Archives: Doctorants (doctorant)

Title of the research: THE INTENTION TO SUPPORT CARE THROUGH ARCHITECTURE: A Comparative Study of the Tectonics of the Maggie Centers’ Pavilions

under the supervision of Dr. Jean-Pierre Chupin

Abstract: Our thesis examines the relationship between a place’s architecture and the well-being of those who experience it. Although the study of the link between architecture and health dates back to antiquity, it experienced a resurgence in the late 20th century, notably with the Maggie Centers, support facilities whose theoretical foundations were established by Maggie Keswick Jencks (1996). The purpose of these pavilions is to create a unique architectural setting to support people living with cancer.

We hypothesize that the tectonic nature of biological forms has a positive impact on visual well-being. Architecture can enhance well-being if it allows for a sensory experience through its transparency or interior layout, and/or if it incorporates elements whose tectonic structure more or less resembles that of natural elements. A two-pronged methodology will combine the study of architectural tectonics in seven case studies with users’ lived experiences, analyzed through a phenomenological lens.

Firdous Nizar is a third-year PhD student investigating the quality of lived experiences in cities from the perspective of gender and safety. She has a Bachelor’s in Architecture and Urban Design from National Institute of Kozhikode, India and a Masters in Design from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

Thesis project title: Equitable Cities: Addressing Women’s Access to Public Spaces

Her research lies at the intersection of urban design, intersectional feminism and architectural quality and tries to unpack the social and structural factors that affect feeling of safety and security in urban public spaces. Her research seeks to address equitable access of women to public spaces in the city in relation to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 Agenda and gender-sensitive urban policy. Her research explores inclusive access and rights to the city for women in Canadian metropolitan cities such as Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto by assessing urban policy and the UN SDGs, particularly Goal 5 on Gender Equality, Goal 10 on Reducing Inequalities and Goal 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Title of the research: Conservation ou reconversion : quand le projet architectural redéfinit la connaissance du patrimoine industriel dans les grandes villes canadiennes

under the supervision of Dr. Jean-Pierre Chupin

Abstract: Canada’s metropolitan regions are grappling with the phenomenon of post-industrial relics, characterized by their obsolescence. And yet, projects to repurpose these relics are the focus of architectural practices, and such projects are on the rise in the country’s major cities. In this context of physical transformation, how does an architectural project in an industrial heritage setting redefine our understanding of places undergoing change? Given a certain consensus in the literature—which posits the remnants of industrial culture as raw material for urban transformation and recognizes the contribution of repurposing this heritage in addressing current environmental and social challenges—the role of architectural design processes in these revitalization efforts remains poorly defined in major Canadian cities. The hypothesis of this research is that redevelopment project processes contribute to our understanding of industrial remnants as architectural strata that have the potential to make the material and immaterial dimensions of these remnants intelligible.

Title of the research: Between Division and Total Virtuality: A third way for the representation of architecture 

under the supervision of Dr. Carmela Cucuzzella

Abstract: The ongoing growth and technical complexity of the built world is expressed but also produced by equally complex technological design and visualization tools, namely computer-aided design tools and virtual reality imaging. Yet, this relentless cycle of a mechanized understanding of the world may need to be questioned for its indifference to the rhythms, sensibilities and meanings attached to the human body and the tangible world. Today’s obsession with overcoming the Renaissance’s divide between the real and the abstract by the explicitness afforded by powerful visualization technologies may not be the only way forward. Film, with its history in representing the architecture, and its more haptic forms, namely, film animation techniques that involve real materials and the direct involvement of the body, may offer a third way in representing and thinking about architecture. 

Mohsen Rasoulivalajoozi est un étudiant en doctorat inscrit au programme individualisé de l’Université Concordia. Il mène une recherche interdisciplinaire sur “Le rôle de l’anthropologie médicale dans les projets de conception médicale et les systèmes de soins de santé”. Il a fait ses études supérieures à l’université de Téhéran et a obtenu sa maîtrise en design industriel (design médical) à l’université de Téhéran (UT) avec un mémoire intitulé “Interactive Foot Orthosis (IFO) for People with Drop Foot”. Grâce à sa licence en communication visuelle (Université des arts de Téhéran) et à sa maîtrise, il a acquis de l’expérience dans la rédaction de documents dans les domaines du design graphique et industriel. En outre, il est membre du comité consultatif de rédaction de la Cambridge Scholar Publishing et a travaillé comme chercheur dans le domaine de la conception de produits orthopédiques à l’université de technologie d’Eindhoven (TU/e). Ses intérêts de recherche comprennent la conception médicale, l’anthropologie médicale, la méthodologie de recherche en conception de produits, la communication visuelle et l’analyse visuelle en conception.

Gabriel Peña is an artist, architect and lecturer, currently pursuing a PhD in Humanities at the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture, at Concordia University. His research ‘After Transparency / The sensorial, and spatial affects of glass atmospheres’. His research is a re-evaluation of glass properties such as reflection and its interplay with transparency as a medium to construct atmospheres that modify the perception of the built environment.

Gabriel holds a Bachelor in Architecture from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León and a Masters degree in Collective Housing from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. After his masters, he has specialized into to the perceptual dimension of domestic and the built environments through his artistic practice. He has taught architecture studios at UDEM, CEDIM and UANL. Grantee from the Empresa Municipal de la Vivienda de Madrid, FONCA Young Creators / National Trust for Culture and the Arts Mexico, Arquetopia and CONACYT / National Council for Science and Technology. He has exhibited work at Museo Metropolitano de Monterrey, Jardín de las esculturas Xalapa, Galeria Conarte Monterrey, Mexico National Library, Gallery 2 CRGS, FEMSA XII art biennale and Desai Matta Gallery San Francisco.

Under the supervision of Cynthia Hammond, Marcela Torres Molano’s doctoral research focuses on the history of socially engaged art in Colombian public spaces, from the decades of internal conflict to the recent post-conflict era.

Under the supervision of Ipel Türeli, Ayca Koseoglu’s research is concerned with the spatialization of social movements in Istanbul from 1960s to 2010s. She looks into various forms of civil protests to investigate the role of public space activism practices in transforming physical space by making it come alive, or changing its meaning, function or form.

Under the supervision of Cynthia Hammond, Greg Labrosse’s research focuses on sites of informal learning and cultural production in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. Specifically, He aims to explore the ways in which these sites provide vulnerable children and youth a space for self-expression and exploration, as well as a place where they can form new narratives of their communities, which are often portrayed as violence-ridden.

In her Ph.D. project under the direction of Ipek Türeli, Meltem Al investigates how the entanglement between capital, ideology, and religion transforms the built environment, through the analysis of selected housing enclaves in Istanbul. She argues how neoliberal urbanism and political Islam have played a role in the transformation of Istanbul and how this spatial transformation has affected society. Questioning how Başakşehir— a satellite city founded in the 1990s, in the North-West peripheries of Istanbul—has turned into a conservative housing landscape, she analyzes the spatial and social characteristics of the selected housing enclaves and the appropriated public spaces (schools, public gardens, libraries, and city centers) in the district.