BEAToronto

Celebrating a decade of advocacy, inclusion, and progress. For 10 years, Building Equality in Architecture Toronto (BEAT) has been dedicated to reshaping the profession and fostering a more inclusive architectural community. Join us as we reflect on our journey and look ahead to what’s next. #BEAT10 #EqualityInArchitecture

Did you hear the news?! Thank you to the @raic_irac for the Advocate for Architecture Award. The RAIC Advocate for Architecture Award celebrates an individual, or collective of individuals, who has acted as a public champion for the advancement of Canadian architecture through their advocacy, patronage, and/or other forms of support.    2024 RAIC Jury Comments: “BEAT has established itself as a significant voice supporting equity in the architecture profession. As a group, they highlight the structural inequalities that continue to disadvantage women, inspire us to reflect and to action for change. Their discussions and perspectives connect and center human dimensions for a better way forward and their enthusiastic encouragement and mentorship of young female architects as they navigate a demanding profession is vital. Founded in Toronto in 2015, BEAT has emerged as a force in Canadian architectural discourse, making a significant contribution to national architecture. “   BEAT is led by an Executive and Advisory committee comprised of dedicated architects, designers, leaders, and entrepreneurs volunteering their time for a shared cause. Over the last 9 years, we have developed and programmed more than 110 events, including leadership seminars, forums, talks, mixes, workshops, and a wide range of special events. With the support of BEAT members, BEA has grown from a Toronto-based grassroots organization to a national movement with chapters in Northern Canada (BEANorth), Atlantic Canada (BEAA) and the Prairies (BEAP & BEACalgary).  We are incredibly honored by the recognition from the @RAIC and look forward to all that comes next.

Workshop: Leading Effective teams with Emilie McIver When: Wednesday, May 13th, 2026 / 6:30- 8:00 (In person) Where: Diamond Schmitt Architects Office. 384 Adelaide Street West. Suite 100 Toronto Join us for an interactive IN-PERSON workshop that explores what effective leadership truly looks like at the mid-to-senior level and provides practical tools for those looking to lead with strategic influence. On Wednesday, May 13th, 2026, BEAT will be hosting Emilie McIver, a Leadership Development Specialist and Certified Coach, for a workshop designed to help participants transition from individual excellence to delivering results through others. Participants will reflect on the evolving capabilities required to influence broadly and shape team culture, concluding with a practical breakout session to address real-world leadership challenges.evolving capabilities required to influence broadly and shape team culture, concluding with a practical breakout session to address real-world leadership challenges. Register + Purchase your tickets via Eventbrite_LINK IN BIO

A Workshop: Leading Effective teams with Emilie McIver When: Wednesday, May 13th, 2026 / 6:30- 8:00 (In person) Where: Diamond Schmitt Architects Office. 384 Adelaide Street West. Suite 100 Toronto Join us for an interactive IN-PERSON workshop that explores what effective leadership truly looks like at the mid-to-senior level and provides practical tools for those looking to lead with strategic influence. On Wednesday, May 13th, 2026, BEAT will be hosting Emilie McIver, a Leadership Development Specialist and Certified Coach, for a workshop designed to help participants transition from individual excellence to delivering results through others. Participants will reflect on the evolving capabilities required to influence broadly and shape team culture, concluding with a practical breakout session to address real-world leadership challenges.evolving capabilities required to influence broadly and shape team culture, concluding with a practical breakout session to address real-world leadership challenges. Register + Purchase your tickets via Eventbrite_LINK IN BIO

BEAT Talk // Women of LAMAS We are honored to have the Women of LAMAS - Weihan Vivian Lee and Kara Verbeek - host an intimate BEAT Talk on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. At this Talk, Vivian & Kara will discuss how architectural ideas develop across academia and professional practice. They will reflect on how research into history, craft, and local construction traditions informs their design process, and how ideas move between teaching, speculative work, and built projects. With a particular focus on rural work, the lecture will explore how vernacular form, typology, materiality, and sustainability connect academic research with contemporary construction. This session will be held in-person at LAMAS’s office. Registration is now open. Very limited tickets are available.

A Workshop: Leading Effective teams with Emilie McIver When: Wednesday, May 13th, 2026 / 6:30- 8:00 (In person) Where: Diamond Schmitt Architects Office. 384 Adelaide Street West. Suite 100 Toronto Join us for an interactive IN-PERSON workshop that explores what effective leadership truly looks like at the mid-to-senior level and provides practical tools for those looking to lead with strategic influence. On Wednesday, May 13th, 2026, BEAT will be hosting Emilie McIver, a Leadership Development Specialist and Certified Coach, for a workshop designed to help participants transition from individual excellence to delivering results through others. Participants will reflect on the evolving capabilities required to influence broadly and shape team culture, concluding with a practical breakout session to address real-world leadership challenges. Register + Purchase your tickets via Eventbrite_LINK IN BIO

BEAT Talk // Women of LAMAS We are honored to have the Women of LAMAS - Weihan Vivian Lee and Kara Verbeek - host an intimate BEAT Talk on Wednesday, April 29, 2026. At this Talk, Vivian & Kara will discuss how architectural ideas develop across academia and professional practice. They will reflect on how research into history, craft, and local construction traditions informs their design process, and how ideas move between teaching, speculative work, and built projects. With a particular focus on rural work, the lecture will explore how vernacular form, typology, materiality, and sustainability connect academic research with contemporary construction. This session will be held in-person at LAMAS’s office. Registration is now open. Very limited tickets are available.

BEAT Talk // Women of LAMAS   We are honored to have the Women of LAMAS - Weihan Vivian Lee and Kara Verbeek - host an intimate BEAT Talk on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.    At this Talk, Vivian & Kara will discuss how architectural ideas develop across academia and professional practice. They will reflect on how research into history, craft, and local construction traditions informs their design process, and how ideas move between teaching, speculative work, and built projects. With a particular focus on rural work, the lecture will explore how vernacular form, typology, materiality, and sustainability connect academic research with contemporary construction.   This session will be held in-person at LAMAS’s office. Registration opens on April 15th at noon. Very limited tickets are available.

Join BEAToronto for a Kitchen Party-style dinner with Liz Wreford and Peter Sampson of Public City Architecture. We’re honoured to welcome Liz and Peter as the featured guests of our upcoming BEAToronto Dinner. As co-founders of Public City, an interdisciplinary architecture and landscape architecture practice based in Winnipeg, their work across Canada explores social infrastructure, the public realm, and how design can support more inclusive, resilient, and meaningful public life. Liz Wreford is Principal Landscape Architect at Public City and is currently leading the design and construction of Canada’s 2SLGBTQI+ National Monument in Ottawa, opening in 2026. Peter Sampson is Principal Architect, with work spanning community arts centres, transitional housing, and projects that connect architecture, culture, and civic life. Wednesday, March 25, 2026 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM Standard Shop, 145 Tecumseth St., Toronto #BEAToronto #Architecture #LandscapeArchitecture #TorontoDesign

BAIDA is excited to support the SSHRC-funded research project ‘Taking Stock: Voices of Women in Architecture Across Canada’, hosted at Toronto Metropolitan University, Department of Architectural Science, as a community partner along side community partners @beat_to and @sosa_canada , as well as others, and five academic institutions. This national symposium is dedicated to exchanging knowledge and advancing critical conversations around women in architecture. The event brings together practitioners, educators, and advocates from across the country to explore how identity, equity, and lived experience shape the future of architectural education and practice. As a community partner, BAIDA representatives will be present at the symposium to engage with attendees, connect with the broader architectural community, and support dialogue around equity and representation in the profession. We’re especially proud to highlight BAIDA members who will be contributing to symposium sessions: ✨ Anne-Marie Armstrong @aampstudio — Moderator, Session 1: Women in Academia ✨ Farida Abu-Bakare @faridaabubakare — Panelist, Session 2: Intersectional Barriers, the Politics of Design, and Rethinking “the Body” in Design These sessions examine how identity, pedagogy, and lived experience shape architectural education and professional practice today. BAIDA Members receive 20% off symposium tickets; check out our latest newsletter for the access code! 📅 March 6–7, 2026 📍 Department of Architectural Science, 325 Church St, Toronto We encourage our community to attend, engage in these important conversations, and connect with voices shaping the future of architecture and design across Canada. Find the link to register for this event at the link in our bio! *Tickets to the Symposium have SOLD OUT but passes to the Networking Night are still available at this time!*

HAPPENING TOMORROW! BEAT Forum // Access by Design: Rethinking Accessibility in Architecture Saturday Feb 7, 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM, in person at OCAD University, Toronto Register + purchase your tickets via EVENTBRITE LINK IN BIO JOIN US for the 6th BEAT Forum - This event explores how the meanings of accessibility and disability in architecture are changing—both in the spaces we design and within the profession itself. We begin with a keynote from a leading expert in accessible, disability-informed design, offering a framing of accessibility that moves beyond code compliance to consider equity, lived experience, and belonging. A panel discussion will follow, bringing together designers, advocates, and educators to examine what accessibility looks like in practice: how we shape environments that welcome a wide range of bodies and minds, and how we build a profession that reflects diverse abilities, perspectives, and needs. The forum is divided into two parts, a keynote presentation by Wanda Katja Liebermann followed by a panel discussion including experts from the architecture and design industry including: Jutta Treviranus, Roman Romanov and Nicole Jacobs. Our Panel will be moderated by BEAT Executive Maya Desai.

BEAT Forum // Access by Design: Rethinking Accessibility in Architecture FEW TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE!! Register + purchase your tickets via EVENTBRITE LINK IN BIO Saturday Feb 7, 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM, in person at OCAD University, Toronto JOIN US for the 6th BEAT Forum - This event explores how the meanings of accessibility and disability in architecture are changing—both in the spaces we design and within the profession itself. We begin with a keynote from a leading expert in accessible, disability-informed design, offering a framing of accessibility that moves beyond code compliance to consider equity, lived experience, and belonging. A panel discussion will follow, bringing together designers, advocates, and educators to examine what accessibility looks like in practice: how we shape environments that welcome a wide range of bodies and minds, and how we build a profession that reflects diverse abilities, perspectives, and needs. The forum is divided into two parts, a keynote presentation by Wanda Katja Liebermann followed by a panel discussion including experts from the architecture and design industry including: Jutta Treviranus, Roman Romanov and Nicole Jacobs. Our Panel will be moderated by BEAT Executive Maya Desai.