Architecture

Working with Ontario Heritage Trust, students 'rethink the stories told' about Canada's built environment

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 13:30:18 +0000

Working with Ontario Heritage Trust, students 'rethink the stories told' about Canada's built environment

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 04/19/2023 - 09:30

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U of T art history students present their research to Ontario Heritage Trust staff and other guests at a public forum at the Ontario Heritage Centre (photo by Sean McNeely)

Sean McNeely

Topic

Our Community

Academics

Architecture

Faculty of Arts & Science

Humanities

Victoria College

Woodsworth College

Art history students are hoping to breathe new life into an important group of Ontario heritage buildings, offering narratives and ideas to better preserve some of the province’s most treasured structures.

Students from the fourth-year Canadian art history seminar, Studies in Canadian Architecture and Landscapes: Hidden Canada, have been involved in a semester-long research project in partnership with the Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT). Supported by the provost’s Learning & Education Advancement Fund, the course is offered as part of the department of art history’s Canada Constructed initiative.

“The course explores how the built environment in Canada has been written, studied and preserved, with particular attention paid to which narratives have been privileged and which have been suppressed,” says Jessica Mace, who is the course’s instructor and an art history post-doctoral researcher.

“The purpose of this project was to provide experience in working with a community partner, to carry out the process of original research and writing for a public audience, and to critically rethink the stories that are told about the built environment in Canada.”

Designed by prominent New York architect Thomas W. Lamb and built as the Canadian flagship for Marcus Loew's growing chain of vaudeville houses, the Elgin (pictured here) and Winter Garden Theatre Centre contains two large theatres, stacked one above the other (photo courtesy of the Ontario Heritage Trust)

The students were assigned six buildings held by the OHT – many of which were constructed in the early 1900s. In Toronto, they included the Ontario Heritage Centre, the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre and George Brown House. The Barnum House in Grafton, Fulford Place in Brockville and the Niagara Apothecary in Niagara-on-the-Lake were also selected.

Built between 1908 and 1909, the building that houses the Ontario
Heritage Centre is an example of
Beaux Arts architecture and construction methods
(photo by Mark Wolfson, courtesy of the Ontario
Heritage Trust)

Students crafted updated messages about each building addressing the issue that many of the buildings’ plaques and public statements have not been updated since their original heritage designation decades ago.

The new language and revisions were meant to bring these statements into the present and create new narratives that will keep this group of heritage sites engaging for new generations of visitors.

Another objective was to examine each building’s history and past functions and suggest new possible uses for each structure.

The students presented their research at a public forum on March 24 at the Ontario Heritage Centre, where they shared their ideas with OHT staff, local heritage and architectural professionals and U of T community members.

“The students brought forward innovative ideas that challenge these sites, but they did so constructively with an eye to making their programming and usefulness more inclusive, welcoming and technically sophisticated,” says David Leonard, community programs officer for the OHT.

“The experience of working with the students was really enjoyable. The students produced well thought-out and achievable recommendations. Their work will push us at the Ontario Heritage Trust to refine and protect our property holdings in a way that complements our commitment to expand the narrative of Ontario’s heritage.”

This Second Empire-style house – located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of Toronto – was built between 1874 and 1876 for George Brown, a successful businessman (photo by Jeff Hitchcock from Seattle, WA, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

“I was impressed with how carefully the students prepared, the professionalism they brought to the event and how much they enjoyed it,” says Mace. “I think it speaks to the value of their work that we had so many community members and professionals attend the public forum.”

Students say they found the project enriching due to its real-world implications.

“This project asked us to move beyond the classroom and consider the people, histories and spaces in our province,” says Kaliyah Maria Macaraig, a fourth-year art history student minoring in classical civilization and a member of Woodsworth College.

The Niagara Apothecary is an authentic museum restoration of a 1869 pharmacy as part of a practice that operated in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., from 1820 to 1964 (photo by Pierre André, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

“There is a sense that our work will positively affect the communities that interact with these heritage sites and expand the meaning of heritage for all communities and identities.”

Siena Kunanec, a fourth-year art history student who minors in Latin American studies and creative expressions and society, says a highlight of the project was access to the OHT archives.

“I especially enjoyed the access to the photo books which had original images of visitors to the Niagara Apothecary, such as Prime Minister Diefenbaker and the Queen Mother,” says Kunanec, a member of Victoria College.

“I liked how the trust wanted the youthful voice – very rarely do young people feel their input is valued. Being encouraged to contribute a youthful perspective made me feel included.”

Both Macaraig and Kunanec also felt proud of having their research valued by a community partner.

“I felt my ideas were enthusiastically listened to by the OHT team,” says Macaraig. “Receiving positive and constructive feedback from heritage workers really showed us that our ideas hold so much potential for creating future change for communities.”

“It was an authentic experience,” adds Kunanec. “There are opportunities for our work to be published through the Ontario Heritage Trust, and this allowed us to realize we were doing work that may have public impact.”

For Mace, the project demonstrated how a community organization can benefit from tapping into the new skills and perspectives of humanities students.

“Students are coming to the table with fresh perspectives and without historic baggage of how things ‘should’ be done in heritage,” she says. “This project also offered students the chance to apply and build on skills learned in the humanities, whether it is critical thinking, research or public speaking.

“These were all put to work on this real-world project. I know that not all of my students will go into this area in their careers, but I hope that they will take away the fact that their skillset is highly desirable in the workforce in many different applications.”

The Ethics of Architecture: Mark Kingwell launches U of T-Oxford book series

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 19:09:40 +0000

The Ethics of Architecture: Mark Kingwell launches U of T-Oxford book series

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 04/28/2021 - 15:09

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(Photo by Fred Dufour/AFP via Getty Images)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Law

Global

Philosophy

Architecture is a part of daily life that often gets overlooked.

From a simple doorknob to spectacular feats of engineering, such as the 430-metre Zhangjiajie skywalk bridge in China’s Hunan Province, the built environment reflects and responds to societies’ values.

It also raises questions about aesthetics, technology – and ethics.

In The Ethics of Architecture, Mark Kingwell, a professor of philosophy in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Arts & Science, looks at architecture’s ethical implications and whether building designers should serve the community as well as clients. That includes exploring “the professional obligations of architects,” considerations in the field about the common good and the notion of architecture as a collective undertaking.

The book, the first in a series published by University of Oxford Press in partnership with U of T’s Centre for Ethics, comes as the world grapples with a global health crisis. And, as Kingwell writes in the preface, world-historical shifts and disasters, especially those related to public health, have often shaped physical structures in cities and beyond.

“There is a long history of architectural innovation driven by human frailty,” Kingwell writes, citing sewage systems, indoor plumbing, heating and vertical density, among other examples.

Like others who have wondered whether the pandemic recovery will usher in positive changes, Kingwell also asks what “utopian opportunities” for architecture lie ahead to create more equitable societies.

Called “Ethics in Context,” the book series pledges to explore “the ethical dimensions of interesting, provocative, and timely questions” in a way that is both scholarly and accessible.

It is the brainchild of Markus Dubber, a professor of law and criminology in the Faculty of Law and the director of U of T’s Centre for Ethics.

He says the series – like the centre itself – aims to position itself itself at the intersection of academic research and public discourse.

“The inclusive, interdisciplinary vision of ethical inquiry that characterizes the Centre for Ethics lent itself to the establishment of this series,” Dubber says.

The second instalment in the series will look at the ethics of racial humour, and is written by Luvell Anderson, an associate professor of philosophy at Syracuse University who specializes in the philosophy of language, race and aesthetics.

As for Kingwell, he uses The Ethics of Architecture to address serious scholars of ethics as well as general readers with an interest in the built environment and how cities work – or don’t.

His observations are timely given that more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, with the number expected to grow to 68 per cent by 2050.

Since Kingwell’s book was first in the series, he says it can be seen as a “sort of keynote” that is intended for specialist readers and a lay audience alike.

“It feels more like an advanced seminar with smart people from various disciplines, plus some auditors,” Kingwell says.

“You can’t take anything for granted, so no exclusionary jargon or inside terminology is allowed,” he says. “But the material has to be meaty enough to reward serious interest.”

U of T Mississauga’s Maanjiwe nendamowinan recognized for excellence in design

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 15:26:09 +0000

U of T Mississauga’s Maanjiwe nendamowinan recognized for excellence in design

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 04/20/2021 - 11:26

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The Maanjiwe nendamowinan building at U of T Mississauga houses more than 500 study spaces and 29 classrooms, and includes several sustainability features (photo by Drew Lesiuczok)

Topic

The name means “gathering of minds,” but the University of Toronto’s Maanjiwe nendamowinan also excels at gathering praise.

Officially opened in 2019, the U of T Mississauga building recently earned a Citation Award from the American Institute of Architects, Canada Society chapter, a fellowship of architects and design professionals based in Vancouver, B.C. The annual awards recognize excellence in Canadian architecture, urban design and interior design.

The six-storey, 210,000 square-foot building was designed by Toronto firm Perkins&Will, which also designed U of T Mississauga’s Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre and Instructional Centre.

“The architecture expresses the coming together of diverse influences and celebrates the unique theatre of campus life,” the firm said in a tweet celebrating the win.

The building’s Anishinaabemowin name (pronounced Mahn-ji-way nen-da-mow-in-ahn) was chosen from 700 suggestions in collaboration with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, on whose traditional territory the campus now stands.

With 40,000 square feet of useable space, Maanjiwe nendamowinan offers more than 500 study spaces and 29 classrooms for English and drama, philosophy, historical studies, language studies, political science and sociology, digital humanities research, the Centre for South Asian Civilizations and the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre.

The building has a LEED Silver designation for its many sustainability features, including rainwater recycling, energy-efficient mechanical systems, a green roof and special glass designed to deter bird strikes.

“We are very proud of the Maanjiwe nendamowinan building and pleased its design has been recognized for this AIA Canada Society award,” says Tammy Cook, executive director of Facilities Management & Planning at U of T Mississauga. “It is not only beautiful but also contains state-of-the-art learning spaces and sustainability features.”

Architect – and U of T alumnus – designs 'healthier' temporary ICUs for COVID-19 patients

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 01 May 2020 14:11:02 +0000

Architect – and U of T alumnus – designs 'healthier' temporary ICUs for COVID-19 patients

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 05/01/2020 - 10:11

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U of T alumnus Tye Farrow is designing temporary ICUs that are quick and easy to build, and wrap health-promoting features like natural light and isolated logistics corridors into their design (image courtesy of Farrow Partners Architects)

Topic

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

They went from a conversation on a Thursday morning to blueprints on Monday and a full-scale prototype built five days later. University of Toronto alumnus Tye Farrow, who graduated with a degree in architecture in 1987, and friend Ray Arbesman moved quickly to design temporary intensive care units in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Farrow (left), who is the senior partner at Farrow Partners Inc. and the current president of the U of T Alumni Association, is known for creating buildings that wrap health-promoting features into their design. Arbesman is the founder of Nucap Industries, a global technology company, and the inventor of a novel mechanical system that can bind building materials together.

Together, they’ve developed Solace Rapid Assembly - High Performance COVID-19 Inpatient Bed Solutions, and they're hoping the project could soon help hospitals around the world that are struggling to care for COVID-19 patients.

“Our goal has been to create solutions that are faster, cheaper, smarter, safer, more adaptable to individual hospital needs and importantly – healthier,” says Farrow.

Farrow founded the Cause Health movement to promote designs that nurture complete wellness, incorporating environmental sustainability, cultural sensitivity, a sense of purpose and health-boosting features such as natural materials, fractal shapes, and sunlight.

For example, Farrow designed the Carlo Fidani Regional Cancer Centre with tree-like structures that evoke a person reaching to the sky.

“Spaces can tune basic emotions and background bodily feelings from negative to positive,” says Farrow. “Neurophysiologists call the principle ‘neural mirroring’ – we model, or feel into, feelings we observe in another person.”

He adds that a building environment creates a similar response, so the reaching structures in the Mississauga hospital seek to generate optimism, as well as a sense of life and growth, and an uplifting feeling that you are somewhere special and purposeful.

Farrow is currently earning a master’s degree in neuroscience applied to architecture and design – a field so specialized “I believe I will be the only architect in Canada with this degree,” he says.

“There is scientific evidence that space can be an accelerant or leave us numb. And the human dimension connecting space and performance for medical staff and patients alike is at the top of my mind.”

Farrow’s design for the ICU structures is based on an innovative, never-before used building technique: wood blocks laminated with metal instead of glue. Arbesman, a U of T donor, initially invented the fail-safe, velcro-like technology to build safer car brake pads, but began collaborating with Farrow on possible construction uses about five years ago.

The resulting blocks are as strong as concrete, but lighter and as easy to assemble as Lego. Even unskilled volunteers could build one of the 12-bed ICU units on a parking lot or vacant lot in a few hours, according to Farrow.

Features such as clerestory windows to introduce natural light are designed to lower patient and staff stress, while the unit’s wraparound logistics corridor is environmentally controlled so that workers who service mechanics, electricity and medical gases remain isolated from patient areas.

(image courtesy of Farrow Partners Architects)

Farrow was inspired to improve on other temporary hospital solutions he’d seen on the news. “The environments we build to support our medical staff and patients need to be the meal equivalent to a fruit-, vegetable- and protein-enhanced energy drink smoothie,” he says, “giving you mental energy and clarity, physical strength and resiliency and mind comfort; an accelerant that will help you succeed under stressed conditions.”

Solace launched on April 23. “We already have interest from a range of different organizations in Canada, the U.S. and Israel,” says Farrow. “People are looking at it for the COVID-19 ICU responses, but because it is permanent in character, yet can also be disassembled easily, jurisdictions are also looking at it for other related uses that will need a longer shelf-life solution as we move into the winter.”

“I thought that the grip timber block solution was perfect as it could give a rapid response solution that could be designed to any medical special need, versus a fixed size as with shipping container structures,” he says. “And we can create an enhanced environment for staff and patients alike.

“Working on the project has been very stimulating and it’s satisfying that we will also be able to do our part.”

Star Trek transforms U of T building into futuristic space school

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 19:51:01 +0000

Star Trek transforms U of T building into futuristic space school

geoff.vendeville Wed, 01/22/2020 - 14:51

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Characters Kima and Lil are pictured in a recent episode of Star Trek: Short Treks, which transformed the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design into a space school (image courtesy of Michael Gibson/CBS/Bell Media)

Topic

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

One Spadina Crescent

U of T Mississauga

The University of Toronto prepares students to boldly go into their chosen field.

So perhaps it’s fitting that the makers of Star Trek: Short Treks, a web TV series, shot a recent episode inside One Spadina Crescent, home to U of T’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

In the episode, which can be streamed on Crave TV, the historic, neo-gothic building – which re-opened to critical acclaim in 2017 – is transformed into an extraterrestrial school, where students arrive in a flying shuttle bus and work on 3D screens.

Richard Sommer, the faculty’s dean, said the building is “very cinematic” and a natural choice for a sci-fi film or one set in the future.

“If you look at the architecture of our [design] studio it's very grand. It's among the most interesting large spaces in the city now,” he said.

“You see in these shots both a layer of history – you see the brick, the Gothic-shaped windows – but you also see something that alludes to the future.”

The Short Treks episode, titled “Children of Mars,” tells the story of two 12-year-old girls, Kima and Lil, who start off at odds but soon set aside their differences when disaster strikes.

Experience the day enemies became friends.

Star Trek: #ShortTreks “Children of Mars” January 9th. #StarTrek pic.twitter.com/f2vY22gjVZ
— Star Trek (@StarTrek) January 2, 2020

Those familiar with One Spadina might immediately recognize the 30,000-square-foot design studio with its undulating ceiling and tall windows. In the Star Trek version, holograms float above students' heads. Other parts of the U of T building make an appearance, including a classroom where Lil gets Kima in trouble with their teacher.

Another scene from Star Trek: Short Trek's “Children of Mars” episode, which filmed in One Spadina Crescent’s design studio and a classroom (image courtesy of Michael Gibson/CBS/Bell Media)

The Star Trek spin-off isn’t the only show that has put One Spadina on screens. Disney came to campus last year to shoot another sci-fi project, the Secret Society of Second-Born Royals, set to come out this year on Disney+.

U of T also boasts another connection to the Star Trek universe. Actor and r ecent U of T Mississauga graduate George Alevizos landed a small part on Star Trek: Discovery that sparked conversation about the representation of people with disabilities in entertainment.

U of T buildings shine in Toronto's 'thriving architectural scene': Wallpaper magazine

Romi Levine — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 14:07:49 +0000

U of T buildings shine in Toronto's 'thriving architectural scene': Wallpaper magazine

Romi Levine Thu, 06/13/2019 - 10:07

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U of T's 14-storey wood building is one of the exciting architectural projects in the pipeline in Toronto, according to Wallpaper magazine (All renderings courtesy of MJMA and Patkau Architects)

Topic

City & Culture

Architecture

Cities

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

One Spadina

Toronto has proven it's got game on the basketball court with the Raptors’ stellar performance in the NBA Finals, but U.K. design magazine Wallpaper says Toronto is making a name for itself in the architecture world, too.

Writer Alex Bozicovic looks at some of Toronto’s exciting architectural projects – from newly completed buildings to developments in the works, including two at the University of Toronto.

Bozicovic highlights U of T’s plans to build a tall wood tower (pictured below) on the downtown Toronto campus.

“Its cross-laminated timber structure, seen through the glass of the facade, will send a clear message about architectural innovation,” he writes.

He also highlights the new One Spadina building that houses the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, noting that, “The University of Toronto architecture school now has a home that speaks of serious creative ambition.”

One Spadina houses U of T's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design (photo by Nic Lehoux)

Read the Wallpaper magazine article

Read about how U of T conserves and updates buildings like One Spadina

U of T architecture camp aims to inspire kids from under-represented communities: Globe and Mail

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 27 May 2019 15:27:13 +0000

U of T architecture camp aims to inspire kids from under-represented communities: Globe and Mail

rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 05/27/2019 - 11:27

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(photo by Harry Choi)

Topic

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

From programming drones to watching laser cutters bring keychain designs to life, the University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design is putting on a summer camp for kids aged nine to 14 – part of an effort to boost connections between the school and the city that surrounds it.

“There’s a lot of cool technology stuff that school systems just aren’t getting to because they don’t have access; we’re privileged as a post-secondary, partially publicly funded institution, so we want to share that access,” the faculty’s manager of external relations, Nene Brode, told The Globe and Mail.

Attendees will be split into the “Bits & Bytes” group (ages nine to 11) and the “DigiFab” group (ages 12 to 14), with both camps enjoying activities that revolve around the theme of drones and their role in modern urban design, in what Brode described as “a fun, casual kind of setting.” The program will also touch on other topics such as hacking, the mysteries of the dark web and the importance of protecting one’s personal information on social media, with time set aside for interaction with U of T architecture students and professors as well as athletic activity outdoors.

Ultimately, the hope is that the camp helps nurture a more diverse architectural community by welcoming kids from communities that are traditionally under-represented in the field, Brode said.

U of T home to some of best architecture in the city: Globe and Mail

geoff.vendeville — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 19:24:08 +0000

U of T home to some of best architecture in the city: Globe and Mail

geoff.vendeville Tue, 01/09/2018 - 14:24

Topic

Rotman School of Management

Woodsworth College

University of Toronto students have to look no further than their own downtown Toronto campus to see some of the finest architecture in the city, according to a book excerpt published by the Globe and Mail.

The newspaper's architecture critic and U of T alumnus Alex Bozikovic praises five buildings on the downtown Toronto campus. The article is an excerpt from Toronto Architecture: A City Guide, originally written by architectural journalist Patricia McHugh and updated by Bozikovic.

1. John P. Robarts Research Library

Canadian architect Ronald Thom – who designed one of the other campus buildings on Bozikovic's list, Massey College – called Robarts Library a “dictionary of architectural miseries.”

But in the 50 years since it was built, the Brutalist behemoth nicknamed “Fort Book” has inspired a new appreciation among the younger generation, Bozikovic writes. The central atrium in the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library “is one of the best modernist spaces in the city,” he adds.

An in-progress expansion of the library, designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, is expected to add 1,200 study spaces.

2. Joseph L. Rotman School of Management

“A fascinating assemblage,” Bozikovic says. “First, Zeidler's 1990s ersatz loft, sliced up by deconstructivist zinc shrapnel; then KPMB's made-to-measure black boxes wrapping a Victorian house.”

He reserves special praise for the 2011 expansion by KPMB, with its central stairs and hot-pink accents. Bruce Kuwabara, a founding partner of KPMB, told Rotman magazine that the project was about “taking the school to another level in an urban context, in a creative city,” while providing the necessary space and resources for 21^st-century classrooms.

3. Woodsworth College

The college was originally housed in a series of Victorian houses on St. George Street. Barton Myers and their former associates integrated the older buildings into a single complex with a distinctive red brick and ashlar granite façade.

“What makes the place remarkable, though, is the artful linking of indoor and outdoor spaces, old and new architecture, found façades and artfully wrought interventions,” Bozikovic says.

4. Goldring Centre for High-Performance Sport

Ted Watson, a partner at MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects, which designed the centre with Patkau Architects, described the building as an “iceberg” because there is so much going on under the surface. The Kimel Family Field House below ground offers space for basketball, volleyball and other court sports with seating for 2,000 people. A state-of-the-art strength and conditioning centre is visible above ground through street-front windows.

5. Massey College

“Arguably the greatest Toronto building for the 20^thcentury,” Bozikovic says.

Designed by Ron Thom and constructed in 1962, the building harks back to the Dutch de Stijl modernism and Frank Lloyd Wright, Bozikovic writes.

“It was, and remains, gorgeous,” he says. “The low, multilevelled Junior Common Room and the dining room, Ondaatje Hall, are among Toronto's finest rooms. Mr. Thom's manipulation of light and space and fusion of gothic grammar with a very personal modernism create the qualities the Masseys asked for: ‘dignity, grace, beauty and warmth.’”

Read the full excerpt in the Globe and Mail

U of T's One Spadina Crescent: merging the past with the future

ullahnor — Mon, 08 May 2017 21:41:34 +0000

U of T's One Spadina Crescent: merging the past with the future

ullahnor Mon, 05/08/2017 - 17:41

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“The Globe and Mail” writes about the new home of the University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design (photo by Tom Ryaboi)

Topic

The Globe and Mail's Alex Bozikovic calls the new home of the University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design “one of the best Canadian buildings of the past decade.”

“Up front, the old Knox College is all Victorian adornment, an array of gables, turrets and lancet arches,” writes Bozikovic, of One Spadina, an 1875 building, designed by Smith & Gemmell as a Presbyterian seminary. “But around back it has a very different vibe. A long, flat glass façade pulls in northern light. Green roofs feed on rainwater. Zigzagging concrete forms say, in their own language: Welcome to 2017.”

He says the building is “spectacular....rich with arguments about how contemporary architecture, landscape and urbanism can work with history and build the city of the future.”

Reconciliation grove: U of T student designs memorial to facilitate conversation on Canada's relationship with Indigenous people

hjames — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 20:30:54 +0000

Reconciliation grove: U of T student designs memorial to facilitate conversation on Canada's relationship with Indigenous people

hjames Fri, 04/28/2017 - 16:30

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Chief Stacey Laforme (left) looks over the model for a “reconciliation grove” designed by James Bird (right), a U of T undergraduate student, at a launch event on Thursday (photo by Hannah James)

Hannah James

Author legacy

Hannah James

TRC

Architecture

Undergraduate Students

Indigenous

Faculty of Arts & Science

Canada 150

Humanities

Arbours where visitors can sit and contemplate, headstones engraved with the names of children who died or went missing in residential schools and a maple tree to symbolize the country's efforts at reconciliation – those are the elements of a “reconciliation grove” designed by a U of T student.

James Bird designed Words to Form – an architectural model for a potential memorial that would put the words of reconciliation into a physical form – for his fourth-year independent study.

His model is now on display at Hart House, through May 3. It will then be transported to Ottawa where it will be showcased at the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in an International Indigenous Architecture and Design Symposium.

Bird hopes that his “reconciliation grove” will generate interest, and one day the memorial will be built as a site where Indigenous and non-Indigenous people can come together and reflect on Canada's difficult history.

“I wanted to build a reconciliation grove,” says Bird, a mature student who is Nehiyawak (Cree)/Métis from Fort Smith, N.W.T., and actively involved in U of T's Indigenous community. “I wanted to create a space where you could talk about this very difficult thing – murder, missing children, this dark past – in a space that was supportive.”

James Bird (left) with U of T President Meric Gertler (centre) and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell (right), looking over Bird's model at Hart House (photo by Hannah James)

In 2015, U of T formed a Truth and Reconciliation steering committee in response to the federal TRC report, and Bird has been part of that comimittee. Early this year, the committee recommended 32 calls to action for the university to work towards reconciliation.

Read the full report

The federal TRC's call to action that inspired Bird to create Words to Form related to commemoration. No. 79 calls on the federal government to collaborate with survivors, Indigenous organizations and the arts community to develop a reconciliaton framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration. There's another call to action for a national monument to be built in Ottawa and monuments in each province and territory.

On Thursday, Bird displayed his model at Hart House as part of the Canada By Treaty: Histories of a Negotiated Place exhibit, which will run through May 25 as part of U of T's Canada 150 initiative.

The Hart House event was attended by U of T President Meric Gertler, Munk School of Global Affairs Director Stephen Toope, who co-chaired the university's TRC steering committee, Chief Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, and Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell.

The focus of Bird’s design is a maple tree, which sits at the centre of the memorial and needs to be nourished with water flowing from fountains throughout the grove.

“The idea is that we can gauge the health of reconciliation by how this tree grows,” he says. “In fact, reconciliation is a live, growing process.”

The tree is encircled by seven headstones rich with meaning: they represent the Seven Grandfather teachings of humility, bravery, honesty, wisdom, truth, respect and love.

The back of each stone is engraved with the names of the 141 residential schools in Canada. The front has the names of all the children who went missing or died in those schools. The fountain water flows up and over the stones and toward the maple tree.

“The water flows along the children’s names almost like eternal tears,” says Bird.

Bird says he's included the arbours as places to sit and contemplate and lots of trees to attract songbirds which will add music to the air. He envisions big black slabs of granite in the grove to act as workspaces for Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to come together and build projects of reconciliation on the site.

“The word reconciliation makes a huge assumption – that there was a mutual relationship that started. It was never mutual, and so I call it conciliation,” he says.

“Taking reconciliation out of the colonizer’s hands and reinventing it again – that’s what I wanted to do.”

Architecture

Working with Ontario Heritage Trust, students 'rethink the stories told' about Canada's built environment

The Ethics of Architecture: Mark Kingwell launches U of T-Oxford book series

U of T Mississauga’s Maanjiwe nendamowinan recognized for excellence in design

Architect – and U of T alumnus – designs 'healthier' temporary ICUs for COVID-19 patients

Star Trek transforms U of T building into futuristic space school

U of T buildings shine in Toronto's 'thriving architectural scene': Wallpaper magazine

Read the Wallpaper magazine article

Read about how U of T conserves and updates buildings like One Spadina

U of T architecture camp aims to inspire kids from under-represented communities: Globe and Mail

Read more about the summer camp in the Globe and Mail

U of T home to some of best architecture in the city: Globe and Mail

1. John P. Robarts Research Library

2. Joseph L. Rotman School of Management

3. Woodsworth College

4. Goldring Centre for High-Performance Sport

5. Massey College

Read the full excerpt in the Globe and Mail

U of T's One Spadina Crescent: merging the past with the future

Read more at the Globe

Reconciliation grove: U of T student designs memorial to facilitate conversation on Canada's relationship with Indigenous people

Read more about U of T's TRC report

Read the full report