Educate Stream - Tuesday, September 27
Join ARIDO for a speaker series in interior design with a focus on sharing consumer best practices for interior projects, and demystifying the interior design process, and how to work with an Interior Designer for residential or commercial projects.
Location: Midgley Tecnica, 117 Tycos Drive, #Unit B, Toronto, ON M6B 1W3
Date & Time: September 27, 10 AM to 4 PM
Schedule
10:00am Check-in
10:30am Welcome
10:45am Panel: Office Moves 2.0 - What does the office design process look like in 2022?
11:45am COFFEE BREAK
12:00 noon Panel: Inside/Out: What a Registered Interior Designer can do to address longevity and maintenance in condos
1:00pm LUNCH BREAK
1:30pm Panel: How a retail design expert can help bring customers back through your door
2:30pm BREAK
2:45pm Panel: How to work with an Interior Designer
3:45pm Closing remarks
4:00pm Happy hour at Cosentino City (665 Caledonia Rd, York, ON M6E 4V8)
Design Consultations
Always wanted to speak to an Interior Designer about your project? Now’s your chance! Registered Interior Designers will be offering design consultations throughout the day. Get your ticket to book your design consultation!
Educate Stream Panel Series
10:45am Office Moves 2.0 - What does the office design process look like in 2022?
Companies around the world have shifted the way their office is used and the return to work is accelerating the conversation around the needs of employees. Whether employers are evaluating a new lease or adapting an existing one, partnering with a Registered Interior Designer in this process can save thousands of dollars and countless hours. How can a Registered Interior Designer help your company make better decisions and foster better employee outcomes with your physical workspace? What can a Registered Interior Designer do to reduce waste in the design process and effectively use your budget?
Panelists
Joanne Chan, ARIDO is the Principal of SDI Design, an award winning commercial architectural design firm that focuses on interior and experience design in Canada. Coming from a non-traditional design education background of Fine Arts, Joanne brings the unexpected tools for form-giving and visual expression.
As an active practitioner of Interior Design for the past two decades, Joanne’s current role as the Principal and Creative Director allow her to combine creative solutions, market, and technical expertise in her projects. Aside from her business and design focus, Joanne contributes her research and public speaking efforts to many “Future of Design” panel discussions. She also participates in working on experimental projects within the Design & Architectural Industry.
Having worked in design since 2009, Ania Sousa, ARIDO has designed for sectors such as residential design, commercial and corporate design. She spent over 10 years working in the higher education field where she led a variety of interior design projects, from new builds, classrooms, student spaces, retail and restaurant spaces. Campuses are like mini cities and offer a wide variety of interior design activities. In 2010 Ania opened her own firm, Interior Design Hub Ltd. where she specializes in public sector, corporate, commercial, medical and residential interiors.
12:00 noon Inside/Out: What a Registered Interior Designer can do to address longevity and maintenance in condos
There are currently 824,00 condo units in Ontario which house 1.6 million Ontarians. More condos are being built each year, and they continue to be a growing piece of the housing pie. Maintaining these buildings is left up to an elected condo board or the property management company hired by the board. How can a Registered Interior Designer provide sound advice on what condo owners and boards need to do to ensure the property and its value is maintained? What can a Registered Interior Designer do to address accessibility issues or make updates for living in place?
Panelists
Tania Bortolotto, ARIDO is an award-winning architect and interior designer. In 1999, Tania founded BORTOLOTTO, an internationally recognized architecture, and design firm.
As the president and majority owner of her woman-owned company, Tania has guided the successful completion of a portfolio of work that encompasses more than 3 decades of important architecture, including, most recently the Rosalie Sharp Pavilion at OCAD University and the Bezier Curve House, to name just a few.
A passionate design advocate, Tania also lends her time to numerous academic committees, panels, and juries, mentoring, teaching, and speaking about the importance of good design. Tania is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and is both WELL AP and LEED certified.
Vitorhya Shields, ARIDO is the design director of Shields + Associates Interior Design Consultants incorporated in 1996.
She has been a registered ARIDO member with BCIN & NCIDQ qualifications for 20+ years. Since its inception, S+A has provided full-service interior design consulting experience for condominium, apartment and commercial high-rise common area renovations.
S+A has renovated buildings of 50+ years old and as many as 60 floors in a complex including changing of suite doors and hardware, accessibility updates for lobbies pools and change rooms, lighting retrofits and the most complicated of projects. Their design philosophy is to collaborate with clients, creating a design that will be enjoyed by residents while withstanding heavy use over many years.
Michael London, ARIDO design’s portfolio of high profile multi-unit residences, commercial interiors inspired with iconic luxury brands, and private residences are situated within some of the most prestigious neighbourhoods in Toronto, Ottawa, and New York.
As a former Design Director for a renowned Interior Design firm in Toronto, Michael London has made his mark in the interior design community with both residential clientele and developers over the past twenty years.
The motivation behind Michael London Design is to achieve a high standard of design that is immersive, creative, and inspired by culture, all of which is fundamental in his pursuit of achieving unique interiors.
1:30pm How a retail design expert can help bring customers back through your door
Even before the pandemic affected retail businesses, the online shopping boom let customers shop from the comfort of home and avoid visiting stores or malls altogether, leaving retailers with lower visits and foot traffic. How can retailers entice customers back into stores and find ways to deliver a memorable experience that integrates e-commerce opportunities? A group of retail interior design experts will discuss solutions that retailers, big and small, can implement to bring customers back and create that unforgettable in-store experience.
Panelists
SDI Design
Tracy Ho, ARIDO is the Director of Retail and Brand at SDI Design, and the creative lead on most retail and hospitality projects. Equipped with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree, she ensures commercial success for clients ranging from global brands to forward-thinking small business owners.
Trained with a background in hospitality, she believes giving clients excellent service is paramount but also isn’t afraid to push their creative boundaries whether it's designing retail spaces, restaurants or hotels.
Award winning, multidisciplinary designer Mardi Najafi has been immersed in the world of design for over 25 years. From Paris to New York and Toronto, his experience bringing branded retail environments to life spans both small businesses and Fortune 500 brands such as Coca Cola Canada, Adidas, Virgin Mobile, Penguin Shop, and Versace. With a passion for creating unique, immersive moments with unexpected details, Mardi continues to transform the retail experience as Vice President, Retail Strategy and Design at Figure3. Mardi is currently the President of RDI Canada.
Suzanne Wilkinson, ARIDO is Principal at Figure3, one of Canada’s largest and most prestigious independent design firms, as well as an award-winning designer and strategic business leader. With over 25 years of design experience, Suzanne brings innovation and insight to complex projects for both small businesses, and prominent international brands across the workplace, residential, hospitality and retail sectors. With a client forward approach and a passion for bringing a brand’s core values to life, she is known for her boundless creativity and intense curiosity about the impact designed environments have on improving people’s lives.
2:45pm How to work with an Interior Designer
We’re going to level with you, Interior Design projects are rarely as seamless as they seem on TV. Registered Interior Designers want you to know about their unique expertise to help you accomplish your project. They’ll work with you from the start, be your teammate, and problem solve any issues that inevitably crop up. A Registered Interior Designer will help you anticipate the unexpected, and look out for your best interest and bottom line from the very beginning. So if Interior Designers are so amazing, how do they actually get their work done? What will they do during each phase of a project to make sure it’s successful?
Panelists
Stantec
Adrian Berry, ARIDO leads the commercial Interior Design team in Stantec’s Toronto studio. He has over 20 years of experience in a variety of sectors including workplace, retail, convention centers, and building modernization. He is versed in current industry best practices and workplace future trends.
Adrian is experienced in all phases of interior design projects and has successfully led top tier organizations through organized design methodologies, developing tools and processes that improve clarity, creativity, and efficiency.
He understands how business benefits from an interior designer's skills of creative problem solving, concept building, and thoughtful crafting of each business's unique space identity and client experience. Adrian served a term on the Association of Registered Interior Designers (ARIDO) Board of Directors.
Dochia Interior Design
Adriana Mot is a registered interior designer in Toronto with pioneering focus on design as a tool for mental health.
Founder of Dochia, a Lifestyle and Media company, her interdisciplinary background and expertise is in neuro-design and dates back to early 2000’s.
She now uses her proprietary method, Selftropy™, to create unique and emotionally bonding interiors for her clients.
Soda Pop Design
Cynthia Soda, ARIDO is the Owner and Principal Interior Designer of Soda Pop Design Inc.
Established in 2012, her multi-disciplinary interior design firm provides complete renovation and design services for mid to high-end residential clients throughout the Greater Toronto Area and available globally. Cynthia believes in and uses her design filter to successfully merge her clients' lifestyle, personality and architecture to create customized, liveable luxury that artistically tells each client's unique story.
Cynthia and her team act as the primary liaison in their projects between the client and architects, engineers, contractors, fabricators and trades people to ensure a smooth transition from detailed concept to completion.