Shirley Blumberg, CM, OAA, FRAIC, AIA, the award-winning founding partner of
Toronto-based architecture and design studio KPMB Architects talks about the need to
address societal crises through architecture and planning. Social inequity and the climate
emergency is wildly out of control and the pandemic should force us all to begin to solve
these issues.
WHAT’S THE MOOD BEEN LIKE IN TORONTO THIS PAST YEAR?
Because we in Canada are reasonably law-abiding, have good government and believe in
science, we did pretty well in the beginning, and then last summer, people let their guard
down. Repeated lockdown has helped curb the number of cases, but people are
understandably getting fed up. That said, in our industry and in our office, we’re feeling very
optimistic. Happily, we’re very fortunate to still be working full on. Some of our
development projects disappeared or slowed down, some came back, and we have new
projects, so we’re very busy. I think of the pandemic, almost as if, whoever she is upstairs –
whatever we call him or her – has been looking down at the utter mess we’ve been making
of the planet and said, ‘ok, I’ve sent the floods, I sent the fires, the locusts in Africa and now
here comes the plague. Everybody just shut down and go to your room and reflect on your
lives, and don’t come out until you’re ready.’ I think this radical time out has been essential.
Social structures were falling apart, which in many cases is a good thing. Social inequity is
wildly out of control; the climate emergency is wildly out of control, migration wildly out of
control – everything. I think it’s brought into stark relief all the things that we were shoving
under the rug and not tending to. I feel for first time in my career, which has been decades,
that architects can be very instrumental in addressing these societal crises. We have
synthetic skills, and are taught how to solve problems holistically, so we can help with a lot
of issues like the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, environmental and social
sustainability, inequity, affordable housing, etc. The social unrest that has followed the
onset of the pandemic is very challenging and has had us do a deep rethink about what
we’re doing. Architecture as a profession is pretty well dominated by white men, and there
are very few black and indigenous architects in the profession, or students in the schools.
We’re actively trying to do something about that. It’s inspired us to look at equity, diversity
and inclusion (EDI) in the way we practice in our office, and within the profession. We’ve
just gone through a process, having consulted with everyone in the office. We formed a
team to come up with a statement that we can all stand behind-it’s our EDI initiative. We’re
setting aside a certain amount of money each year to put towards helping where it is truly
needed. What is holding back black and indigenous kids from enrolling in architecture
school are deeply flawed systemic societal problems. Unless you get the kids and their
families early – elementary or high-school - we don’t stand a chance of bringing them into
the profession. The two architecture schools in the city run summer camps for school
students to introduce them to architecture and design. These summer camps are a good
opportunity, because they speak to young people aged from nine to 16. I’m working with
two wonderful young women in their early 30s, community organisers from Somalian
families whom I’ve asked for help. They’re connecting us to schools in their neighbourhood
who could work with the universities to let their students and families know about this
opportunity. We’re also helping with things like laptops and providing WIFI if needed. For a
small outlay, you can change a kid’s life and introduce them to something they might never
have thought about. We are more conscious of breaking stereotypes, making sure all voices
are heard in our collaborative work. We have so many smart, talented people in the office,
and the young people in our studio are all for the social justice projects that we’re doing;
the indigenous housing, affordable housing, mental health projects – anything that helps
the cause of equity.
THAT’S SOMETHING, AS A PRACTICE, YOU’VE BEEN CONCERNED WITH FOR A LONG TIME.
Yes, and I’ve been pushing this because I’m from South Africa. You can imagine what
growing up during Apartheid looked like. That’s why I came to Canada thinking naively, that
it was the anti-South Africa. The history of indigenous people here is very complicated. It’s a
bit hidden up north, and a lot of people weren’t very aware of what has gone on. So, I
started reading and researching, and learned that the conditions are appalling. be Canada
had an infamous residential school system that was going to take the ‘Indian out of the
Indian’. Because of this, the reservations were viewed as being temporary. They are located
in areas that are inaccessible, so we now have massive logistical problems in bringing
services to all of these tiny fly-in little settlements that are scattered through northern
Ontario. It’s complex - it’s systemic and intersectional. The indigenous movement in Canada
is very strong and there is a saying that First Nations have: “nothing about us without us”.
The solutions need to be indigenous-led. Another EDI initiative we have is to contribute to a
scholarship fund run by an indigenous organization. The fund is for young people to study
architecture - there are no boundaries for indigenous people, so it could be in Canada or the
US or Mexico.
ON A BROAD LEVEL, THIS PAST YEAR HAS EVEN MORE EMPHATICALLY HIGHLIGHTED THE
GREAT INEQUALITIES EVEN WITHIN URBAN SETTINGS FOR ALL CANADIANS OR THOSE
LIVING IN CANADA. WHAT HAS BEEN THRUST TO THE FORE BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC?
It has become very clear that the impoverished parts of the city have been hit very badly
with Covid because living conditions are so poor. They’re over-crowded and usually multigenerational households, and that’s not helpful when it comes to the spread of disease. So
affordable housing has become even more of a crisis in the city. I’m working with a
developer who realizes this, and we’re doing a large affordable housing development –
mixed market and affordable housing in the suburbs. There’s a huge swathe of land, north
of Toronto, which is zoned as single family homes. It’s hugely under-developed, and we just
can’t afford that anymore. We tend to go from either towers to townhouses or single-family
homes in Toronto, which is really limiting. It should be more like the European cities, with
lower and mid-rise buildings to achieve more density, and more livable, walkable
neighborhoods. We’re also working on a very interesting masterplan north of the city in the
inner suburbs. It’s 520 acres of a soon to be a vacated Bombardier aeronautical
manufacturing plant. We entered the competition for the project with Henning Larsen and
SLA from Copenhagen, very talented architects and landscape architects respectively.
Copenhagen meets Toronto. The aim is to develop dense, walkable and connected
communities. And to lead with landscape, sustainability and resilience. It is very
encouraging that developers are grappling with these issues. That’s very positive.
WITH THESE EXTENDED AND NUMEROUS LOCKDOWNS CITY CENTRES HAVE BEEN
DESERTED. ON ONE HAND IT HAS REIGNITED COMMUNITY AND DRIVEN RETAIL AND
HOSPITALITY IN LOCAL NEIGHBOURHOODS. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH CITY CENTRES?
To go back to pre-Covid normal would be an utter disaster. We can’t waste a good crisis -
we’re hoping for a better world after this. It’s the same here in Toronto as in so many cities.
Neighbourhoods are vibrant but downtown is deserted. People are supporting local
restaurants and shops; neighbours are supporting each other. We’ve also noticed that our
millennials are very unhappy. The city has for decades built tiny apartments, often sold to
foreign investors, which are then rented out. So, people are trapped in little boxes, not
designed for life in lockdown. We have to rethink that, rethink how we design apartment
buildings. It is being predicted that, because of climate change, this might not be the last
pandemic. We’ve also noticed that parks have been unbelievably well-used. We need them
in a way we haven’t for a long time. The public realm has been squeezed, but now it is
recognized how vital it is. In Toronto last summer, parking lanes in neighbourhood high
streets were taken over by restaurants for outdoor dining - that was wonderful. Like other
cities, more bike lanes are being introduced, and there is consideration of converting some
streets to pedestrian use. I think there will be a huge reconsideration of the public realm.
The impact on the workplace is interesting too. Our studio is not completely digital like a
financial business. We really thrive on the creative synergy of working together, so for us
working from home is arduous. I think what we’ll have is some sort of hybrid after this
period. Not people commuting everyday but some balance of working from home, but also
coming together in an office. All organisations need to come together in terms of
workshops or meetings. For us it’s looking at physical work as well, drawings, models and
samples. However, the amount of space needed for offices will diminish – it has to.
WHAT BECOMES OF THE BIG OFFICE BUILDINGS?
We could repurpose them as housing, because they have a good floor-to-floor height. It has
happened before in the city. There’s that opportunity. They could also be repurposed into
institutions. There will still be offices, but I don’t think as large and as all-in as we have now.
The other thing that is happening here and all over the world is that Toronto is increasingly
unaffordable. A lot of young people are moving to smaller cities and working remotely.
We’ve noticed that with some of our team. Before the pandemic that would’ve been
unthinkable – we had to be together. The toll on human lives and jobs is terrible, but like
pandemics in the past, it gives us a wonderful opportunity to change things for the future.
ARCHITECTS ARE AT THE FOREFRONT OF THAT. NO GREATER ARCHANGELS OF CHANGE
AND SOLUTION-FINDING.
Yes! This is definitely our gig. If we look back in history, when Olmsted designed Central
Park, cholera and malaria were thought to be airborne. People needed fresh air. Olmsted
characterized the park as the lungs of the city, as well as a place for pleasure. At the same
time, mid-19th century London and Paris built underground sewage systems in response to
the threat of cholera. Napoleon III appointed Haussmann to renovate and re-imagine Paris.
Tuberculosis was a major driver for modern architecture – all those issues of light and air
and those unhealthy living conditions. For us it’s about affordable housing and a more
generous public realm. I was reading about the impact that pandemics have had on
architecture, and Haussmann, when he was reworking Paris, wanted to create a park in each
of the city’s then 80 neighbourhoods. Just last year, Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris, ,
proposed the 15-minute neighbourhood – so everyone can walk to everything you need in
15 minutes. One and a half centuries on – it’s fascinating.
WHAT KIND OF CONVERSATIONS ARE YOU HAVING WITH CLIENTS? PARTICULARLY LARGE
CIVIC PROJECTS OR AREAS THAT CONCERN PUBLIC HEALTH?
We’re engaged in a series of mental health and hospital health projects, which are
incredibly important. In regard to the EDI initiatives, it has been in part prompted by our
clients. We work with Princeton University and others and they increasingly ask us ‘what
exactly is your policy when it comes to equity, diversity and inclusivity’ because they have
their own policies and expect us to step up too. Toronto in 2019, was identified as the most
multi-cultural city in the world, which is good, but not enough. One of our clients looked at
our website and found that the leadership team was not very diverse – and he was right.
That, the Truth and Reconciliation imperative with our First Nations, and the BLM
movement caused us to dig deeper, and to look at what we could actively do in response. It
also really great that clients are pushing for higher levels of sustainable design. We’re
working on a new data centre building at Boston University, which will be zero carbon when
it’s completed. We did a study a few years ago for Princeton University on how to achieve
net zero in 30 years for all of their existing buildings, and new on campus. We also won a
competition for the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax, which we’re aiming to make carbon
neutral by 2050. Embodied energy is now recognized as essential to address, not just
operational energy use We need to calculate the energy embodied in the materials that we
use. When you are in the public arena as these universities are – or even prominent
corporations, you have to respond to the issues of the day and show some responsibility of
leadership. And that is happening, which is encouraging.
BECAUSE YOU’RE HAVING TO MANAGE MORALE AND ANXIETIES HAVE YOU FOUND THAT
THAT’S BEEN TRICKY?
Mental health has been much more of an issue in the office, and we’ve put measures in
place to help our staff. The pandemic has been very hard on young people living in tiny
apartments on their own. Malcolm Gladwell said that the pandemic has made us realise that
we’re only as strong as our weakest link. It’s so true. It’s interesting too that Alvar Aalto –
who designed these incredible sanitoriums for patients recovering from tuberculosis –
believed that one should always design for the weakest person because then everyone else
will be okay. I try to remember that.