The University of Waterloo School of Architecture is proud to announce that Jordana Polera has been named as the 2025 recipient of the Michael Evamy Scholarship
As thousands of aging dams across North America approach the end of their functional life, Jordana’s work reframes these infrastructure challenges not just as engineering problems, but as opportunities for ecological restoration, cultural reckoning, and public dialogue. Her research is rooted in the Grand River watershed, a landscape deeply connected to Waterloo Region, and reflects the School’s emphasis on place-based inquiry and socially engaged design.
Rather than proposing new structures, Jordana uses drawing, spatial analysis, and narrative tools to reexamine existing proposals. Her approach prioritizes clarity and accessibility, translating technical data, policy frameworks, Indigenous knowledge, and local histories into visual formats that support transparent public engagement. Her thesis challenges conventional notions of “restoration,” treating it as a process of negotiation between settler and Indigenous worldviews, heritage and adaptation, and science and imagination.
Jordana’s thesis invites us to think more carefully about how we relate to land, history, and environmental change
Although rooted in a specific case, the methods Jordana is developing are intended to support other communities facing similarly contested landscapes. Her work highlights the unique ability of architects to visualize and interpret complexity, and to foster more inclusive, transparent, and climate-aware conversations about our built and natural environments.
“Jordana’s thesis invites us to think more carefully about how we relate to land, history, and environmental change,” said Farah Al Amin, Associate. “Instead of offering quick answers, it helps uncover the important questions we often miss. Through clear visuals and thoughtful research, we’re excited to see how her work will show how design can help people better understand and take shared responsibility in shaping our relationship with the environment.”
I’m incredibly grateful to receive this scholarship, which offers a platform to highlight how visual and spatial practices can intervene in complex public debates around land, water, and infrastructure.
About the Michael Evamy Scholarship
DIALOG established the Michael Evamy Scholarship Foundation to honour the memory of Michael Evamy, a partner instrumental in building its integrated practice from 1966 to 1993. The award provides financial assistance to the selected Canadian student attending a Canadian school of architecture in the second last year of study, to undertake a research project in a field of interest and relevant to the practice of architecture.
The School congratulates Jordana on this outstanding achievement and looks forward to the continued impact of her work.