Spring and Summer Speaking Engagements and Events
Spring and Summer Speaking Engagements and Events
The spring and summer is gearing up to be an exciting season as our studio members participate in a variety of events, symposia, and talks about urbanism and design. We look forward to having you join us as we share our ideas and projects.
March April May June July
What Does It Really Take to Successfully Develop a Transit-Oriented Site?
One of the biggest struggles Canadian landholders face is that the value of their property is wrapped up in the land. Their property is a virtual goldmine, but they don’t know how to put together the partnerships needed to tap into its true value.
Join Principal Liana Bresler part of the panel in this roundtable conversation.
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 – 12:00pm PSTFree Online Event
Registration and Information
Design Workshop for Black Design Professionals and Students
New Park on King Street East
Associate Camille Mitchell will be participating in a workshop as part of the community consultation for a new park on King Street East in Toronto. Hosted by the City of Toronto, this workshop will bring more Black voices into the design process, provide a networking opportunity for Black practitioners and students entering the design field, and to help ensure the ultimate design achieves the park's vision, to celebrate and/or commemorate the history, presence, diversity, and future of the Black communities in the neighbourhood.
Friday, April 5, 2024By invitation
Activating Public Space in Toronto Through Art & Design
Join Associate Camille Mitchell for an exciting collaboration between BAIDA, STEELCASE and the design team for a proposed park located at 254 King Street East. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to explore the intersection of design, community and the art of building legacies!
The new park located at 254 King East has been carefully crafted with a community-driven vision aimed at honouring and celebrating the rich history, diversity, and promising future of Black communities within the Moss Park neighbourhood. Drawing inspiration from the impactful narratives of Black migration that have significantly shaped the fabric of Toronto, the park will showcase a compelling array of public art and design elements. These will include imposing cowrie shell sculptures, intricately braided pathways, a serene water feature, and inviting seating areas, each representing distinct regions from which Black Canadians have migrated, such as Africa, The Americas, and The Caribbean. Embracing the essence of these migration stories, the park's design integrates four prominent symbols deeply meaningful to both Black and Indigenous communities in Canada: water, cowrie shells, cornrows, and Sankofa. Through the interplay of form and symbolism, the park performs as a Metaphorical Hub that commemorates the historical, contemporary and future Arrivals, Departures and Reunions of Toronto’s diverse Black population.
This event is open to people at all points of their career, and will be eligible for Continuing Education Credits.
Wednesday, April 17, 2024 – 5pm to 8pm EDTSteelcase WorkLife Center
200 King Street West
Toronto, Ontario
Registration and Information
ULI Spring Meeting
Brokering Public and Private Interests to Leverage Investment in Regional Transit Infrastructure
Building regional transit infrastructure and associated transit-oriented communities takes many years, yet its success depends on clear objectives established early in the process. Learning to anticipate the challenges of building an efficient and economically viable transit system with ample opportunities for the private sector creates value for governments, their agencies, and local stakeholders who benefit from improvements in their communities.
Join Principal Shonda Wang for this session where she will demonstrate how successful preplanning for development and community building requires the integration of design, policy, and economics to create innovative solutions that yield tangible results and respond to regional growth considerations. She will show how to broker effective urban planning and design solutions—from the technical requirements of station design to priming a physical and economic landscape. Considering these and many other factors well in advance clarifies the role of private- and public-sector investment while mitigating risk and maximizing the benefits of large-scale regional transportation infrastructure projects.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 – 4pm EDTNew York Hilton Midtown
Level 2 - Sutton South
1335 6th Avenue
New York, New York
Tickets and Information
Disruption Days
Join our Director of Latin America Ana Espinosa at they explore the ways adaptive reuse can revitalize and revive cities.
Thursday, April 11, 2024Chicago, Illinois
Tickets and Information
American Public Transportation Association APTA Conference
Beyond the Surface: Rethinking BRT Infrastructure
BRT and surface-level transit integration goes beyond critical technical requirements, but include the significance of partnerships and broader design considerations. Partner and transit expert Shonda Wang will guide you through balancing development opportunities at station locations with redevelopment potential, transit needs, and the creation of landmark communities with integrated mobility choices, diverse land uses, sustainable employment opportunities, and a high-quality public realm.
Through her experiences gained on projects like the Ontario Line, the Hurontario LRT and Dundas Connects, Wang will illustrate the attainable balance between new transit infrastructure and overbuild technical requirements, with specific expertise to design with tools and metrics that support government and transit agencies in creating environmental, social and economic value. Typical of integrating successful BRTs and surface track infrastructure, assembling the right mix of partners and disciplines at the outset of concept planning and design, including unanticipated partners, to achieve public sector results is essential.
This session invites you to explore successful corridor planning strategies, learn from real-world projects, and engage in dialogue around the best modes to invest in, especially in the context of at-grade and bus systems.
Tuesday, April 30, 2024 - 8am PDTOregon Convention Center
777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard
Portland, Oregon
Tickets and Information
Jane's Walks
We will be taking part in this year’s Jane's Walks with our "Urban Regenerative Landscape" walk. As we traverse the streets, parks, and alleyways, Associate Chester Rennie and Kiran Khurana will explore what is growing all around us. What does it reveal about our relationship with nature? How do we perceive and treat plants in our everyday environments, and what can we learn from their resilience and adaptability? To further engage participants, we’ll be distributing our Urban Plants Guide, inviting everyone to actively observe and document the diverse flora encountered along the way.
Join us for an interactive exploration of the urban landscape that delves into the symbiotic relationship between nature and the built environment.
St. James Park
120 King Street East
Toronto, Ontario
More Information
Read a recap of the Jane's Walk here
Portfolio & Resume Review Clinic
Join us at the Toronto Society of Architects’ first ever Portfolio and Resume Review Clinic, as they bring together an amazing roster of guest reviewers including members of our studio to give feedback on these important documents and share their insights on what makes a candidate stand out. Our portfolio reviewers represent a wide variety of practices within the industry, including architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design, and all have experience in the hiring process.
Saturday, May 4, 2024 – 10am to 5pm EDTArcadis Smart City Sandbox
4th floor, 55 St Clair Avenue West
Toronto, Ontario
Registration and Information
RAIC Conference on Architecture
Keynote Lunch: Building Connections / Breaking Barriers- Current Challenges for Women in Architecture
While the profession is advancing towards goals of gender parity, women in architecture continue to face challenges in our education, work, and career advancement. How does the global conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion inform the way the profession supports women in architecture? What opportunities exist to address structural inequities, with results that can improve the future of the profession for women and men alike?
Join Associate and founding member of BEAT and BAIDA Camille Mitchell alongside Marie-Odile Marceau of McFarland Marceau Architects, architectural editor Elsa Lam of Canadian Architect and BEAT, Eladia Smoke of Smoke Architecture and the RAIC Indigenous Task Force, Ashley Hannon of Leckie Studio and Women in Architecture in a discussion about the present challenges and future opportunities for women in architecture.
Thursday, May 16, 2024 - 11:45am PDTSheraton Vancouver Wall Centre
Grand Ballroom
1000 Burrard Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
Tickets and Information
RAIC Conference on Architecture
RAIC College of Fellows and Syllabus Graduates Convocation
Join us in celebrating Associate Camille Mitchell as she is inducted into the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada's College of Fellows. Camille has contributed extensively to architecture through volunteerism, leadership and advocacy in several organizations in the design community. Her ability to inspire and lead others, rallying volunteers and fostering a sense of camaraderie is a core strength.
Read more about her achievements and advocacy here.
Thursday, May 16, 2024 - 5:30pm PDTVancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
Tickets and Information
Doors Open Toronto
Once again, we will be participating in the Doors Open Toronto Open Studio program. Come visit our Toronto studio in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood housed in one of four original LCBO warehouses constructed at the end of Prohibition. See where and how we work, with presentations and talks from our studio members about our approach to city-building for all. Stay tuned for more details.
Saturday, May 25, 2024 – 10am to 5pm EDTSvN Architects + Planners
110 Adelaide Street East, 4th Floor
Toronto, Ontario
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Land and Development Conference
Transportation and Infrastructure Planning: How Is It Impacting Commercial Real Estate Development and Redevelopment Activity?
Join Principal Liana Bresler as part of a panel analyzing mobility planning as it relates to residential and commercial development. They will discuss what makes transportation successful and what can be done better, citing key examples from our extensive portfolio of transportation planning and Transit Oriented Community projects.
Tuesday, May 28, 2024 – 2:50pm to 3:40pm EDTMetro Toronto Convention Centre - North Building
255 Front Street West
Toronto, Ontario
Tickets and Information
ULI Mexico Young Leaders Exchange 2024
Join Business Development Manager Marcela Rocha for an international experience where she will moderate insightful discussions and guide participants through an exciting agenda filled with networking opportunities and educational activities.
ULI Mexico Young Leaders Exchange 2024 offers a unique opportunity to delve into the future of urban development, network with industry leaders, and gain invaluable insights into the thriving landscape of Mexico City's real estate market.
June 6-8, 2024Tonala 15
Cuahutemoc, 06700
Mexico City, Mexico
Tickets and Information
Co-Designing with Nature
Join Associate Bruno Arancibia and Andrea Gutierrez for a session at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where they will present our shortlisted project in the National and International Ideas Contest of the Mexican Association of Urban Planners, focused on the reactivation of Acapulco after Hurricane Otis.
Our “Co-Designing with Nature” proposal focuses on the rehabilitation of Acapulco's water system as a comprehensive strategy for ecological, social, and economic recovery in the face of the growing threat of climate change.
June 10, 2024 – 11:00am CSTAuditorium, Carlos Lazo Workshop (Ground Floor)
Faculty of Architecture, UNAM
Mexico City, Mexico
Tickets and Information
Passive House Canada Conference
Design and Technical Strategies for Large Scale Passive House Projects
Our Principal and Architecture Lead Sony Rei will be speaking at the 2024 Passive House Canada Conference along with Sheena Sharp of Coolearth Architecture to discuss our collaboration on 62 Bayview Parkway, a groundbreaking 247-unit affordable and market rental housing project in York Region, Ontario. Targeting Passive House Certification, this project at 62 Bayview Parkway is pushing the boundaries of energy efficiency and affordability.
Join us as we explore the challenges and opportunities in achieving Passive House Certification for large-scale municipal housing projects. From overcoming cost barriers to leveraging prefabrication techniques, we'll share insights on how innovation is shaping the future of sustainable architecture.
Tuesday, June 18, 2024University of Victoria
3800 Finnerty Rd
Victoria, British Columbia
Tickets and Information
Scarborough Meadoway Tour with TRCA
Senior Associate Michael Matthys is organizing a special tour with Ontario Professional Planners Institute's Toronto District of of the Meadoway hosted by staff from Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). The Meadoway is an urban trail in Scarborough that is transforming a hydro corridor into a vibrant 16-kilometre stretch of meadowland that will become one of Canada’s largest linear urban parks. It provides a connection to many neighbourhoods and open spaces along its length and is designed to bloom into a meadow to provide habitat for butterflies, birds, and wildflowers at an unprecedented scale. During the tour we will hear from TRCA staff about the planning, design and implementation of the Meadoway and how they helped make it a reality. We will also learn a little about its ecological benefits and functions.
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 – 4pm to 6:30pm EDTHydro Corridor at intersection of Daventry Road and Sedgemount Drive
Scarborough, Ontario
Tickets and Information
Cabin Days
Alongside non-profit Two Steps Home, we are showcasing our prototype cabin that forms part of our regenerative solution to our city’s ongoing homeless crisis. This ambitious pilot program can supply transitional and temporary housing designed to be low-cost, rapidly built, and deployed on vacant lots. You'll be able to visit a fully realized cabin in the lot next to our studio.
July 22, 2024 – 5pm to 7pm EDTJuly 27, 2024 – 11am to 3pm EDT
August 14, 2024 – 5pm to 7pm EDT
August 23, 2024 – 6pm to 9pm EDT
SvN Architects + Planners
110 Adelaide Street East, Parking Lot
Toronto, Ontario