ADFF Toronto 2024 – Living Together: The Story of De Warren + Where We Grow Older w/ Panel

Janna Levitt co-founded LGA Architectural Partners with Dean Goodman in 1993 with a vision to help diverse and often under-resourced clients to realize places that spark positive cultural and environmental change. Through research, public consultation, and design Janna aims to improve lives: creating places that advance equity, wellness and community, educating and mentoring the next generation of designers, and collaborating with artists, scientists and others to draw attention to pressing issues impacting our world.

Janna has earned wide respect for her inquisitive, thoughtful and imaginative approaches that demonstrate fresh possibilities for everyday living. Her diverse initiatives – such as community hubs that foster arts and culture, public spaces that connect citizens with ecology, and residences that contribute to equitable cities — underscore the expansive role that architects play in redesigning our world.

Her noteworthy recent projects include the MABELLEarts Pavilion and Park that uplifts a historically underserved, high density neighborhood populated by newcomers to Canada with a dynamic hub for creativity and community; Evergreen Brickworks’ Kiln Building 16, that sensitively arrested the deterioration of a historic Toronto landmark and expanded its purpose from artifact to a carbon-neutral event and education centre; Stackt, that transformed a pending development site into an ever-evolving shipping-container retail market and cultural hub; and Rehousing – an online resource that she developed with members of the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, and Design at University of Toronto to empower citizen developers to convert single-family homes into multi-unit housing.

Janna’s love of architecture extends to teaching, mentoring and community causes. She has held teaching appointments at University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and Dalhousie University. She regularly lectures and serves on award juries across North America and abroad. She presently sits on Toronto’s Waterfront Toronto Design Review Panel. In 2015 she led the creation of an annual scholarship fund for an Indigenous student entering Laurentian University’s McEwen School of Architecture.

Janna was made a Fellow of the RAIC in 2009. She received the 2018 G. Randy Roberts Service Award from the Ontario Association of Architects. In 2019 she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Green Building Council, and she was named as one of the top 30 “Essential Women in Architecture and Design” by Azure Magazine.

Janna attended Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Halifax and The Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston before finalizing her Honors Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Toronto. She graduated from the Master in Architecture Program at University of Toronto.

David Constable has nearly 20 years of experience in international architecture and real estate development, spanning the sectors of culture, education, commercial office, and residential development. Before Co-founding Kindred Works and Heartwood Trust, David was a Principal of KPMB Architects in Toronto. David is now focused on delivering purpose-built rental housing that is low-carbon, beautiful, and desirable to live in. These projects include systems-based thinking, smart technology, innovation, and continuous learning to enhance the projects we build and deliver long-term value to investors.

He is a graduate of McGill University School of Architecture and holds a Master of Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design, along with the OAA, LEED AP, and CPHD designations.

Stefan Novakovic is a Toronto-based writer and editor specializing in architecture and urbanism. Stefan is a Senior Editor at Azure Magazine, and previously served as Associate Editor at Canadian Architect, and Assistant Editor at UrbanToronto.ca. His writing has also appeared in a wide range of publications, including Canadian Interiors, Designlines, Building Magazine, the New York Review of Architecture, the McGill International Review and Torontoist. He is the winner of several journalism awards, including multiple National Magazine Awards (B2B) and a Canadian Online Publishing Award. 

Stefan has appeared as a speaker at the Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF), Toronto’s Interior Design Show, the Ontario Association of Architects Conference, the University of Toronto Munk School’s Walter Gordon Symposium on Public Policy, Architect@Work International, and ACO Toronto’s Heritage and Housing Symposium. He has presented original research at the 46th Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada Conference. In 2022, he was appointed a Next Generation Ambassador by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, representing North America.

Giovanna Borasi is an architect, editor, and curator. Borasi joined the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in 2005 as associate director of Programs and has held subsequent positions as curator of Contemporary Architecture (2011–13) and chief curator (2014–20) before becoming director and chief curator in 2020. In this role she oversees the CCA’s curatorial trajectories and processes of institutional revaluation. Borasi’s work explores ways of doing architecture that challenge the conventional definition of the architect and that lie at the heart of the dialectic between societal and architectural change. She regularly contributes to international architectural publications, workshops, university courses, committees, and symposia.