Adrian Smith-Chair

FAIA, RIBA, Adrian Smith  + Gordon Gill Architecture LLP 

Adrian Smith, has been a practising architect for 45 years. He has produced buildings recognized throughout the world for their beauty, elegance and subtlety of their cultural references. His work has won more than 110 local, national and international awards. Adrian’s extraordinary body of work as a designer includes four of the world’s current 11 tallest buildings, including Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the world’s tallest building; Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai; the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago; and Zifeng Tower in Nanjing, China. He is the author of two books on his work and co-author of the newly published book “Toward Zero Carbon: The Chicago Central Area DeCarbonization Plan.” 

Tracie Bowie

Vice President 

IIDEX/NeoCon Canada 

Tracy Bowie is the Vice President of IIDEX/NeoCon Canada, Canada’s National Design Expo & Conference. Tracy oversee the sales, marketing, operations and administration of IIDEX including liaison with the show owner, Interior Designers of Canada and other associations and stakeholders.  IIDEX, now in its 28th year in Toronto, annually attracts 15,000 trade attendees from across Canada and the bordering states, as well as exhibitors in all areas of design – workplace, healthcare, retail, residential, hospitality, lighting, architecture and sustainable design. 

Christopher Glaisek

VICE PRESIDENT, PLANNING & DESIGN, WATERFRONT Toronto

Christopher Glaisek has been  an architect and urban planner for over a decade, in his current role he manages all precinct planning, public realm and building design initiatives in the central waterfront.

Prior to joining Waterfront Toronto, Mr. Glaisek was Vice President of Planning, Design, and Development for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.  Formed in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the corporation spearheaded the Lower Manhattan rebuilding effort.  Mr. Glaisek was instrumental in devising the Innovative Design Study that led to the selection of the Daniel Libeskind master plan for the World Trade Center site.  

Mr. Glaisek holds a Master of Architecture degree from Yale University, where he was the recipient of the Christopher Tunnard Award for Excellence in Urban Planning. 

Ingo Hessel

curator, Inuit ArT
 

Ingo Hessel has worked as an Inuit art curator, writer, educator and consultant for almost 30 years. For 15 years he worked at the federal government's Inuit Art Information Centre. He has conducted about 25 research trips to the Canadian Arctic, taught Inuit art courses at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, curated art exhibitions, and published numerous articles in journals, magazines and books. Ingo is the author of the definitive illustrated book Inuit Art: An Introduction. He organized the touring exhibition Arctic Spirit: Inuit Art from the Albrecht Collection at the Heard Museum for the Heard Museum in Phoenix, and wrote the accompanying 240-page book. He was Albrecht Adjunct Curator of Inuit Art at the Heard from 2006 to 2010, and Curator of the Museum of Inuit Art in Toronto from 2008-2010. Ingo also heads the Inuit art department at Walker's Fine Art and Estate Auctions in Ottawa. In addition Ingo is a stone sculptor, painter and printmaker, with numerous solo exhibitions in Canada and Japan.

Susan Wiggins

executive director, Interior Designers of Canada

A career executive, Susan Wiggins has worked tirelessly on behalf of the interior design profession. From 2001 to 2009, Susan was Executive Director for the Association of Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO). 

Her new role as Executive Director of Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) has allowed Susan to represent the profession nationally and internationally, serving on a number of committees, while focusing on government relations, volunteer development and strategic management.  In 2011, Susan was awarded the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Leadership Award of Excellence. 

David W. Oleson- Chair

TSA, OAA, FRAIC, Architect

David Oleson has been principal of Oleson Worland Architects, since 1984.  He has worked on projects across Canada and internationally, including in the Caribbean, the United States, and China.  

Mr. Oleson’s projects have been recognized through publications and have won the highest design awards in the United States and Canada.  Award-winning projects include the North Toronto Memorial Community Centre, the Village of Yorkville Park, Parc Downsview Park, ART Condominiums, and the Don Valley Brick Works.  

He is past Chair of the Toronto Society of Architects and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. 

Sarah Hall

Glass Artist, RCA

Sarah Hall is an internationally recognized artist creating large-scale art glass installations. Her exceptional contribution to the built environment has garnered ‘Honor Awards’ from the American Institute of Architects and the ‘Allied Arts Award’ from the Ontario Association of Architects. Hall’s artistic achievements were acknowledged by her induction into the Royal Canadian Academy of Art in 2002. Sarah has been granted an Arts Fellowship from the Chalmers Foundation to support her innovative work in solar glass installations. She is well known for her artistic innovation and pioneering of new glass techniques.  

Charles Varvarikos

HEAD of FACILITIES SOURCING,  RBC Procurement

Charles Varvarikos is an architect who specializes in the procurement of goods and services in the real estate industry. Charles graduated from McGill University with Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Architecture degrees, and obtained an MBA from Rotman School of Management Executive program at University of Toronto. He is a member of the Ontario Association of Architects as well as the Toronto Society of Architects. He has experience in both private practice as well as in the Corporate world. Charles works in the Procurement area of RBC, and is responsible for Real Estate Procurement as well as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Charles' CSR work is focused in the areas of Sustainable Design and Responsible Procurement with particular emphasis on environmental initiatives. Supplier Diversity is another aspect of CSR in which he is very passionate.

Jerome Markson- Chair

B.ARCH.,OAA,FRAIC

Jerome Markson graduated from the University of Toronto in 1953. He is a Fellow of the RAIC as well as the Toronto Society of Architects where he had earlier been President, and is also a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 1972, Jerome was the guiding force behind the publication of the book, Exploring Toronto, which was written by fellow architects and sponsored by the Toronto Society as Toronto’s first architectural guide book, “a walking tour”,  Jerome Markson also received his OAA Member of Long Standing representing over 50 years of OAA membership. In 2001 he received the Toronto Arts Award for Architecture and Design. More recently, the OAA honored him with the Order of Da Vinci.  

Sheena Sharp

OAA, FRAIC, Principal, Coolearth Architecture inc.

Sheena Sharp  is the President of the  Ontario Association of Architects (OAA). Ms. Sharp received her Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Manitoba and  attended the University of Washington, Seattle where she completed her Masters of Architecture in 1987. 

Ms. Sharp is a principal of Coolearth Architects inc. Toronto, Ontario, which focuses on environmentally sustainable design. Since forming in 2008, the practice has undertaken projects which achieve net-zero energy use.

She is an active volunteer in the architectural and building industry community having served on numerous OAA committees. She is a member of the Regional Economic Development Advisory Committee (REDAC) in Parry Sound, Canada Green Building Council, Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, and Chair of the REDAC Sub-committee, Community Development. 

Graham Murfitt

Architect,  Smith Carter Architects and Engineers Inc.

Graham studied engineering at the University of Calgary and completed architecture at Carleton University with an intense interest in low energy building design, building science, construction technology and furniture design.  

In addition to promoting energy conservation and the 2030 Challenge for Architecture Canada | RAIC, Graham works full time as a senior project architect for the firm Smith Carter Architects and Engineers Inc.  He is also the current chair of the Ottawa Regional Society of Architects, member of the OAA Practice Committee as well as a member of the NRC Advisory Committee.  

Diana Osborne

ARCHITECT,  Osborne Architect