Thomas-Bernard Kenniff

Thomas-Bernard Kenniff is professor in environmental design at the École de design, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), where he teaches design studio, history and theory and research-by-design. His research focuses on the theory and design of urban public spaces, the architecture of social assemblies, as well as the identity and political issues associated with them. Some of his recent publications address public space and dialogic theory (Journal of Public Space, 2018), the architecture of municipal interfaces (AMPS, UCL Press, 2018), architectural oral history (Princeton Architectural Press, 2018) and the role of uncertainty in design (AMPS, UCL Press, 2019). He is presently coediting a collective volume on the concept of the inventory as a research-by-design method to be published in 2021. 

Thomas-Bernard studied mathematics and architecture at the University of Waterloo (B.E.S. 2004, M.Arch 2006). He then worked for offices in Canada and Spain including Philip Beesley Architect (Toronto), Coll Leclerc Arquitectos (Barcelona), Arquitectonica (Madrid), Schème and MSDL (Montréal). In 2009, he undertook a doctorate in architectural history and theory at the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture in London. His thesis on dialogue, ambivalence and public space, defended in 2013, was nominated by UCL for a research prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects. His research work has been funded by SSHRC, FRQSC, the Canada Council for the Arts, and UCL. Before joining UQAM's École de design in 2015, he taught at UCL Bartlett, Carleton University, Université Laval and Université de Montréal.

Thomas-Bernard has served on the Berkeley Prize committee since 2002, is a regular member of the Laboratoire d’étude de l’architecture potentielle (LEAP), an associate researcher to the Canada Research Chair on Small and Medium Cities in Transformation and is co-founder, with Carole Lévesque, of the Bureau d’étude de pratiques indisciplinées (BéPI).