Sponsored by Enbridge Gas Inc.
Location: Laurentian Main campus, room C-101
1.5 ConEd Learning Hours
1.5 AIA LU
10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Charles Eames once said, “Recognizing the need is the primary condition for design.” However, an architect’s role too often begins when three things have already been established—site, program, and funding. The number of needs that must be assumed or decided before these things are established cannot be understated. Consequently, the influence a design team loses by starting where we are told to start is immense—and the result is putting buildings in the world that have a neutral, negative, or unclear impact on our communities when we know they deserve much more.
In this session, a process is unpacked for reclaiming the pre-design process to increase the community-wide impact of three architectural projects in Southwestern Ontario. The speaker shares patterns they have seen emerge, and tools they have developed to move projects in the direction of greater impact for those it is intended to serve.
Learning Objectives
- Gain a better understanding of the potential of the pre-design process and why it is typically skipped, excluded, or highly simplified.
- Learn to define the impact of a project in ways that reach outside the client’s self-defined scope and take steps toward a community-led process for establishing project needs.
- Explore pre-design strategies (i.e. process, deliverables, and techniques) that can increase the positive impact of your architectural work.
- Learn to recognize and create opportunities to broaden your scope to include more pre-design in what you offer to clients.
Valerie Dawn is a principal architect with Glos Associates. She is an accomplished architect and advocate for community-centred design. With over 15 years of experience, she has led the design of architectural projects in both urban and rural contexts, with particular emphasis on marginalized communities and vulnerable sector work. Valerie is committed to empowering communities to play an active role in shaping their built environments and reclaiming the pre-design process as a tool for creating truly impactful and equitable spaces.