Notes: A miscellany of news and events
The world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition returns to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and runs until March 31, 2019. Featuring 100 breathtaking photographs selected by an international jury, the exhibition showcases work that calls attention to the beauty and fragility of life on this planet. For more information, visit www.rom.on.ca.
exhibitions
The Winter Light Exhibition is on at Ontario Place in Toronto again this year, featuring 18 exhibits by Ontario-based artists on the theme of “disruptive engagement.” The exhibits play with the use of light, sound, and touch to connect with the audience and create an immersive experience. The Winter Light Exhibition is free of charge and open to the public, every day, at Ontario Place, until March 17, 2019.
walkability
Jeff Speck’s recently published book, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places (Island Press, 2018), explores why walkability is important for the environment, health, housing prices, and equity, and presents strategies to make cities more walkable. It also lays out 101 rules for achieving walkability, including, for example: “don’t mistake Uber for transit”; “use roundabouts with discretion”; “remove centrelines on neighbourhood streets”; and “don’t let terrorists design your city.” Other rules presented in the book relate to tactical urbanism, congestion pricing, parking, transit, street design, cycling, and more. For more information, visit www.islandpress.org.
events
A one-day symposium, to be held in Toronto in February 2019, will explore frameworks for designs, at all scales, based on natural models. “The Natural City: A Practical Approach for Using Ecological References in Planting Design” will include presentations, case studies, and practical exercises. For more information and registration, email [email protected].
invasive species
The Fall 2011 issue of Ground (Ground 15) included an article about Heather Coiner’s research into a patch of the invasive vine kudzu growing in southern Ontario, near Lake Erie. This non-native plant has overtaken an estimated 3,000,000 hectares of land in the U.S. and caused extensive ecological and economic damage. Coiner has been researching the question of how low temperatures (such as those found in Ontario) might control kudzu’s northern range limits, and the results of this research were recently published in the journal Oecologia and have alarming implications for Ontario. The research found that kudzu “can survive winters north of its current distribution…and continued northward migration is possible.” While there might be other factors that limit kudzu’s potential spread in Ontario, Coiner’s paper advises that “Efforts to limit its spread are therefore prudent.”
reports
A recently released report, Community Wellbeing: A Framework for the Design Professions, presents the findings of a two- year collaborative research project between the Conference Board of Canada and DIALOG on the relationship between the built environment and the wellbeing of people. The goal of the project was to develop a framework by which design professions can define, evaluate, and build a business case for demonstrable return on investment related to design for community wellbeing. For more information, visit dialogdesign.ca/community-wellbeing.
awards
George F. Dark, OALA, FCSLA, was recently awarded the 2018 Governor General’s Medal in Landscape Architecture, the highest honour bestowed on a landscape architect by the CSLA. The medal is intended to honour exceptional landscape architects whose lifetime achievements and contributions to the profession have had a unique and lasting impact on Canadian society.
The deadline for submissions for the CSLA’s 2019 Awards of Excellence, including National Awards, Jury’s Award of Excellence, and the Legacy Project Award, is January 25. Visit www.csla-aapc.ca for more information.
resilience
In their book Structures of Coastal Resilience (Island Press, 2018), authors Catherine Seavitt Nordenson, Guy Nordenson, and Julia Chapman explore new approaches to effective coastal resilience planning, particularly in light of climate change. They encourage more creative design techniques at the beginning of the planning process, and offer examples of innovative work incorporating flexible natural systems into traditional infrastructure. For more information, visit www.islandpress.org.
trees
As long as people have been planting trees, there have been battles over trees, with associated questions about owner- ship, responsibility, hazards, liability, and more. These issues sometimes end up in the courts, and there is a complex, at times contradictory, body of case law that impacts the questions in specific cases and sets precedents to guide future judicial decision- making. Dr. Julian Dunster, a consulting arborist, professional forester, and professional planner with close to 40 years of experience, brings these issues into focus with admirable clarity and engaging writing in the new and updated edition of his classic book Trees and the Law in Canada (Dunster & Associates Environmental Consultants Ltd., 2018). The most comprehensive book on tree law in Canada, the new edition includes a chapter devoted to the unique nature of tree law in Quebec. Anyone with an interest in trees will find the information useful, thought-provoking, and debate-inducing. For more information or to order the book, visit www.dunster.ca.
public art
A recently launched limited-edition book, A Platform To…, features the 2017 public art projects on the West Toronto Railpath commissioned by ====\\DeRAIL Platform for Art & Architecture. To order the book, visit www.derailart.com.
accessibility
The Canadian Urban Institute and Human Space recently launched the AllAccess Network, a new program dedicated to making Ontario’s public spaces more accessible for everyone and to assist practitioners in understanding and implementing the Design of Public Spaces Standard (DOPS), the design requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Members of the AllAccess Network receive access to valuable information about the design of accessible public space and have opportunities to participate in various project activities. For more information, visit www.allaccesspublicspace.ca.
new members
The Ontario Association of Landscape Architects is proud to recognize and welcome the following new Full Members to the Association:
- Sule Alkan
- Nadia Amoroso *
- Lori Balcerek *
- Nataliya Baydakova *
- Lucie Bibeau
- Elena Brescia
- Matthew Brown
- James Burnett
- Shaney Clemmons
- Rui Felix
- Michael Flint *
- Misha Franta *
- Stephanie Fraser
- Drew Graham *
- Maxime Grandmaison
- Lisa Gregory *
- Ian Hampson
- Britta Hansen
- Tawab Hlimi
- Emilia Hurd
- Geoffrey Katz
- Shannon Kavanaugh
- Corin Latimer
- Hyaeinn Lee
- Eva Li *
- Jeffrey Lormand
- Peter Louws *
- Bo Lu *
- Jenna Matthews
- Brendan McKee *
- Oksana Negorutsa
- Amir Ardeshir Nikzad
- David Nowicki
- Timothy O’Brien
- Eliza Oprescu
- Sean Simms
- Jeffrey Regan Suiter
- Marta Toesev *
- Dorota Trzesicka-Mlynarz
- Julia van der Laan de Vries
- Fraser Vanderwel
- Alex Waffle
- Katherine Wardrop
- Zoe Wimmer
- Shan Yang
- Min Fang (Ivy) Yang
Asterisk (*) denotes Full Members without the use of professional seal.
