Timber as a Catalyst: Design, Disruption and Change

Open lecture by Canadian architect Heather Dubbeldam, Principal of DUBBELDAM Architecture + Design in Toronto. The lecture is hosted by the programme Strategic Design & Entrepreneurship and the Institute of Design and Visual Interaction.

What does it take to change how we build? Drawing on Canada’s evolving timber industry, Heather Dubbeldam explores how economic disruption can accelerate innovation, and how policy, manufacturing, investment and design come together to enable new possibilities. Through emerging building types and her practice’s research into new housing models, she examines the relationship between experimentation and wider industry change. The lecture offers a Canadian perspective on a shared challenge: how architects and designers can help turn sustainable ambitions into building practices that gain broader adoption.

About the lecturer

Heather Dubbeldam (OAA, FRAIC, LEED AP, WELL AP) is the Principal of DUBBELDAM Architecture + Design, a Toronto-based multidisciplinary practice with an expanding presence in Europe. The studio has received over 150 awards for design excellence and advocacy, including the Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture and the Architectural Practice Award from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, two of the highest honours for Canadian architectural practices. Its work has been widely published and was shown at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2023, where Heather represented one of nine internationally recognised women-led firms. She is also a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her contributions to architecture and the built environment.

A fourth-generation architect, Heather combines design practice with research and advocacy, exploring how climate-responsive architecture, timber construction and new housing models can advance environmental and social sustainability.

Read more about the practice at www.dubbeldam.ca