ATOUSA BLAIR PORTFOLIO
INTRODUCTION
The following collection of projects are rooted in an engagement with the perspective of the individual and the collective and how these experiences are shaped by the built environment. In this context, architecture and landscape is explored in terms of its role in shaping the narratives we attach to the spaces we inhabit and how these narratives manifest in the memories of individuals and the collective memory we all share.
SIGNS OF URBAN RESISTANCE
PERSONAL WORK / ONGOING RESEARCH
SERIES EXPLORES THEMES OF OWNERSHIP, AGENCY, AND THE COMMODIFICATION OF HOUSING
DOCUMENTING NEW FORMS OF DIALOGUE BETWEEN CITIZENS AND GOVERNMENT WITHIN TORONTO’S CHANGING URBAN LANDSCAPE
/ DUNDAS
3 Boland Lane September 2019
/ DUPONT
1245 Dupont St. May 2019
DUFFERIN
DUFFERIN
263 Logan May 2020
4 Brock Ave May 2020
1358 Queen St West December 2020
6 Noble St June 2020
1245 Dupont St June 2022
37 Gladstone Ave March 2020
1354 Queen St November 2021
502 Spadina October 2022
502 Spadina October 2022
310 Gerrard St East June 2022
184 Spadina Ave September 2022
184 Spadina Ave September 2022
1319 Bloor St West May 2022
56 Harbord St August 2022
VIEW FROM THE SIDEWALK
COLLECTION AS PORTRAIT
PERSONAL WORK / ONGOING RESEARCH
VISUALIZING THE URBAN CONTEXT USING STREET SIGNAGE
VIEW FROM THE SIDEWALK uses the technique of abstraction as a means to possess what cannot be grasped in the whole. The project is comprised of portraits of three streets in Toronto using scaled illustrations of distinctive signs which line each street. The technique of abstraction is used as a means of investigating the role street signage plays in the urban landscape beyond its functional purpose to name places and define spaces. The signs are presented in isolation from the physical buildings on which they are situated but contextualized in terms of their location on each street and presented as a collection. This method of representation is a means to distill the role street signage plays in creating the visual and experiential quality of each street. In this context, street signs emerge as cultural and functional nodes within the urban landscape and a key component of the visual character of each street. While this project is specific to Toronto, the model of observation remains universal and can be used to distill a portrait of any urban street. This project is a prompt for seeing and noticing more as we go about our daily lives as well as a contribution to the tradition of documenting and writing about the vernacular.
SPADINA AVE.
TORONTO, CANADA
HARBORD ST. TORONTO, CANADA
BRIDGING THE GAP
ACADEMIC WORK / FALL 2021
INTEGRATED URBANISM STUDIO
INSTRUCTOR: FADI MASOUD COLLABORATORS: AFSAH ALI & EMILEY SWITZER-MARTELL bridgingthegap.cargo.site
WHERE THE SPADINA EXPRESSWAY DIDN’T
History of Allen Road and urban fragmentation
The Spadina Expressway is regarded as one of the most controversial expressway projects in Toronto’s history. Although the route was approved in 1962, the project was cancelled in 1971 due to widespread public opposition. The defeat of the Spadina Expressway is celebrated as a story of urban resistance and the power of public agency to take control of the design of their communities. The part of the story which is often left out is the portion of the Spadina Expressway which was actually built.
Can a new type of shared public landscape system mitigate the issues of social and physical fragmentation generated by infrastructure?
WILLIAM R. ALLEN ROAD
The infrastructure in question is the Spadina expressway, which is present day Allen road. Allen road is one of the shortest expressways in toronto, it connects to highway 401 and terminates to the south abruptly, at eglinton. Allen road was completed in 1976 and today fragments the communities of Lawrence Heights, Forest Hill, and Fairbank. Between Lawrence and Eglinton Avenues, many homes were demolished, two whole streets had to be removed and a park split in two. The first portion of the Spadina Expressway from Wilson Heights Boulevard to Eglinton Ave is all that was even completed of the original project prior to its cancelation in 1971 due to public opposition.The route was officially renamed the William R. Allen Road in 1982, effectively disassociating its connection to the infamous Spadina Expressway.
existing conditions fragmentation of communities east and west of allen road
proposed conditions increased hosuing denisty and public space
existing massing / property ownership model
create permeability / connection to context
increase density near transit nodes
proposed massing / centralized shared space
integrate courtyard pathways
revised massing and land ownership model
existing conditions
allen road and division of public space
proposed conditions
reconnection of viewmount / benner park
proposed conditions
overlooking new public space / connection over allen road
proposed conditions
Section showing reconnection of of viewmount / benner park
existing conditions
fragmentation of communities east and west of allen road
proposed conditions
reconnection of along east / west and north south axis
proposed conditions
reconnection of public space and community services east and west of allen road
proposed conditions
Looking south down pedestrian corridors alongside allen road
Wenderly Park
SMYTHE PARK
ACADEMIC WORK / WINTER 2022
COMPREHENSIVE DESIGN STUDIO
INSTRUCTOR: RUI FELIX
COLLABORATOR: JIAYING WANG
SCARLETT ROAD
WESTONRD
LAVENDER CREEK
existing conditions
site analysis of smythe park
existing conditions
site analysis of smythe park
SCARLETT RD
JANE ST
BLACK CREEK BLV
BLACK CREEK
proposed site plan
Smythe Park
Axonometric I
proposed boardwalk and wetland pond
Axonometric II
Proposed public space and connection across channelized Black creek
proposed site plan
Smythe Park
enlargement plan
expansion of jane street culvert and new public space
perspective
Looking south from expanded jane street culvert
site model I proposed boardwalk and wetland pond
site model II proposed public space under expanded jane street culvert
SKETCHBOOK / FIELDWORK
FALL 2021
EXPLORING AND DOCUMENTING NATIVE TREES, SHRUBS, AND PERENNIALS AROUND TORONTO
PERENNIALS
PLANTING AND DESIGN
FALL 2021
EXPLORING UNDERSTORY STREET TREE PLANTINGS, COMPOSITION, AND SEASONALITY
WILLCOCKS STREET PLANTING PLAN
UNDERNEATH EXISTING SILVER MAPLE (ACER SACCHARINUM) CANOPY
GROUNDCOVER
Japanese pachysandra Pachysandra terminalis
Periwinkle Vinca minor PERENNIALS
Plantain Lily Hosta ‘stiletto’
Marginal wood fern Dryopteris marginalis
Golden Variegated Hakone Grass Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’
SUMMER ELEVATION
FALL ELEVATION
Red Osier Dogwood Cornus stolonifera
Hobblebush Viburnum alnifolium
SPRING ELEVATION
FORT WARREN
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 1834
ACADEMIC WORK / WINTER 2023
Constructed at the beginning of the American Civil War as part of the US seacoast defense strategy, Fort Warren stands guard of the Boston Harbor on the expansive 28-acre Georges Island. During its active years, Fort Warren has spawned many tales and legends. One of the most infamous tales to come out of Fort Warren active decades is that of Mrs. Melanie Lanier aka “The Lady in Black”. Mrs. Melanie Lanier was sentenced to death by hanging for the crime of treason while attempting to rescue her husband, a Confederate soldier who was imprisoned at Fort Warren early on during the Civil War.
Following her death, soldiers began to report sightings of Melanie aimlessly wandering Fort Warren in the same black gown. Witnesses claim to see Melanie longingly moving about, standing atop the entrance arches, mourning the death of her husband, her long dark gown swaying in the harbor breeze. The following collection of drawings aim to visualize the legend of the “Lady in Black” and to embody the melancholy and saddened soul of Melanie aimlessly wandering the grounds of Fort Warren.
Boston, Massachusetts
Fort Warren
Georges Island
End
