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Making Models

Green background with red diamond and model of building turned sideways

Works by:

Brady Peters and Mitchell Akiyama, CN Tower Liquidation, LAMAS, Lateral Office, Nestor Kruger and Yam Lau, Public Studio, studio junction, Terrarea, UUfie

Map with area highlighted in green and red
Green Models of buildings
Red zig-zag pattern on green background

Making Models


Model Proposals
September 6 – October 7, 2017
University of Toronto Art Centre

1:1 Model Installation
September 21 – November 25, 2017
Sir Daniel Wilson Quad, St George Campus (map)

Curated by Yan Wu
Graphic Design by Chris Lee
Exhibition Design by Mercury Bureau
Design Brief Consultation Marcin Kedzior
Project Advisor Adrian Blackwell

Nine Toronto architecture studios and artist groups have been invited to propose ideas and prototypes in model form that foster analytical, conceptual, physical and tectonic frameworks for inhabiting and constructing urban space and the public sphere. They are: Brady Peters and Mitchell Akiyama; CN Tower Liquidation; LAMAS; Lateral Office; Nestor Kruger and Yam Lau; Public Studio; studio junction; Terrarea; and UUfie.

Presented by the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, Making Models is an exciting new project that brings together architecture and art, staged to advance innovative and critical ideas in experimental architecture in Toronto.

Produced in various scales that involve speculative, functional, representational and/or relational approaches, these architectural models, in response to the theme “Meet Me There”, take as their point of departure an exemplary public space – the Sir Daniel Wilson Quad, an outdoor courtyard and urban oasis located on the downtown campus of the University of Toronto.

Design Brief for the Participants
Proposal Concept Statements and Bios

All nine proposal models will be on display in a group exhibition at the Art Museum from September 6 to October 7, 2017. A select jury composed of professionals in the fields of art and architecture, as well as student representatives, chose UUfie’s proposal Wa-Wa from among nine submissions, to be realized in 1:1 model at the Sir Daniel Wilson Quad, which will be on display from September 21 through November 25, 2017. The project engages in a dialogue with a complex network of architecture, infrastructure, furniture, vegetation, and movement of people. The jury also chose two finalists: LAMAS, who designed a fabric datum and series of ladders which would create a new perspective of the Quad, and Lateral Office, whose public furniture project, “Rings/Rooms,” would create new forms of social engagement.

Jury Members: Alex Bozikovic (Architecture critic, The Globe and Mail); Tom Dean (artist); Marianne McKenna (Founding Partner, KPMB Architects); November Paynter (Director of Programs, Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada); and Irene Sunwoo (Curator, Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery; Director of Exhibitions, Columbia University GSAPP).

Opening Reception

Wednesday September 6, 2017
Hart House Quad

Revealing of 1:1 Model Installation

Thursday September 21, 2017
Sir Daniel Wilson Quad / University of Toronto Art Centre

Virtual Architecture Tour of the University of Toronto St. George Campus

Saturday September 30, 2017
Featuring Alex Bozikovic, Architecture critic at The Globe and Mail

Vote for Your Favourite Model

During the exhibition, from September 6 to October 7, voting stations were available for the public to vote for the People’s Choice Award. The winner of the Making Models People’s Choice Award is Spatial Sonic Network by Brady Peters and Mitchell Akiyama.

Join the conversation and share your favourite Making Models moment: #makingmodels2017

Our Supporters

We gratefully acknowledge the operating support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council, with additional project support from the Canada Council for the Arts Grants to Culturally Diverse Curators for Residencies in the Visual Arts and Project Grants for Organizations in the Architecture, and the Ontario Arts Council Culturally Diverse Curatorial Projects grant. And special thanks to Academic + Campus Events, Campus Planning, Grounds Department and the University College at the University of Toronto for their support in the realization of this project. The media sponsor is Azure.


Title Image: Chris Lee (cairolexicon), Model M Postcard, 2017.

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