Eleven members of the BAS graduating class of 2010 return to share their stories with current students – eleven extremely diverse routes to success that will help you understand a great deal about what your future looks like.
Moderator:
Katie Kuzan
Katie's journey began at the University of Waterloo's School Architecture where she obtained both an undergraduate and graduate degree. She is currently a licensed Architect and Senior Associate at a mid-sized architectural practice in Toronto. Her work focuses on large-scale and boutique urban mixed-use developments, including live-work studio spaces, co-working office hubs and residential condominiums. At her office, she is a mentor to junior staff training and guiding new architects and designers as they start their careers. Katie is known for her team approach to design, working hand in hand with planners, engineers, City officials and her clients. This collaborative spirit has also migrated into other endeavours outside of her professional work. Her art installations have been featured in Toronto's Nuit Blanche and she is also the co-founder of a Toronto based young professional's networking event called the Concrete Mixer. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, gardening, and attending live music concerts, which will hopefully be back sooner rather than later.
Presenter Bios:
Andrea Atkins
Andrea Atkins is a Lecturer in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Waterloo, supporting the Architectural Engineering program. She has over five years of experience in structural design of buildings with Blackwell Structural Engineers, collaborating with award-winning architects to design everything from high-end cottages to municipal community centres. Prior to joining the Architectural Engineering team, Andrea was an adjunct instructor for the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, teaching structural design courses to architecture and engineering students. She has guest-lectured in building science capstone courses and provided technical advice for graduate architecture students at the University of Toronto. Andrea is a member of the Board of Directors for StopGap Foundation, a Toronto-based charity working to make our communities accessible for everyone.
Geoff Christou
Geoff is an Architect, Permaculture Designer, author, entrepreneur, and gardener who has been intensely involved in Net Zero Carbon and high performance buildings, permaculture landscapes, narrative-based design fiction, and innovative businesses in the ten years since finishing undergrad at UW Architecture.
Over this time he has worked on architectural projects at Coolearth Architecture that include a net-zero energy childcare centre, a hospice, a brownie factory and several single family homes. His entrepreneurial projects include providing cardboard furniture for Elections Canada, the Canadian Census, the Pan-Am Games, the Luminato Art Festival, Spinmaster Toys, and tradeshows across North America. As an author he most recently published "Utopia: A Permaculture Vision," a story that conveys the sights, smells, textures, sounds, and logic of a civilization built using permaculture design and earthcare ethics.
Geoff is driven by a constant curiosity and desire to learn. Since graduating from UW his main research focus has been on ecological design, the traditional lifeways and architecture of pre-columbian North American peoples, and temperate food forests.
Feel free to contact Geoff for networking, questions, or collaborations via instagram.
See more of Geoff's work at:
http://permacultureutopia.com/
https://www.instagram.com/geoffchristou/
Matthew Compeau
Matt Compeau is
the
Founder
and
President
of
Hot
Pop
Factory
along
with
former
UWSA
classmate
and
co-founder Biying Miao.
Matt's
work
is
focused
on
assisting
International
brands,
leading
engineers
and
high-growth startups in
harnessing
emerging
digital
manufacturing
technologies
like
3D
printing.
Hot
Pop
Factory
is
a
design
and
digital
fabrication
firm
specializing
in
3D
Printing,
Laser
Cutting
and
CNC
machining.
Located
at
Queen
and Spadina in
Toronto,
the
firm’s
work
has
been
featured
at
the
Art
Gallery
of
Ontario
and
Royal
Ontario
Museum.
Its
clients
include
Twitter,
HSBC,
Coca-Cola
and
many
other
Fortune
500
brands.
Currently the firm is focused on developing novel software to help democratize digital fabrication and computational design technologies and make them accessible to the masses.
Sarah Ebner
True to nomadic roots, Sarah began practicing architecture between Europe, the United States and Canada. Following an undergraduate degree from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and a Master’s of Architecture from McGill University, Sarah practiced in higher education and institutional architecture. After gaining licensure in Quebec, California was beckoning and focus shifted into boutique healthcare and residential design.
In 2016, Sarah founded see arch. with a simple mission: to serve through design. Fusing experience in both public and private sectors, see arch. strives to balance prestige with practicality and infuse projects of every scale with careful craft and thoughtful design.
In her decade-long career, Sarah’s work has been recognized with a Mayor’s Urban Design Award, Grand Prix du Design Award, Best of Dwell 2019 Remodel and 2020 International Residential Awards for remodel and concept work.
Outside of the studio, Sarah spends her days on the Northern California coast - kayaking, admiring sunsets and exploring tiny home solutions for the family’s seaside cabin.
Lauren Holmes
Lauren Holmes is a registered architect with over a decade of experience developing and overseeing projects across sub-Arctic Canada. She was the office lead for the 2014 Venice Biennale exhibition Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15, co-designer of the Centre for Northern Innovation and Mining at Yukon University and was most recently project architect for the Kluane First Nation Administration Building. Lauren’s work helps support northern communities to respond to their environment in a challenging climate. Lauren specializes in contemporary vernacular design in remote locales.
Renée Kuehnle
Rural
Planner,
Lightship
Strategies
Inc.
Renée Kuehnle, MArch,
MCIP, is
a
professional
planner
based
in
Atlantic
Canada
that
focuses
on
community-led
development
work,
predominantly
with
Municipalities,
Governments,
and
Indigenous
Communities.
Her
strength
is
design,
strategy
and
policy
and
she
works
in
a
wide
variety
of
areas
–
from
buildings
and
land
to
people
and
policy.
Her
experience
working
across
sectors
--
education,
governance,
culture,
infrastructure,
procurement,
economic
development,
land
use
planning,
energy,
growth,
and
regional
planning
--
gives
her
an
in
depth
understanding
of
all
parts
of
community.
Renee
deeply
understands
self-governance
and
the
priorities
of
Indigenous
Communities
in
charting
their
own
path
and
predominantly
works
directly
for
Indigenous
Governments,
Communities
and
Organizations.
She
regularly
works
in
remote
settings
on
a
variety
of
projects,
such at Iatuekupau Lodge
where
she
facilitated
on-the-land
meetings
for
30
community
members
by
snowmobile
in
the
Mealy
Mountains
National
Park.
All
of
her
work
is
tied
together
by
listening-
prioritizing
Indigenous
voices-
to
create
policy,
facilitate
conversation,
and
design
projects,
that
support
the
early
stages
of
development
and
create
culturally
sustainable
futures
in
our
rural
communities.
Andrea Nagy
Andrea Nagy is a licensed Architect with over 10 years of professional experience in a variety of mixed-use, residential, commercial, transit, institutional, and hospitality projects. She is a Senior Associate at Kohn Partnership Architects and has cultivated a thoughtful and detailed design approach over time, ensuring that project goals are routinely met and exceeded.
She is interested in the sensitive densification of communities by way of expanded infrastructure and access to mixed-use environments. Through her work, she has had the opportunity to focus on newly developing areas of the GTA, engaging with private landowners and City officials to manifest long-term urban design visions for underdeveloped and underserved communities.
Andrea is frequently invited as a guest critic to the Ontario College of Art and Design and George Brown College and has taken a particular interest in educational bridging programs for internationally trained Architects. In addition to the contributions of Waterloo alumni, Andrea’s projects at Kohn Partnership Architects have benefitted greatly from the unique approach and perspective that foreign designers can bring.
Outside of the office, Andrea is co-organizer of the Concrete Mixer networking group and a contributor to the Camden Collective, a Toronto-based creative collective. Through the Camden Collective and Kohn Partnership Architects, she also frequently participates in 100 and 1 day, a yearly event that engages the public and professionals to transform their Cities through urban interventions in public spaces.
Hudson Pridham
Hudson is a UX designer and researcher who is passionate about co-designing intuitive interfaces that make accessing, acting upon, and distributing complex information easier. He has over 7 years of experience researching, designing, and testing products, services, and experience, including rover control interfaces for exploring distant worlds, and touchpoint and service experiences in healthcare, banking, and telecommunications. In addition, he has over 2 years of experience teaching research methods, co-design, and prototyping within OCADU’s Masters of Inclusive Design program. Currently, at [24]7.ai, he leads user experience design for the Answers chatbot and FAQ product.
Outside of work and teaching, he loves to climb and spotting his three rambunctious kids: Miles, 5, and Adaline and Stella, 3. Hudson holds a bachelor's in Architectural Studies from the University of Waterloo, and an MDes in Digital Futures from OCADU.
Eugenio Villerreal
Eugenio founded his studio, Eolus IDeA in 2011 aiming to work within technology and design. Works include small scale architectural projects and digital solutions in healthcare, entertainment and government; which have received awards such as Quorum Design Award and Next-Best Business.
Eugenio collaborated with Geoff Christou and Our paper Life to fabricate and distribute sustainable furniture alternatives in México, working with clients such as Coca-Cola and Cemex. He joined as Adjunct Professor at TEC de Monterrey University for the "Social Housing Studio." And has participated as guest lecturer for topics on entrepreneurship and design.
In 2014 he established Sophia Bakery & Bistro. In 2018 launched Bitacora.io, an app to help traditional on-site workers leverage digital workflows. And in 2019 he Co-Founded NGO “Raíces Nuevo Léon” to promote public engagement in their local communities and open municipalities.
Eugenio currently lives and works in Monterrey México.
Jane Kate Wong
I am an Associate Creative Director at frog. I’m driven by how the tangible can meet the digital world, and how the impact of data, new technology, media and interactions continue to shape our social environments. Today, I work at the intersection of culture, space and technology to design future experiences for people that scale from the environmental to the intimate, from work to play. I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating in diverse global industries, pushing brands and companies into near-future and speculative territory.
Alongside frog, I am an Adjunct Professor at the School of Visual Arts and sit on the UX Advisory Board for the US non-profit Ad Council. I am a frequent Advisor at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design and design critic at major New York City design institutions.
Mark Zupan
Mark Zupan is privileged to live, work and play in Victoria, British Columbia, on the unceded territories of the Lekwungen-speaking peoples now known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. As an intern architect, Mark strives to be an advocate for a more inclusive, more accessible, and more sustainable world. They work with DAU Studio on projects that range from small-scale artistic and public interventions, to residential, commercial and industrial buildings, to urban design and planning projects.
Mark's graduate thesis research on the Burning Man festival served as their foundation for understanding the importance of play in making architecture and in their own well-being. As a participant and observer of the festival, Mark documented ways of building that defied their imagination, and bolstered their ability to embrace disruptive energy in creative collaboration.
Balancing professional work with a breadth of artistic endeavours and practices, Mark's long lists of hobbies and passions have often led them to question their choice to pursue architecture. While these pursuits may all compete for attention in Mark's life, they also empower them to remain feeling inspired and nourished as their journey unfolds. Whether playing viola in an orchestra, singing and strumming along on their ukulele, storytelling with puppets, teaching yoga, or performing in drag and burlesque, Mark continually invites new parts of themself to the table.
Katie Kuzan
Andrea Atkins
Geoff Christou
Matt Compeau
Sarah Ebner
Lauren Holmes
Renee Kuehnle
Andrea Nagy
Hudson Pridham
Eugenio Villarreal
Jane Kate Wong
Mark Zupan
