We might not be able to gather in person just quite yet, but we can still come together!
Join us for our third 2021 virtual session of TSA CONNECT — our signature networking event for young professionals, emerging practitioners and newcomers — as featured guests from Toronto’s architecture and design community share their experiences, perspectives and advice on issues of practice, career and life.
For our last Spring 2021 session we’ve invited a special group of featured guests who have leveraged their architectural education and training and forged new paths beyond traditional practice. From visualizations to architectural photography, cultural festivals to work within the public sector, our featured guests have all shaped unique careers and explored less conventional avenues. So come join us as they share their unique stories and advice on topics such as career paths, job searching, and so much more!
Featured Guests
As an award-winning architect with over 10 years of experience, Court has proven himself a leader within FORREC’s Architecture Studio. On the international stage, his project locations include Rome, Bogota, Jakarta, Beijing, Riyadh, and Seoul while balancing local projects in Canada and USA. He elevates FORREC's projects by directing design, streamlining processes, overseeing large teams, and budget management – all while maintaining strong client relationships.
As Studio Director, Court works closely with project teams from concept design to project close-out. As a highly collaborative project leader, he develops best practices for his Studio to produce extraordinary projects. He has extensive knowledge in his field including a specialization in Third Place Theory, the space between home and workplace, which led him to publish his first book titled The One Third You Are Missing – Designing Third Places to Revitalize Downtown in 2008. It focuses on the significance of designing authentic social places and is supplemented by thoughts from Ray Oldenburg and Will Alsop.
Sofía Rosemberg is an Architect and Project Manager with over 20 years of diverse, local and international experience.
With a strong blend of Project Management skills and the ability to communicate a clear design vision, Sofía leads complex, multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary transit projects in Toronto. Here, she has delivered large-scale rail transit, high-rise, commercial, and transit-oriented development projects for conventional, public-private partnership, and design-build delivery models.
Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Sofía was the Founding Principal and Director of Architecture, at GAIA Arquitectura, a multi-disciplinary design studio specializing in innovative and environmentally responsible design, based in Venezuela then Mexico. GAIA projects included single and multi-family residential projects, commercial and institutional renovations, as well as hospitality design.
The diversity of her design, construction, and management experience makes her a strong leader in developing and implementing strategies, policies, and procedures to achieve organizational objectives.
Sofía has a unique blend of business and team leadership expertise, with an ability to see the big picture, and the drive to make these visions a reality through efficient execution.
Scott Norsworthy is an architectural photographer and architect based in Toronto. He is a graduate of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto, and the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture at McGill University. Scott has photographed award-winning projects for distinguished architecture and design firms across North America. His creative and professional work is published internationally, and has been included in numerous exhibitions, such as "Italy Under Construction," at the Italian Cultural Institute, Toronto (2017); the "Daniels 125 Exhibition," Toronto (2015); "CONTACT Darkroom 4.0," Toronto (winner, Best Landscape, 2015); and "Urban Fabric: Portraits of a City," at the Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto (2014-2015).
Deborah is a Taiwanese Canadian curator and designer based in Toronto, with a broad range of experiences in contemporary art, design and architecture that spans two decades. She holds a Master of Fine Arts from OCAD University, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Waterloo, earning the prestigious RAIC Student Medal. Through her diverse practice, Deborah has curated and co-curated exhibitions for the Textile Museum of Canada, Harbourfront Centre, Gladstone Hotel, XPACE Cultural Centre, Art Gallery of Ontario, The New Gallery (Calgary), and WantedDesign (New York); organized numerous public programs and exhibitions for DesignTO; and designed for award-winning architectural practices KPMB and superkül. As a community leader and design expert, she has been interviewed by The Globe and Mail, Monocle Radio and CBC Radio, and profiled in Azure Magazine. Currently Deborah is Artistic Director of DesignTO, a non-profit arts organization she co-founded that produces Canada's leading and largest annual design festival, and continues to practice architecture.
A co-founding Principal of B&V, Orest plays a key role in the company's business development and project management.
He began his career as an architect working for various architectural firms in Toronto and New York City, including Philip Johnson Architects (1994), Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates (1995) and Dermot J. Sweeny Architect Inc. (1996). Early in his career, it became apparent that the actual construction process was just as important as the design in delivering a first-class project. Orest soon found that his passion for building rivalled his interest in design. In 2001 he formed B&V with Michael Verity to dedicate to the construction needs of award-winning architects and their clients in Toronto.
With their design background and passion for building, Orest and Mike bridged a gap. B&V has earned the respect of their clients and designers through their understanding and collaborative approach. Orest dedicates his efforts towards co-leading a solid team of dedicated professionals who are just as enthusiastic, diligent, and meticulous about constructing truly exceptional architectural projects. He recently led the construction management of acclaimed restaurant Gusto 501 and the base building renovation of a King West 40,000 SF brick and beam factory for Allied Properties and RioCan.
Terry is a Managing Director at Norm Li, currently the largest architectural visualization firm in Canada. Terry earned his Bachelor of Architectural Studies (2009) and Master of Architecture (2012) at the University of Waterloo. He joined the Norm Li team in 2013 after a variety of architectural internships in Toronto and New York, realizing rendering was a more fulfilling career path. His experience from the State of Art Academy in Italy and certifications as a V-Ray Certified Professional (VCP) and Licensed Trainer (VLT) provides a pillar of technical and educational support for the studio. As a member of the archviz community at large, Terry focuses on the training of artists entering the industry having been a guest speaker at the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, and Ryerson University, and serving on the Professional Advisory Council for architecture at Sheridan College.
About the TSA CONNECT Series
Once a month throughout the Spring, join the Toronto Society of Architects for evenings of networking and relationship building as featured guests from Toronto’s architecture and design industry share their experiences, perspectives, and advice on issues of practice, career, and life. Each session will feature new guests, topics, and small group discussions giving participants the opportunity to ask questions and form connections with our featured guests. Sessions, featured guests, and dates will be announced as they are confirmed, with limited tickets for each session released with the TSA member bulletin so make sure to sign up so you don’t miss out!
This event is free for TSA members using the code found in the April 13 bulletin. Not a member yet? You can join here (and student memberships are free!).
