Sponsored by HUB International Ontario Ltd.

Location: Laurentian Main campus, Fraser Auditorium

2.5 ConEd Learning Hours
9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Designing for Dignity Opening Plenary

As the regulator of the province’s architecture profession, the OAA exists to protect and serve the public interest. The term “long-term care crisis” became common vernacular after the devastation that has played out in congregate care settings throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We are at a turning point, with community members and decision-makers alike calling for change, and unprecedented resources funneled toward building solutions.

This session invites a panel of speakers at the intersection of the health, policy, and architectural sectors to weigh in on how both design and mindset contribute to both problems and solutions when it comes to truly caring for each other. Those tasked with shaping the built environment have an essential role in creating adequate housing solutions—quickly—for those who urgently need it.

The Conference’s opening Plenary will include presentations, a group breakout session, and a moderated Q & A with the speakers where audience members can actively participate in the discussion through questions and comments arising from the breakout.

The Plenary session encourages reflection and conversation on pressing questions that reach within and beyond long-term care homes, including how do we resolve discrepancies between minimum requirements and best practices? What role does the profession play in implementing those best practices? How can our approach to long-term care inform other models of care in congregate settings? In what ways do our decisions in long-term care intersect with other pressing issues like housing affordability, aging in place, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, climate action, and more?

Breakout Qestions:

In small groups, please discuss the following during the designated breakout session:

• What should you/we expect for others and ourselves in the final stages of life? What values and priorities are important to address when considering Long-Term Care?
  
• What alternative models can we implement (such as incorporating aging in place)?
  
• What should the future of Long-Term Care look like? How do we address the evolving needs of future generations and shifting demographics?
  
• Is there a way for architects to share more of their successful solutions? Is there a better way to learn from each other?
  
• What would you personally want to see in a Long-Term Care facility that you had to live in for 10 years? In what ways would that be different from the facilities we see now?

Moderator:

Ryan Schwartz, OAA, is a licensed architect with nearly a decade of experience working across Canada in the public and private sectors. His recent work has focused on all aspects of residential projects at a variety of scales, and he is also active in the adjacent fields of architectural media and photography. Ryan is the host for the OAA’s forthcoming public-facing podcast series, Architecturally Speaking, where he chats with members of the profession about all facets of the built environment and its impact on everyday life.

Speakers:

Terri Peters, PhD, Architect (ARB), WELL AP, is an assistant professor at Toronto Metropolitan University in the Department of Architectural Science where she teaches and supervises graduate students in both the architecture and building science programs. Dr. Peters is a registered architect in the United Kingdom, holds the WELL AP designation, and is a member of the 2021 WELL Concept Advisory for Lighting. Her current research focuses on building performance in health environments, pre- and post-occupancy evaluations, and intersections between architectural quality and inhabitant quality of life in long-term care homes. She is an affiliated researcher at Institut du Savoir Monfort in Ottawa. Dr. Peters has authored and edited numerous publications, including more than 20 peer-reviewed publications about sustainable housing, and her 2021 paper “Biophilic Design Strategies in Long-Term Residential Care Environments for Persons with Dementia” was published in the Journal of Aging and Environment with co-author Dr. Stephen Verderber. She was part of the jury for the OAA’s SHIFT2023 Health and Architecture Challenge.

Tamara Daly, PhD, is a feminist political economist and health services researcher, and a professor at York University. She is the Director of the York University Centre for Aging Research and Education and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Partnership for Age-Friendly Communities in Communities. Her research focuses on gender and health access and outcomes, improving conditions in long-term residential care, and promoting policies for health equity for older adults and their caregivers. Dr. Daly has authored more than 100 publications and received numerous awards, including the Faculty of Health Dean's Research Award and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Mental Health Commission of Canada People's Choice Award. She is a frequent media expert on health care topics and speaker at research and policy conferences.

Mike Ladyk, B.Arch., OAA, is a partner at 3rd Line Studio, a Sudbury-based architectural practice, where he has worked since 1995. Over his illustrious 22-year career, Mike has successfully completed numerous projects across a range of sectors, including commercial, industrial, institutional, First Nations, and residential. Notably, Mike was involved in the redesign of the Wikwemikong Elders Lodge on Manitoulin Island, where he worked closely with the Wikwemikong First Nation to create a culturally appropriate design that addressed the community’s needs. In addition to his professional work, Mike is also an active member of several boards, including the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation (GSDC), the United Way Capital Campaign, and the Wavy Lake Campers Association, reflecting his strong commitment to community service.

Nicole Peirce, OAA, BES, M.Arch, MRAIC, is a University of Waterloo Master of Architecture program graduate who previously worked as an intern architect at HOK and KWC Architects on large-scale public renovation projects. In 2010, she founded the design firm Architecture &c. to foster collaboration and communication between clients and contractors. Nicole’s personal experience as a caregiver for her parents led her to focus on creating environments of care and proposing a Person-Centred Architecture that empowers architects to speak for the value of architecture in the spaces of people’s lives. As a mother navigating home-based learning during the pandemic, Nicole continues to research and write on the role of environment in people’s lives.