We are excited to introduce the participants to this year’s LEA competition. Please read their bios below and let us know if you are interested in attending the judging/celebration evening.
Read about the LEA competition here: https://www.symmetrylighting.com/lea/
*UPDATED: TEAM SNAP | Jessica MacDaniel, Taylor Boisjoli and Dina Dudokh
Jessica moved to British Columbia to study at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. She has done community engagement work in Ontario, Yukon, and British Columbia. Currently, she is a Landscape Architecture student at UBC.
Taylor is a landscape designer whose practice is grounded in material and composition, while often drawing inspiration from a landscape’s anthropological past. Taylor uses her experience working with heritage and archaeologically sensitive sites to bring a long term understanding of environmental processes and the built environment to her projects. She is especially excited about green-shores and detailed work with local materials and plant communities. *not in image above
Dina is a BCSLA intern. She is originally from Amman, Jordan where she graduated from the German Jordanian University with BSc in Architecture . She graduated from the Master of Landscape Architecture program at UBC and is currently working as a junior landscape designer at Durante Kreuk Landscape Architecture. *not in image above
TEAM MM | Alex Laos, Arkgo Chen and Jivan Khera
Alex is an ambitious architecture student seeking adventure in the field of design and architectural practice. He is also an explorer who enjoys confronting challenges with a creative mind and experimental endeavor. Alex sees design as an opportunity to challenge our understanding of space by finding new typologies in architecture. He believes cities should not be autonomous but rather, dynamic and interactive in their nature.
The gesture of thinking makes a building a work of architecture. Building a work of architecture is the gesture of thinking. Arkgo is a Masters student studying at the University of British Columbia with a passion for urban ecology and visual communication. As a Vancouverite, he is strongly inspired by his surrounding environment, which consists of divine nature and vibrant culture. This inspiration always relates to his experience with architecture. Arkgo’s visit to Teshima Art Museum in Japan was a critical sustainable architectural inspiration for him – it was a space that comes into being as something that goes back to nature as it is. He came to realize that a work of sustainable architecture is to contribute back to the surrounding environment, to re-discover an identity that belongs, to re-establish experience that evokes memories, and to recall that “design” is to solve problems of the age.
Since Jivan was young, he had an affinity for the built environment and its impact on people. He was always curious as to what factors dictated the design of the built environment and its eventual impact on the people that experienced these spaces. It became his goal to understand this phenomenon. Going through the Architectural Science degree at the British Columbia Institute of Technology laid a foundation of understanding, which was built upon further by pursuing his Master of Architecture degree at the University of British Columbia.
TEAM RENDEZVOUS | Shaheed Karim and Celia Winters
Shaheed is a Master of Landscape Architecture candidate at the University of British Columbia. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Calgary, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies. His passion for design grew out of his interest in men’s fashion and sneakers before expanding to the urban realm. His current interests include the role Landscape Architecture can play in preventing environmental gentrification as well as creating perfect outdoor seating elements.
Celia Winters, a 2nd year UBC Master of Landscape Architecture Candidate, is a multidisciplinary designer and artist. Paired with an exhibit and graphic design background, Celia transplanted to Vancouver 9 years ago to pursue her creative profession and to enjoy the abundance of the great outdoors. Through her work, Celia is continually exploring how design can influence and benefit the built environment for the people and systems that reside within them.
TEAM DESIGN STRATEGY | Mahdi Tavanpour and Narges (Ela) Abedian
Mahdi has received a Master’s degree in Architecture from IAUM in Iran and a Post Master in Urban Design from UBC. Moreover, he attended the Architectural and Building Technology program at BCIT (certificate level).
Ela is studying Master of Urban Design at UBC following a Bachler’s degree in Architecture from IAUM in Iran. In addition, she attended the Architectural and Building Technology program at BCIT (certificate level).
TEAM LUCIE’N FAIRE | Eleanor Arkin and Mélanie Trottier
Eleanor is passionate about community-driven, process-based placemaking. She is a co-founder of the urban catalyst group, frida&frank, who looks to change people’s perspectives on public space through experiential learning and play, prioritizing impact over outcome. She sees our cities as urban ecosystems and believes in nurturing a symbiotic relationship between people and their environment. She designed the pop-up ping-pong table which frida&frank uses as a platform for conversation through play. She currently co-leads the Vancouver-based public space ‘youth hub’ in collaboration with CityHive, and designs/builds out of Makerlabs. She received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Design (H) in 2016 from UBC where she first delved into the realm of placemaking and design thinking processes.
Mélanie is driven by an inclusive and context-sensitive design and collaborative projects with and for the community. Graduated from masters in architecture and urban design in 2016, she likes to make people understand how their environment influences their lives and how they can be a part of a sustainable change. Working with the Quebec City’s Urban Design and Landscape Architecture Department, she assists in the Complete Street Policy, developed a guideline for temporary plazas, and managed the follow up with various stakeholders of several temporary public space projects. She has also developed skills in conception, construction and the evaluation of public space by working for l’Atelier Le Banc as a designer.
TEAM O + A | Olivia Lyne and Anna Thomas
Olivia is a graduate student at the University of British Columbia. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Victoria and has education in City and Regional Planning, Permaculture, and Sustainable Community Development prior to her time at UBC. She is currently a candidate in the Masters of Landscape Architecture Program and is completing her final semester. Her thesis focuses on re-inscribing forgotten urban spaces as activated small-scale landscapes, providing a new experience of the prominent Broadway transportation corridor in Vancouver, B.C. Olivia’s studio and academic work reflect a commitment to sustainable, people-oriented design offering design solutions at a variety of scales.
Anna Thomas is from Oklahoma and moved to Vancouver, BC to pursue a Masters in Landscape Architecture. Her background is in Visual Arts, specifically sculpture and painting. She seeks to incorporate her interest in visual art with landscape architecture through public art projects and unique built interventions. For her thesis she is creating a new system, incorporating waste management and the shipping industry, where waste is seen as a commodity and processed on the cargo ship, therefore never put into landfills. Upon graduation, she hopes to intern abroad for a couple years before getting licensed and starting an art and design firm with some of her peers.
