“These fields are historically exclusionary, and that legacy continues to the present day and shapes who can be an architect or engineer and what ideas and projects are given the spotlight,” said Lynda Bulimo, Equity Education Advisor at şĂÉ«TVl and the lead organizer of Black History Month 2025.
“There’s something we can all learn from those trained through the lens of space because they tell an important story of how we move and exist in the world: why some spaces feel like you can be yourself and why some spaces don’t feel welcoming because of oppressive structures. Weaving together these perspectives will be eye-opening, allowing us to see spaces — and their impacts on different communities – differently,” she said.
Keynote by Shane Laptiste
, principal and co-founder of the award-winning, Toronto-based Studio of Contemporary Architecture (SOCA). A şĂÉ«TVl graduate who teaches at the architecture school, Laptiste, whose focus is community-informed architecture, was a natural choice, said David Theodore, professor and Director of the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture.
“It’s rare for anybody to have the last couple of years as an architect that he’s had, it’s very impressive,” Theodore said.
“He’s a Montrealer, he’s a graduate of the School, he’s working on relevant projects, he’s been working with the Black community inside of the school. It’s a perfect match.”