News

University of Waterloo architecture and engineering students claimed the top three prizes at the 2025-2026 Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) Architectural Student Design Competition. James Miller and Luke Carone won the Award of Excellence for Resonance, while the teams behind Thirteen Ascents and UBC Tropical Conservatory secured second and third place, respectively. The national contest challenges students to creatively utilize exposed structural steel in ambitious architectural frameworks. Under the guidance of professors Terri Meyer Boake and Cory Zurell, the winning Waterloo projects were recognized for their unique interplay of scale, light, and natural greenery.

Alumni applications are now open for the 2026 Masterworks exhibition curator.

For nearly two decades, MSS Architects has played a steady and influential role in supporting students at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture. Their commitment to hiring emerging talent has grown into a multifaceted partnership that continues to shape student experiences, professional pathways, and the culture of architectural education at Waterloo.

The School of Architecture is proud to celebrate the achievements of Elisia Neves (BArch ’08, MArch ’12), who was recognized with the Alumni Achievement Medal for Professional Achievement at this year’s University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering Awards Dinner.

Waterloo Architecture Professor Lola Sheppard is co-curator of Sikumit Aisimajugut / At Home on Ice, an exhibition that explores ideas of home and housing across Inuit Nunangat—from the intimate scale of domestic spaces to the broader forces of policy, logistics, and climate change.

What does it mean to belong? How do the spaces we inhabit reflect who we are? These questions lie at the heart of TO·BE·LONGING: Portraits of Queer Living, an ambitious exhibition curated by architect and educator Quan Thai opening at Design at Riverside on November 27, 2025.

After a year of dedicated work, galt. celebrated the launch of Noise on October 30 at the Bridge Centre for Architecture + Design in the Gaslight District.

School of Architecture Associate Professor Marie-Paule Macdonald contributed her expertise to a recent Toronto Star feature: “Is Toronto’s design bad for our health? How urban spaces affect well-being and how we compare to others.”

Two University of Waterloo architecture students, Matthew Dlugosz and Simon Liao, have been recognized for their outstanding design work at the 35th Toronto Urban Design Awards, held on September 10, 2025, at the Palais Royale.

Associate Professor Adrian Blackwell and Professor Dr. David Fortin are among the key organizers of a bold, collaborative initiative for the 2025–2026 academic year: a Superstudio focused on ending housing alienation. This nationwide effort brings together students and faculty from 14 institutions, including the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, to explore design solutions that address housing unaffordability, disrepair, precarity, and homelessness.