platform, which optimizes the wavelength, intensity and dispersion of light transmitted through windows, offers much greater control than existing technologies while keeping costs low due to its use of simple, off-the-shelf components.

“Buildings use a ton of energy to heat, cool and illuminate the spaces inside them,” says Raphael Kay, who recently graduated with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and is lead author on a new paper published in the journal PNAS.

“If we can strategically control the amount, type and direction of solar energy that enters our buildings, we can massively reduce the amount of work that we ask heaters, coolers and lights to do.”

Currently, certain “smart” building technologies such as automatic blinds or electrochromic windows – which change their opacity in response to an electric current – can be used to control the amount of sunlight that enters the room. But Kay says that these systems are limited: they cannot discriminate between different wavelengths of light, nor can they control how that light gets distributed spatially.

“Sunlight contains visible light, which impacts the illumination in the building – but it also contains other invisible wavelengths, such as infrared light, which we can think of essentially as heat,” he says.

“In the middle of the day in winter, you’d probably want to let in both – but in the middle of the day in summer, you’d want to let in just the visible light and not the heat. Current systems typically can’t do this – they either block both or neither. They also have no ability to direct or scatter the light in beneficial ways.”

Biological inspiration for fluidic multilayer: (A) Colour change in the panther chameleon is achieved using a multilayer architecture of active photonic crystals; (B) Colour change in the squid is achieved using co-ordinated actuations within a multilayer of pigmentary and structural elements.

Developed by Kay and a team led by Associate Professor Ben Hatton, the system leverages the power of microfluidics to offer an alternative. The team also included PhD candidate Charlie Katrycz, both in the department of materials science and engineering, and Alstan Jakubiec, an assistant professor in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

The prototypes consist of flat sheets of plastic that are permeated with an array of millimetre-thick channels through which fluids can be pumped. Customized pigments, particles or other molecules can be mixed into the fluids to control what kind of light gets through – such as visible versus near-infrared wavelengths – and in which direction this light is then distributed.

These sheets can be combined in a multi-layer stack, with each layer responsible for a different type of optical function: controlling intensity, filtering wavelength or tuning the scattering of transmitted light indoors. By using small, digitally controlled pumps to add or remove fluids from each layer, the system can optimize light transmission.

“It’s simple and low-cost, but it also enables incredible combinatorial control. We can design liquid-state dynamic building facades that do basically anything you’d like to do in terms of their optical properties,” Kay says.

The work builds on another system that uses injected pigment, developed by the same team earlier this year. While that study drew inspiration from the colour-changing abilities of marine arthropods, the current system is more analogous to the multilayered skin of squid.

Many species of squid have skin that contains stacked layers of specialized organs – including chromatophores, which control light absorption, and iridophores, which impact reflection and iridescence. These individually addressable elements work together to generate unique optical behaviors that are only possible through their combined operation.

While the ��ϲ�� Engineering researchers focused on the prototypes, Jakubiec built detailed computer models that analyzed the potential energy impact of covering a hypothetical building in this type of dynamic facade.

The models were informed by physical properties measured from the prototypes. The team also simulated various control algorithms for activating or deactivating the layers in response to changing ambient conditions.

“If we had just one layer that focuses on modulating the transmission of near-infrared light – so not even touching the visible part of the spectrum – we find that we could save about 25 per cent annually on heating, cooling and lighting energy over a static baseline,” says Kay.

“If we have two layers – infrared and visible – it’s more like 50 per cent. These are very significant savings.”

In the most recent study, the control algorithms were designed by humans, but Hatton points out that the challenge of optimizing them would be an ideal task for artificial intelligence – a possible future direction for the research.

“The idea of a building that can learn – that can adjust this dynamic array on its own to optimize for seasonal and daily changes in solar conditions – is very exciting for us,” Hatton says.

“We are also working on how to scale this up effectively so that you could cover a whole building. That will take work but given that this can all be done with simple, non-toxic, low-cost materials, it’s a challenge that can be solved.”

Hatton also hopes that the study will encourage other researchers to think more creatively about new ways to manage energy in buildings.

“Globally, the amount of energy that buildings consume is enormous – it’s even bigger than what we spend on manufacturing or transportation,” he says. “We think making smart materials for buildings is a challenge that deserves a lot more attention.”

In photos: Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 return to ��ϲ��

davidlee — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 19:31:39 +0000

In photos: Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 return to ��ϲ��

davidlee Mon, 12/19/2022 - 14:31

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Rotman School of Management alumni gather in Convocation Hall (photo by Neil Ta)

Jenny Rodrigues

Topic

Our Community

2020 & 2021 Graduation Celebrations

Alumni

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Photographs

Rotman School of Management

Thousands of ��ϲ�� alumni crossed the stage at Convocation Hall over the last two weeks, in a very special series of in-person events to celebrate the classes of 2020 and 2021.

While every member of the Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 graduated during virtual convocations, returning to the university to gather as a community and share in a ��ϲ�� tradition cheered by friends and family was a chance to make new memories.

“It was my first experience graduating in Canada so I am grateful to have been present and have my moment on stage with all my peers and fellow graduates,” says Mariana Saraiva, who earned an executive MBA degree from the Rotman School of Management in 2020 and returned to celebrate with her classmates last month. “For me, it was extraordinary to return to campus and celebrate what we achieved in person.”

Over the 28 ceremonies, ��ϲ�� photographers and videographers captured the heartfelt and triumphant moments as alumni donned their gowns, reconnected with their peers and walked across the historic stage.

Members of the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education’s Class of 2020 and 2021 gather at Convocation Hall on Dec. 7 (Photo by Dewey Chang)

��ϲ�� Mississauga grads smile alongside Alexandra Gillespie (centre), ��ϲ�� vice-president and principal of ��ϲ�� Mississauga. (Photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Alumnae from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy pose for a photo and show off their bouquets in front of Convocation Hall. (Photo by Steve Southon)

A pair of alumni from the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering are all smiles at their graduation celebration. (Photo by Tristan McGuirk)

Family and friends embrace outside Convocation Hall at the graduation celebration for the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. (Photo by Dewey Chang)

Jason Bazylak, professor, teaching stream, in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering, carries the Eagle Feather during Faculty of Applied Sciences & Engineering celebrations. (Photo by Tristan McGuirk)

Hey there, grad! An alumnus from the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design waves for the camera. (Photo by Harry Choi)

Wisdom Tettey, ��ϲ�� vice-president and principal, ��ϲ�� Scarborough, applauds an alumna as she waves to the crowd and crosses the stage at Convocation Hall. (Photo by Ruilin Yuan)

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In this video, ��ϲ�� alumni share how it feels to return to the university for their in-person graduation celebrations. (Video by Nicole In)

'Thoughtfully conceived': University College revitalization praised in Canadian Architect magazine

mattimar — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 16:30:38 +0000

'Thoughtfully conceived': University College revitalization praised in Canadian Architect magazine

mattimar Wed, 11/09/2022 - 11:30

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(photo by Matthew Volpe)

Topic

City & Culture

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

University College

The revitalization of one of the ��ϲ��’s most significant heritage buildings – University College – is “thoughtfully conceived” and “precisely executed,” says Canadian Architect magazine.

The article – written by Pamela Young – praises Kohn Shnier Architects and heritage specialists ERA Architects for their “strategic and surgical” revitalization of the 163-year-old building.

A key part of the project was the return of University College’s library to its original home in the building (a fire in 1890 gutted most of the interior). The architects also included accessibility upgrades with the integration of ramps and a new elevator, a renovation of the West Hall reading room and various classrooms and offices, a new café and more.

“We were trying to solve oxymorons – to create interventions that are clearly of this moment, but at the same time look as though they’ve always been there,” John Shnier, associate professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design and a partner in the Kohn Shnier Architects, told the magazine.

In Memoriam: John H. Daniels (1926 - 2022)

lanthierj — Fri, 28 Oct 2022 14:50:40 +0000

In Memoriam: John H. Daniels (1926 - 2022)

lanthierj Fri, 10/28/2022 - 10:50

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The ��ϲ�� fondly remembers real estate developer John H. Daniels, whose visionary generosity was game-changing for architecture education in Canada. (photo by Al Gilbert, C.M.)

Topic

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Meric Gertler

The ��ϲ�� community is mourning John H. Daniels, the visionary architect, real estate developer and philanthropist who passed away on Oct. 22, 2022 at age 96.

A ��ϲ�� alumnus who earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1950 and received an honorary degree in 2011, Daniels' lifelong generosity helped Toronto’s students and citizens alike – he built the iconic Toronto Eaton Centre, set in motion groundbreaking projects to make housing more affordable and catalyzed a game-changing revolution in Canadian architecture education.

Daniels and his wife Myrna Daniels have given more than $30 million to U of T. These gifts helped the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design to build a new, innovative foundation in undergraduate education, raise the ceiling of scholarship with a PhD program, amalgamate U of T’s programs in visual studies and forestry, quadruple enrolment, raise its global profile and create a new home in the award-winning Daniels Building.

“John H. Daniels was a vital member of the ��ϲ�� family,” says U of T President Meric Gertler. “A celebrated innovator in urban development, John was guided by a strong social conscience rooted in his own experience as an immigrant to this country.

“John and Myrna’s incredible generosity propelled the University to become a major international hub for architecture and design, both through transforming the spectacular Daniels Building and through their unstinting support for talented undergraduate and graduate students. We will miss him greatly. I offer sincere condolences to Myrna, to his colleagues at The Daniels Corporation, and to his and Myrna’s families.”

John H. Daniels rose to success through championing accessibility and removing barriers to home ownership

Daniels was born in Poland and immigrated to Canada in 1939 when he was 12 years old. He saw his new country as a refuge, a welcoming place of opportunity and a beacon of diversity. As a high school valedictorian in 1944, he wrote: “Canada will be a home for many millions of peoples and many different races and creeds. Let us realize we are all Canadians and pride ourselves with more community consciousness. We shall put away all our selfish desires and work together to establish a model country for all the world.” These ideals were to inform all his later career as an advocate for equality and a champion of Canada.

In 1949, while a student at ��ϲ��’s faculty of architecture, Daniels made his first foray into real estate development by founding Modern Age Construction. Though intended as a summer building project to help raise some tuition money, the project showed the young entrepreneur his way forward. He went on to become CEO of the Cadillac Fairview Development Corporation, where he helped build Toronto’s Eaton Centre and the Erin Mills community in Mississauga.

In 1983, Daniels left Cadillac Fairview to start The Daniels Corporation, a company that would quickly become synonymous with vibrant communities, affordable housing, social infrastructure and architectural innovation. Responsible for countless Canadian residential development projects, The Daniels Corporation also worked closely with government to develop thousands of non-profit rental units and founded the FirstHome communities to lower market barriers for first-time homebuyers.

The company was also instrumental in revitalizing the Regent Park neighbourhood, transforming it from a failed public housing estate to a vital, growing community at the centre of Toronto. John and Myrna were also early investors in the Toronto International Film Festival, supporting the iconic and fully accessible Bell Lightbox Theatre.

Through three major gifts to ��ϲ��, John H. Daniels created countless opportunities for architecture and design students

John Daniels’ personal success inspired him to give back to his alma mater. In 2008, he and his wife Myrna made a generous $14-million gift to the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, ensuring that gifted students would have access to critical financial aid. The John and Myrna Daniels Scholars endowment has provided 287 individual awards to 128 students so far, with a preference to those who may be the first in their family to pursue a post-secondary education. “Education is the foundation of so much of what I have been able to accomplish,” he told the Globe and Mail at the time.

Just five years later, the couple gave a further $10 million to build a remarkable new home for the Daniels Faculty in the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent. The project revitalized a landmark 19th-century site, combining with the heritage building to create 155,000 square feet of inspiring studio spaces, an innovative fabrication lab, a green roof laboratory, lecture halls and exhibition galleries, and an expansive atrium.

The Daniels Building has been written about widely, garnered critical praise and won 30 local and international prizes and awards – a matter of great pride to Daniels. This record of distinction, along with the Daniels Faculty’s growing reputation and stellar faculty, has attracted exceptional students to the school’s undergraduate, professional and PhD programs. These include architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, art/visual studies and, more recently, forestry.

Many of those students received generous scholarship support, always at the heart of the couple’s giving. In 2018, an additional $6-million gift from their foundation created the endowed John and Myrna Daniels Foundation Opportunity Awards.

John H. Daniels was a visionary who helped build a better future

“John Daniels leaves behind an incredible legacy,” says Juan Du, dean of the Daniels Faculty. “In addition to establishing one of the most influential and civic-minded companies in Canada, responsible for landmark projects in Toronto’s city core and beyond, he has contributed through his vision and generosity to the education of generations of architects, landscape architects, artists and scientists at the Faculty. His insistence on excellence and his support for advanced education will continue to inspire all of us for years to come.”

“John was a ‘city-builder’ long before the phrase became popular,” adds Richard Sommer, former dean of the Daniels Faculty and Director of the Global Cities Institute. “He had a humility that could belie the sharpness of his intellect, his uncompromising will to excel, and his array of accomplishments. We will miss him, but take solace in remembering what a long and inspiring life he led.”

“In a way, John Daniels never left his alma mater,” says David Palmer, ��ϲ��’s vice-president, advancement. “His giving at ��ϲ�� was strongly tied to a desire for future generations of students to enjoy the education he had, to make Canada a global leader, and to share in his vision for sustainable, innovative architecture that is accessible to all. For that, we will be forever grateful.”

Listen to John H. Daniels’ speech to graduating students at the 2011 ��ϲ�� convocation.

What's with those colours? Sean Thomas on the science behind this year's fall foliage

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 13:01:16 +0000

What's with those colours? Sean Thomas on the science behind this year's fall foliage

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 10/21/2022 - 09:01

Cutline

(photo by David Lee)

Topic

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Toronto residents are enjoying a particularly dazzling autumn display this year as the city’s tree canopy changes colour amid the cooling temperatures.

That includes the fiery red leaves of the sugar maple that stands on the southeast edge of Spadina Circle near the ��ϲ��’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, where Sean Thomas is a professor of forestry and a longtime associate editor at the journal Tree Physiology.

Thomas says a perfect storm of climatic conditions this season have produced especially vibrant leaf tones.

He recently spoke to Danny Sinopoli about the science behind this year’s eye-catching autumnal foliage.

Why do leaves change colour in the fall? What’s the science behind it?

There is a common misconception that autumnal leaf-colour change is due entirely to degradation of chlorophyll that “unmasks” other pigments that are already there. This is true basically with yellow colouration, which is mainly due to carotenoid pigments. However, red colours in fall foliage are due to newly produced anthocyanin pigments, which raises an intriguing functional biology question: What is the adaptive value in leaves producing new pigments just before the leaves are to be shed?

There are a couple of hypotheses, but the explanation that I think has received the most support is that anthocyanin pigments are playing a role as a “sunscreen” that better enables trees to recover nutrients from senescing leaves. It turns out that the breakdown products of chlorophyll are highly reactive, particularly under high UV exposure and low temperatures. Without the protection offered by anthocyanins, free radicals are generated from the breakdown products of chlorophyll that disrupt the process of nutrient recovery. Some anthocyanins are also antioxidants and scavenge the free radicals, so there are likely two aspects to their protective function during leaf senescence.

This nutrient recovery hypothesis predicts that anthocyanin production should be greatest when temperatures are low – but still above freezing, since frost events kill leaves – and light levels are high. This pattern is widely supported. Demonstrating that anthocyanin production actually increases nutrient recovery itself is more difficult to demonstrate, but there is some evidence for this as well.

So, are the colours actually more vivid this year?

Compared to last year, yes. Consistent with the theory, last fall was a relatively warm one in the GTA, without near-frost events until well into November – and also relatively cloudy conditions. This year had the right combination [for brighter colour] of cold weather events, lack of drought or a hard frost and relatively sunny conditions.

A sugar maple on Spadina Circle puts on a fall show (photo by Zheren Zheng)

Why do people react so strongly to red tones – like those of the sugar maple on Spadina Circle?

I think the accepted psychological theory is that red provokes strong emotional reactions because it is a danger cue. But what happens when the entire landscape is red, or the colour is rendered on such a large scale?

To speculate wildly outside of my area of expertise, a red forest landscape may initially provoke a kind of alarm reaction, to which viewers then acclimate, and this acclimation is pleasantly stimulating. Perhaps this is a bit like spicy food: “Hot” flavours are due to pain receptors, and the relaxation of the pain response releases endorphins.

Changing spaces: Professors work with Elder, youth to create Indigenous garden in urban setting

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 16:58:14 +0000

Changing spaces: Professors work with Elder, youth to create Indigenous garden in urban setting

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 10/05/2022 - 12:58

Cutline

The garden alongside the Dalla Lana School of Public Health features plants native to the land such as serviceberry, staghorn sumac and red osier dogwood (photo courtesy Agata Mrozowski)

Bonnie O'Sullivan

Topic

Our Community

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Indigenous

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

St. George

Walking north along McCaul Street toward College Street in downtown Toronto, it’s easy to miss the narrow garden alongside of the ��ϲ��’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health building – a small sliver of green space surrounded by buildings that compete for, and often win, the attention of passersby. But the small garden is anything but insignificant.

Last year, Angela Mashford-Pringle, associate director of the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health and an assistant professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, collaborated with Elder Whabagoon and Associate Professor Liat Margolis – both from the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design – to renew the space with plants native to the land.

The project stemmed from Answering the Call Wecheehetowin: Final Report of the Steering Committee for the ��ϲ�� Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada – specifically the Calls to Action related to Indigenous spaces on campus and to demonstrate and advocate for decolonial land-based teaching and environmental stewardship.

Elder Whabagoon is an Ojibway Elder who sits with the Loon Clan. She is a Keeper of Sacred Pipes, a member of the Lac Seul First Nation and a Sixties Scoop survivor. For the past five summers, she and Margolis have led a unique summer access program called Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag (NDG) that shares traditional teachings with Indigenous youth and shows them how to integrate this knowledge to landscape architecture and ecological design.

During the winter semester in 2021, a group of Margolis’ students produced three concepts for the garden on McCaul Street and, in late summer, the youth prepared the space according to the chosen concept. The garden is now lush with plants such as serviceberry (used for medicinal and edible purposes), staghorn sumac (consumed as tea to treat colds), and red osier dogwood (for basketry, ceremonial pipe tobacco and constructing sweat lodges and fish traps).

From left: Associate Professor Liat Margolis and Assistant Professor Angela Mashford-Pringle (photos by Kasia Peruzzi and Victoria Pringle)

Margolis says that each plant has a fruit that wild animals can eat. “We think about all of our relations, all of our kin,” she explains. “We envisioned this planting along McCaul Street as a place where Angela or other instructors at the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute could visit with an Elder or Knowledge Keeper and share teachings around these plants.”

In addition to traditional medicinal and teaching benefits, native plant gardens are vital as we face a warming world.

“Indigenous people have been on these territories in Canada, the United States and globally for thousands of years,” says Mashford-Pringle. “We were taught our teachings about how to keep the natural world in order. Our languages come from the land, from interactions with the land ... If we really want to get out of this climate emergency, we need to start talking to Indigenous people who know how to deal with it.”

Elder Whabagoon

In Elder Whabagoon’s talks, she has posed a series of questions – What if the trees went to war? What if they stopped breathing for a day? What would happen to us? – that show how the relationship between nature and humans is connected. While that fact can be easily be forgotten when living in downtown Toronto, Indigenous gardens like the one on McCaul serve as reminders of this interdependence.

Elder Whabagoon says that Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag and programs like it work to educate young people about the inherent agreement humans have with the land.

“We just have to keep working for the next generation,” she says, adding that parents of youth participating in the program have come up to her in the past to say, “What have you done with my daughter or son? They’ve changed. They actually read books. They are trying more.”

After a long history in which Indigenous Peoples in Canada were targeted with colonial campaigns to erase their cultures, languages and beliefs, such programs plant seeds of curiosity in youth to learn more about their heritage.

Many in the next generation are listening. Maggie Devins-Cann, a student at Trent University has attended the Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag access program since high school and credits it with the educational path she is on.

“I am going into my second year at Trent University in the Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences program,” says Devins-Cann. “I was always interested in environmental studies but didn’t know much about my culture when I was younger. Going into this summer program, I gained a really big passion for learning about it.”

Maggie Devins-Cann and peers participate in the Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag access program
(photo courtesy Agata Mrozowski)

Mashford-Pringle is also working to expand Indigenous practices and teachings inside the course offerings at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

For example, she has introduced land-based learning and renovations to Hart House Farm.

“I don’t like our classrooms at St. George. People don’t get to look at each other. We don’t know what circles are,” she says, adding this is why she has developed a course where students live, study and cook together at Hart House Farm in Caledon, Ont.

By learning from Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers while on the farm, students recognize how important courses like these are for urgent issues like environmentalism and reconciliation.

But what about back in the city?

“Often times, you get a little corner somewhere – a little circle area and, again, it’s sadly not unlike the reserve system saying, ‘Well, here’s your spot, here’s your little space where you can gather.’”

This isn’t enough when it comes to addressing truth and reconciliation or Indigenous spaces, adds Mashford-Pringle. “If you look at the map of St. George, let alone the other campuses, we have the incredible capacity and responsibility to make an enormous impact on the landscape in terms of increasing vegetative cover, increasing biodiversity, providing habitat, providing food sources and edible landscapes so that we never go hungry.”

The garden on McCaul Street may be small right now, but with hope and commitment, much more of campus can see the reintroduction of native species and Indigenous ways of learning, says Mashford-Pringle.

“We need to think about what our role is as an urban campus to environmental stewardship. That to me is the core of foundational and Indigenous thinking.”

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Renowned architect Bruce Kuwabara receives ��ϲ�� honorary degree

Architecture graduate finds inspiration for community-building in mentorship and representation

Sustainable Future – Challenge Accepted! Climate Justice Ep. 4

Watch Episode 4 of the Sustainable Future series

��ϲ�� launches new tri-campus Minor in Global Leadership

‘Liquid windows’ inspired by squid skin could help buildings save energy

In photos: Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 return to ��ϲ��

'Thoughtfully conceived': University College revitalization praised in Canadian Architect magazine

Read more in Canadian Architect

In Memoriam: John H. Daniels (1926 - 2022)

John H. Daniels rose to success through championing accessibility and removing barriers to home ownership

Through three major gifts to ��ϲ��, John H. Daniels created countless opportunities for architecture and design students

John H. Daniels was a visionary who helped build a better future

What's with those colours? Sean Thomas on the science behind this year's fall foliage

Read more at CBC

Read more at CTV

Changing spaces: Professors work with Elder, youth to create Indigenous garden in urban setting

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Renowned architect Bruce Kuwabara receives ������ϲ����� honorary degree

Architecture graduate finds inspiration for community-building in mentorship and representation

Sustainable Future – Challenge Accepted! Climate Justice Ep. 4

Watch Episode 4 of the Sustainable Future series

������ϲ����� launches new tri-campus Minor in Global Leadership

‘Liquid windows’ inspired by squid skin could help buildings save energy

In photos: Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 return to ������ϲ�����

'Thoughtfully conceived': University College revitalization praised in Canadian Architect magazine

Read more in Canadian Architect

In Memoriam: John H. Daniels (1926 - 2022)

John H. Daniels rose to success through championing accessibility and removing barriers to home ownership

Through three major gifts to ������ϲ�����, John H. Daniels created countless opportunities for architecture and design students

John H. Daniels was a visionary who helped build a better future

What's with those colours? Sean Thomas on the science behind this year's fall foliage

Read more at CBC

Read more at CTV

Changing spaces: Professors work with Elder, youth to create Indigenous garden in urban setting

Renowned architect Bruce Kuwabara receives ��ϲ�� honorary degree

��ϲ�� launches new tri-campus Minor in Global Leadership

In photos: Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 return to ��ϲ��

Through three major gifts to ��ϲ��, John H. Daniels created countless opportunities for architecture and design students