It is our pleasure to announce the jury members for the 25th annual Best of Canada Awards competition. They are:
Products
- David Correa – University of Waterloo
- Duane Lucas – Black Bread + Jam
- Jonathan Nodrick – Rollout
Projects
- Beverly Horii – IA Interior Architects
- Arnaud Marthouret – Revelateur Studio
- Greg Parsons – DEXD
- Barbora Vokac Taylor – BVTA
David Correa
Associate Professor, School of Architecture, University of Waterloo
David Correa’s research looks at biological structures and processes as a source of insight for the development of new fabrication processes and advanced materials. The research aims at implementing state of the art digital fabrication tools (robotic manipulators, 3D printers and CNC milling) to develop innovative and high-performance design solutions for industrial and architectural applications. Current inter-disciplinary research initiatives include weather responsive shape active façade components (in collaboration with BASF and Plant Biomechanics group at Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg), large scale bio-based cellulose 3D printing (University of British Columbia) and advanced robotic fabrication of timber structures (Centre for Advanced Wood Processing and School of Architecture + Landscape Architecture, UBC). David is a Design Partner at llLab, an experimental design collaboration based in Shanghai and he is also completing his Doctorate in Engineering at the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) under the supervision of Professor Achim Menges at the University of Stuttgart. David initiated and led the research field of Bio-inspired 3D Printed Programmable Material Systems at the ICD and he was program coordinator for the Integrated Technologies and Architectural Design Research (ITECH MSc) at the University of Stuttgart (2013-15).
Duane Lucas
Business Development Manager, Black Bread + Jam
With over 18 years in the architectural and design industries, Duane Lucas has gained incredible insight into the fast-paced world of interior design. His varied experiences have given him the ability to support his clients with differentiated thinking guided by a flexible approach. His support of their goals is backed by a passionate and trained eye in design stemming from many of his life experiences. As an interior designer, Duane pushes himself to inspire his colleagues and clients alike with confidence, creativity and positivity, while consistently being a champion of change in the areas in which the industry can improve.
Jonathan Nodrick
Founder, Rollout
Jonathan Nodrick is the founder, CEO and creative director of Rollout, a custom wallpaper company created with the intention of being a place where integrity and art could coexist with great design to make a viable commercial enterprise that would have the power to invigorate, inspire, and shake up established notions of wallpaper design in the commercial design industry. The Rollout studio is continually reinterpreting large-scale artistic expressions on wallpaper, drawing inspiration from many forms of visual art – from experimental street art and photographic imagery to abstract painting and surface explorations – all of which raise digitally printed wallpaper beyond the functional and into the spotlight of interior design.
Beverly Horii
Managing Director and Principal, IA Interior Architects Inc.
Beverly Horii is a Toronto-based architect and managing director and principal at IA Interior Architects. Horii holds a Bachelor of Architecture and a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo and worked on a number of prominent corporate renovation projects, as well as designs for the National Association of Japanese Canadians, Toronto Chapter, and the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, in the 1980s and early 1990s. Other Toronto projects include the Royal Ontario Museum, Levi Strauss Regional Headquarters, Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the Ontario Science Centre, and York University. Before joining Interior Architects, she was the owner of her own firm, M chi squared Interior Design, and had previously worked for HOK Advance Strategies and as the director of Interior Design at B+H Architects. In her current role, she specializes in interior office design, to help design workplaces that use their space in a way that supports their core values. Her work has won numerous awards including the Bronze Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA), a Canadian Interiors Best of Canada Award, and an Interior Designers of Canada Silver Award.
Greg Parsons
Interior Design Director, DEXD
Greg Parsons has over 25 years of interior design experience across Canada and globally with a deep specialization in commercial mixed-use, healthcare, and transportation sectors. A designer with an innate curiosity in human behaviour and an enduring belief in our collective responsibility to transform space that positively impacts and shapes our experiences. An active educator and mentor, committed to helping develop and grow the next generation of designers. Of recent note, Greg led the team who worked with Metrolinx to develop what some of the main interior design features will be for the new DS-09 Subway Design Standard, for which the firm received a 2021 Impact Award as part of the annual ARIDO Awards.
Arnaud Marthouret
Founder, Revelateur Studio
An architect by training, Arnaud Marthouret is a culture, communications and media pioneer for the architecture and design industry. He was born in Grenoble, France, where he lived until his early twenties. Growing up surrounded by grandiose mountains in the Northern French Alps, he developed an idiosyncratic love for nature, which nurtured his early creative and adventurous spirit. These are character traits that he still cherishes and nurture to this day, as they allow him to see things from a different perspective. He has an unending love affair for two-wheelers, particularly motorbikes. The overwhelming feeling of freedom that one experiences riding, provides an ideal form of focused escape from this over-connected life.
Barbora Vokac Taylor
Principal, BVTA
Barbora is a registered architect and principal of Barbora Vokac Taylor Architect Inc. (BVTA), a professional architecture and interior design practice serving clients on human-centred projects focused on quality, wellbeing, and sustainability. With works in residential, educational, commercial, new build, renovations and interiors, the practice recognizes the importance of the sensual aspect of the human condition, and is driven by an experience-first design process rooted in integrity and intention—providing elegant and successful solutions. Her commitment to social responsibility, and her awareness of the impact of design on the community, drives the practice’s focus on common-sense sustainability and well being for all. Within the community, Barbora fosters critical discussion and advocacy through her work as an Executive Member of the Toronto Society of Architects (TSA) and the Director on the Design Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC). In addition to serving on the Program Advisory Committee at George Brown College and teaching part-time, Barbora has also served as guest critic at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University), the University of Toronto, OCADU and the Institute Without Boundaries at George Brown College.
