About Me
I grew up in two places: in winter I was in Toronto, Ontario, one of the largest, most multicultural cities in the world. In the summers I was on an island, on Lake of the Woods, living in my family's remote, completely off-grid log cabin. Solar panels and compost toilets included. I have been a traveller, and I have become an artist, a musician, a mathematician, a writer, and a designer.
I have hiked the bay of Fundy, white water canoed in Quebec, dog-sledded and winter camped. I stayed on a Native Reservation in Ontario where I helped skin deer and leared how to use a beading loom.
I received my B.Sc. in Mathematics in Winnipeg, spending my final year abroad in Moscow, Russia. From there, I travelled the Trans-Mongolian Railway, through Siberia, Mongolia, and China. I slept in yurts with nomadic families in the Gobi desert. Later, I volunteered at a textbook factory on a work brigade in Cuba. I played music on the VIARail across Canada. I designed and built a spirograph drawing machine in Winnipeg. I worked on an urban farm in Oakland CA. I helped build the 'Aquapy' boat that floated Lake Meritt in Oakland during the Occupy movement. I found myself in Berkeley, CA where I began taking classes in sustainable architecture.
My Vision for Sustainability
I have learned from the history of mathematics that there is a need to move forwards, backwards, and laterally. In mathematics, when we looked to the past and realized that no one had proven that 1 + 1 = 2, huge discoveries were made: Set theory, and Russel’s paradox. There have also been times of lateral discoveries: Leibnitz and Newton simultaneously developed Calculus but with different notations that are each advantageous in their own contexts.
I believe the same will be true in sustainable architecture. While there is reason to analyze our modern-day systems, and apply our progressing knowledge of science and new materials to maximize their function, I also believe that we must look outside our current paradigm. Applying modern analysis to methods and materials we’ve forgotten, abandoned, or ignored, could reveal new truths to what true sustainability means for us today.
I think it is worth investigating what has been done pre-industrial revolution, and what is currently being done outside the developed world, since there we may find great insight into truly sustainable living.
Why Architecture
I want to contribute to my community by helping to create a stimulating and beautifully built environment, with a focus on public spaces, sustainability practices, and community investment.
For a long time I have been aware of my natural aptitude for computational analysis and visualization; thus, I was drawn toward mathematics, science, and visual arts, as these areas have served as a creative outlet for my strengths.
While I love mathematics, and especially have enjoyed strengthening and fine-tuning the part of my brain which focuses on abstract computation patterns and algorithms, I decided to study architecture because I felt that pure mathematics, while thoroughly enjoyable, didn’t relate directly enough to my inhabited world to be fully satisfying.
What proved to me that my ability to combine art and mathematics can positively affect my community was when my spirograph project came to life as a workshop for youth from the Broadway community in Winnipeg. In this workshop, I gave kids a hands-on way to learn about the mechanics of the drawing machine, while creating art and forming bonds of friendship and common purpose. I had never before done a project that was so fulfilling, and I received glowing acknowledgments for this project in local and national newspapers (as noted in my CV). I decided, after leading the workshop, that I want to do more such projects i.e., I want to use my skills with, and for, the inner city through building, constructing and designing with an aesthetic and socially conscious mindset.
And so I've embarked into the world of architecture and design, and I couldn't be happier. I now wish to bring my skills and passion to my designs, to continue learning from each experience, to create beauty in my community and to share and pass forward my knowledge and abilities.