Lead Research Associate / Manager

Sneha Mandhan (she/her) works at the intersections of planning, urban design, architecture, design research, and community engagement. She collaborates on city building and engagement projects with Monumental Projects, People Design Co-operative, and the Department of Words and Deeds. She teaches graduate courses in urban design at the Daniels Faculty and holds a Master in City Planning from MIT, and an undergraduate degree in architecture from NIT, Bhopal.
Her work focuses on unearthing and incorporating culture into the planning and design of cities. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Planning at the University of Toronto, where she is working to discover and share the stories of banquet halls as important sites of cultural celebration for the South Asian diaspora in the Greater Toronto Area.

Lead Research Designer / Manager

Rashmi recently defended her Master of Architecture thesis at the University of Toronto. Her research, WoodLoop, investigates the potential of creating a circular economy of building materials through the assessment of demolition permits, the modelling and life cycle analysis of stick frame houses and the policies and practices surrounding deconstruction, salvage and reuse. She is currently a collaborator at Local Technique, working towards a wider advocacy and adoption of reuse policy and practices in Toronto. Beyond materiality and waste, her interests lie in exploring building science solutions for climate change, and the relationship between architecture, economics and media-politics.

Prior to enrolling as a M.Arch student, her practice as a designer and social entrepreneur in India emerged at the intersection of sustainability, design, and development. She co-founded Mana Organics in 2011, a women led organization that worked with subsistence farmers in rural India to facilitate organic farming systems. She also served as Director at Pitara Designs and Textiles (2015-2018) - a design studio and manufacturing facility in New Delhi that worked with handloom and craft communities across India.

Going forward, she is keen to draw upon her varied experiences in design, carbon thinking, community engagement and project management to design low carbon, circular and regenerative solutions for our built environment.

Benjamin Dunn holds a BA double major in Anthropology and Psychology from UBC and is currently pursuing his MLA at UofT.  His research, design, and community work have focused on solving problems related to food, water, and energy security in cold climate environments. Dunn has presented his research at conferences across Canada, with projects spanning the fields of cultural evolution, positive psychology, visual anthropology, and sociolinguistics. His design experience comes from positions at Verge Permaculture, Hoffman Hayes, and SpruceLab as well as independent consulting.

Coco holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from McGill University and is currently pursuing a Master of Landscape Architecture at the University of Toronto. Her previous professional experience includes roles in urban design, non-profit urban research, and urban development consulting. Coco’s research interests are focused on understanding how design of public spaces can mitigate climate change, strengthen community relationships, and promote active living. She hopes to support the development of resilient, equitable, and vibrant cities through her research and design.

Negar holds a Bachelor and Masters in Architecture from the Art University of Isfahan, Iran. Negar is interested in how good design opines demographic and social factors, equity issues, environmental sustainability formal expressions. She is interested in how these important issues impact both dense cities and rural areas. Through her Masters in Landscape Architecture she believes she can bridge the gap between cities and nature.

Irene holds a BSc in Biology from the University of Ottawa as well as a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning from Ryerson University. Her interests lie in the integration of urban design, landscape architecture and environmental planning which led her to pursue her Master of Landscape Architecture at the Daniels Faculty. Irene strives to work on projects that design resilient and sustainable landscapes that exist in harmony with the urban realm while promoting placemaking and supporting local biodiversity.

Luis Felipe Bendezu is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture at the University of Toronto, as a complement to his B.Arch at PUCP (Lima, Peru). His interests lie in the role of interactive architecture and responsive design to enhance daily life through landscape, social appropriation, energy and sustainability. His previous professional experiences are diverse, and include roles in project management, interior design and urban research.

Mena is currently pursuing a Master of Landscape Architecture at the University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty. She has a background in architectural technology and holds a Bachelor of Design from OCAD University in Environmental Design. Mena is interested in the intersection of landscape architecture with urban design and how participatory action research can be used to design inclusive and regenerative public spaces for vulnerable and marginalized communities. She hopes to explore research projects that address structural barriers within the public realm.

Orly Sacke is a fourth-year undergraduate in the Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies at the Daniels Faculty. Her primary interests encompass Low Impact Development and the modes in which landscape architecture can reflect a marriage of aesthetic experience and ecological sensitivity, while retaining cultural specificity. Orly is interested in augmenting the relationship between the hydrological and cultural character of a site in her Undergraduate Design Thesis.

Anh is currently pursuing her Master of Landscape Architecture at the University of Toronto. Her previous professional experience encompasses architectural design and property development roles in Vietnam, which sparked her interest in exploring sustainable solutions for the built environment that cater to the needs of local communities. Anh's research interests revolve around the intersection of nature, urban landscape, and cultural identity within the backdrop of globalization and technological advancement.

Maria holds a BA in Architecture with a minor in Environmental Studies from the University of Toronto where she is currently pursuing a Master of Landscape Architecture. In her previous professional experience, Maria has held research positions with the Jackman Scholarship and at the Canadian Urban Institute as part of interdisciplinary teams. Maria is very interested in the role of placemaking through design and community engagement in underutilized spaces as part of creating more equitable and resilient cities.

Ambika Pharma has contributed towards research on climate adaption in urban landscapes, coastal resilience, and land reclamation. Her current work explores the role of big infrastructure projects and logistical landscapes in efforts towards climate resiliency. Ambika holds a degree in Environmental Design from OCAD University and a Masters in Landscape Architecture from the University of Toronto, receiving the Heather M. Reisman Gold Medal for excellence in design. Ambika is currently a designer at Reed Hilderbrand in Cambridge, MA.

Alex gradated from the Master of Landscape Architecture program at the Daniels Faculty and has previously completed an honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Urban Geography and Planning from the University of Toronto. Alex’s research interests are primarily focused on the intersection of urban green and open space and social capital, imagining new ways to improve urban metabolism and resiliency through landscape interventions. Her previous experience includes work with Park People and 880 Cities as an urban researcher on projects such as the Canadian City Parks Report and Toronto's King Street Pilot Project.