MICHELLE LI Selected Works 2023
Michelle Li | 2023
> Indigenous landscape design of West Highland Creek at L’Amoreaux Park and the Alexandra Site, a 14th century HuronWendat village
Hello, My name is Michelle, I am a MArch graduate of the University of Toronto with a BArch from the University of Waterloo. My design approach merges architecture and landscape design with ecoactivism, with a focus on land-based knowledge, material cultures, and urban ecology. My research processes range from material exploration, walking and mapping, and ethnographic studies that serve as the foundation of my design work. The following collection of projects reflects my curiosity and joy for design. Thank you and enjoy!
PRACTICE
PROCESSES
Architecture
Material and Craft
Landscape and Ecology
Mapping
Urbanism
Fieldwork
Research
Language and Literacy
Design Activism 2
Contents
DESIGN + RESEARCH
01
04
Gardening in a Wasteland
Echoes
Material cultures for post-wild landscapes
Landscape park for the Six Nations of the Grand River
02 The Way Home
05
Mobile support network as shelter support infrastructure
Uitwaaien: A Walk in the Wind
03
06
SOIL Institute
Seed Sharing Stories
Climatorium for soil remediation, research, and education
The Planetary Garden
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
OTHER
07
09
Centre for dialogue and collaboration
PMA Landscape Architects
Peripatetic
Toronto, Canada
Conversations on Waterloo Architecture Students’ Work and Travel Experiences
08 Marchi Architectes Paris, France
Contents
3
Michelle Li | 2023
01 Gardening in a Wasteland Can viewing ecological disturbance through a lens of materiality create future narratives for post-wild landscapes? Urban wastelands are assemblages of habitats, colonized by human activity through material and species movements. Attempts to eradicate or remediate the damaging effects of the Great Lakes’ non-native species are ineffective and counterproductive. Instead, harvesting introduced species can mitigate impacts of their permanent position in local ecosystems. Recasting ecological threats of diasporic communities as abundant resources invites new modes of biodiversity and co-production. Given these multispecies and material entanglements, what is the role of the designer in the post-wild world? Sited on the accidental wilderness of the Leslie Street Spit, a reimagined garden centre for ecoactivism encourages learning from the land through craft. Merging the organic and inorganic, discarded materials—construction rubble and spontaneous vegetation—form new material cultures that challenge biases associated with the native versus migrant dichotomy, confronting the fragility and mutability of our urban watersheds. 4
Gardening in a Wasteland
project type research and fieldwork, landscape and architecture design site Leslie Street Spit, Don River Valley, Great Lakes Ecosystem thesis advisor Laura Miller SUPERNATURAL Studio *Shortlisted for Canadian Architect Student Awards of Excellence
> Material Histories of the Leslie Street Spit Harbour Breakwater (1959-1967)
Confined Contaminated Fill
Western Peninsulas (1973-1975)
Ongoing Fill and Landform
Endikement + Marina (after 1979)
> Journey of the Brick Fragment Soil
Clay
Brick
Rubble
Land
Site
Evergreen Brickworks
Tommy Thompson Park
Network
Glacial Movements 450,000,000 - 12,000 BP
Human settlement 7,000 BP
Don Valley Brickworks 1889 - 2010 - present
The Fire of 1904 spearheaded the brick industry in Toronto
Leslie Street Spit 1959 - 2013 - present
Design + Research
5
> Terminology of Invasive Biology
> Sites and Methods of
> Fieldwork Research: Gardening and Crafting
Habitat Restoration Day at Sepulveda Basin with Friends of the LA River and California Native Plant Society (Summer 2022)
6
Gardening in a Wasteland
Papermaking seed paper
f Migrant Species Introduction in the Great Lakes
Exploratory Artefacts: plaster leaves as 1:1 scale maps
Design + Research
7
Michelle Li | 2023 LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS Fire pit and education space Crevice gardens Compost and soil nursery Cold frames Garden test plots Raised beds vegetable planting Mound planting Dye gardens Collection area + Outdoor Workspace Bosque planting Phytoremediation pools Floating treatment wetlands
> Garden Centre for Ecoactivism
Existing Site: Spontaneous Vegetation
Phytoremediation and gabion walls system
Platforms on gabion foundation
Utilities: Rainwater tanks and kilns
Temporary Roofing with woven shades
Pitched Ro Teachin
> Designing for Ruin: Architecture built from rubble and organic material are designed to biodegrade over time, transforming into u 8
Gardening in a Wasteland
oof Frame and ng Gardens
Phragmites for roof thatching and collection station
urban habitats for flora and fauna
Ruins as landscape and animal habitat
Weeding and Harvesting
Gleaning
Transplanting Seedings
Cooking
Replanting native species
Dye-making with plants
Crushing leaves for dye-making
Dyeing textiles
Stripping leaves from stems
Opening seed pods
Beating fibers into pulp
Weaving
Sheet formation with mould and deckle
Tile making with recycled rubble
Couching (papermaking)
Pottery throwing with recycled clay
> Crafting Processes Design + Research
9
Michelle Li | 2023
> Site Programming NATIVE PLANT NURSERY Greenhouse Seed Bank Classroom
10
Gardening in a Wasteland
BOTANICAL WORKSHOPS Wild dye/printmaking studio Papermaking studio Weaving and textiles studio Ceramics studio and kilns Building workshops Garden shed and storage
KITCHEN AND MARKET Test kitchen Community Pantry Washrooms
ARCHIVE Gallery Research labs Material Archive
Crevice Gardens
Rubble Planting Mounds
Gabion Vertical Garden
Raised Planting Beds and Cold Frames
Soil Nursery
Walipini (underground) greenhouse
> Timeline of a Gabion Wall as a Vertical Garden
Design + Research
11
Michelle Li | 2023 12
Gardening in a Wasteland
Design + Research
13
Michelle Li | 2023
Prohibiting camping in parks and public streets
No living in vehicles
No Loitering or Trepassing
No erecting tents or temporary structures
No open fires
Encampment Evictions
Bag Limit at Hotels and Shelters
No Soliciting
Restricting nighttime access to parks
> Policies in the Toronto Municipal Code and Safe Streets Act
Is it illegal to be homeless?
02 The Way Home
14
Why are we designing permanent infrastructure or “brick and mortar” solutions for people who are mobile? Responding to the lack of services and affordable housing for the urban unhoused population, this project proposes a mobile support network to provide a greater range and adaptive services to the people who are most vulnerable in our cities. This strategy is implemented in phases; first deploying vehicles (food trucks, mobile clinics) and street interventions, (e.g. heated bus shelters, food gardens) to provide essential services and reclaim public spaces. These interventions lay the foundation to establish permanent service hubs, such as drop-in centres. At the third phase, transitional and supportive housing can be built.
project type urbanism, supportive and transitional housing
This network draws on the potential of vacant lots to enhance community life and bridge gaps between unhoused and existing residents. This vision hopes to alleviate the stigmatization and criminalization of unhoused people and provide the conditions for empowering those who are perceived as invisible by giving them a place with a permanent address.
instructor Drew Adams
The Way Home
site Thorncliffe Park, Toronto collaborators Yongmin (Laura) Ye, Edward Widjaja
*Award of Excellence for the RAIC National Urban Design Awards 2022
> Courtyard of 82 Thorncliffe Park Drive
Lack of services and challenges on accessing services
> Shelter Support Infrastructure and corresponding service deserts in Toronto
ESSENTIAL SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE OPEN IN 2021 Drop-in Centres Indigenous Shelters/Housing 24-Hour Respite Sites Emergency Cooling Shelter Warming Centre Out of the Cold Centres Soup Kitchens Food Banks/Meal Programs Clothing Banks Salvation Army Thrift Store
Design + Research
SOCIAL SUPPORT SERVICES Rent Bank Centres Legal Justice Support Housing Help Employment/Social Services Harm Reduction Sites Mental Health Clinics 5-min walking radius Clusters of 4+ different support infrastructure
15
Michelle Li | 2023
> Mobile Support Route Map : 10 minute radius Main Loop Route Secondary Loop Ravine Route Shelter Support Infrastructure Focus Sites
2
RETAIL East York Town Centre
PARKLAND RESIDENTIAL Don Valley Ravine `Flemington Park Towers
> Support Vehicle Retrofits and Mobile Infrastructure
Pick-up Trucks (with Trailer)
Pop-up Clinic
16
Food Truck
Wheel-Trans Van Cargo Van School Bus (Food Market) (Pop-up Barber) (Workstations)
Pop-up Kitchen Cooling Pavillion
The Way Home
Warming Huts
RV Bus (Sleeping Bus)
Modular Shelter Units
Transit Bus (Showers & Laundry)
Inflatable Respite Centre
> Transitional and Supportive Housing at 82 Thorncliffe Park Drive HOUSING PROGRAMS + SERVICES
Transitional Housing
Supportive Housing
Phase 1: Establish Mobile Support Network
Drop-in Centre/ Emergency Beds
Phase 2: Build Drop-in Centre + Mobile Support Hub
Support Vehicles Parking Public Realm Offices and Clinic Rooms
Phase 3: Build Transitional and Supportive Housing
> Spatial Typologies of Mobile Support Stations
Streets and Sidewalks
Public Parks
Temporary Respite Sites
Ravines
Parking Lots
Community Hubs
Shelters
Under bridges
Design + Research
17
Michelle Li | 2023
> Ground Floor Plan
> Visitor’s Narrative 18
The Way Home
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
entry vestibule waiting room reception office clinic front line office counselling room administration storage conference room computer lab classroom transitional housing entry visitor’s lounge staff office soup kitchen and lounge staff kitchen donation centre sorting area mobile support garage bike storage /workshop ramp to basement parking waste and recycling room loading zone Public Realm Staff only Supportive Housing Units Transitional Housing Units Communal Space Circulation & Outdoors Service Spaces & Cores
> Typical Floor Plan - Second Level
0
5
Design + Research
10
20m
19
Michelle Li | 2023
Type A Studio
Type B Connected Studios
Type D 2 bedroom
> Unit Layouts Supportive Housing Units Transitional Housing Units Outdoor Spaces
Type 1 4 bedroom
20
Type C 1bedroom
The Way Home
Type 2 2-level, 4 bedroom
Type 3 2-level, 4 bedroom
Type 4 2-level, 4 bedroom
Type 5 (4th level only) 2-level, 3 bedroom
Courtyard-facing Corridors Public Ammenity Spaces Circulation Cores
> Sightlines and Visibility Axonometric Design + Research
21
Michelle Li | 2023
> Atrium of the SOIL Institute
03 SOIL Institute The Climatorium is a didactic model that demonstrates how to regenerate brownfield sites and design for a post-carbon future. Speculating on the future of urban soils, the SOIL Institute focuses on soil remediation to support community food sovereignty and promotes clay as a sustainable building material. To address the site’s history of soil contamination and energy-intensive buildings, the project seeks to remediate the land and improve human relationships through soil education and the creation of a decentralized and clean energy network. The design prioritizes ecological processes, such as phytoremediation, solar energy, and natural flood cycles as a holistic way of designing architecture and landscapes. The building comprises of three interlocking volumes: Research, Training/Education, and Community surrounding a central greenhouse with distinct ecologies and conditions for heating, ventilation, and energy use. The building serves as a carbon sink, constructed using mass timber as well as terracotta cladding created in public workshops to engaging in onsite material production. 22
SOIL Institute
project type architectural design, soil remediation, flood adaptation site South Street Seaport, New York City collaborators Sophie Fan instructor Carol Philips
subsoil
parent rock
bedrock
organic matter topsoil eluviation layer subsoil
soil remediation & education
urban agriculture
material innovation
Research Fieldwork and Experimentation
parent rock
Training and Education
Community Participatory Programs
bedrock
Training and Education
Research
Remediation
Food Production
Commun Participatory P
Compost
Soil Remediation and Education
Soil Remediation and Education
Ecotone: Programs as Ecologies
L
organic matter topsoil eluviation layer
subsoil
parent rock
bedrock
Research Fieldwork and Experimentation
Training and Education
Community Participatory Programs
Research Fieldwork and Experimentation Solar
Training and Education
Research
Soil Remediation and Education
Remediation
Food Production
Wind
PV Panels
Community Participatory Programs
Compost
Commericial and In Combined Heat and P
Ecotone: Programs as Ecologies
Ecotone: Programs as Ecologies
Local Energy Generation: Microgrid and CHP
organic matter topsoil eluviation layer
Utility Grid
subsoil
Microgrid Controller
parent rock
bedrock
Microgrid
Research Fieldwork and Experimentation
Training and Education
Community Participatory Programs
Research Fieldwork and Experimentation Solar
Training and Education
Research
Remediation
Food Production
Compost
Wind
PV Panels
Tidal
Geothermal
Generator
Energy Storage
Renewable Energy
Urban Agriculture urban
Material Innovation material
agriculture
innovation
organic matter topsoil eluviation layer
Community Participatory Programs
Commericial and Industrial Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
Education soilSoil remediation > Material and Program Cycles & education
Tidal
Renewable Energy
Residential Local Energy Generation
Local energy generation: Microgrid & Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
subsoil parent rock bedrock
Design + Research
23
Michelle Li | 2023
Level 3: Hydroponic Farm
Level 2: Vertical Gardening
Level 1: Soil Labs
> 1:20 model of facade 24
SOIL Institute
> Greenhouse Renders
Design + Research
25
Michelle Li | 2023
> Terracotta material lifecycle “Terracotta” from Italian meaning ‘baked e
> Wall Section Exterior to Interior Wall Assembly LOF Terracotta colour solar cell 250mm wood fibre insulation air water vapour barrier 3-ply CLT panel Floor Assembly 50mm reclaimed cedar flooring 300mm raised floor assembly with felt acoustic topping 100mm wood fibre insulation 5-ply CLT panel 300mm x 600mm glulam beam
26
SOIL Institute
earth’, from Latin terra cocta
> Building systems for carbon neutral design Design + Research
27
Michelle Li | 2023
FOOD AND WATER fishing and irrigation
COMMUNICATION follows the flow downstream
TRANSPORTATION passages for boats and ships
> Societal Circles of the Haudenosaunee Diagram adapted from “The Clay We are Made Of” (2017) by Susan Hill
04 Echoes The Grand River runs through the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations, comprising of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora peoples. As a dynamic and temporal force, the river sculpts the landscape, revealing physical and cultural echoes. Drawing on the productive landscape, the park’s design encourages learning through storytelling, play, and practice. By participating in the cultivation of the land, we nurture our collective relationship to water. Major programs of this masterplan include: 1. Wild (river) rice planting and harvesting, known as manoomin in the Ojibwe language 2. A wetland playscape and with berms for flood adaptation 3. Medicinal and Three Sisters Gardens for corn, beans, and squash 4. Boathouse and Education Centre These practices work in synchrony with natural flood cycles and Indigenous knowledge systems. The park is a gathering place for present and future generations that emerges from our shared stewardship of the land and water. 28
Echoes
project type cultural and ecological heritage, architecture and landscape design site Chiefswood Park, Ohswekan, Canada supervisor Jane Hutton software Rhino, Adobe CS,hand drawing, gylcerin modelling
3.0m
2.5m
2.0m
1.5m
1.0m
0.5m
Design + Research
0
29
Michelle Li | 2023
> Wild Rice Growing and Harvest Cycle
seeding
germination
emergence
OCTOBER
MARCH
APRIL
threshing rice stalks (knocking grains into canoe)
tillering
drying and winnowing
> Park Programming Section > Site section + activities and amenities diagram
30
Echoes
flowering JULY
hulling
winnowing
riping
harvest
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
storage in woven birch bark baskets
> Glycerin modelling of water flow over berms and terraces 3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
water flow up
water depth (m)
water flow down
0
Design + Research
20m
31
Michelle Li | 2023
> Boathouse and Education Centre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
32
Echoes
Deck for boat launch Sheltered picnic area Canoe storage Changerooms and equipment Rice storage and kitchen Arcade Education centre Buoyancy elements for flood adaptation Covered pavillion for drying and winnowing
Design + Research
33
Michelle Li | 2023
05 Uitwaaien: A Walk in the Wind “There is an [Inuit] custom that offers an angry person release by walking the emotion out of their system in a straight line across the landscape. The point at which the anger is conquered is marked with a stick, bearing witness to the strength or length of the rage.” - Lucy Lippard, Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory Uitwaaien (Dutch) is translated to “a walk in the wind” often to clear one’s head. Where a conflict or conversation evokes a face-to-face confrontation, a walk allows for a side-by-side collaborative stance. Situated on Indigenous territory and in the Discovery District, this site brings people from different walks of life to a centre for healing, learning, and storytelling. Architecture facilitates wayfinding—both physically in space and metaphorically in a conversation—through the pacing, rhythm, and thresholds of its spaces. Inspired by Jane’s walks, community-led walking conversations inspired by urban activist Jane Jacobs, this project poses the question: How can the walking facilitate interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict resolution? 34
Uitwaaien: A Walk in the Wind
project type architectural design, net-zero design site Discovery District, Toronto, Canada supervisor Andrew Levitt software Rhino, Adobe CS, Vray, hand-drawing
> Architectural Spaces for Walking
MULTI-WAY CORRIDOR simple circulation
CLEARING meeting room
INTERSECTION breakout space
INDIVIDUAL WALK introspective reflection
WALK IN PAIRS dialogue and conversation
GROUP WALK teaching, storytelling, and activism
WIDENING OF PATH place of repose for a view
NARROWING OF PATH threshold
Spatial language of walking and conflict resolution
Design + Research
35
Michelle Li | 2023
> Ground floor plan 1 front porch 2 threshold (pivot point) 3 elders room 4 meeting room 5 cafe/kitchen
6 7 8 9 10
reception staff office dining area reading space feature stairs
> Entry threshold (pivot in 4 directions) FORWARD reception and cafe RIGHT window to elders room BEHIND entryway and front porch LEFT ramp down to meeting room
36
Uitwaaien: A Walk in the Wind
11 12 13 14 15
shared studio area with exhibition space resident researcher live + work covered bike storage/semi-private entrance rain garden north patio
R3
planter shimmed to level on rubber blocks spaced to drain
R3
aluminum angle R4
R4
mechanically operated exterior wood shutters
R1
hidden gutter detail designed for overflow 140mm x 400mm glulam beam
W1
triple-glazed aluminum frame-wood window with low-e coating
> Wall Section Detail (exterior to interior) Wind organ pipes 1.5” Vertical rainscreen cedar cladding 19mm Strapping/air gap for drainage 6” Rockwool Comfortboard rigid insulation (R24) Blueskin self-adhesive membrane 1/2” Plywood sheathing 2x6“ wood studs at 400mm O.C. / cellulose filled cavity (R26) 6 mm Polyethelene vapour barrier 1/2” Plywood sheathing 20mm White cedar wall finish
F1
19 mm gap for drainage 200 mm 19 mm gap for drainage 200 mm
Foundation
Foundation
Design + Research
37
Michelle Li | 2023
> Second floor plan 1 2 3 4
meeting room staff room faciltator’s office joint meeting room
5 looped walkway 6 covered terrace 7 storage 8 operable facade with wind organ
> Longitudinal Section through meeting rooms, cafe, and dining area 38
Uitwaaien: A Walk in the Wind
> Street elevation
> Rear elevation
“Walkers are 'practitioners of the city,' for the city is made to be walked. A city is a language, a repository of possibilities, and walking is the act of speaking that language, of selecting from those possibilities. Architecture limits where one can walk, but the walker invents other ways to go.” - Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking
> Cross Section through sauna, artist residence, and meeting rooms Design + Research
39
Michelle Li | 2023
who controls seed?
seed saving and sharing
exchanging seed stories and knowledge
seed to table
06 Seed Sharing Stories Four corporations—Bayer, Corteva, ChemChina and Limagrain—own over 50% of the world’s seed supply, dominating the global food supply. In response, the seed sharing community supports cultivation activism towards seed sovereignty and making sustainable gardening practices an intergal part of urban life. Seed Sharing Stories is an interactive platform to share initiatives, recipes, knowledge, and experiences about seeds and growing food. Connecting gardeners to gardeners, the aim is to map the networks and narratives behind seed sharing. Ranging from fieldwork, mapping, drawing, and ethnographic study by popular media, the research was driven by three questions: 1. Where do you get your seed? 2. Who controls seed? 3. How does seed sharing encourage the exchange of new and traditional knowledge, recipes, and cultures? Follow the seed from its origin, the garden, kitchen, and back to seed. Experience Seed Sharing Stories here: https://tinyurl.com/cte4snsa 40
Seed Sharing Stories
project type fieldwork, ethnographic research, gardening, web design location backyard garden, city of toronto, global seed sharing community supervisor Jane Hutton software Rhino, Arcgis, Illustrator, Adobe XD
> Subsidaries of Bayer and Monsanto revealing global influence of agrochemical companies on the distribution of seeds
> Drawing plant change over time
Design + Research
41
Michelle Li | 2023
> Seed-to-table stop motion animation
> Kitchen garden design 42
Seed Sharing Stories
> Planting calender
> The garden becomes a meeting place for shared seeds (May and August 2020) Design + Research
43
> Logements 60 Boulevard Desgranges Sceaux
07 Marchi Architects Paris - Summer 2019 Marchi Architectes is an architecture firm whose design work focuses on single-family residential, interior design, cultural buildings, and adaptive reuse projects. As an architectural intern, I worked extensively on the design and construction phases of a farmhouse renovation outside of Grandola, Portugal, including the production of renderings, physical and 3D modelling, and the schematic design of the guest house. I assisted in a variety of residential and cultural projects including a residential complex competition in Sceaux and the adaptive reuse of the former Central Post Office in Versailles, where I produced diagrams, renderings, and 3D models.
44
Marchi Architectes
> Farmhouse renovation
> Guest house Professional Practice
45
Michelle Li | 2023
> Toronto Botanical Gardens Expansion Project
08 PMA Landscape Architects Toronto - Summer 2022 At PMA, I worked with senior landscape architects on the various public projects, from urban parks, residential and institutional green spaces, playgrounds, and garden design. I played a key role in the schematic design phase of the Toronto Botanical Gardens Expansion Project where I conducted precedent research on botanical gardens and created design studies of the renovation of the drive shed, adaptative reuse of the barn, entry walk garden, entry building, bus shelter, and various landscape elements. I produced massing studies, 3D models, orthographic drawings, and renders that informed the evolution of the design. > Entry Walk Garden Design
46
PMA Landscape Architects
> Drive Shed Renovation Massing Studies
Professional Practice
47
Michelle Li | 2023
09 Peripatetic Peripatētikós (Greek) or peripatetic, translates as “given to walk about.” Cycling between four- and eight-month study and work terms, Waterloo Architecture’s program embodies the idea of learning through moving from one location to another. Peripatetic is an independent project that shares conversations, photographs, sketches, writings, and reflections of student experiences both within and outside the workplace. The range of experiences—from exploring a city on foot, to adapting to a different office culture, to creative initiatives—deepens our relationships with what we study in school to push the boundaries of architecture and design.
With contributions across four continents, Part One: From Place to Place shares travel stories and observations of different geographical and cultural landscapes. Part Two: Between Here and There focuses on the creative interests that students bring with them while travelling. Part Three: The Road Less Traveled, takes a step beyond conventional architecture practices to explore alternative workplaces and entrepreneurial co-ops. Peripatetic provides a resource on the pathways in the co-op program through first-hand accounts—interviews, articles, and drawings—of how students navigate different working and living cultures. Peripatetic was made with Leela Keshav. View the publication here: https://issuu.com/ peripatetic/docs/peripatetic_fall_2020
48
Peripatetic
Publication
49