Fall is just around the corner and we have a number of events, symposia, and talks lined up. We look forward to having you join us as we share our ideas and projects.

August   September   October

Cabin Days

Alongside non-profit Two Steps Home, we are showcasing our prototype cabin that forms part of our regenerative solution to our city’s ongoing homeless crisis. This ambitious pilot program can supply transitional and temporary housing designed to be low-cost, rapidly built, and deployed on vacant lots. You'll be able to visit a fully realized cabin in the lot next to our studio.

CityTalk | Live — Nature knows best: How can we unify natural assets with Canada's housing supply?

Join Principal Jonathan Tinney for a lively conversation organized by the Natural Assets Initiative and Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) based on a recent CUI report: "Both/And: Integrating Natural Asset Management into Federal Housing Supply Policymaking," The expert panel will dive into Canada's needs for more homes, but at the same time, the needs to preserve and enhance natural assets, which keep those homes safe, resilient and well-served with vital functions like storm water management and flood management for their lifetime. A critical current issue not just for community resilience to climate change, but to elevate the quality of life for all Canadians.

Timber Fever

We will be sponsoring TimberFever 2024, marking the 10th anniversary of this renowned design-build competition. Organized by Moses Structural Engineers in partnership with Toronto Metropolitan University's Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science, TimberFever brings together architecture and civil engineering students each September to create innovative and resilient timber structures.

Our sponsorship reflects our commitment to supporting the next generation of civil engineers and architects as they prepare to shape the future of our built environment.

Park(ing) Day

Park(ing) Day is a global event that takes place annually on the third weekend of September. Around the world, people temporarily repurpose parking spaces to create pop-up parks and other public spaces for art, play, and activism. The event draws attention to the need for improving access and quantity of public open spaces in densely populated urban areas as well as the need for these spaces to provide social and environmental engagement. The goal of Park(ing) Day is to celebrate the use of urban public space for people and challenge the dominance of the automobile in cities.

You can visit various sites throughout Toronto that will be mapped on the global Park(ing) Day website including SvN created activations (stay tuned as we reveal those locations.)

You can also participate by creating your own Park(ing) Day activation. This year, we have partnered with Dubbeldam Architecture + Design, Arup Canada, DTAH, and MASSIVart to create the Park(ing)Day Grants Program to encourage more activations throughout the city. We are offering financial support to community groups, non-profit organizations, and individuals interested in transforming parking spaces into temporary public places on Park(ing)Day.

Citymakers

Principal Shonda Wang will be participating at Citymakers 2024, an international event hosted by Allies and Morrison that explores how transportation can drive the creation of sustainable, people-centered communities. Now in its sixth year, Citymakers brings together urban design experts from London and Toronto to discuss the role of transport in shaping future cities.

As one of the fastest-growing cities in North America, Toronto is rapidly evolving, and with several major projects around key transport nodes, we are discovering how infrastructure can anchor great placemaking. What can Toronto learn from London’s integrated transport system, and how can these cities collaborate to build resilient, connected urban spaces?

Interior Design Show Vancouver

Micro-Hood — Breaking, Bending and Rewriting the Building Rules

Join us at the Future Neighbourhood immersive feature space at IDS Vancouver 2024, where we will showcase Micro-Hood, a forward-thinking project designed to redefine neighborhood development. Awarded an Honourable Mention at the Urbanarium: Decoding Density Competition, Micro-Hood advocates for breaking away from conventional norms of housing and fostering community ownership through innovative initiatives like Community Land Trusts. To tackle the labor crisis, Micro-Hood champions prefabricated construction—a solution that, when scaled, can lower costs and accelerate the construction timeline. This project presents a comprehensive vision for neighbourhood development, with a strong emphasis on sustainability, community engagement, and affordability, responding to the pressing challenges of urban growth.

Paths to Practice: Architecture's Co-Op Employer Job Fair

This fall, we will be participating in the Paths to Practice: Architecture's Co-Op Employer Job Fair hosted by the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture and the Co-Operative Education Department. Representing SvN will be Carolyn Fearman, Senior Associate, Architecture, and Joseph Kan, Associate, Architecture.

We look forward to meeting and engaging with the next generation of architects and discussing potential opportunities at SvN!

Evergreen Conference

Living Streets: Making Room for Life Within Our Cities

When we think about urban public space, we typically imagine parks, plazas or greenways. But by size, a city's most significant category of public space is actually its streets, meaning that they contain the potential to truly define a city’s identity and to forge relationships between our many citizens, businesses, and cultures. Toronto has a vast network of over 5600 km of streets; this seminar will discuss the potential to use these as a platform for action, as an incredible asset that can be used to improve our City. The design of place-based streets can allow us to address deeper social engagement within and across communities, build climate resilience and improving our public health.

as part of the 2024 Evergreen Conference, Senior Associate Dennis Rijkhoff as he outlines how to set a practical agenda for improved street design through a greater understanding of bringing together policy, planning and urban design, architecture and landscape architecture, and public engagement to strengthen the resiliency of our urban environment. He will also be taking us through various Park(ing) Day activations that will be remounted as part of the conference.

Azure Human/Nature Conference

Environmental Stewardship and Indigenous Reconciliation: a Regenerative Approach to Campus Planning

The Trent Lands and Nature Areas Plan has a foundation of deep engagement with First Nations, Indigenous communities, and campus and local communities. Together, they created a campus plan that embraces regenerative and nature-inclusive practices, mirroring Trent University’s teachings – as a leader in environmental and Indigenous studies – in their space.

Join Senior Associate and Urban Design Lead Lina Al-Dajani alongside Bob Goulais, President & Senior Principal at Nbisiing Consulting Inc as they examine how they worked to build trust, promote enduring relationships, and integrate traditional Indigenous wisdom, knowledge, and values into a new campus plan for the University in Peterborough, Ontario. The creation of the Trent Lands and Nature Areas Plan was a significant opportunity for the University to learn how to engage respectfully and collaboratively with First Nations, specifically to increase cultural capacity when engaging with First Nations; develop best practices and a protocol guide for future projects; to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing in a meaningful way; and approach this as a demonstration project for advancing broader goals of Reconciliation.

Cabin Communities: Housing the Unhoused

Alongside non-profit Two Steps Home, we are showcasing our prototype cabin that forms part of our regenerative solution to our city’s ongoing homeless crisis. This ambitious pilot program can supply transitional and temporary housing designed to be low-cost, rapidly built, and deployed on vacant lots. You'll be able to visit a fully realized cabin in the lot next to our studio.

ONPHA Conference

This fall, we are participating at the 2024 ONPHA (Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association) Conference. We will be showcasing our work in affordable housing from Thursday, November 7 to Friday, November 8 at the Ottawa Shaw Centre.

Visit us at our physical exhibitor booth or connect with us virtually on the ONPHA Events Platform to explore our projects and discuss how we are shaping the future of affordable housing.