We are thrilled to continue our celebration of the class of 2023 from Ontario ARIDO-recognized schools this year. This is our third year of posting graduating student work on BLOG//ARIDO and we are pleased to share their accomplishments with the ARIDO community and beyond.
ARIDO has worked with these schools to promote a selection of 4th year BID student work on BLOG//ARIDO and will be posting the work each Wednesday during May, Juneand July.
Serena Oliveira – Consulate General of Canada Detroit Design Challenge
The 75th-anniversary logo and the building design symbolize the substantial connection between Canada and the United States. The logo incorporates the intertwining of the Canadian and American flags to embody our allyships and strong bonds to each other. Our connecting waters are valuable to both countries as we depend on our Great Lakes for water, recreation, transportation, power, and economic opportunities. Using water as the concept and driver of the design facilitates this connection between both countries.
With one of the largest trading relationships the Gordie Howe International Bridge is one example of how Canada and the United States protect communities on both sides of the border, creating positive outcomes for the local workforce and neighborhoods. Finally, the design incorporates different environmental elements associated with each country.
M. Atkins – Consulate General of Canada Detroit Design Challenge
To pay homage to the backbones and origins of North America, something both Canadians and Americans have in common, the space is inspired by the Indigenous communities and their beliefs of the land – as the elements of the earth represent the relationships and sense of community within the culture.
Featured in the design are various works of art by Indigenous artists, making sure that those being represented in the space receive due recognition and support from the communities outside of their own.
Rasul Noor Al-Qaraghuli – Consulate General of Canada Detroit Design Challenge
The goal of the consulate design is to create a warm, welcoming, elegant, memorable, and exciting environment that showcases Canada, and its relationship with the USA to create an experience that every visitor will remember.
We are thrilled to continue our celebration of the class of 2023 from Ontario ARIDO-recognized schools this year. This is our third year of posting graduating student work on BLOG//ARIDO and we are pleased to share their accomplishments with the ARIDO community and beyond.
ARIDO has worked with these schools to promote a selection of 4th year BID student work on BLOG//ARIDO and will be posting the work each Wednesday during May and June.
Trushanti T. Shirodkar and Kateryna Franchuk
These students from the Yorkville University BID program created designs centered around concepts of biophilia, and connections to nature to provide inspiring spaces that foster creativity, productivity, health and well-being. Scroll through the pdf below to view their work!
We are thrilled to continue our celebration of the class of 2023 from Ontario ARIDO-recognized schools this year. This is our third year of posting graduating student work on BLOG//ARIDO and we are pleased to share their accomplishments with the ARIDO community and beyond.
ARIDO has worked with these schools to promote a selection of 4th year BID student work on BLOG//ARIDO and will be posting the work each Wednesday during May and June.
Abby Wang – New Age Funeral Centre
The project aims to design a funeral center where the design will prioritize the emotional and psychological needs of the bereaved and their families. Through a user-centred design approach, this project will explore how the physical design of a funeral center can create a more supportive and adaptive environment for grieving people.
The circle is the central design element in the project and will be prevalent throughout. As a shape, it is uninterrupted and unbroken, symbolizing that death is not the end of life, but forgetting is. The floor plan will feature a clockwise circular activity path for visitors, with service rooms positioned along the route to indicate the completion of the funeral preparation process and the passage of life and memories.
Christine Keys – Fortitude – Fort McMurray Outpatient Oncology Centre
Healthcare has gone through so much in the last few years and is constantly in a state of change. The current design of healthcare centres has been tailored around one user group, causing an increase in anxiety and stressors for the other user groups.
The goal of this space is to provide a centre tailored to all users of the space, creating a salubrious design bridging the gap that currently exists in the design of oncology centres.
This 32,500 square foot outpatient oncology centre will provide crucial medical services that are currently lacking in Fort McMurray while also creating a space that mentally, physically, and spiritually supports patients, their guests, and healthcare providers, creating a salubrious space for all user groups.
Maddie Longo – Regina Women’s Correctional Facility
An adapt and reuse project retrofitting a college campus into a minimum security correctional facility for adult women in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Canadian prison system faces high recidivism rates and is not using interior design to its full capacity to help inmates reintegrate into society after completing their sentence.
The project will use the Norwegian prison approach, human-centered and evidence based design to create positive change for inmates and staff. The facility will feature home-like spaces with reinforced, fixed custom furniture system with anti-contraband and anti-ligature design. The design will encourage users to respect their environment and be responsible for cleaning and maintaining their living spaces.
Mackenzie Wegman – Queer Pride Centre
At its core, the Q.P Centre (Queer Pride Centre) is dedicated to bringing people together. Education and knowledge are provided to help the families of queer youth gain understanding, compassion, and commonality to aid in family adaptability. Togetherness is further established in the support of chosen family bonds formed within the the queer community through queer role models and mentors to help queer youth through any potential difficulties they may be facing.
Washroom signage design needs to be welcoming for all and avoid symbolism of male or female. Also, rainbow symbolism is to be subtly incorporated into design as well as gender neutral colours. In terms of accessibility, there will be multiple options for wheelchair users throughout auditorium, without large slopes that would require stairs on the main level and there enough space provided for a variety of movable furniture options like bean bag chairs, soft furniture, etc.
Melissa Marchand – The Garden Home – A home that nourishes our body, mind, and earth
In 2022, 57% of Canadians reported having difficulties feeding their families. Additionally, research has illustrated that the inability to access food not only impacts our biological well-being but also has a direct impact on our mental health. Experiencing food insecurity can increase the risk of anxiety and depression by approximately 256%. With the reported continuation of food price inflation, more Canadians will become food insecure, and therefore, there is a pressing need to create residential environments that provide nourishment for our biological and psychological needs.
This 4,000 square foot new build residence accentuates the importance of human-nature connection through the implementation of integrated indoor gardening methods, the 14 biophilic design principles, and sustainable initiatives in order to create a home that provides nourishment for our biological and psychological needs, as well as our earth.
The various indoor gardening methods and technologies will provide a low-maintenance, clean, time-efficient, and cost effective way of growing fresh produce all year round, increasing our household food security. In addition, research in biophilia had been linked to cognitive, psychological, and physiological benefits. The 14 patterns of biophilic design strive to bring the natural world into the built environment and focus on providing a strong connection between humans and nature.
Megan Phanenhour –Blakeney Farm
Historic restoration lacks available guidelines for non-designated buildings, resulting in renovations disregarding the original intent of the structure. This project entails the renovation of Blakeney Farm through its existing floor plan to accommodate modern standards of living while honouring to its historical integrity.
This design will be focusing on creating a more efficient and functional environment, improving efficiency to the existing structure, and incorporating durable materials for longevity and health, while retaining original elements to restore historical integrity.
Congratulations to all graduating students on this wonderful achievement! 🎉🎉🎉
You’ve worked really hard in your interior design program and we are now inviting you to transition to Intern membership.
Remain connected to your vibrant ARIDO community and engage with ARIDO’s programs, including mentorship and career support, a job board, and NCIDQ Exam Support.
Joining ARIDO as an Intern means you are part of our work to advance our Bold Statement which includes creating a welcoming and respectful community that is dedicated to building meaningful, progressive change towards diversity and belonging.
We’re making Intern membership accessible for new graduates by offering free membership for 2023 and providing discounted membership for 2024 and 2025.
Complete the ‘Initial Intern Application’ to ensure your ARIDO membership remains active. If you’re not employed yet, simply select ‘currently not employed’ and choose the option to waive insurance.
Arrange for your school to send your digital transcript to ARIDO to info@arido.ca.
Important note: Your transcript must show that your degree has been awarded.
Psst! If you have not yet graduated, please send Maya Vnukovsky an email with your expected graduation date, so our records can be updated.
We look forward to welcoming you to the ARIDO Intern community!
We are thrilled to continue our celebration of the class of 2023 from Ontario ARIDO-recognized schools this year. This is our third year of posting graduating student work on BLOG//ARIDO and we are pleased to share their accomplishments with the ARIDO community and beyond.
ARIDO has worked with these schools to promote a selection of 4th year BID student work on BLOG//ARIDO and will be posting the work each Wednesday during May and June.
Megan Sarmatiuk – Mississauga Community Justice Centre
The Mississauga Community Justice Centre fills gaps in the existing North American justice system by connecting correction and rehabilitation directly into the fabric of the community. This facility aims to create a comfortable and natural space for effective healing that lowers recidivism and supports the needs of every user.
Taking inspiration from Ontario’s rivers and lakes, the unobtrusive design of the Mississauga Community Justice Centre promotes growth, healing, and accountability. A shelter for all, the rhythm and movement of circular space planning, directional wood and neutral tones guide visitors and promote exploration in what would typically be seen as an uncomfortable space. With court rooms, health and wellness clinics, open office areas, local art installations and a fully adaptable library, this space is transformed to fit every need of the local community.
Melaina Santilli – The Stellar Minds Centre for ADHD (SMCA)
The Stellar Minds Centre for ADHD (SMCA) is driven to support an empowered generation of neurodivergent minds by providing students with the tools to reach their academic goals with ease. This mixed-use program includes functional and flexible design solutions tailored to supporting post-secondary students with ADHD. These programming areas are logically divided within the space, and include educational, social, therapeutic, and physical health supports.
Textural variations and fluid versus rectilinear forms create movement and assist in wayfinding, while logically dividing secluded areas from open areas. By incorporating evidence-based interior design strategies, the SMCA is equipped with inclusive and customizable learning environments, social and private support areas, and other design interventions for post-secondary students struggling with ADHD. The SMCA: realizing your full academic and professional potential and bringing you the quality of life you’ve earned and deserve.
Saba Ali – Sage Dementia Awareness & Day Program Centre
Sage is a dementia awareness and day program facility that offers educational services about the condition, as well as treatment through adult day program activities. The centre fills the gaps that exist within the Burlington area by providing a safe and stimulating environment for not only dementia patients, but also their families and loved ones.
Through a home like atmosphere with versatile spaces and an indoor garden, the facility aims to reduce the stigma around the medical condition by creating an inclusive community that supports one’s social, cognitive, and physical health and well being. A combination of group and quiet settings, natural lighting, contrasting colours, sound absorbing materials, and open sightlines help minimize dementia symptoms to promote occupant independence and fulfillment.
The presented renderings depict the indoor garden, kitchen, dining room, and quiet nooks. These spaces allow occupants to engage in interactive activities while making meaningful connections with others.
Victoria Koszegi – The Iroquois Shore Anxiety Centre
The Iroquois Shore Anxiety Centre is a wellness facility designated for those that suffer from an anxiety mood disorder. Servicing adults in the greater Toronto area, its mission is to provide access to unique and various treatments, resources, and support, in order to enable an overall improved quality of life and functioning for the clients.
ISAC will promote biophilic designs by emphasizing the human relationship to nature with such aspects as natural forms and shapes with elements that are readily found in nature, such as greenery. Areas for collaboration will be designed at a grander scale in contrast with traditional spaces for clinical attention, connected through carefully choreographed circulation routes and considerate spatial and lighting configurations.
Through ISAC, the client will develop the strength and confidence needed to begin a new chapter of their lives, one that offers freedom and clarity from stress and limitations.
We are thrilled to continue our celebration of the class of 2023 from Ontario ARIDO-recognized schools this year. This is our third year of posting graduating student work on BLOG//ARIDO and we are pleased to share their accomplishments with the ARIDO community and beyond.
ARIDO has worked with these schools to promote a selection of 4th year BID student work on BLOG//ARIDO and will be posting the work each Wednesday during May and June.
Aleighia Murphy – NEST
This project approaches the design of the tiny homes using a “housing first” approach, that is, providing independent housing to unhoused people with additional supportive services therefore becoming more attainable regardless of criteria and the idea of being (un)deserving or (un)ready for housing.
The tiny homes will be modular, uniform in design, and universally accessible, which allows for the homes to be mass-produced and flexible in their layouts across multiple sites while remaining inclusive of the diverse unhoused clientele who are of varying health support needs, ages, socioeconomic statuses, locations, and lived experiences.
Considering the constraints of the site and the overwhelming majority of representation within the subsidized housing waitlist, the homes will be designed for seniors, singles, and couples without dependents.
Shirley Li – Green Escape
The project focuses on St. James Town in Toronto, Ontario. St. James Town is densely populated with mainly large housing units and has the least park space per capita.
The thesis explores the different possibilities of connecting green spaces where both people and nature can coexist in the city site conditions, ehile addressing problems such as multi species design and lack of social space.
The three green spaces are the garden trail, community garden and the park and market. The garden trail is a passive green space that allows for the residents to walk through nature and connects back to the green corridor. It has a wide open grass field and seating around the pathways. It is also surrounded by vegetation that is very important to pollinators, birds, squirrels and more.
Patrick Gao – Pacific Mall
The aim of this project is to breathe new life into Pacific Mall by revitalizing its existing businesses and addressing its outdated business model and lack of competitiveness in the digital era through a redesign and reimagining of the space. This will involve transforming the interior into a commercial botanical garden complex, shifting towards experiential retail, and incorporating a large glass block with various entertainment functions as a centre piece.
Additionally, a redesigned exterior with multiple entrances will attract more tourists, increase foot traffic, and encourage visitors to linger. Overall, a combination of visual upgrades and strategic architectural renovations will make Pacific Mall a more vibrant, appealing, and competitive consumer destination.
Syeda Salwa Baquer – Levee
Sustenance of ideas, identity and belief is key in Interior Design, achieved through an attempt of interpretation of lives as they synthesize with their environment. On that note, this thesis endeavors to revive an important historic edifice in the slighted scene of architectural conservation in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh, and thus restore the integrity of the land and the community that inhabits it, through mission-driven hospitality.
The Ruplal House, a convex point of architecture, culture and history, lies abandoned, standing still as the world passes it by- a silent and dilapidated witness. Levee is the reconfiguration of the heritage site to a mixed-use development that offers rehabilitation, recreation and respite by banking on the local resources and exacting exorbitance- so the plenitude of the past empowers the prosperity of today.
It is where public, economic and environmental health reconciles with design interventions that have been insofar withheld to truly interweave timbre and timber. It stands with yesterday, it stands for tomorrow.
Lee Fu – WanderOff
This project is on the Canadian context, based on box car and Bombardier Bi-Level Cab Car which is used in Toronto as GO Train, and transformed into a mobile living space. The project runs as a six-month program that anyone can participate to experience temporary off-grid living with the potential for permanent living.
It utilizes data from Alberta province to calculate energy demand and production. While complete off-grid living is an ideal state, it’s a known fact that humans cannot completely isolate themselves from group. Therefore, this project also takes on the form of a small-scale eco-village, aiming to create a friendly and sustainable mobile community with different individuals.
Learn more about these projects and others by OCAD 4th year BID students on this link.
We are thrilled to continue our celebration of the class of 2023 from Ontario ARIDO-recognized schools this year. This is our third year of posting graduating student work on BLOG//ARIDO and we are pleased to share their accomplishments with the ARIDO community and beyond.
ARIDO has worked with these schools to promote a selection of 4th year BID student work on BLOG//ARIDO and will be posting the work each Wednesday during May and June.
Carley Mulligan – Improving the Experience of the Visually Impaired in a Hotel Reception Space Through Interior Design Practices
The main implication that people with visual loss need to remove to achieve independent living, is the amount of information they can gain by interacting with an unfamiliar environment. Currently, many elements of public space are composed of visual information like signage, focal points, or floor patterns. Since most of this information is presented visually, it constitutes a source of exclusion and places all those with vision loss in a vulnerable condition.
The goal of this study is to gain an understanding about individuals with vision loss and their needs within a hotel lobby space. The study will involve a compilation of interior design concepts and themes that aid individuals with vision loss in the feeling of independence, safety, and comfort. Evidence-based design techniques will be used to reduce vulnerability of individuals with vision loss through external elements, which will ultimately create a human-centered design focusing on their quality of life.
Karie Wood – Designing A Health And Wellness Centre To Promote Independence In Seniors
Health and wellness senior centres are becoming increasingly important with the rise of the senior population and increased need to reduce social isolation. Seniors are living longer, healthier lifestyles, so, designing a health and wellness centre is important to improve the health, well-being, and independence by incorporating sustainability and biophilic design. Designers must create spaces that improve the quality of life to keep seniors happy, healthy, connected to the community, and living independently for as long as possible. Therefore, these spaces must be safe, functional, welcoming, and universal to accommodate for a variety of needs.
Flexibility in sustainable, durable, cleanable materials, and function will provide an inclusive environment for all staff and seniors aged 50+, and the space will be easily comprehensive through recognizable wayfinding techniques. Public and private areas emphasize community connections and contribute to meaningful experiences that promote belonging, choice and independence to improve the quality of life for all members and staff.
There are seldom services provided that support mental health issues for youth transitioning into adulthood. Additionally, there has been a problem of poor access to evidence-based services and lack of an informed developmental perspective. The new design of Starseeds Youth Centre will be located at South London Community Centre Pool and School (585 Bradley Ave, London On, N6E 2H8).
The Centre will use the concept of ‘Starseeds’ to empower youth to seed themselves in order to overcome tough issues within their lives; ‘Starseeds’ are fictional microorganisms that seed planets with new life. Additionally, the centre will embody the phrase ‘from earth to energy,’ by using architecture as an art form to create a space that will promote healing. The act of using nature as a medicine has been around for a long time, and healing crystals date back thousands of years, so the incorporation of natural elements will bring positive healing properties to the physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of users.
Moreover, Starseeds will provide tranquility and familiarity by implementing technology, artistic activities, and calming colours. The experience will also promote friendship and belonging to manifest a connection within the community. Starseeds will also embrace privacy and variation to create an inclusive space for all youth who are experiencing different distresses.
Nurture by Nature is a Health and Wellness Centre that was created for the growing number of young adults experiencing mental health conditions. The intended purpose for this design serves as a space that young adults receive as part of their treatment. The goal of the project was to allow people to relax while being connected with the environment and offering diverse options to create a user centred design.
The concept focused on creating a Health and Wellness Centre that embodies biophilic design and its properties of healing; while connecting young adults through a sense of community, therapy, universal design, and featured spaces that benefit health and well-being for the user. The spaces offered are a fitness room, yoga/meditation room, therapy rooms, a biophilic room that also can have multiple creative uses, a cafe/ juice bar, lounge seating, and a multi-media mezzanine. The facility encourages the natural principles of biophilic design to support the user and help promote a sustainable environment.
We are thrilled to continue our celebration of the class of 2023 from Ontario ARIDO-recognized schools this year. This is our third year of posting graduating student work on BLOG//ARIDO and we are pleased to share their accomplishments with the ARIDO community and beyond.
ARIDO has worked with these schools to promote a selection of 4th year BID student work on BLOG//ARIDO and will be posting the work each Wednesday during May and June.
Adam Herfst – Hawk River Inn: Boutique Hotel
Hawk River Inn is a boutique hotel designed for the comfort and revival of the patrons, and a place where the natural environment is cared for through a sustainable design. The patrons visiting the hotel will be comfortable and experience revival through the design of the interior spaces and the amenities and activities provided. Patrons will be drawn to spend time outside enjoying the natural environment, having full immersion into nature.
The hotel will provide flexible indoor spaces to be used for indoor activities, workshops, conferences, and other learning experiences. The design of the hotel will be a place that sustains the natural environment, rather than detracting from it. Materials and furniture selected will be durable and manufactured locally within Ontario to reduce transportation emissions and increase life cycle. Hawk River Inn will contribute positively to the well being of patrons and the natural environment.
Julianna Penrith – The Junction Brewpub
The Junction Brewpub aims to invite young adults to spend time with friends, indulge in locally brewed beer and connect with others within the community. The Junction Brewpub achieved LEED Platinum and WELL Building Silver Certification. The brewpub provides a casual setting that is easy-going with a warm and vibrant colour scheme.
Bright, natural and artificial warm lighting fills the space, along with antique style signage that guides patrons throughout. The Junction Brewpub pays homage to the history of its location with an industrial aesthetic with character and architectural style reminiscent of the original CN Rail Building. The inclusive and accessible design will ensure the space is functional and accommodating for all members of the community.
The Junction Brewpub’s purpose is to provide the community with a local entertainment brewpub that maintains a sustainable design to keep the health and well-being of everyone as the main priority.
Melissa Martina – The Foundry
The Foundry is a supportive housing facility that aids youth ages 16 to 25 in exiting chronic homelessness by providing shelter and supportive programs focusing on rehabilitation and community integration. The facility is located within the former South Works Foundry adjacent to the Grand River in downtown Galt. The interior has been adapted for new use using a balance of modern and historic elements that honour and preserve the history of the building and surrounding community.
The Foundry is a trauma-informed, inclusive and welcoming environment that embraces the complexities of homeless youth and considers the full range of human diversity. The design utilizes elements of territorial identity to allow for the definition and confirmation of identity within a shared space. The Foundry addresses many of the underlying causes of youth homelessness through a system of age-appropriate supports, reducing the impacts of homelessness on the community and greater Waterloo Region.
We are thrilled to continue our celebration of the class of 2023 from Ontario ARIDO-recognized schools this year. This is our third year of posting graduating student work on BLOG//ARIDO and we are pleased to share their accomplishments with the ARIDO community and beyond.
ARIDO has worked with these schools to promote a selection of 4th year BID student work on BLOG//ARIDO and will be posting the work each Wednesday during May and June.
Haley Lee-Thomas – ART House
Centred around biophilic design, ART (Ability Reconnecting Together) House is a wellness and community centre dedicated in providing young adults struggling with their mental health, with a place to heal through artistic expression. A variety of art making opportunities such as pottery and ceramics, painting, music, and dance will be readily available to help manage and improve the social, mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing of occupants.
The design of the facility addresses the need for healing mental health by encouraging social interaction and human connection by providing occupants with multiple areas for community gathering. Each space within the facility captures and embodies organic textures and nature-like elements so that users may experience the stimulating and comforting benefits of nature. By further enhancing the facility with universal design elements as well as LEED and WELL building standards, ART House can offer a unique program that supports an inclusive user experience for everyone.
Jessica Kirk – RADIATE – A facility tailored to Seasonal Affective Disorder
The purpose behind Radiate is to provide a restorative refuge that reflects characteristics lost during winter. Access to nature, social connection and inclusive fitness environments will provide a gateway to health benefiting amenities which are greatly impacted by seasonal depression. The facility will allow balanced lifestyles to thrive year-round, bridging the seasonal gap Ontario residents experience.
During research, it became clear that S.A.D needed to be addressed within community centres. In a survey I conducted, 92% of respondents indicated an overall decline in mood during winter due to the cold, grey landscape, and 96% of respondents indicated feeling less motivated and physically active during this time. The results expressed the great need for positive indoor spaces during winter that allow individuals to stay socially connected, physically active and promote mental wellness.
Overall, Radiate will help change the narrative of winter, sparking vibrancy and connection during desolate times of the year.
Jordyn Apter – Ways Bereavement Center
Ways Bereavement Center was designed to provide comfort and support to individuals who have lost a partner. Meticulously designed, the facility provides a haven where grieving individuals can find healing spaces for personal introspection as well as community areas to connect with others facing similar experiences.
The center features a diverse range of programs such as the “Cook and Learn” initiative, an indoor garden, multi-use fitness rooms, one-on-one and group therapy sessions, innovative virtual reality (VR) therapy, educational opportunities, art therapy, a quiet room, and an auditorium. These programs cater to various aspects of the grieving process, promoting holistic healing and personal growth.
The center includes multiple community gathering zones and individual spaces to foster a sense of belonging and shared support. Ultimately, the goal of the center is to provide a welcoming, supportive, and adaptable space that promotes healing and well-being for all occupants throughout the grieving process.
Kyra Rutherford – THE HEALTH HUB
The Health Hub was designed with the use of biophilic design elements to create a safe and comfortable space for healing. With an emphasis on biophilic design, repetition and balance. The Health Hub specifically focuses on healing, and overall health and wellness during all stages of recovery.
The facility has a variety of different offerings for all occupants including, a teaching kitchen, cafe, virtual reality rehabilitation, sports psychologists and therapists, return to sport gym, zero gravity treadmills, training gym and treatment rooms. With these offerings it makes this a specific facility, allowing for comfort of all occupants and patients.
The overall idea of The Health Hub was to create a space where people could gather and encourage each other through treatments and recovery while also ensuring all patients received the best treatment they could.
McKenna Ansara – FOUNDATIONSLife Skills & Learning Centre
Located in the heart of Oakville, FOUNDATIONS Life Skills Learning and Resource Centre is devoted to supporting and uplifting young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Through its design, the centre aims to facilitate learning, socialization, and independence to ensure adults with ASD have equal access to opportunities and a safe space to connect with the community.
The design places an emphasis on the two key areas pictured (Community Café & Connection Hub). With their organic form and strategic placement within the centre; these areas shape the main radial circulation paths that unify surrounding program spaces and promote movement.
Overall occupant experience is enhanced using biomimicry, integrated technology, and opportunities for choice-making. Through education and experience, this facility embraces the individual needs and learning styles of its users with virtual and onsite programs.
We are thrilled to continue our celebration of the class of 2023 from Ontario ARIDO-recognized schools this year. This is our third year of posting graduating student work on BLOG//ARIDO and we are pleased to share their accomplishments with the ARIDO community and beyond.
ARIDO has worked with these schools to promote a selection of 4th year BID student work on BLOG//ARIDO and will be posting the work each Wednesday during May and June.
Avery Boyes – Designing a Hotel to Enhance Guest Comfort Levels
Arriving at a place one has never visited can lead to anxiety, stress, and feeling overwhelmed. Often, hotels do not include spaces that accommodate all types of travelers’ needs. If a hotel does not provide a good first impression guests will be unpleased with their stay, leading to discomfort. The goal of this project is to create a space that is tailored to guests’ needs.
The Serenity Inn is intended to become a significant destination for comfort. To Enhance guests’ well-being, plants and greenery are incorporated throughout. Emphasis is placed on using sustainable materials to help maintain indoor air quality. Materials also have acoustical properties to improve privacy and allow guests to relax peacefully. For personalization and adaptability, each seating area is multi-purpose. A sense of warmth is emitted using a neutral colour palette.
Hadeel Sinjab – Mindful Refuge: Reducing stress and anxiety of refugee children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through the design of a welcoming center
The population of immigrants and refugees, especially children, is growing day by day in Canada. This population group represents the future of our country, and their health and safety in the built environment needs a greater focus. This can be done with increased research on mental health outcomes from pre-migration violence and post-migration experiences as these factors negatively impact their psychological state and behaviour, family cohesion, and social support.
The goal of the new design of the welcoming centre is to provide assessment, settlement, language and employment services, tiered preventive, treatment programs and community connections. This will be done to act as a “third place” and strengthen the overall sense of community for refugees as they settle in Canada.
Hope McDougall – A postpartum clinic that promotes healing and wellness to parents on their postpartum journey
1 in 7 women and 1 in 10 men suffer from postpartum mental illness. Seasons Postpartum Clinic in London, Ontario will be a place where new parents can come to connect with others, create friendships, be educated, receive services and overall consistently be supported in a safe environment during this new journey. Seasons will offer educational classes, self-care classes, a grab and go cafe, a retail space, community space, private offices and a public and private entrance to ensure everyone feels comfortable and able to receive services at the clinic. Overall, Seasons will implement interior design strategies that provide support for new parents on their postpartum journey, allowing them to heal, access resources and be part of a social community.
Katelyn Montgomery – A creative hub designed to support the well – being of recent graduates while reducing their stress and anxiety throughout their job search
The transition from post-secondary graduation to finding a job can be a challenging time for graduates. It can often be overwhelming and for some a negative experience as they try to secure work upon graduation. Research has shown that recent graduates are experiencing anxiety and stress during their job search due to a lack of resources. They are feeling ill-prepared and overall this negatively impacts their job search. Bloom, a creative hub, has been designed to provide opportunities for recent graduates to collaborate, network, skill build, socialize, and ultimately help them secure their dream job.
Meaghan Maass – Encouraging mental + physical rest to heal from academic + workplace burnout through the built environment
It has been proven that in recent years burnout has become a more common problem as jobs and academic courses have become more rigorous and intense, therefore putting more stress on people. While it has become more recognized, burnout is still cast aside and not recognized in many environments as a serious problem. Ritual is a wellness retreat focused on healing from academic and workplace burnout through the built environment. Ritual provides its guests with all of the tools necessary to hit the pause button and focus on themselves. The Ritual experience is one of pure relaxation and recovery and promoting those habits to become a ritual in clients’ lives.
