Photo credit: Kurtis Chen
Perhaps now more than ever before, we are all aware of the built environment that surrounds us, and of the impacts it has on the health of individuals, communities, and the planet. The Architecture of Place series brings together the established and emerging voices working to create a better built future.
This winter, the 蜜桃传媒app, , and will co-host The Architecture of Place: In Conversation with..., a series of Zoom-based talks placing design practitioners, scholars, and educators in dialogue with each other.
In December 2024, we will be joined by architect John Smylie, architect and educator Tiffany Abernathy, and scholar Patricia Canelas. February 2025鈥檚 offerings will include conversations with artist Minty Sainsbury, architect and artist Safoura Zahedi, and architect and educator Sara Bega.
Each talk will give speakers the opportunity to discuss their areas of practice or study, ranging from topics as diverse as place-making and urban development to traditional and vernacular architecture, and field questions from the audience.
The programs are free and open for public registration, and recorded versions of the programs will be made available to all.
In this installment of the winter 2024-2025 Architecture of Place series, Canadian architect, artist, and educator Safoura Zahedi will be joined by British artist Minty Sainsbury for an informal discussion of Zahedi鈥檚 career and the role of architecture and sense of place in her artistic practice.
Safoura Zahedi is an architect, artist, and educator based in Toronto. Her interdisciplinary creative practice combines art and architecture, craft and technology, spirituality and materiality, with a focus on using geometry as a spiritual design tool to create spatial experiences that expand perspectives and inspire connection.
Her cross-cultural approach to the study of geometry reinterprets historically 2D geometric patterns into 3D contemporary spatial experiences and public art using innovative computational tools and digital fabrication techniques, and her work has been featured in The Globe and Mail, Azure, Dezeen, and Designlines magazines and recognized for innovation by Canada鈥檚 2024 Women鈥檚 Empowerment Awards. Safoura lectures on design and digital fabrication at the Toronto Metropolitan University, and on the history of Islamic geometric arts and architecture at the King鈥檚 Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London.
Prior to founding her eponymous studio, Safoura spent nearly a decade leading award-winning projects as part of internationally acclaimed Canadian architecture firms including Moriyama and Teshima Architects and Superk眉l. Her diverse experience ranges from winning international competitions on cultural projects such as the Dubai Archaeology Museum in the UAE, to new-build educational buildings like the Mulroney Institute of Government at St. Francis Xavier University, and interior renovations to iconic landmarks including Toronto鈥檚 CN Tower.