Two professors at the Waterloo School of Architecture are helping lead a collaborative, Canada-wide effort to address several deep problems they describe as ‘housing alienation’ during the 2025-26 academic year.
Students at 14 architecture schools, including Waterloo, will take part in design studios with a common aim to tackle issues including housing unaffordability, disrepair, under-housing, precarity and homelessness.
Dubbed a Superstudio, the initiative kicks off Sept. 6 and will feature courses or studios at each participating school, as well as regular online or recorded events that bring students and instructors together to share ideas and content.
“At the heart of the Superstudio format is the belief that there is a profound strength in numbers and that all big challenges require collaboration,” the group behind the project, Architects Against Housing Alienation, said in a media release.
Adrian Blackwell and Dr. David Fortin, architecture professors at Waterloo, are two of the key organizers.