TIME: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Description
What does it mean to weave collective narratives into built heritage? How can the discourses of adaptive-reuse, urban-scale renewal, and material circularity become further enriched when a cultural lens is applied?
This lecture examines cultural heritage in built practice using two SOCA case study projects that address craft, community resonance, and storytelling as an architectural device. Each project examines a different scale of city building illustrating ways in which tangible and intangible heritage can be meaningfully integrated in our built environments. Project 1: A memorial to Samuel and Martha Adams in Oakville, Ontario commemorates the life and legacy of a remarkable figure whose story embodies resilience, ingenuity, and community leadership. Set in Burnet Park, just steps from where the Adams once lived, the memorial reintroduces salvaged foundation stones from their son’s 19th-century hom —anchoring the site with authentic material memory. Project 2: The Montreal Afro-Canadian Cultural Centre / Centre culturel afro-canadien de Montréal (CCAM) reimagines Jean-Omer Marchand and Ernest Cormier’s 1922 historic École des Beaux-Arts as a bold, contemporary hub for Black culture and creativity in the heart downtown Montreal. The design carefully balances and reinterprets heritage preservation with dynamic new interventions.
Learning Objectives
- Consider how heritage conservation can incorporate narratives of underrepresented communities.
- Discuss strategies for integrating tangible and intangible cultural heritage into built projects.
- Explore the role of craft and materiality in reinforcing cultural storytelling and identity.
- Identify methods for engaging communities in the co-creation of commemorative and cultural sites
Presenters:
Tura Cousins Wilson, OAA, MRAIC, Dutch Architects' Register, Architect, Co-Founder, Principal, SOCA
Tura Cousins Wilson is an architect and cofounding principal of SOCA | Studio of Contemporary Architecture, based in Toronto, Ontario. He is inspired by creating uplifting spaces of beauty and contends that architecture’s power lies in its ability to transform collective imaginations and narratives into reality. Tura’s design methodology leverages site and cultural research and is drawn towards the redemptive qualities of reconstituting existing buildings and overlooked communities. Tura is a licensed architect in both Ontario and the Netherlands, and a sessional instructor at Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of Toronto. A cofounder of the Black Architects and Interior Designers Association in Canada (BAIDA), Tura was recognised on the 40 Under 40 list by the World Architecture Festival.
Shane Laptiste, OAA, OAQ, FRAIC, LEED-AP BD+C, Architect, Co-Founder, Principal, SOCA
Shane Laptiste is a Toronto-based architect and the Principal and co-founder of the SOCA | Studio of Contemporary Architecture. Recipient of the 2023 Canadian Prix de Rome, he investigates how communal narratives and spatial imagination—particularly within Black communities—can be translated into built form. Licensed in Ontario and Quebec, Shane holds BSc(Arch) and MArch degrees from McGill University, where he has also taught as a studio instructor. He is a sessional instructor at the University of Toronto and serves on the board of the Canadian Architectural Certification Board. A cofounder of Black Architects and Interior Designers Association (BAIDA), Shane was recently named a fellow of the RAIC.
Pricing:
Licensed OAA Members: $36.13 + HST [15% OFF For OAA Members!]
OAA Interns and Students: $27.63 + HST [15% OFF For Students & Interns!]
Non-Members: $63.00 + HST
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