With a foundation in environmental design, my work reflects a deep commitment to spatial storytelling, and the built environment. I approach design as a tool for creating meaningful connections between people, spaces, and culture—bridging functionality with aesthetic and experiential impact.
Designed for a site in the northeastern corner of High Park, the Ghillie House engages with its context as both a source of inspiration and integration. Drawing influence from the Ghillie camouflage suit and the prone position with which it is often paired when used by military forces, the habitat features mirrored panels that seamlessly blend into the surrounding greenery. This design approach aims to minimize the dwelling’s visual impact on the park lawn below, allowing it to coexist harmoniously with its natural environment. As the seasons change, the mirrored panels reflect the vibrant shifts in color and texture, creating a dynamic dialogue between the structure and its setting.
The architectural strategy extends to the interior, where large floor-to-ceiling sliding doors serve as portals to the outdoors, flooding the compact space with natural light while shaping the sloped, tubular form of the structure. Despite its modest footprint of just 13 square meters, the living space is meticulously crafted to meet all the occupant’s needs. Clever storage solutions, such as compartments beneath the floorboards, a folding desk, cove lighting, a built-in bench, and sliding doors, work together to maximize functionality and create an expansive, efficient atmosphere.
PERSONAL SPACE STUDIO
Instructor: Dorie Smith
Program: Residential Location: High Park, Toronto
SITE PLAN
Located at the intersection of two of Toronto’s busiestl roads, Dufferin and King Streets, the Crossroads Centre is a dynamic makerspace designed to support the city’s creative community. The building’s axial layout shapes distinct spaces for makers across various disciplines, with a central atrium serving as the hub for circulation, gathering, and exhibitions. This atrium fosters interaction among users from different fields, encouraging collaboration and the cross-pollination of ideas.
The X-shaped structure features pathways and gardens on all four sides, with a prominent sloped entrance framed by the historic BMO building, providing accessible entry points from both King and Dufferin Streets. The design integrates an arts and culture library, a fashion studio, classrooms, co-working and studio spaces, fabrication labs, a gallery, and an auditorium within a compact footprint, maximizing the constrained site.
Inspired by the industrial heritage of nearby Liberty Village and West Queen West, particularly the adjacent Toronto Carpet Factory complex, the building incorporates a sawtooth roof along its central axis. This architectural feature evokes the aesthetics of historic factory buildings, celebrating the neighbourhoods industrial past while creating a modern space for creative production.
The design concept embraces the themes of production and process, with the layout reflecting the flow of a production line. Workspaces and gathering areas are treated as interconnected spaces, supporting the entire creative process—from ideation to realization.
Instructor: Michael Lee-Poy Program: Community Location: Toronto, ON
STRUCTURE EXPLODED
FIRST FLOOR (NTS)
ELEVATION - WEST
PERSPECTIVE SECTION - WEST
(D5 RENDER, SKETCHUP, ILLUSTRATOR)
DISCIPLINES AND PROGRAMS CONVERGE AT THE CENTER OF THE BUILDING IN THE CENTRAL ATRIUM SPACE, ENCOURAGING INTERACTION AND EXCHANGE BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS USING THESE SPACES
THIS PORTION OF THE AXIS CONTAINS THE BULK OF THE CREATIVE SPACES WITHIN THE BUILDING, INCLUDING, CO-WORKING, A FASHION STUDIO, FABRICATION LAB, AND A 120 SEAT AUDITORIUM.
Opened in 2013 through a provincial cultural grant, Canada Square was designed to mimic the natural landscapes around the country’s lakes. Since its opening, the square has become a popular spot for exercise, relaxation, and viewing the annual Canada Day waterfront fireworks. The proposed pavilion is conceived as a natural extension of the square’s current uses, introducing an architectural intervention that blends seamlessly with the environment, both aesthetically and functionally. Referring to the idea of nested perspectives as a way to create individual experiences within a shared space, the design incorporates layered and overlapping views, with frames, openings, and spatial elements carefully arranged to reveal multiple vantage points and visual relationships. By leveraging a grid-like wooden framework punctuated by openings and tensile canopy elements, the pavilion achieves a structure that is both modular and dynamic, enriching users’ engagement with the surrounding environment.
Positioned at the center of the square, the expandable pavilion will serve as a focal point, offering additional spaces for rest, reading, and exercise. Elevated platforms allow visitors to feel a part of the surrounding environment, providing views into the canopy of the encircling trees, as well as lake and city vistas to the south and north, respectively. The pavilion’s form and materials are inspired by the dense trees that border the square. Wooden posts echo the rhythm of tree trunks, while tensile fabric sails evoke both the foliage and the nautical heritage of the waterfront.
Instructor: Eric van Ziffle
Program: Community
Location: Toronto, ON
The pavilion was conceived as a responsive structure, utilizing an expandable grid as the basis for its form. Interconnected platforms can be arranged in expansion or contraction to accommodate the spatial constraints of the context. This grid ensures that the pavilion is adaptable to a variety of programs.
Bairro is an interactive game designed to teach players, especially children aged 8-12, the principles of urban planning and community design. Through three phases—Suburbia, The Block, and Futurescape—players become the planners of their own neighborhoods. They explore the pros and cons of different urban layouts, learn design thinking, and gain the vocabulary to discuss urban issues. The game emphasizes participatory urban planning, encouraging collaboration and negotiation as players work on overlapping zones. Guided by game cards with prompts, vocabulary, and fun facts, players build their understanding of urban spaces while actively shaping their own communities.
Each phase introduces different aspects of urban development. In Suburbia, players consider the environmental and social effects of suburban sprawl. The Block teaches them about urban neighborhoods and their unique architectural styles. In the final phase, Futurescape, players design their ideal neighborhoods, considering factors like walkability and housing while addressing issues such as climate and income inequality. Through its engaging gameplay, Bairro helps children develop critical thinking about thebuilt envrionment they will one day inherit and steward, equipping them to envision and shape more sustainable and inclusive cities. Though the game is modeled around Toronto, its framework can be adapted to suit other metropolitan contexts.
Instructor: Daniel Daam-Rossi
In October of last year, I purchased three copies of Stores and Retail Spaces, a vintage edition of VMSD Magazine, at the OCAD U Library book sale. Inspired by its pages, I began creating my own projects—quick, one-day creative exercises designed to refine my concepting skills. Each exercise focuses on three key factors in retail design: brand experience and identity, customer journey, and functionality.
The design process for each project starts with brand research, examining campaigns, existing storefronts, and social media, followed by conceptualization, sketching, and finally, a 3D model to bring the store’s aesthetic and layout to life. Throughout, I consider customer flow, zoning, and product display optimization and how they might bo engagement and sales. Each result is a dynamic, immersive environment that not only facilitates transactions but also tells a compelling brand story. This overview includes samples from two concepts for Aesop and Ashley Rowe.
INDEPENDENT PROJECT 2024 - PRESENT
PERSPECTIVE ( D5 RENDER)
The Beverly Laneway House is a compact, flexible living space located between Beverly and Cecil Streets at the edge of Toronto’s Grange Park neighbourhood Designed to address three main challenges—maximizing spatial efficiency, optimizing the layout, and providing a functional studio for the designer client—the home balances functionality with aesthetic appeal.
Elevated on a platform, the house extends its presence on a small lot. A step and porch lined with a garden box create a welcoming entrance, softening the urban surroundings. The exterior uses a minimal palette of concrete, glass, and metal mesh for an understated yet impactful look. The retractable metal mesh system on the front façade offers privacy while allowing light and airflow.
With a 75 sqm footprint, the design incorporates built-in furniture and storage to maximize space. In the studio, a built-in desk and shelves offer ample workspace while keeping the living areas private. The lower level includes a built-in storage and seating unit along the southern wall, doubling as a dining nook. Upstairs, integrated storage eliminates the need for bulky furniture in the bedroom.
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN STUDIO II
Instructor: Halleh Nejadriahi
Program: Residential
Location: Grange Park
