The Design Review Panel is composed of a mix of multi-disciplinary design-focused professionals including architects, landscape architects, urban designers, and engineers.
Gordon Stratford, OAA, FRAIC, LEED®, is an architect with 35 years of experience in architecture, urban design, interior workplace and product design, and led the creative vision of HOK’s multi-disciplinary Canadian design team from 1997-2017 as Senior VP and Design Principal. He is currently the Principal of G C Stratford – Architect.
Gordon’s design leadership is evidenced by a range of projects both nationally and globally; including the University of Alberta’s Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, Dubai Marina, Honda Canada’s Campus, Doha City Centre, Memorial University’s Core Science Facility and LEED Platinum King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
A graduate of Waterloo and McGill universities, Gordon is a Mentor in the OAA Internship in Architecture Programme. He has served on design excellence juries for the cities of Ottawa, Hamilton and Edmonton. He has also been a guest design critic and presenter at Ryerson and Toronto universities, and frequent panelist at design symposiums. As a guest speaker Gordon has presented a diversity of topics; including designing for discovery, cultural sustainability, integrated creativity and design innovation. He has presented at the University of California Berkeley, Greenbuild, Toronto Meeting of the Minds, Tradeline and Society of College and University Planning Conferences (across North America), Cisco Forums, Ottawa Urban Forum, George Brown Institute Without Boundaries and City of Toronto City-Building Round Tables. His past community service includes serving as board member and chair of one of Ontario’s regional healthcare systems.
Michael Leckman demonstrates strong leadership and consensus building both within the firm and in the field. His design of college and university buildings has transformed academic life across Canada. He champions sustainable innovation, which has enabled new approaches to green building design.
As Principal at Diamond Schmitt, Michael pioneered two important initiatives of knowledge exchange: DSX, a digital platform for information sharing; and DSU, the office’s unique approach to continuing education. As founding member and Vice Chair of Toronto’s Design Review Panel, he has shaped a critical debate on city planning. He has also contributed to the profession as guest critic and lecturer at schools of architecture across Canada, and speaker at industry conferences, including CaGBC and the OAA.
Michael’s major completed works include the Bahen Centre at the University of Toronto; the Governor General’s Medal in Architecture-winning York University Student Centre; the Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre in Medicine Hat; Algonquin College ACCE in Ottawa; the School of Law at Thompson Rivers University; Lethbridge College TTRIP; Red River College Innovation Centre; and the Centre for Green Cities at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto. He is currently working on the additions to the AGO and the New Brunswick Museum, as well as designs for two Zero Carbon paramedic stations.
With over 25 years of experience and widely respected within Canada’s broader architecture and real estate community, Meg is known for her formidable design acumen, rigorous diligence, hands-on approach, and warm and honest communication style. Alongside Andre D’Elia, she co-leads Superkül’s thriving practice and oversees the firm’s residential, academic, adaptive reuse, institutional, commercial, and mixed-use projects.
As an advocate, educator, and mentor, Meg plays a strong leadership role both in and beyond the design community. She has taught at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto (UT) since 2001, and also contributes her expertise in volunteer and board positions, including as past Chair of the Toronto Society of Architects and current Co-Chair of the City of Toronto Design Review Panel, as well as on the Metrolinx Hamilton LRT Design Excellence Conformance Review Panel and Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design Alumni Council. Since 2015, Meg has been a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Toronto Schools (UTS) and on the Steering Committee for the renewal of the school campus on Bloor Street. Most recently, she chaired the Selection Committee for the St. Lawrence of the Arts Design Competition.
Meg received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Waterloo, winning the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in her thesis year, and holds a Master in Design Studies from Harvard University. She is a registered architect with the Ontario Association of Architects and was made a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 2015. In 2020, Meg received the H.J. Crawford Award from UTS in recognition of her contributions to the advancement of the school through commitment, dedication and volunteerism, and a lifetime of significant achievements in contributing to greater society. In 2022, she was recognized in The Women Who Changed Architecture (Princeton Architectural Press), a chronicle of the triumphs, challenges, and impact of over 100 women in architecture.
Ralph Giannone, OAA, AAA, FRAIC, is a founding principal of Giannone Petricone Associates which he leads in fulfilling a vision for a diverse practice whose work, despite type or scale, is infused with exceptional rigor in design details and an extraordinary passion for people-first urbanism.
Ralph’s exceptional range as an architect, urbanist and designer champions GPA’s expertise across design disciplines. The far reaching awards and international recognition for his work is testament to the strength in diversity of the practice, and how one type of project can significantly inform another. Ralph leads design dialogue, working closely with teams on projects with an unparalleled talent for scale-agnostic design. He builds the design culture of the firm, elevates the calibre of its work, and promotes GPA’s conviction that design has the power to better everyday life and happens in all project types and phases of work.
Ralph graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Toronto in 1987, is a member of the Ontario Association of Architects, the Alberta Association of Architects, and in 2013 was made a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. He is invited to contribute his knowledge and expertise at numerous fora that present innovation in the approach and role of design in city making and public space; and, since its inception in 2007, Ralph has been a member of the City of Toronto Design Review panel. His leadership in the design community, as well as the continued successes of GPA, have highlighted Ralph’s innovative approach to the firm’s work which has contributed to various conferences and symposia, including those for ULI, Ontario Planning Forum, Strategy Institute, and for several municipalities.
Anna Madeira, OAA, is an Architect and a Principal at BDP Quadrangle. She specializes in leading large-scale community transformation and intensification projects and she is motivated by creating architecture that resonates beyond its boundaries and gives greater meaning to people’s lives. She is committed to mentoring the next generation of studio leaders, both in developing projects and also fostering an equitable, inclusive and efficient work environment.
Anna is currently working on the redevelopment of six residential rental sites, thoughtfully adding rental units in established communities. She recently led the refurbishment and adaptive reuse of North York’s Yonge Sheppard Centre, one of Toronto’s largest mixed-use developments. She has also recently worked on Downtown Markham, an entirely new mixed-use community under development adjacent to the Rouge River. She was also a member of the Planning, Design and Compliance team that prepared standards for the construction of the Athletes’ Village for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.
Heather Rolleston has 20 years of experience designing, leading and managing award winning projects in the residential, mixed-use, master plan and commercial sectors. As a Principal at Quadrangle, Heather is responsible for design reviews and elevating the design practices of the studio across all the markets the firm services.
Heather studied architecture at the University of Toronto and, upon graduating, worked at a number of firms in Toronto. She has developed an appreciation for, and expertise in, Toronto’s unique design and development culture. Prior to joining Quadrangle, she worked at architectsAlliance for 16 years, achieving the title of Senior Associate and working on projects like: St. James Cathedral Centre, Regent Park’s Block 24 South, The Evergreen Brick Works Master Plan, and 158 Streling Avenue, the new home of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art.
She continues to be active in the architecture and design community as a guest critic a both the University of Waterloo, School of Architecture and the University of Toronto Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design.
M.Arch | OAA | OAQ | MAA | FRAIC | LEED®AP
Principal Architect, Smoke Architecture Inc.
KaaSheGaaBaaWeak | Eladia Smoke is Anishinaabekwe from Obishikokaang | Lac Seul First Nation, with family roots in Alderville First Nation, Winnipeg, and Toronto. Eladia has worked in architecture since 2002, and founded Smoke Architecture as principal architect in 2014. She is the first Anishinabekwe architect in Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, as well as the third Indigenous woman licensed as an architect in Canada. She taught as a Master Lecturer at Laurentian’s McEwen School of Architecture from 2016 to 2022. She serves as a founding member of RAIC’s Indigenous Task Force. Eladia represented Canada at the 2018 Venice Biennale Unceded exhibition as part of an international team of Indigenous designers and architects. Current professional work includes community-based and institutional projects working alongside Indigenous stakeholders, collaborating with First Nation communities, and listening closely to our Elders.
An architect and urban designer, Paul Kulig, OAA, MRAIC, is a Principal at the Toronto office of Perkins+Will. He co-leads the global Urban Design practice, bringing a particular focus to the space between architecture, landscape and urban design. Paul’s work is shaped by a strong understanding of the roles social equity and economics play in city building. His practice includes an intentionally diverse portfolio of designs for streetscapes and public spaces, transit stations, neighbourhood master plans, affordable housing and campuses.
Over the last twenty years, Paul has led a wide variety of design projects for a broad range of municipal, institutional, not-for-profit and private sector clients. As Project Manager and Lead Urban Designer for the City of Toronto’s ambitious EGLINTONconnects project, Paul developed a comprehensive streetscape plan for the 19km Eglinton Crosstown LRT. Paul also prepared the initial schematic designs and feasibility study for the YWCA Elm Centre, and went on to lead the detailed design and construction administration for the LEED Silver building that provides homes for over 300 families.
Paul is currently leading the preparation of a new Resilient Form-Based Code for the City of Miami Beach and Toronto’s Transit Design Guide. Past projects include the TOcore Building for Liveability Study, GO Transit Design Excellence Guidelines, the Meadoway and the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Urban Design Guidelines.
Applied research forms a key component of Paul’s practice and he has led the development of the Living Urban Districts Framework – a tool for integrating public realm design with quantifiable public health metrics. He is also a frequent speaker on topics of active transportation and public space design, for both academic and professional audiences. His work has been recognized by awards from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Ontario Association of Architects, Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Joe works both as an architect with extensive adaptive reuse experience as well an urban designer involved in the development of numerous community master plans. Notable award-winning projects include the design of community renewal projects such as the Artscape Wychwood Barns (2008) and Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto (2010), the Eltuek Centre for the Arts in Cape Breton (2020), as well as the L’Arche Dayspring Chapel in Richmond Hill (1998).
Joe’s urban design experience includes Waterfront Toronto’s 2004 West Don Lands Precinct Plan (with UDA); coordination of the 2015 Pan Am Games Athlete’s Village on behalf of the Province of Ontario; coordination of the Film Studio District Urban Design Guidelines (PIC Core) for the City of Toronto; Richmond Hill’s Key Development Areas Secondary Plan; Whitby Harbour Master Plan for Brookfield; Baker District Master Plan for downtown Guelph, the Downsview Park Aerospace Campus and Cultural Commons for the Canada Lands Corporation, as well as the Parkdale Community Hub Master Plan.
Joe has also coordinated several design competitions, including an ideas competition for Toronto’s waterfront on behalf of the TSA (2001), the first affordable housing renewal project in Regent Park (2005), a net zero carbon tall wood academic facility to be called Limberlost Place for George Brown College (2019), and a new Provincial Art Gallery for the Province of Nova Scotia in Halifax (2020).
As chair of the Toronto Society of Architects from 2001 to 2004, Joe led the creation of an award-winning contemporary architecture guide map for the GTA. Joe is also the recipient of the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from Sustainable Buildings Canada and in 2020, he received the OAA Randy Roberts Service Award, recognizing his service to the profession.
A principal at JRS, Jessica Hutcheon has earned a reputation for her steady leadership, technical acumen, generous mentorship, holistic thinking, and deep commitment to improving cities through human-scale urban design and thoughtful placemaking.
Jessica works across a wide range of scales, from urban plazas and public parks to streetscapes and large mixed-use and transit-oriented developments. With every project, she excels at balancing the need to address complex problems and deftly navigate municipal approvals processes with a passion for improving people’s quality of life and inspiring joy. She is adept at leading multidisciplinary teams over the course of multi-phase projects, with a talent for bringing together diverse stakeholders and perspectives.
As an accredited Green Roof professional, Jessica oversees green-roof designs for JRS; she also advises on the implementation of sustainable green practices and technologies across all the firm’s projects. She is a member of ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) Championship Team and is a Professional Reviewer for the OALA’s Professional Development Program.
Sibylle von Knobloch, OALA, CSLA, ASLA, is a principal of O2 Planning and Design. Formerly the co-founder and principal of NAK Design Group. she has more than 35 years’ experience in landscape architecture, urban design, urban ecology and project management in Canada and abroad.
Sibylle is passionate about city building and providing sustainable solutions for urban spaces. At every design scale she has committed her practice to contextually sensitive solutions that enhance the pedestrian experience and strengthen the relationship with nature.
Sibylle is a registered member of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, the American Society of Landscape Architects and has participated as a juror for the Mississauga Urban Design Awards and the Toronto Urban Design Awards. She is the recipient of the 2023 OALA Carl Borgstrom Award for Service to the Environment.
A founding Principal of PMA Landscape Architects, James (Jim) Melvin, MLA, OALA, FCSLA, has over 40 years of landscape architectural experience and has been responsible for projects of major open space development, urban infill parks, community and park planning and long-term care residences and schools.
James has retired from PMA and has opened his own consulting practice Realm Works. The company focus is design and planning of spaces to enrich and enhance the public realm.
James Melvin is a member of the CSLA College of Fellows and past Chair, 2008-2009, recipient of the CSLA Schwabenbauer President’s Award and the OALA Pinnacle Award.. He has participated as a juror for the CSLA National Awards; Nathan Phillips Square International Student Design Competition, Univ. of Guelph/Waterloo; Excellence In Planning Awards, OPPI; Mississauga Urban Design Awards and for Canada Blooms. Jiim has taught at University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University (Ryerson). Jim is also a past President of the Canadian National Exhibition.
Dima Cook is a Heritage Conservation Architect, a Principal at EVOQ Architecture, and the Director of their Toronto office. She has over 25 years of experience working in a wide range of contexts from urban to arctic settings. She is recognized for managing large, complex conservation projects from early design to contract administration, and has authored multiple heritage studies and reports.
She was a founding member of the Montreal Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. She is LEED AP accredited and was co-chair of the Association for Preservation Technology (APT) Sustainable Preservation Sub-committee on Climate Change from 2011 to 2016. She served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP) from 2018 to 2022. She continues to co-chair the CAHP Advocacy Committee focused on issues of Climate Change and Sustainable Conservation. She has been a member of the City of Toronto Design Review Panel since 2014.
Margaret Briegmann, P.Eng, has over 20 years of experience in transportation planning and engineering with a project base consisting of a number of successful institutional, commercial and residential developments in the urban context. She is an Associate at BA Group as well as an active member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.
Her work in long range planning and operations has included traffic impact studies, parking studies, transportation demand management plans, avenue studies and master plans. Based on her work on feasibility studies and peer reviews, Margaret has developed strong working relationships with a dedicated client base in both the public and private sectors.
Margaret has managed the development of the transportation system for many residential and mixed-use projects in downtown Toronto, including in-depth studies of vehicular, bus, truck, cyclist and pedestrian operations as well as integration with the existing and future road and transit network, and the underground PATH pedestrian walkway.
For several years, Margaret has volunteered her time and professional expertise working with architects, artists and urban planners on projects in parks and public spaces, including Massey Harris Park, June Callwood Park, Historic Fort York and the Toronto Sculpture Garden.
Jim Gough is a transportation engineer, with 40 years of experience in public and private sector projects. He has significant experience relating to urban development across Canada, addressing complete streets and urban intensification, via relevant disciplines such as traffic engineering, active transportation and transit, as well as parking. His experience includes a wide range of assignments related to place-making and urban intensification. Recent urban design-related projects to which Jim has contributed include the Bloor Street West Visioning Study and the two St. Clair Avenues Studies, the Re-imagining Yonge Environmental Assessment and the Lower Yonge Precinct Plan, all for the City of Toronto, and designs for the redevelopment of Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Scarborough Town Centre, on behalf of Oxford Properties Ltd. Jim managed the Hurontario/Main Street Transit, Urban Design and Land Use Master Plan, which received the Canadian Institute of Planners Award of Excellence in Transportation and Infrastructure. Jim has a focus on sustainability in transportation, and he is the past Chair of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Sustainability Task Force. He now serves on the Transportation Research Board’s Light Rail Transit Committee, and is the past Chair of that Committee’s Streetcar Sub-Committee.
Olivia Keung, B.E.S., M.Arch, OAA, MRAIC, CPHD, is an Associate at Moriyama Teshima Architects, whose work demonstrates a commitment to building a low carbon, sustainable future, integrated with a focus on projects that generate positive social impact. At MTA, Olivia has played key roles on some of the most innovative and forward-thinking building projects to date. She is currently the Project Architect for Science North, a project comprising two science centres situated in Thunder Bay and Kenora that are both targeting Zero Carbon certification. She is part of the team for the Limberlost Place, a tall, mass timber, operational zero carbon building that will transform George Brown College’s waterfront campus. Olivia led the consultant team that worked alongside Waterfront Toronto to author their Green Building Requirements, released in 2021. The GBRs are part of a larger, holistic vision to build complete urban communities that are both resilient and inclusive.
With a commitment to educating others about the role buildings play in today’s climate emergency, Olivia has spoken extensively about the design of zero carbon buildings, including lectures at the CaGBC’s Innovation Series, the University of Toronto and George Brown College. She is an active member of the RAIC, serving on the Advisory Committee for Promoting Equity and Justice and the Climate Action Engagement Plan Steering Committee. These advocacy roles enable her to push for greater climate action while also highlighting issues related to environmental justice.
Juhee Oh, M.Arch, EcoDistricts AP, is the Director of Climate Strategy at Choice Properties as part of their Sustainability and Placemaking team. In this role, she is overseeing the development and the rollout of climate-related activities as Choice Properties pursue their commitment of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. She is advancing climate-related design in both the development pipeline and the existing portfolio of over 700 properties.
Juhee has extensive knowledge in sustainability advisory, frameworks, and standards across a broad range of sectors, including buildings, transportation, energy, and land-use planning. Previously at WSP, she managed and led a team that specializes in facilitating sustainability-informed decision-making at the strategic level. Juhee has led a multitude of multi-disciplinary teams in developing and delivering complex sustainability plans, policies, programs and frameworks for cities and the private sector. With a background in architecture and urban planning, Juhee Oh has worked on Sustainability and Energy projects with various design teams and municipalities for the past 15 years. Juhee has been involved with sustainability projects across the full building and infrastructure life cycle spectrum – from urban planning to design and operation. Juhee’s recent work includes South Niagara Hospital Environmental Plan, City of Toronto Emissions Reduction Policy Strategy for Existing Buildings and California High Speed Rail Sustainability Advisory.