Design-Build Projects
DAS students participate in a wide variety of experiential learning activities, including design-build projects. These collaborative installations showcase student innovation, develop professional skills, and foster teamwork, while making meaningful contributions to the public realm. Work is supported by the Department’s Associate Chair of Experiential Learning and a dedicated workshop team, including Jordan So, Jason Ramelson, Filip Tisler.
2026 Strata
Inspired by the Northern Lights, STRATA reflects the way light drifts across terrain, translating this natural phenomenon into layers of material that shift in color and tone - recreating the immensity of the Aurora Borealis in an intimate storefront window. Featured at DesignTO (external link) , with support of Choice Properties and Yonge+St.Clair.
Student team: Dhruvan Modugula (lead), with Ambreen Dhaliwal, Arjun Jain, Zain Malik, Dhruvan Modugula, Jullian Pretti, Lior Shnee.
2025 Park(ing) Day
Transforming recycled materials into an inviting sculptural threshold, this installation joined several pop-up parks occupying parking spaces across the city September 19-21, as part of the annual Park(ing) Day Toronto (external link) event. Featured in DAS news.
Student team: Sana Galloway (project lead); Jane Yu Tung Wong (fabrication lead); José Calle (installation lead); with Angelique Rybinski, Catarina Godinho Nascimento, Carson Luong, Dante Dicroce, Dhruvan Modugula, Mirko Gcia, Mhazabin Fairuz, Saad Malik, Sydney Broom, Preetul Pasha, Zoe Huang. Photography: Jade Yu Tung Wong, Mirko Garcia, Theo Tsang.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
2025 Solstice
Installed within the Toronto Botanical Garden (external link) and unveiled at the summer solstice – in alignment with sunrise – Solstice captures the richness of summer through the choreography of sunlight, shadow, and breeze. Solstice acts as a quiet ceremonial marker at the entry to garden paths, animating sensory details of the natural world. Video here (external link) . Images Courtesy of Joel Gale Imaging & Marko Jovanovic.
Student team: Arjun Jain & Jade Yu Tung Wong (leads); Fabrication: Dhruvan Modugula; Installation: Avery Jordan, Jose Miguel, Sana Galloway, and Post2Fence (external link) .
Faculty advisor: Yew-Thong Leong.
2025 Solair
Created for Winter Stations (external link) , the international design competition for Toronto’s Woodbine Beach, Solair captures the ephemeral beauty of dawn through the interplay of light, wind, and reflection. Inspired by the transition from night to day, Solair amplifies sunlight and air, transforming them into a dynamic, ever-changing visual and sensory experience. Featured in Canadian Architect (external link) and DAS news.
Video here (external link) . More images here (external link) . Video by Jade Yu Tung Wong. Image Courtesy of Joel Gale Imaging & Marko Jovanovic.
Student team: Arjun Jain & Jade Yu Tung Wong (leads); Design: Nicholas Kisil, Marko Sikic, Finn Ferrall; Fabrication: Alia Bahomed, Annaly Yousif, Ariya Chib, Avery Jordan, Bill Tran, Catherine Cairns, Dhruvan Modugula, Erik James, Jose Miguel, Lior Shneer, Mariam Haggag, Morgan Leithead, Rafa Tohan, Sana Galloway, Zain Malik.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
2025 ん Wave
Replacing the 2022 Cloud installation (external link) , ん Wave greets people as they pass the Architecture Building’s Church Street entrance. Its cantilevering and curving rice board planks playfully cascade along the entrance stairs and among the planters, announcing the Department to passersbys and demonstrating the potential of sustainable design. Featured in DAS news.
Student team: Design: Leshin Chew, Samantha Wu, Jeffrey Zee; Fabrication: Katy Cao, Bernadette Galingan, Sana Galloway, Cici Huang, Avery Jordan, Grace Lee, Massimo Montanari, Angel Nguyen Tran, Rafa Tohan, Jade Yu Tung Wong.
Faculty advisor: William Galloway.
2024 Park(ing) Day
Park(ing) Day Toronto (external link) is part of an annual global, public, participatory art project to temporarily transform on-street parking spaces into places for art, play, and activism. In 2024, DAS students participated for the first time, creating a seating area on Gould Street – a key TMU thoroughfare. With reclaimed lumber from a recent TimberFever (external link) event, where DAS students also participate, the team designed and fabricated a curvaceous socializing zone laced with luminous leftover styrene. Fabrication montage video (external link) . More images here (external link) . Images by Dean Roumanis & Marko Jovanovic.
Student team: Design: Dean Roumanis (lead), Marko Jovanovic, Avery Jordan, Rachel Kim, Daniel Wolinski, Jade Yu Tung Wong (video); Fabrication: Arjun Jain, Dhruvan Modugula, Jose Calle, Zain Malik.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
2024 Nova
Inspired by the origami, Nova incorporates a textile canopy over a steel pipe structure and 3D printed connections to create a star pavilion for panoramic views of the wintry beach and night sky. Featured in DAS news, TMU Eyeopener (external link) , Canadian Architect (external link) , Design Lines (external link) , ArchDaily (external link) , The Architects Newspaper (external link) .
Student team: Jake Levy (lead); Design: Emily Lensin, Luca Castellan, Nathaniel Barry; Fabrication: Jabeeh Mobashar, Mikayla Burmania, Dean Roumanis, Finn Farrall, Nicholas Kasil, Marko Sikic, Gabriel Boscal, Massimo Montanari, Cici Huang, Cali Cavarzan, Andrew De Lorenzi, Marko Jovanovic, Rachel Kim, Luke Jin, Christine Ho, Samanta Sohail, Henry Chong-Bedrossian, Audrey Babazadeh, Rafaela Sposito, and Kiana Bermudez. Photos: Dean Roumanis, Gabriel Bocsa, Jake Levy, and Ariel Weiss. Videography: Nicholas Kisil.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
2023 Inhale/Exhale
A temporary public art installation in the Yonge Street storefront window of Toronto’s Eaton’s Centre from August to October 2023. Realized with support from the Downtown Yonge BIA and Cadillac Fairview Eaton Centre, Inhale/Exhale was designed to provide a moment of respite and mindfulness in the busy city, with animated louvers moving with the calmness of a slow breath. Featured in Canadian Architect (external link) and DAS news. Images by Jake Levy here (external link) .
Student team: Noah Spivak (lead); Design: Daniel Fiala, Sabeeh Mobashar, Mirette Nasr, Marko Jovanovic, Nicole Suen, Rysa Braganza, Bryana Jagdipsingh, Raand Al-Orabi; Fabrication: Jake Levy, Dean Roumanis, Fatema Masuma, Katarina Basaric, Diana Morozova, Katya Stok.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
2023 Traverse
Installed alongside Inhale/Exhale in the Yonge Street storefront window of Toronto’s Eaton’s Centre with support from the Downtown Yonge BIA and Cadillac Fairview Eaton Centre. Traverse celebrates the intersectionality of the city's cultural diversity by showcasing neighbourhoods and landmarks mapped onto translucent acrylic panels. Featured in DAS news, with images and video (external link) by Jake Levy.
Student team: Manuel Ortega Santos (lead); Design: Kevin Hioe, Lala Leung, Dejana Nesovic, Saskia Scarce, Katya Stokoz, Darya Stukalova, Tiffany Chui; Fabrication: Jake Levy, Dean Roumanis, Fatema Masuma, Katarina Basaric, Diana Morozova, Sabeeh Mobashar, Mirette Nasr.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
2023 Ethera
Created as part of the 2023 Media Architecture Biennale and installed at College Park. Ethera merges technology, art, and architecture into an interactive LED installation crafted from translucent polycarbonate sheets and recycled glass aggregate. Built in collaboration with TMU’s Creative School students, and Toronto lighting design studio Urban Visuals (external link) and StrongLED. Featured in DAS news and TMU Creative School news.
Student team: Design: Ariel Weiss, Jana Stojanovska; Fabrication: Jake Levy, Dean Roumanis, Rachel Kim, Luke Jin, Irene Kim, Masrur Ananya. Photos by Ariel Weiss and Jake Levy. Coordination: Ling Ding.
Faculty advisors: Vincent Hui, Dave Colangelo.
2023 Ripple Hut
An homage to the form, purpose and beauty of canoes, Ripple Hut creates a protective space of upright canoe-like structures with structural connections and apertures that play with the effects of light and shadow. Featured at Winter Stations (external link) .
Student team: Cesar Rodriguez Perfetti (lead); Design: Jake Kroft, Dean Roumanis; Fabrication: Cassidy Ho, Jake Levy, Chau (Karlie) Nguyen, Thomas Hristov, Mikayla Burmania, Muhammad Ghaffar, Zayd Patel, Dana Kim, Julia Sider, Kateryna Stokoz, Jana Stojanovska, Jasmine Thomas, Min Jung Kim, Violeta Rodriguez Zurita, Luke De Bartolo, Brianna Vaga, Nadia Miftah, Gisele Ortega-Joseph, Stefan Giro, Nava Mahouri, Giuliana Fonseca-Velazquez.
Faculty advisors: Vincent Hui.
2022 S’Winter Station
Embodying the forces of nature, this pavilion embraces the winter wind, snow, and sun of Woodbine Beach with wing-like protective structures and sculptural window panels formed of concretized beach towels. Featured in Winter Stations (external link) , AGO news (external link) , DAS news, and video (external link) .
Student team: Evan Fernandes, Kelvin Hoang, Alexandra Winslow, Justin Lieberman & Ariel Weiss.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
Ice Breakers 2019: Tripix
Installation for the 2019 Ice Breakers outdoor art exhibition, dislayed near HTO Park East along the Queens Quay. Tripix is one of only five installations chosen, and has been subsequently displayed at Nathan Philips Square. Tripix brings the idea of the ocular-centric experience of architecture to light through the faceted reflective interior condition. More here (external link) .
Students: Zeenah Mohammed Ali, Thomas Gomez Espina, Tatiana Estrina, Vivian Nyachira Kinuthia, Florencio IV Tameta, Gloria Zhou.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
Design advisors: Filip Tisler, Frank Bowen, Jason Ramelson, Vincent Hui
2019 King Street Installations
Toronto Met and the City of Toronto collaborated on ShapeLab, an experiential learning opportunity with the King Street Transit Pilot. Department of Architectural Science students were part of three of the four winning teams: Imprint, Resonance, and Caravanserais. More here.
Imprint Students: Jasper Leung, Annette Chan, Kaila Orr, Parth Gandhi, Parth Modi.
Resonance Students: Shengnan Gao, Marwa Al-Saqqar, Janel Ellis, Merone Shifferaw, Dane J.Simpson.
Caravanserais Students: Tristan Rouse, Alex Hardy, Kaitlyn Hundt, Fehn Foss, Alex Gaio.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
Winter Stations 2018: NEST
Installation for the fourth annual Toronto Winter Stations (external link, opens in new window) design competition displayed along the East Beaches. Each year, Winter Stations contestants must follow a particular building theme. With its colourful web-like exterior and calm interior, NEST explores ideas of comfort within a system of disorder. More here (external link) .
Students: Henry Mai, Adrian Chîu, Arnel Espanol.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
Grow Op 2018: Stratum
An immersive, student-led installation for the sixth annual Gladstone Hotel Grow Op, an exhibition of art and design. Projects are designed to create immersive landscapes by engaging the audience’s sight, touch, hearing and taste. More here (external link) .
Students: Tatiana Estrina, Jiaqi Liu, Thomas Gomez-Ospina, and Shengyu Cai, Shengnan Gao and Erin Pang.
Faculty advisor: Vincent Hui.
Design Builds 2010-2019
Check more of our community engaged design build projects created from 2010 to 2019 on our DAS Exhibitions page (external link) .