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Groundwork is a three-part film and exhibition series exploring the conceptual development and field research of contemporary architects cultivating alternative modes of engagement with new project sites. Using documentary as a curatorial tool, the CCA will take a critical look at how designers across diverse geographies and contexts engage with their environments in preliminary phases of projects. In doing so, thinking processes, research, and stages of transformation will be highlighted as revelatory aspects of architectural work that help to deepen our understanding of new critical modes of practice and engagement. In light of the ecological crisis, the project questions how different architects situate themselves in relation to changing natural and disciplinary boundaries.

The exhibition is on from now until September 14, 2025.

For more information, click here.

Kiyoshi Izumi is the earliest known Canadian architect of Japanese descent. His design firm Izumi Arnott and Sugiyama was responsible for many important civic buildings in Saskatchewan during the 15 years of its existence from 1954 to 1969. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia to Japanese immigrant parents, Izumi’s personal journey from Vancouver to Regina following the introduction of Canada’s War Measures Act in 1942 is remarkable. He avoided the internment camps of British Columbia and settled in Regina with the aid of its small Japanese Canadian community. He went on to become one of the brightest graduates from the School of Architecture at the University of Manitoba in 1948, a testament to his perseverance.

The exhibition will run from September 12, 2024, to January 19, 2025.

For more information, click here.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) held a series of interviews with him about his life, design philosophy, and projects—the resulting 28 short clips make up a remarkable 115-minute-long oral history encompassing much of Claude Cormier’s legacy and spirit.

On Thursday, January 30,  join the TSA, the TCLF, and UofT Daniels for a special screening of a 45-minute director’s cut of the TCLF’s Claude Cormier Oral History Project, specifically highlighting Claude’s Toronto projects. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion reflecting on his legacy and how we can carry it forward when shaping our future public spaces.