Date and time: August 25, 2026 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Held at: Room 1150
Avec Virginie Picon-Lefebvre, professor and researcher at the ENSA Paris Belleville
Doctoral LEAP Seminar with Virginie Picon-Lefebvre
Non classé
Doctoral LEAP Seminar with Antoine Picon
Date and time: August 24, 2026 from 2:00 to 4:15 pm.
Held at: Room 1150
With Antoine Picon, professor of the Histoire of Architecture and Technology, and director of the doctoral programs of the Graduate School of Design de l’Université de Harvard
AI, Cities, Architecture
Lecture by Antoine Picon
Date : Monday, August 18th at 5.30pm
Location : Université de Montréal, Faculté de l’Aménagement, Amphi 1120
Antoine Picon is an engineer, architect and historian of technology at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. He is a world-renowned authority on theoretical issues relating to the built environment, and the author of some thirty books and nearly 400 academic articles. Antoine Picon has delivered several lectures and seminars at the Faculty of Planning. Professor Antoine Picon will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Montreal at the Faculty of Planning’s graduation ceremony.
How can we collect the diversity of quality lived experiences?
The City of Montreal has selected the Canada Research Chair in Architecture for research into the lived experience of quality by users of public buildings.
Jean-Pierre Chupin, Bechara Helal and Carmela Cucuzzella will develop a protocol for collecting lived experiences with doctoral students: Firdous Nizar, Paloma Castonguay-Rufino, Yolene Handabaka, Shantanu Biswas Linkon, Cyrille Tchango Ngamaleu of the Individualized PhD in Architecture program.
The proposal from the Canada Research Chair in Architecture, Competitions and Mediations of Excellence (CRC-ACME) team was selected in Stream 1 of the call “Developing a Stronger Design Culture Together – Edition 2” (Call for Proposals 2023-2024).
Project: Protocol for study and qualitative assessment of the social value of public buildings through documentation of users’ lived experiences
Description: A protocol for post-occupancy quality assessment, describing methods for gathering and studying accounts of lived experiences in municipal spaces and buildings, and for compilation of a set of remarkable lived-experience stories and records. The goal is to better understand the factors that influence the quality of lived experiences in those spaces and buildings.
This project will enrich the strategies and actions for Sustaining Quality outlined in the Design Montréal Quality Toolkit (Quality Operation section).
It will also contribute to achievement of the results targeted by the Montréal 2030 Strategic Plan, notably as concerns the following priority:
Priority 19 – Provide all Montrealers with safe, quality living environments and a local response to their needs
More information on CRC-ACME: https://crc.umontreal.ca
More information on the Design Montréal program: https://designmontreal.com/en/calls/developing-a-stronger-design-culture-together-2nd-edition?section=3948
Two doctoral students defend their individualized doctorate in architecture (Mandana Bafghinia and Lucie Palombi)
Mandana Bafghinia, a doctoral student in cotutelle between Université de Montréal and Université Lyon 2, under the co-direction of Jean-Pierre Chupin and Manuel Appert, defended her thesis:
The Skyscraper’s Summit, as a Beacon and a Viewing Platform: New York, Paris, Montreal, Shanghai
December 14th, 2023
Thesis directors:
- Université de Montréal: Professor Jean-Pierre Chupin, Architecture
- Université Lyon 2: Professors Christian Montes and Manuel Appert, Geography
Jury members:
- Professor William Straw, External Examiner, McGill University
- Professor Xiangning Li, Jury Member, Tongji University
- Izabel Fraga Do Amaral E Silva, President-Rapporteur, Faculté d’aménagement – École d’architecture, Université de Montréal
- Carmela Cucuzzella, Dean, Faculté d’aménagement, Université de Montréal
Lucie Palombi, doctoral student under the direction of Jean-Pierre Chupin, defended her thesis:
De la textualité du projet professionnel en situation de concours en architecture: hermeneutique et comparaison de textes liés à des projets lauréats de concours d’architecture au Québec entre 2010 et 2020
January 15th, 2024
Thesis director:
- Professor Jean-Pierre Chupin, Faculté d’aménagement – École d’architecture, Université de Montréal
Jury members:
- Pierre Chabard, External Examiner, École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris
- Alice Covatta, Jury Member, Faculté d’aménagement – École d’architecture, Université de Montréal
- Izabel Fraga Do Amaral E Silva, President, Faculté d’aménagement – École d’architecture, Université de Montréal
- Michel Max Raynaud, Dean’s Representative, Faculté d’aménagement, Université de Montréal
Mapping the impact of rising oceans on high-rise buildings worldwide
Mandana Bafghinia and Jean-Pierre Chupin, assisted by master’s student Conor DeSantis, publish a report funded by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats
To discover the maps:
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5dd6e81456e04204af90a3c209dfd76b
To consult the report:
Bafghinia, M., Chupin, J.-P., Skyscrapers as a Complex Response to Rising Waters: Resilience and Adaptability. Report summarizing the result of the 2019 CTBUH Student Research Project published on the platform of the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (2023) https://global.ctbuh.org/resources/papers/4600-Bafghinia_SkyscrapersAsAComplexResponse.pdf
Two Post-Docs Join the Partnership on Quality Coordination Team
Following public consultation and job posting, two postdoctoral researchers have been recruited to assist the SSHRC Quality in the Built Environment (QBE) partnership coordination team.
Maria Patricia Farfan Sopo, a new doctor from McGill University, is funded by the partnership’s SSHRC budget, while Morteza Hazbei, a new doctor from Concordia University, is funded by the complementary budget granted by Université de Montréal to the Canada Research Chair in Architecture, Competitions and Mediations of Excellence.
The biographical summaries below will help you appreciate their remarkable personal and academic careers. Welcome to Maria Patricia and Morteza!
Dr. Maria Patricia Farfan Sopo
My personal, academic and professional background – or how I have come to view and approach the field of the built environment – started with my undergraduate studies in my native Colombia, getting closed to sustainability issues in Latin American regions, and post-graduate experience acquired during my Master (Minimum Cost Housing McGill University) – and Ph.D. in History and Theory (McGill University) completed on February 2023.
In my doctoral work I examine the spatial transformations carried out by Indigenous communities from the Colombian Pacific region who create a pacifist movement through culture recognition in the midst of violence, with special focus on the Women and political force who created the ephemeral built environment as territory-great house. I have held a wide range of academic administrative and leadership positions, while working in conjunction with diverse communities and associations. This has given me a broad perspective of academia and has prepared me to efficiently collaborate with experts from different disciplines and cultures.
Dr. Morteza Hazbei
I earned my PhD from Concordia University in September 2023, focusing on enhancing the sustainability of our built environment through the integration of livability, energy efficiency, and contextual design. This interdisciplinary exploration allowed me to investigate the factors that contribute to the quality of our built environment from both architectural and engineering perspectives.
Concurrently, I served as a lead student researcher in Concordia’s SSHRC partnership project, delving into the interconnectedness of livability, decarbonization, and biodiversity to foster an inclusive and equitable built environment, especially for marginalized demographics like the elderly people. Additionally, my role as Vice President on the SSHRC partnership graduate student committee provided valuable collaborative opportunities with students across diverse disciplines, offering me a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted nature of built environment quality—perfectly aligning with my research focus.
Source : https://livingatlasofquality.ca/home
The 4 videos of the 2nd SSHRC Quality Partnership Online Convention are now freely available
Recordings of the 4 sessions of the SSHRC Quality Partnership’s second online convention are now freely available.
The research partnership is entitled Quality in Canada’s Built Environment: Roadmaps to Equity, Social Value and Sustainability, and brings together 14 universities, 70 researchers and nearly 70 institutions, cities and citizen groups until 2027.
This second meeting took place online and in 4 stages corresponding to 4 themes for open, free, creative and critical discussions:
- November 7: Minimum quality thresholds
- November 8: The intersection or tension between sustainability and accessibility issues
- November 14: Establishing shared values in a diversity of viewpoints
- November 16: Gathering lived experience to enhance the quality of built environments
Each meeting brought together over sixty participants, including students from coast to coast, for 90 minutes.
Recordings can be found in the “Partnership” section of the Living Atlas of Quality in the Built Environment.
Synthesis reports will be produced in winter 2024, in time for the 3rd in-person convention to be held in Halifax in May 2024.
Jean-Pierre Chupin, Director of the SSHRC Quality Partnership
Canada Research Chair in Architecture, Competitions and Mediations of Excellence
4 doctoral students receive scholarships from the Canada Research Chair in Architecture (CRC-ACME)
The following four doctoral students in architecture each receive a $12,000 scholarship for 2023-2024 from the Canada Research Chair in Architecture, Competitions and Mediations of Excellence, held by Jean-Pierre Chupin.
- Shantanu Biswas Linkon, architect originally from Bangladesh
- Paloma Castonguay-Rufino, Canadian architect of Spanish origin
- Yolene Handabaka Ames, Canadian architect originally from Peru
- Cyrille Jérôme Tchango Ngamaleu, architect from Cameroon
These four students are enrolled under the supervision or co-supervision of Jean-Pierre Chupin in the individualized Ph.D. program in architecture, and are working on the following topics:
- Shantanu Biswas Linkon. Re-evaluating the Social Value of Architecture in the Public Realms through Inclusiveness, Environmental Justice, and Spatial Justice. PhD individualisé en architecture. (Université de Montréal). (Septembre 2022)
- Paloma Castonguay-Rufino. La réutilisation architecturale en tant qu’action climatique : Vers un cadre comparatif pour la reconnaissance des valeurs des vestiges industriels urbains au Canada. PhD individualisé en architecture. (Université de Montréal). Directeur. (Septembre 2022)
- Yolene Handabaka. Comparative analysis of heritage public buildings at risk of demolition through the filter of social value as a parameter of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). PhD individualisé en architecture. (Université de Montréal). Co-directrice Carmela Cucuzzella. (Septembre 2023)
- Cyrille Jérôme Tchango Ngamaleu. L’architecture au service de la santé : mesure de la qualité thérapeutique de l’espace architectural en milieu hospitalier. PhD individualisé en architecture. (Université de Montréal). (Septembre 2023)
Lucie Palombi wins a $12,500 doctoral scholarship from the Fondation de Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)
The jury responsible for evaluating doctoral candidates submitted to the 2023-2024 scholarship competition, made up of professors from Quebec universities and BAnQ specialists, has awarded Lucie Palombi a $12,500 doctoral scholarship for her project entitled “Textualité et projet en architecture – Approche interprétative et comparative d’écrits rédigés par des architectes québécois”. Lucie is completing her thesis in the Individualized Doctorate in Architecture program under the supervision of Jean-Pierre Chupin.
Lucie Palombi’s application for this competition was recommended by Phyllis Lambert, founder of the Canadian Centre for Architecture. At BAnQ Vieux-Montréal, Lucie is studying the fonds of Quebec architect and writer Jacques Folch-Ribas, winner of numerous literary awards. In particular, she analyzes his correspondence with leading names in the world of literature and publishing (Marguerite Yourcenar, Hervé Bazin, Jean Cayrol, Michèle Lalonde and Robert Laffont), and questions the criteria that tip an architect from the status of “writer” to that of writer.