Exhibition: Building with Bio-Based Materials

Date: July 23, 2026 - September 11, 2026
Time: All Day

Location: Paul H. Cocker Gallery, 325 Church St.
Open To: Public

Earlier this year, the Toronto Biobuild Collective (external link, opens in new window) , including more than 60 volunteers and six Toronto-based architectural practices — B+H, Dialog, KPMB, MJMA, studioDeep, and SvN — in collaboration with TMU Building Science graduate students and assistant professor Dorothy Johns (opens in new window) , designed, tested and built a series of wall assemblies using only bio-based materials. These mock-ups assess the viability of these materials for a range of building types, while also identifying their inherent challenges and barriers to wider adoption.

While this exhibition is a culmination of those efforts, it is also a beginning. Current building codes limit the use of many of these materials, but the Toronto Biobuild Collective believe that they hold transformative potential.

“Building with Bio-Based Materials” is one step towards change — a source of inspiration and an invitation to rethink how we build. It is an expression of optimism towards a world in which we build differently — one where we think further into the future and better consider all life around us. A world that is within reach, even if it sometimes feels far away.

The closing event will be taking place on September 9, from 6:00PM - 9:00PM at the Paul H. Cocker Gallery. Titled Low Carbon Materials in Practice, and hosted by the Carbon Leadership Forum Toronto Chapter (external link) and the Toronto Biobuild Collective (external link) , this event will bring together participating architecture firms, material suppliers, collaborators, students, and industry guests to reflect on the mock-up project and the role of low-carbon, bio-based, and circular material systems in the built environment.

Students attend for free. Register (google form) here (external link) for a student discount code.