Imagine Architecture

Stories

• Meet the 2025 Imagine Architecture team!
  
  Jerry Hacker
  Faculty Advisor
  Assistant Professor Jerry Hacker teaches at the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism. He is a registered architect and founder of hACT, an ideas-based practice employing research through design to investigate, situate, and construct architecture as infrastructure. Previously, Jerry spent 13 years as a senior associate and design leader with the critically acclaimed firm MBAC. During his time with MBAC, the practice was recognized with over 30 national and international peer-reviewed awards for design excellence. His experience in weaving together design intention, building construction, and practice motivates his teaching philosophy in courses such as design studio, advanced-building systems, and structures.
  
  Daphne Stams
  Coordinator and Instructor
  Daphne Stams is entering the final year of the three-year Master of Architecture program at Carleton University. With a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from the University of British Columbia, Daphne is curious about how space is organized and its impact on social and environmental structures. Critical analysis drives Daphne’s approach to design, and her background inspires her to actively consider different disciplines and perspectives. Daphne’s designs are also informed by her passion for making, in which she experiments with mixed media to create complex visual presentations in both 2D and 3D. Daphne regularly engages in model-making, photography, geographic information system representations, collage, and analogue illustration.
  
  Adonis Lau
  Instructor
  Adonis Lau is a recent graduate of the Master of Architecture program at Carleton University, where he also earned a Bachelor of Architectural Studies (Design.) Adonis is a Research Associate and Head of Digital Software Exploration and Digital Fabrication at the CSALT Lab. Here, he works in the hybrid space of digital design and fabrication with a focus on the integration of industrial robotic workflows into architectural processes. Adonis approaches the design-to-fabrication workflow using a range of software and state-of-the-art hardware tools to turn designs into reality. He also has experience working in institutional and community-focused architecture.
  
  Sam Lane-Smith
  Instructor
  Sam Lane-Smith is a multidisciplinary designer and maker who brings the joy of craft into his work. His studio design work has won awards and has been featured in Building 22 – Carleton’s architecture design publication. Sam’s research revolves around how we know through making and its relationship to architectural design. Alongside his architecture design work, Sam has an art practice making copper tree sculptures, one of which was recently presented as a ceremonial gift from the Government of Canada to the Haida Nation. His knowledge of making and physical design complements the range of technical drawing and abstract thinking skills required in architecture.
  
  Noah Chatel
  Studio Assistant
  Noah Chatel is entering the third year of the Bachelor of Architectural Studies (Design) program at Carleton University. He is passionate about learning and developing his design skills. He enjoys sharing knowledge as an assistant in the school’s Fab-Lab, where he helps print student work. When he was in high school, Noah attended all three weeks of Imagine Architecture. “I loved my experience,” he says. “It completely solidified my interest in architecture. In return, I would love to offer the same kind of experience to the next generation and provide a clear perspective on Carleton’s BAS program.”
  
• PREPARING YOUR PORTFOLIO
   
  
  If you want to get into architecture school or any other university or college design program, you will need a strong portfolio. 
  
  "Your portfolio is the tool you should have as a creative individual to present yourself and your work to architecture schools, and in the future, to your potential employers," says past Imagine Architecture instructor Maya Jarrah. "The purpose of the portfolio is not only to show that you can use a certain software, but most importantly to represent your creative process, how you see the world, think critically and how you interpret your ideas."
  
  Imagine Architecture LABs 101, 102, and 103 will help participants generate portfolio material by teaching creative design skills and providing guidance.
  
  "The Imagine Architecture LABs aim to teach you ways of preparing a portfolio, by explaining what work you should show, how to curate your work, and by showing examples of successful portfolios," says Jarrah.
  
  For those who want to explore a range of media and scales, LABs 101, 102 and 103 are designed as a sequence, to build skills and confidence, and to prepare students for application to undergraduate programs in architecture. For those who prefer to take only one LAB, each is designed independently, and requires no previous training.
  
  "As someone who was excited yet overwhelmed by the creation of a portfolio application to the Bachelor of Architectural Studies (BAS) at Carleton, I am certain that I would have appreciated the insights that the Imagine Architecture Program provides on the process," says Shelby Hagerman, who taught Imagine Architecture in the past.
  
  "We will review the portfolio and other application requirements for the program as well as successful portfolio submissions," says Hagerman. "However, what is most important and valuable about Imagine Architecture LABs are the hands-on design exercises that aim to engage and spark the kinds of thoughtful drawings and models that portfolio reviewers search for." 
  
   
  
• TAPPING CREATIVITY AT HOME

   

  Working from home is an excellent opportunity for students to immerse themselves in their surroundings. Facing a new reality, how do we observe and interpret the world around us? Although we are living in a socially-distanced world, working in the space you have can be a creative opportunity.

  Students should set-up a studio spot at home to have a designated work area. Provide space to spread out, but also stay organized. The workspace can get messy quickly, so we want to be sure to put tools away properly and manage the space well. 

  Supplies to work with throughout the course can be purchased online as well as scavenged throughout the house. An assortment of material is encouraged. 

  Shopping list: sketchbooks, large and small, basswood sticks, glue stick or glue, felt-tip pens, Prismacolor pencils or oil pastels, drafting kit.

  Scavenger list: Twine, thread, wire, string, Small wood blocks, Ephemera (sheet music, book pages, newspaper bits, pieces of packaging), cardboard, small objects (machine pieces, figures, spools), measuring tape, scissors, etc.