School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape

05/28/2026

Last week, our landscape architecture faculty member Dr. Douglas Robb led an international group of wildfire researchers and designers to Waterton Lakes National Park for fieldwork connected to Pyro-Mobilities: Communities, Ecologies, and Landscapes on the Move.

The visit focused on landscapes affected by the 2017 Kenow Fire and examined how fire continues to influence ecological recovery, park management, and design practice in Canada’s Mountain West. Through site visits, field observation, drawing, and conversations with Parks Canada staff and local Knowledge Keepers, the team explored what it means to design for coexistence with wildfire.

Funded through a Transdisciplinary Connector Grant, the project considers how communities, ecologies, and landscapes are adapting and reorganizing in response to a changing climate.

05/27/2026

We’re pleased to see Dr. Sneha Jain’s research featured in a recent University of Calgary story on how our homes can better support health and well-being.

An assistant professor in our School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Dr. Jain is leading a transdisciplinary project that examines how indoor environments influence our daily lives. Her work focuses on elements like daylight, air quality, temperature, and noise, and how they shape comfort, stress, sleep, and overall health.

By bringing together researchers and partners across the university, industry, and the City of Calgary, this project aims to generate locally grounded insights that can inform future design practices and policy decisions.

Read the full story: https://news.ucalgary.ca/news/transdisciplinary-project-explores-how-homes-can-better-support-well-being

05/23/2026

SAPL faculty member Barry Wylant recently spoke at the University of Calgary’s Graduate College Idea Lab at the Barrier Lake Field Station.

His talk, Design, Design Thinking & Transdisciplinary Framing, explored how design can support new ways of thinking across disciplines.

Organized by the University of Calgary - Faculty of Graduate Studies, the three-day Idea Lab brought together graduate students from across campus for a collaborative, immersive learning experience.

05/23/2026

It was a great evening at River Valley School’s Celebration of Learning.

Our Laboratory for Integrative Design team brought live robotic art creation into the event, giving students and families the opportunity to see robotics and design in action. From observing the process to exploring how technology can shape creative outcomes, it was an engaging way to introduce STEM concepts through hands-on experience.

Thank you to River Valley School for the opportunity to be part of this event and to support learning through community partnership.

05/22/2026

What happens to the 90% of museum art that remains in storage?

From our Master of Architecture (MArch) comprehensive design studio in Winter 2026 (ARCH 616), The Archive is a proposal for a non-collecting museum in Inglewood, Calgary - designed to bring stored artistic and literary works back into view.

In this stage of the MArch program, students develop projects that bridge conceptual design with technical resolution - integrating structure, material systems, and building performance into fully realized architectural proposals.

Centered around an open core with continuous sightlines, this proposal explores shell structures that make material, space, and form symbiotic partners in the design process. The structure is formed by a grid of glulam beams held up by steel I-beams, encased in gabion walls of local Rundle limestone. The project engages with local materials in innovative ways while complying with fireproofing and building code standards.

Students: Henry Westwood + Joshua Barley
Instructor: Alicia Nahmad Vazquez

05/21/2026

05/20/2026

What happens to the 90% of museum art that never gets seen?
 
From our Master of Architecture (MArch) comprehensive design studio in Winter 2026 (ARCH 616), The Archive reimagines a non-collecting museum in Inglewood, Calgary - bringing stored artistic and literary works back into view through an architecture of openness, visibility, and connection.
 
In this level of the MArch program, students are challenged to integrate design thinking with technical resolution - developing projects that consider structure, material systems, and building performance alongside spatial and conceptual ideas.
 
Through an open core and continuous sightlines, this proposal explores shell structures that make material, space, and form symbiotic partners in the design process. The structure is formed by a grid of glulam beams held up by steel I-beams, encased in gabion walls of local Rundle limestone. The project engages with local materials in innovative ways while complying with fireproofing and building code standards.
 
Students: Henry Westwood + Joshua Barley
Instructor: Alicia Nahmad Vazquez

05/20/2026

Pushing structural ideas further through hands-on testing.

Back in DSGN 434: Introduction to Structures, third-year BDCI students take on a new challenge - designing cantilevered tower systems using only printer paper and school glue. Each structure is progressively loaded until failure, revealing how design decisions impact overall stability, connection strength, and structural efficiency.

While subtle deformation before collapse adds a compelling visual moment, the real focus lies in how forces are transferred through the system. Questions of balance, bending resistance, and joint design ultimately determine how and when each structure fails.

Building on their earlier experiments, this second round continues to test assumptions, refine strategies, and bring structural theory into real-world application.

05/17/2026

We’ll be closed Monday, May 18 for the Victoria Day long weekend. Looking forward to welcoming you back on Tuesday!

05/15/2026

The perfect marketing duo at SAPL 🤝
Nothing beats a dynamic duo in matching outfits 🔥