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Laurentian University celebrates over $237,000 in Federal SSHRC grants

Laurentian University celebrates over $237,000 in Federal SSHRC grants

Funding will support research in social sciences and humanities.

(October 13, 2022) - Laurentian University researchers have received funding in amounts of over $237,000 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Grants received support researchers in their endeavours to produce new knowledge. 

Dr. Lea Tufford, Associate Professor in the School of Social Work, received a 5-year Insight Grant to support her study, “Supporting Social Work Field Education: Developing a Model of Holistic Competition.” Insight grants support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities. Research must demonstrate originality, and be deemed a significant contribution to knowledge. 

Dr. Tammy Gaber, Associate Professor and Director of the McEwen School of Architecture and Dr. Frantz Siméon, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work have each been awarded 2-year Insight Development Grants. Dr. Gaber’s study, “Losing Faith: Continuity and Community of Aaltos Sacred Spaces” and Dr. Frantz Siméon’s study, “Apports du réseau de proximité dans le soutien à domicile des francophones en contexte minoritaire, les leçons de l'expérience du Club amical de Sudbury en temps de pandémie,” will benefit from the funding. Insight Development Grants foster research in its early stages, enabling development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas. 

Dr. Simon Laflamme, Full Professor in the School of Liberal Arts, has earned a 1-year Aid to Scholarly Journals Grant to support the journal, “Nouvelles perspectives en sciences sociales.” Aid to Scholarly Journal grants support Canadian scholarly dissemination by offering a contribution to enable journals to explore innovative activities as well as to help them to defray the costs associated with publishing scholarly articles, digital publishing and journal distribution on Canadian not-for-profit platforms.

“Insight, Insight Development and Aid to Scholarly Journals grants are critically important for researchers and the training of students that often work side by side with faculty to advance scholarship and knowledge dissemination. These investments from the Federal government ensure that researchers are able to contribute to the advancement of knowledge in fields of social sciences and humanities,” said Dr. Tammy Eger, Laurentian University's Vice-President, Research. “Congratulations to all recipients whose tireless research efforts help address important questions that impact lived experiences at local, national and international levels.” 

These 2022-2023 SSHRC grant recipients from Laurentian University follow the success of 2021-2022 SSHRC grant recipients. 

Earlier this year, Laurentian University also announced the participation of faculty and students in a collaborative five-year SSHRC Partnership Grant for a project of unprecedented scale in the design disciplines, “Quality in Canada’s Build Environment: Roadmaps to Equity, Social Value and Sustainability,” funded in the amount of 8.6M. 

Laurentian’s Maamwizing Indigenous Research Institute also received over $430,000 in funding from SSHRC’s Race, Gender and Diversity Initiative to support three years of Indigenous community-driven research.

Unveiling of Laurentian University logo sculpture

Unveiling of Laurentian University logo sculpture

Student celebration of environmental legacy and future.

(September 6, 2022) - The unveiling of a new logo sculpture, presented by Laurentian University’s Students’ General Association and Environmental Sustainability Committee, will take place on September 21st, 2022, starting at 12 pm in the foyer of the Fraser Auditorium.

The event will begin with speakers from students and faculty, [videos of support from Margaret Atwood and Bruce Mau], and poetry led by Roger Nash. The event will then move outdoors to the newly announced Climate Science Parkette, left of the Fraser Auditorium, where the logo sculpture will be unveiled. The logo will represent the university's commitment to the UN's decade of ecosystem restoration goals and the student's dedication to progressing as a campus dedicated to environmental health and sustainability. The event will showcase a new campus project to design a viewing pavilion of the restored forest in association with the McEwen School of Architecture, led by Dr. Tammy Gaber and renowned architect Bruce Mau. The event is estimated to take 45 minutes and will conclude outdoors in the Climate Science Parkette, left of the Fraser Building. 

 

About the Student General Association: Students' General Association (SGA) of Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, represents and advocates for 5,000+ full-time and part-time undergraduate students. Our focus has always been on student wants and needs since 1960. While the SGA has grown and evolved, the priority of student life and advocacy has never changed in our 60+ years of service.

About the Environmental Sustainability Committee: The ESC is committed to working towards carbon neutrality and completion of extensive restoration of Laurentian University’s campus and its lakes by 2030. We want to help Canada, Sudbury, and Laurentian University restore our land and water in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss.

About the UN Decade of Restoration: Launched by the United Nations General Assembly, the U.N. Decade of Ecosystem Restoration is an initiative that aims to support global efforts to protect and restore ecosystems and halt climate change.

Laurentian University researchers to participate in $8.6M national SSHRC Partnership Grant

Laurentian University researchers to participate in $8.6M national SSHRC Partnership Grant

Project to address quality in public environments, urban spaces, buildings and landscapes.

(September 2, 2022) - To impact the everyday lives of Canadians across the country, we require a diversity of ideas and researchers. This unique Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) project of unprecedented scale in the design disciplines in Canada will see 14 universities, 70 researchers and over 68 public and private organizations at the municipal, provincial and national levels come together in partnership. They will address the diversity of public environments that impact Canadians in urban spaces, buildings and landscapes. This collaborative five-year Partnership Grant (PG) “Quality in Canada’s Build Environment: Roadmaps to Equity, Social Value and Sustainability,” includes three Laurentian University principal researchers, and is funded in the amount of $8.6M ($2.5M from SSHRC and $6.1M from partners, including $4.2M through in-kind contributions). 

Each research cluster is composed of a university, a city, citizen groups, and a professional association who are engaged in awards programs. This is repeated across the country at 14 universities. In Sudbury, the SSHRC research cluster is supported by multiple local community partners including the City of Greater Sudbury, the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury and Uptown Sudbury Community Action Network (CAN). The full list of official co-applicants, collaborators and partners across the nation can be found on SSHRC’s results platform. 

The overall PG will stimulate a vital dialog demonstrating how those who create the built public environments across Canada can contribute to a redefinition of quality, beginning with awarded buildings since 2000. The goal is to move Canada’s built environment toward heightened equity, more social value and greater sustainability at a critical moment for our societies and for our planet. 

The PG program has three aims:

  • 1. Analyzing the current limitations of environmental norms and sustainability models to bring us closer to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
  • 2. Co-creating new paths to equity, diversity and inclusion in the built environment;
  • 3. Defining new frameworks for the definition of quality so as to enhance the social value of the built environment through roadmaps to quality.

While many Laurentian members, including undergraduate and graduate students, will contribute to this partnership, Dr. Terrance Galvin (site leader), Prof. Shannon Bassett, and Dr. Thomas Strickland are principally involved. All are eager to collaborate and anticipate that this partnership will introduce many opportunities of involvement for students, especially those enroled at the McEwen School of Architecture. In fact, this interdisciplinary and collaborative effort will stimulate training, internships and connections between hundreds of students and communities of practice across Canada.

Dr. Galvin, Full Professor and Founding Director of the McEwen School of Architecture, is past President of the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB), and has served on numerous boards governing architectural education and practice in Canada. Galvin’s extensive applied research regarding local technologies and cultural sustainability has led to collaborations with communities in Peru, India, Thailand, Mexico and Canada. “Laurentian University and professors at the McEwen School of Architecture are proud to be part of this SSHRC Partnership Grant, with its pan-Canadian consortium. We’re actively working together on our five-year research cluster in Greater Sudbury, and hope to provide insight and make change regarding Material Culture and Social Prosperity for Northern Ontario with both local and national partners in this endeavor.”

Assistant Professor, Bassett, trained as an Architect and Urban Designer with a focus on ecological urbanism, is also the Advisory Chair and Co-Founder of BEA(N) - Building Equality in Architecture North. She brings expertise to this partnership with her design research on ecological urbanism, which is an approach that places nature at the center of the design process to create solutions to social, economic, and environmental challenges facing the 21st Century city. “We are interested in the idea that what we as humans build, is not just a building. It is part of a larger landscape, either cultural or ecological.” 

Dr. Strickland, Assistant Professor, explores the capacity for the built environment to be sustenance for human rights with an emphasis on quality of life and health. His research in health and the built environment received support from CIHR Strategic Research Initiative and the Canadian Center for Architecture. Strickland’s trans-disciplinary approach draws from Material Culture studies, or, as he describes it, “how we make, consume, interact, behave and create rituals with the things around us.” Recent research collaborations include exhibitions with Jiwar Creació i Societat, the ACATHI Foundation, Better Beginnings Better Futures, Point de Vu, and the Ontario Association of Architects. “The wide-reach of this partnership is immediately impactful, I’m looking forward to next steps.”

Outcomes of the Partnership Grant include “roadmaps to quality” (guidebooks, analyses of exemplary case studies, resources for design thinking and proposals for public policies, etc.). These will constitute a bilingual “Living Atlas on Quality in the Built Environment” set on a digital platform created with the support of the Canada Foundation for Innovation. The Living Atlas will offer open access to repertories of award-winning projects, case studies, comparative analyses, scientific resources and articles, interpretative didactic podcasts, analogical maps and visualizations.

The SSHRC PG just had its first 3-day conference with all 14 research sites at Université de Montréal from August 24-26. William Morin, a local Anishinaabe artist, educator, activist and community leader was invited to represent the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury. An experienced professor Morin has worked as an Indigenous cultural advisor at the McEwen School of Architecture, where he will continue this fall as a sessional professor. At the conference, Morin echoed an “inclusive” message presented by other Indigenous participants, citing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the 94 calls to action from that report. He stressed the need for all Canadians to be better informed of our shared history, and to teach that new knowledge at all levels of our daily lives. “There is a direct relationship between housing and our health index.” Offering the suggestion to architects and educators present, Morin proposed; “if a house or building goes up [in the city], one is also built on a reserve…. how is that for ‘Reconciliation'?” We need to work together for all Canadians to have a liveable community to thrive in.

Research on case studies and student seminars will continue at each University this fall and winter. The overall Partnership Grant’s PI is Dr. Jean-Pierre Chupin, a Canada Research Chair at Université de Montréal.
 

Book Launch: “Beyond the Divide - A Century of Canadian Mosque Design”

Book Launch: “Beyond the Divide - A Century of Canadian Mosque Design”

Director of the McEwen School of Architecture, Dr. Tammy Gaber, celebrates release of the first comprehensive study of mosque history and architecture in Canada.

(March 17, 2022) - Today and on March 17, 2022 at 6:30pm, the McEwen School of Architecture will host a hybrid event to celebrate the launch of Dr. Tammy Gaber’s book: “Beyond the Divide: A Century of Canadian Mosque Design.” Beyond the Divide explores the mosques of Canada in their diversity, beauty, practicality, and versatility. For nearly a century, Muslims have made mosques in a variety of spaces, from converted shops and vacated churches to large, purpose-built complexes. The study includes on-site photographs, architectural drawings, and interviews. Dr. Gaber explores the extraordinary diversity as to how mosque spaces have been designed, built, and used – as places not only of worship, but of community gathering, education, charitable work, and civic engagement. Throughout, Beyond the Divide provides a groundbreaking analysis of gendered space in Canadian mosques, how these spaces are designed and reinforced, and how these divides shape community experience.

“The research for this book began in 2015, with the support of a SSHRC Insight Development Grant,” explained Dr. Gaber. “Between 2015 and 2017, I travelled to 53 different cities across Canada to document 90 mosques, including those in Canada’s most northern places of worship in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.” 

In 2017, an exhibit of photographs from Dr. Gaber’s research demonstrated preliminary findings. This exhibit was curated in partnership with the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) and was hosted in Toronto. Following this and in early 2021 with McGill-Queen’s press, Dr. Gaber submitted another SSHRC grant application. “I was successful obtaining a SSHRC ASP which allowed for the subvention of the book so that it could be published fully in colour.” The result produced a stunning publication; the first comprehensive study of mosque history and architecture in Canada. 

Dr. Gaber’s book launch will be hosted at the McEwen School of Architecture library. Copies of Beyond the Divide will be available for purchase, and Dr. Gaber will be present to talk about the book and her work. While a few people will be in attendance, all are invited to attend the live streaming of March 17th’s event, at 6:30pm, via Zoom. 
 

Laurentian alumna named a 2021 Sudbury Young Woman of Distinction

Laurentian alumna named a 2021 Sudbury Young Woman of Distinction

The YWCA recognizes the community efforts of Ra’anaa Brown

(Jan 20, 2022) - Ra’anaa Brown, a graduate from the McEwen School of Architecture, will be honoured by the YWCA‘s 2021 Sudbury Young Woman of Distinction award. As a Laurentian student, she obtained her Bachelor in Architectural Studies (2018), and Masters in Architecture (2020). Brown is currently pursuing a PhD in Art History at Concordia University. 

YWCA Sudbury is a charitable service organization that seeks to empower women and their families to reach their full potential in body, mind, and spirit through action, advocacy, community collaboration and education. Annually and over the course of the last fifteen years, the organization has honoured inspirational women in Sudbury who have positively impacted the community. About being a recipient of this award, Brown described the following: “I am so excited. I am so honoured. It feels so good to be recognized. I feel absolutely incredible. It all just feels so surreal.” 

In 2020, Brown co-founded Sudbury's Black Lives Matter (BLM) chapter. Since the inception of this registered not-for-profit, Brown shared that she has felt more powerful as a Black woman. “Together, we feel so strong and so empowered….[BLM] is about educating one another to move the world forward and make it a better place….It’s about creating space to cultivate education and knowledge and create a safe space for one another for open sharing,” she described. “The BLM movement supports the fight against systemic racism predominantly towards the Black community. We have to let Black people speak for themselves.” For Brown, BLM is significantly more than a group of activists. “We’ve become this kind of family…. [Being] involved [with BLM] has been a beautiful journey.” 

In addition to her work with BLM, Brown has been heavily involved in the Sudbury community in a variety of other ways. During her six years of education as a Laurentian student, she was a member of the founding group of the McEwen School of Architecture's Nuit Blanche. This event celebrates the growth and prosperity of the local Sudbury Arts scene. “I’m so proud of this work [having] co-founded Nuit Blanche. Art really brings people together and….Sudbury has worked so hard to cultivate the Arts which creates a sense of connectivity,” said Brown. 

Brown has also played a leadership role in Sudbury’s Up Here festival. She’s been the festival’s Installation Coordinator since 2018, as has she volunteered her time as a guest curator. Exhibits she has recently curated, she explained, “have had the main goal of highlighting Black artists.” In addition to last year’s ETHEREAL a collaborative photography installation centralized around the theme of Black beauty, she and her friends Isak Vaillancourt and Sonia Ekiyor-Katimi, both themselves graduates of Laurentian, produced Into the Matrix: Unearthing Black Futures. This immersive multimedia experience allows for the contemplation of a tangible, afrofuturistic tomorrow.

Other recipients of 2021 YWCA Women of Distinction awards who have connections to Laurentian University include Renée Fuchs, Lisa Long, and Angela Vendette. Congratulations to all recipients.

Tickets for the YWCA Sudbury’s 2021 Women of Distinction Virtual Awards Gala can be purchased via EventBrite. More information can also be found on the organization’s Facebook. 

IT’S OFFICIAL! McEwen School of Architecture is Canada’s 12th and Newest fully accredited School of Architecture!

IT’S OFFICIAL! McEwen School of Architecture is Canada’s 12th and Newest fully accredited School of Architecture!

English, Francophone, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives are all central to the unique tri-cultural mandate of the program.

(June 22, 2021 - Sudbury, ON) - Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA) is pleased to announce that the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB)/Conseil Canadien de Certification en Architecture (CCCA) has granted the professional Master of Architecture Program ‘Initial Accreditation’ for a term commencing July 1, 2021. 

English, Francophone, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives are all central to the unique tri-cultural mandate of the program. Through Elders in residence, Indigenous faculty members, French design studio instruction, and local community-design and design-build exercises each year, students are exposed to an array of methods, knowledge, and experience that is uniquely ‘Northern’. The lessons learned from these local contexts are then extrapolated to address global issues in the disciplines of architecture, landscape design, and sustainable built environments. 

The school’s cooperative education model is rooted in Northern Ontario’s (Canada’s) cultures and experiential learning. It features an integrated co-operative program where students obtain practical experience through work-term placements with related architectural and design employers. 

Since its opening in 2013, over 250 students have successfully completed their undergraduate degree (BAS) at the School, and 100 students have since graduated from its Master of Architecture (M.Arch) program. 

“The McEwen School of Architecture has a lot to be proud of and this external validation is further proof of the high quality student experience being delivered at Laurentian University. This achievement is thanks to many years of exceptional work from staff, faculty, and students of the school. The confidence expressed in the school by the accreditation team at the CACB also reflects a broader confidence in the future of Laurentian.” said President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Robert Haché. 

The McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA), one of Laurentian University's professional schools, is located in downtown Sudbury, Ontario. The MSoA offers a four-year Bachelor of Architectural Studies (BAS), followed by a two-year Master of Architecture degree (M.Arch).  The School’s accreditation status covers both programs leading to the Master of Architecture degree.

“It is a proud moment for us all -- a culmination of the hard work on the part of faculty, staff and students who have shared the vision and a common passion for the School, through its various stages of development. We are grateful for all those who have contributed to those efforts and supported the School in so many ways. The CACB/CCAA’s initial accreditation has been a goal we are thrilled to celebrate together today.” -- Dr. David Fortin, Director of the McEwen School of Architecture. 

“The MSoA International Advisory Board’s guidance and the support of our extended community, which spans all of northern Ontario, have been instrumental to this achievement. Co-op employers, collaborators and colleagues, partners and donors, so many individuals have invested time, energy and resources in a new generation of architects educated in the North who are unique agents of change for our communities. These significant contributions must be acknowledged. This achievement has been a collective effort and as such, is deeply rewarding.’’ -- Dr. Terrance Galvin, Founding Director, McEwen School of Architecture. 

About the CACB Accreditation Process 

“The CACB only accredits Programs that are intended by their institution to be professional degrees in architecture that lead to licensure. Professional accreditation of a Program means that it has been evaluated by the CACB and substantially meets the educational standards that comprise, as a whole, an appropriate education for an architect.” 

The full CACB/CCCA Accreditation process had three phases: Eligibility, Candidacy, and Initial Accreditation. After launching the undergraduate program in September 2013, the McEwen School of Architecture was successful in its bid for CACB Eligibility in 2017. It achieved CACB Candidacy Status in 2018 and submitted its third and final ‘Architecture Program Report’ for Initial Accreditation in 2020. The MSoA was eligible to apply for the final stage of Initial Accreditation only after the “completion of a minimum of 2 years of continuous candidacy status.” The School also had to follow the criterion of “completion of the professional degree program, for which accreditation is sought, by one graduating class.” This means that the M.Arch graduating classes of 2019 and 2020 will be grandfathered in according to CACB procedures. 

The MSoA calibrated its timeline to meet the above national criteria for a new professional program in Architecture. At the provincial level, the MSoA also had the support of the Canadian Architectural Licensing Authorities (CALA) who, in conjunction with the CACB, allowed M.Arc graduates from both years to begin logging their intern hours towards licensure in architecture offices across Canada. 

Applications for the newly accredited MSoA professional program remain open. All interested applicants should contact the school directly at architecture@laurentian.ca.

McEwen School of Architecture announces winners of Sudbury2050

McEwen School of Architecture announces winners of Sudbury2050

100 design concepts for the future of our community were received from creative teams representing over 20 countries.

(December 10, 2020) The designs varied widely in their approach and their design solutions. All of them represented creative and often provocative thinking about our City of Greater Sudbury and its future. Each presented a different story about our community.

Rarely does a community get the opportunity to be the focus of an international design competition. 

The competition jury developed a short list of Top 5 in the Student Category and the Top 8 in the Open Category. All of these shortlisted teams made public presentations online, on November 23 and 24, 2020.

Following these presentations, the competition's jury made its final selections. The public was also invited to vote for their choice and over 2,000 votes were cast online.

 

View Competition Winners

View Competition Backgrounder

Sudbury 2050 Architecture Competition Jury Announced

Sudbury 2050 Architecture Competition Jury Announced

Illustrious panel will select short-list for public presentations and competition winners this fall

(September 18, 2020) The McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA) is proud to announce the jurors of the Sudbury2050 Urban Ideas Competition. A roster of experienced local, national and international jurors will evaluate entries on their visionary, phased, and integrated thinking, as well as their ability to provide a visual language of their process through design. The initial design brief stated:

This competition challenges entrants to create a new vision for the urban core of the City of Greater Sudbury. A 2050 vision that is far-reaching and one that will serve the city well in a rapidly changing global environment.

The competition drew to a close on August 28, 2020, with submissions from all over the world, in both the Open and Student categories. The jury will soon have a clear picture of the rich tapestry of creativity that competition entrants have provided.

The Sudbury 2050.ca jury is composed of internationally recognized architects, designers, academics, politicians, entrepreneurs, and community representatives. 

Local political figures on the jury include Hon. Brian Bigger, Mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury and City Councillors Geoff McCausland and Deb McIntosh, while members from the McEwen School of Architecture in Sudbury include professors Shannon Bassett, David Fortin (MSoA Director) and Ted Wilson, along with Graduate students Britney Ottley-Perrotte and Tristan O’Gorman. Victor Kolynchuk, a practicing architect with Architecture49 Inc., based in northern Ontario, rounds out the local jurors.

Notable international jurors include: 

  • visionary architect Jason McLennan, originally from Sudbury, author of the Living Building Challenge that posits Regenerative Design as our environmental responsibility and architect for Seattle’s new net zero ‘Climate Pledge Arena’; 
  • graphic design guru Bruce Mau, also originally from Sudbury, Co-Founder of the Massive Change Network (MCN) and recent author of MC24: Bruce Mau's 24 Principles for Designing Massive Change in your Life and Work with global influence design education and innovation; 
  • architect Marianne McKenna, whose Canadian architectural firm KPMB has received over 300 design awards and received 16 Governor General Medals in Architecture, including one for the Royal Conservatory, TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning in Toronto; 
  • Lisa Rochon, award-winning journalist for the national Globe and Mail newspaper, architecture critic and author, and founder of CityLab in Toronto. 
  • architect Dee Dee Taylor Eustace, design advocate who leads a high-end practice of architecture, interior design, and product design in both Toronto and New York

Along with Mau, McKenna, McLennan, Rochon and Taylor, who are all members of the McEwen International Advisory Board, other jury members from the Advisory Board include philanthropist and entrepreneur Cheryl McEwen and Dr. David Fortin, Director of the McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA). The MSoA is the major sponsor for the competition.

The full Sudbury 2050.ca jury includes:

  • Shannon Bassett, MAUD, BARCH, MRAIC, McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University) (Sudbury, ON)
  • Brian Bigger, Mayor of Sudbury (Sudbury, Ontario, Canada)
  • David Fortin Ph.D., Director, McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University) (Sudbury, ON)
  • Victor Kolynchuk, MAA, OAA, LEED AP, Architecture49 Inc. (Winnipeg)
  • Bruce Mau, Massive Change Network and Chief Design Officer, Freeman (Chicago, USA)
  • Geoff McCausland, BMus, ARCT, IBDP, Pro.Dir., City of Greater Sudbury Councillor (Sudbury, ON)
  • Cheryl McEwen, Make My Day Foods Inc. and McEwen International Advisory Board (Toronto)
  • Deb McIntosh, City of Greater Sudbury Councillor (Sudbury, ON)
  • Marianne McKenna (OC), Partner, Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg (KPMB) Architects (Toronto)
  • Jason F. McLennan, McLennan Design and author of the Living Building Challenge (Bainbridge Island, USA)
  • Tristan O’Gorman, Graduate Student, McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University) (Sudbury, ON)
  • Britney Ottley-Perrotte, Graduate Student, McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University) (Sudbury, ON)
  • Lisa Rochon, Architectural Critic, Urbanist, Design Strategist, Citylab (Toronto, ON)
  • Dee Dee Taylor Eustace, OAA and Founder, Taylor Hannah Architect Inc. (Toronto ON and New York, USA)
  • Ted Wilson, OAA, McEwen School of Architecture (Laurentian University) (Sudbury, ON)

To read about the jury, click here.

The jury process will be coordinated by Jury Facilitator Toon Dreessen, OAA, FRAIC, President of DCA Architects in Ottawa and past-President of the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA). The Professional Advisors for the competition remain Terrance Galvin, MRAIC and Founding Director of the McEwen School of Architecture and Blaine Nicholls, FRAIC, retired OAA member and Chair of the original Steering Committee for the School of Architecture.

The winners of the Sudbury2050.ca competition, including the People’s Choice Award, will be announced later in the fall of 2020, following full jury deliberations. This phase of the competition promises to have excitement and creativity written all over it.

Global design competition puts Sudbury in the spotlight

Global design competition puts Sudbury in the spotlight

The McEwen School of Architecture gives back to the City through an urban design ideas competition, with the goal of providing new perspectives for the City, following the end of COVID-19

(May 27, 2020) Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA) is excited to announce that the Sudbury 2050 Urban Design Ideas Competition is in full swing. You can check it out at sudbury2050.ca.

The Sudbury 2050 Urban Design Ideas Competition offers a unique opportunity for urban thinkers from around the world to present their visions for our city’s future. It’s a chance to reimagine the entire urban core of a city.

There has never been a design competition like this in Canada.

The competition is open to anyone interested in the future of our city. That includes not just architects, students, urban planners, engineers, environmental designers, but all visionaries and urban thinkers of any age or background.

Regardless of when the Covid recovery happens, there is no question but that our world will be dramatically different than it is today - moving from 2020 towards 2050.

We all recognize that resuming urban planning with a “business as usual” approach is not an option. All cities will be reassessing their approach to future planning, particularly with regard to major projects.

The ideas put forward in this competition will prove invaluable in helping local leaders find solutions, as they develop the city’s plans for the future, including ways to recover from the social, economic and healthcare impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This competition will create a forum for the presentation of new and aspirational ideas from innovative, urban thinkers, from around the world. 

Submissions for this competition will be judged on the quality of the following core elements: 

  • new perspectives for our community that are innovative and aspirational
  • solutions that offer direction for short, medium and long-term actions
  • strategies for engaging the community in the design process
  • principles that will guide future urban planning

Submissions close August 28, 2020. Please click here to learn more about the competition

There are three prize categories – Open, Student, and People’s Choice. The community will have the opportunity to view the submissions and vote for a People’s Choice winner. The winners will be announced in the fall, with prizes totalling over $60,000.

The jury will be announced shortly and will be posted to the competition website. Check out sudbury2050.ca for all the details, including submission guidelines.

ABOUT MSoA
The McEwen School of Architecture (MSoA), one of Laurentian University's professional schools, is located in Sudbury, Ontario. MSoA offers a four-year pre-professional Bachelor of Architectural Studies (BAS), as well as a two-year Master of Architecture degree. 
Situated in the Canadian north, the School features an integrated co-operative program where students obtain practical experience through work-term placements with related architectural and design employers.

Francophone, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives are central to the unique tri-cultural mandate of the program. Through Elders in residence, Indigenous faculty members, French design studio instruction, and local community-design and design-build exercises each year, students are exposed to an array of methods, knowledge, and experience that is uniquely ‘Northern’.
 

Laurentian University Celebrates Inaugural Master of Architecture Graduates

Laurentian University Celebrates Inaugural Master of Architecture Graduates

McEwen School of Architecture Grads to shape Canada’s Indigenous Architecture Landscape

May 29, 2019 - Next week, 29 students from the McEwen School of Architecture will be recognized at convocation and receive the first degrees of Master of Architecture ever conferred by Laurentian University.

These students will not only be realizing their dream, but the dream of many community members who helped make the McEwen School of Architecture a reality. For our community members, this represents another significant milestone in the story of the school. For the students, their six-year journey culminates with this degree.

“Seeing our first group of Masters students cross the stage will be a proud moment for our students, their families and our faculty members. When I think about this group of trailblazers, the first of many to follow, they’re an impressive group of resilient leaders,” said Dr. David Fortin, Director of the McEwen School of Architecture.

“They’ve persevered through, and learned from, the multiple construction projects within the school. They’ve been the first to complete the many community projects and build partnerships. They’ve done all of this without a blueprint to follow.”

The moment is one that is especially gratifying for the school’s founding director - Dr. Terrance Galvin. “From the beginning, we wanted to have an impact on Canada’s Indigenous architecture landscape. I can think back to when we first started this program, there were 13 registered Indigenous architects across Canada. Now, we have three Indigenous architectural graduates (to add to the 18 registered Indigenous architects in Canada) and have many more enrolled. We’ve been able to bring together traditional teachings, the needs of our communities, and modern architectural practices to deliver a program that is truly unique,” said Dr. Galvin.

The school is not only unique in its commitment to inclusivity of Indigenous perspectives and worldviews, but has been internationally recognized for the exceptional teaching, the accomplishments of the students and even the physical building of the school at the heart of downtown Sudbury.

The McEwen School of Architecture’s graduation ceremony will be held on June 6th, 2019 at 2:30 PM at Laurentian University’s Fraser Auditorium. The ceremony is a private event with seating reserved for our students and their invited guests, however, it can be viewed live online by visiting: laurentian.ca/convocation.

 

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