Venue: Design Exchange
Time: 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Date: October 26, 2019
Location: 234 Bay St, Toronto

POP // CAN // CRIT is an annual national symposium that promotes excellence in architecture through constructive, critical, professional, and academic discourses on contemporary practice and its peripheries. POP // CAN // CRIT explores the in-between spaces of the profession to challenge the ways we see and understand architecture, current practices, contemporary issues, and to propose new solutions for the future of architecture in Canada.

POP // CAN // CRIT 2019 will explore the topic of education and emergence of architects in Canada. The first panel, The Student // The Intern, will look at the student and intern experiences, including professional practice in education, mentorship, and exam support, and the disconnects between architectural education and practice. Panel Two, The Architect, will shift the discussion to the professional practice of architecture, beginning with a look at the first five years of emergence. It will also look at the role and opportunities for continuing education in Canada, and the needs of the emerging practitioner in building an architectural practice. The final panel, The Alternate, explores the other opportunities available to those with a professional degree in architecture. This will include alternative paths to licensure, alternative types of practice and careers, and the role of the PhD in supporting architectural research and practice. The day will close with a Roundtable on The Future of Architectural Practice and Education in Canada.

Panel Topics: 

Panel 1: The Student // The Intern
The first panel, The Student // The Intern, will look at their respective experiences. This will include current pedagogies of architectural education related to practice, the role of design studios, the importance of professional practice and practice-based learning at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, the importance of mentorship in the intern experience, the need for exam support, and ultimately the potential disconnects between architectural education, the internship process, and professional practice.

Panel 2: The Architect
Panel Two, The Architect, will shift the discussion from the student or intern, to the professional practice of architecture, beginning with a look at the first five years of emergence. This discussion will include advice for newly licensed interns on shaping a career path, the areas of support currently available for building a career and/or practice in architecture, and the need for established practitioners to support emerging architects, with an eye to the future of the profession. It will also look at the role and opportunities for continuing education in Canada, the needs of the emerging practitioners in pursuit of building an architectural practice, and the growing concerns over succession planning.

Panel 3: The Alternate
The final panel, The Alternate, will explore other opportunities available to those with a professional degree or background / experience in architecture. This will include alternative paths to licensure, alternative types of practice including critical and art-based, alternative or tangential careers related to architecture, and the role of the PhD in supporting architectural research and the practice. The panel will also look at the role of communications and advocacy as allied supports for the profession.

Roundtable: The Future of Architectural Practice + Education in Canada
The day will close with a roundtable focused on the future of architectural practice and education in Canada.

Confirmed Speakers:

Stephan Chevalier, Associate Architect, Chevalier Morales Architectes, Montreal
Toon Dreessen, FRAIC, President and Architect, Architects DCA, Ottawa
Heather Dubbeldam, FRAIC, Architect and Principal, Dubbeldam Architecture + Design, Toronto
Zahra Ebrahim, Client Leadership, Doblin, Toronto
Ksenia Eic, MRAIC, Architect, Taylor Architecture Group; RAIC Emerging Practitioners Committee, Ottawa
Omar Gandhi, MRAIC, Architect and Owner, Omar Gandhi Architecture, Halifax
Sascha Hastings, Independent Arts Producer, Curator, Writer and Editor, Toronto
Andrew King, FRAIC, Senior Partner and Design Principal, Lemay; Adjunct Professor, School of Architecture, McGill University
Elsa Lam, FRAIC, Editor, Canadian Architect, Toronto
Lisa Landrum, MRAIC, Associate Dean (Research), Associate Head and Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, University of Manitoba
Ana Maria Llanos, Architect and Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects, Vancouver
Ivan Martinovic, FRAIC, Architect, Archdesign Group Limited, Toronto
Sergio Morales, MIRAC, Associate Architect, Chevalier Morales Architectes, Montreal
Richard Sommer, Dean and Professor, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto
John Stephenson, FRAIC, Architect, FORM Architecture Engineering, Thunder Bay