Let's Harmonize our Buildings with Nature

Written by Suzan Mecitoglu

Edited by Kha Den De / Lera

Save Our Trees

Photo by Suzan Mecitoglu

As I walked past old houses that were about to be replaced by new ones, the words "Save Our Trees" drawn on the walls caught my attention. It reminded me of my favorite architect, Douglas Cardinal, who loved nature and believed buildings should work with nature, not against it.

Douglas Cardinal, known for nature-inspired architecture, valued his native culture, influencing his designs. His buildings blended well with the environment, emphasizing the importance of trees. The flowing shapes reflected his Indigenous heritage, showing harmony between people and surroundings.

Nowadays, there is a tendency to prioritize short-term gains over long-term sustainability. However, the incorporation of Indigenous principles into architecture has the potential to reshape our built environments. By drawing inspiration from nature and recognizing its intrinsic value, architects can create spaces that nurture societies rather than exploit them.

It's crucial to understand that nature isn't just a backdrop; it's vital for our well-being. Each tree and flower contribute to the delicate balance of life. As we advance in architecture, let's acknowledge nature's irreplaceable value.

So, let's prioritize green spaces in our designs, and cherish and protect the trees that make our world a better place. By thoughtfully integrating architecture around nature, we can build a stronger bond with the environment and live in harmony.

As I say goodbye to those homes and trees, I promise to respect nature and support the architects who share these values.

Back to Play

Written by Alisson Talancha

Edited by Kha Den De / Lera

Musical Swings

Photo by Daily tous les jours

A few days ago, a coworker brought her kid to the office, and as I saw him playing around and swinging in the hammock, I got reminded of the time my parents similarly brought me to their workplace. My parents worked in an industrial workshop space, where I got to create my little world using unplugged machines and office tool as my houses and furniture for my dolls. As a “grown-up”, I have always tried to keep this playful and imaginative part of me present with different degrees of success. So watching this kid play in the office, I couldn't help but wonder, how many adults out there would also like to play around, swing in a hammock or twirl in an office chair?

Well, turns out the answer was closer than I thought. Every day we see how movies like Barbie and Avengers bring childhood excitement to adults. Not to mention 'Disney adults' and other adults having kid-like birthday parties.

I realized most adults want to have fun and keep playing, embrace the childishness and let imagination go wild. Adulthood is not what we thought it is - it’s not just numbers, charts and grey suits. Granted, it’s a bit of that, but it’s also colours, games, fun, sparkles and whatever we decide it is.  

Playing has been very important throughout my life, it inspired me to pursue design, through which I hope to bring some joy to people of all ages. It is very important to create opportunities for activation and playing in public. As people involved in the design industry, we hold a privileged position of being able to keep this idea of playfulness alive, bring it to our projects and hopefully make someone's day more joyful.

Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia in Big (1988)

Image by IMDb

Some Thoughts on Active Transportation

Written and Edited by Kha Den De / Lera

Rendering of Winterways Installation

Image by The Laneway Project

Toronto's transit system is a hot topic for discussion that never reaches a conclusion. We have all been in a situation when the streetcar or bus is delayed by 20 minutes and when it finally comes you have to force yourself in and spend a ride squeezed among other passengers. As someone who has been living in Toronto for a while now, I find myself turning to active modes of transportation more and more, instead of using the TTC. The reasoning is that it is often faster, more enjoyable, and allows some physical activity in a world where we spend most days sitting at work or school.

By definition, active transportation means getting from one place to another using your own power and includes walking, biking, skateboarding, etc. However, the problem with Toronto in particular, is that there are numerous construction works, that often block the sidewalks, and bike lanes are simply nonexistent on many roads.

Such obstacles are often discouraging. As a casual bike user, I sometimes have to choose a half an hour streetcar ride over fifteen minutes biking trip as I am reluctant to bike on a car lane of a busy street. And that is why, I see great potential in developing a better active transportation infrastructure, especially, considering the fact that several Toronto-based initiatives like The Laneway Project and The Green Line have already started to transform underutilized laneways and alleyways into attractive alternative corridors for pedestrians and cyclists through greening and revitalization.

It is important to acknowledge that active transportation is not a viable solution for everyone. For instance, parents with young children, older adults, or differently abled individuals may opt to travel by car. Nonetheless, there is a great number of commuters like myself, who currently travel by car and public transit that could make a switch to active transportation.

Just Say Hi! What Happens in Public Transit - A Series

Written by Suzan Mecitoglu

Edited by Kha Den De / Lera

Do you frequently ride public transit with the same group of people?

Since I take the bus frequently, I see familiar faces almost every morning. Sometimes it can be awkward because you don't know how to approach a stranger or if they're willing to chat with you. It is essential to strike a balance between being friendly and respecting personal boundaries. I find that a simple and polite greeting like "Good morning" or "Hello" can be a great way to initiate conversation without being intrusive.

When I first moved to Mississauga, I asked a lady to help me make sure I was taking the right bus to get to university. After continuously seeing her throughout the next week I mastered up the courage and started talking to her. Since then, we would have small talks every morning. It created a positive atmosphere on the bus, making daily commute a more pleasant experience for both of us. During Covid we lost our connection but then crossed paths a year later, which was an unexpected but delightful event, that made me feel genuinely happy.

In a similar vein, I've struck up conversations with other commuters just because I see them every day. It is always a smile that initiates a friendly chat. The rush of getting to the destination often makes commute highly stressful and hurried so who would be against a warm informal conversation? Instead of constantly staring at our phones, I believe we could create our own commuter communities by making casual connections with people we meet throughout the course of a typical day. So the next time you're hesitant to start a conversation with a stranger, just say hello and smile. It will surprise you how much better it could make you feel!

London Underground, Oxford Street Station

Painting by Julia Abele

Tram number 7

Painting by Gulnara Dairova

People and Places

Written and Edited by Kha Den De / Lera

Sugar and Spice, Kensington Market

Photo by Kha Den De / Lera

Every time I find myself in a new place far or close by, whether it is a city or simply a neighbourhood, I feel both thrill and anxiety at the same time: "I am so excited to explore! ... Please let it be fun".

Such mixed feelings are quite common because we believe in a romantic notion of instantly falling in love with a city that is portrayed in many pop-culture movies and books. In reality, however, it takes time for a person to establish connection with a place.

“Cities are, by their definition, full of strangers” - Jane Jacobs

Relationships between people and places are created by... well, other people and places! As you meet people you like and discover places you enjoy, you get more and more attached to them. These touch-points are what make a place - your place.

Hence, people and places exist in an 'eco-system' where one affects another. A good public space brings people together and allows them to connect, which subsequently leads to a creation of community. As people continue to inhabit a space, signifiers of their presence start to appear and alter the character of a space. As such, you and your community become a driving force that initiate changes in the space.

The Outside

Photo by Kha Den De / Lera

In conclusion, people and places are interconnected more than one might expect. While certain spaces alter one's perception of a place or city in general, characters of those spaces are influenced by its occupants. So if you ever feel like you are falling in love with a place, it would be a fair assumption that you somehow contributed to that place's evolution or change.

Animal Sounds and Multicultural Experience

Written by Alisson Talancha

Edited by Kha Den De / Lera

Canine and Feline Hotel

Photo by João Morgado

As someone who lives alone, I realized that working remotely is not all that fun. Not only you start feeling lonely but isolation also rusts your social skills. Back in February, DEXD team moved to a new office. We went from a hybrid schedule of seeing each other once every other week to sharing the space every single day from 9 to 5. Since many of us were relatively new to the company, lunch breaks were filled with extensive weather discussions and awkward staring at each other in silence.

That's when out of desperation I asked: "What do dogs say in your language?"

As a native Spanish-speaking person I always thought dogs say "wau" ("guau" in Spanish). But after starting to learn English I found out that English-speakers use "woof" to describe dog sound. This discovery made me curious, how come universal animal sounds are interpreted differently in each language?

Although this question should probably be intended to a linguist, something amazing happened when I inquired about the subject. I found out that in Turkish dogs say "hav hav," in Farsi "vak vak," in Russian "gav gav," and in Korean "meongmeong". However, the best unintended consequence of my question was that suddenly we were all engaged in a lively conversation about this silly topic, breaking the ice and allowing us to be more social.

This experience with my coworkers also made me think about how we interpret things differently depending on our backgrounds. Whether it's a fun conversation about animal sounds or a complex work subject, having various unique perspectives can be game-changing. The multicultural environment that we exist in, provides us with an extremely valuable opportunity to learn and exchange ideas, which is impossible in a different setting.

*For those who are still curious, I also discovered that roosters do not only say "kikiriki" as my Spanish-speaking mind thought, but in French, they say "cocorico," in Farsi, they say "kukuku," in Russian, they say "kukareku" and in Turkish they say "ü-ürü-üüü". Cats, however, seem to be the clearest in their diction, as in Spanish they say "Miau," in English "Meow," and in many languages, they have a similar "meow" sound.