Ronnie Araya is a Montreal based chilean architect. His work fluctuates between the traditional practice of architecture, object design, production and research. In his work he explores new ideas and technologies for construction and architecture, ideas that are guided by rational use of materials but also by a deep sense of aesthetics and poetics. He has collaborated in diverse projects along his multifaceted career as a designer and maker. Passionate for invention and good design, his works embraces a wide range of scales projects; from the experimental architecture at the Open city school, where he obtained his degree in architecture and urbanism, to the design and development of communities within a socially responsable architecture at the municipality of Valparaiso city, where he worked as an architect. As a Research associate at C.A.S.T. , during the years 2008-2013, he worked closely with Mark West, experimenting and developing new techniques for concrete formed in textiles. This research has materialized in diverses prototypes for structures and full scale projects in different parts of the world. During 2015 and 2021 he worked at the firm of architecture LOEUF as a designer and project manager for the pursuit of a sustainable architecture. Currently Ronnie works at McGill University as a project manager of B.A.R.N.

I completed my B.Eng., M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Carleton University. My thesis work during my M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. focused on reducing energy consumption within Canadian residential buildings through improvements in mechanical systems and the integration of new technologies, with a focus on the development of experimental test set-ups. Since 2019, I have overseen the development, design and construction of CABER, as well as the associated research projects within CABER. My research focuses on the experimental evaluation of building energy and building envelope systems, both in a controlled lab settings and through in-situ evaluations. I was also one of the Project Managers for Team Ontario’s entry into the 2013 Solar Decathlon. Outside of work you can typically find me on a golf course or at our family cottage.

Gabrielle Goldman recently completed her Master of Architecture at McGill University, focusing on housing affordability, following a Bachelor of Architecture, also from McGill University. As a research assistant on Reconstruct, she is involved in exploring the opportunities and benefits of retrofits on social and affordable housing in Quebec. She has experience working on large public projects as an intern at a small firm in Brooklyn. Her main interests beyond housing include community design and alternative development models, reflecting her passion for both architecture and urban planning.

Thomas Hyo-min King is a dual Master of Architecture and Master of City Planning candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from McGill University. Thomas works currently as a Research Lead at ReCONstruct, where he has concentrated largely on multi-criteria analysis of the existing building stock as well as sociotechnical transitions strategies for scaling up deep retrofits in Quebec. Prior to ReCONstruct, Thomas worked as an urban designer on issues of urban health, coastal vulnerability, and water scarcity in Asia and the Middle East. He also helped found Biocene, a cleantech start-up focused on water remediation and waste upcycling. Thomas is interested in understanding the political ecology of deep retrofits and their social, energetic, and material ramifications, to build a just and meaningful mass retrofit program for communal resilience and regeneration.

Peter Osborne (BCom., MArch., MDes.) is a designer and Ph.D. Fellow at the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture, McGill University. He researches how wood building can support forest ecosystem resilience and adaptability. This way, the carbon displaced from forests for buildings will continue to be replaced for years to come. Before McGill, Peter was a Knox Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He is the founder of PAGANARC, a transdisciplinary design practice focusing on forestry and wood construction. Peter has previously worked in the design offices of MILLIØNS, NADAAA, Michael Maltzan Architects, and RDHA.

Ruoqi Wang co-leads the Multi-stakeholder Value Proposition team at Reconstruct. She plays a pivotal role in investigating deep energy retrofits’ non-energy benefits, and their capacity in producing substantial bottom-line impacts and driving strategic market positioning across sectors. She is a TEDx speaker, the former director of Rewrite Your Narrative, an observer at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) and holds the B.Sc. Architecture degree from McGill University. She practices multiple perspective thinking in problem-solving and is a recipient of the Radoslav Zuk Travel Award in Architecture and of the Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering Award. She is a global-minded individual with a keen interest in fostering innovation which drives economic growth and sustainable development.

Fernanda Alvarez Larrain, a McGill School of Architecture graduate, was born in Bolivia, raised in Mexico, and currently resides in Montreal. Her multicultural background fuels her passion for sustainable construction design, with a focus on vernacular methods, participatory design, and data visualization. As part of the Research team, she played a pivotal role in front-end website development, particularly in visualizing research data. Her primary objective was to present complex insights engagingly, fostering collaboration with stakeholders and collaborators. She views data visualization as a crucial tool for informed decision-making, advocating for inclusive, sustainable, and user-centric designs.

Thomas is a current research assistant working at the Centre for Advanced Building Envelope Research at Carleton University. Winter 2022 graduate of a B.Eng. in Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University. Will be a MASc candidate in Mechanical Engineering under the supervision of prof. Cynthia Cruickshank beginning in Fall 2022. Research interests include heat transfer and energy systems engineering. Will be conducting research to improve the efficiency and resiliency of building envelopes, and the sustainability of insulating materials. Strong background in heat transfer analysis and simulations from design work on CUBCL’s Industrial Gas Turbine 4th year capstone project. Previously worked a 16-month co-op term for MHI RJ Aviation Ulc. in Maintenance Engineering.

Simone Fallica is a Ph.D. student at the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism of Carleton University, Ottawa. Since 2022, he has been a researcher at CIMS – Carleton Immersive Media Studio, where he works on projects related to 3D modeling, HBIM, and digital technologies for the documentation and conservation of cultural heritage. In July 2020 he obtained his civil and environmental engineering license. In March 2020 he completed his master’s degree magna cum laude in Building Construction at the University of Catania. In 2016 and 2017, he participated in two internship programs in Spain and Canada. Between 2019 and 2021 he collaborated with the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the University of Catania, contributing to research and publications focused on lost historical architecture, cultural heritage digitization, and 3D modeling. His current research interests are centered on the role of Christian monumental architecture as a catalyst for a plurality of narratives and as an ordering actor in the practices of space-making.

Maria is a fourth-year undergraduate student, completing her Honours thesis in Urban Studies under the supervision of Professor Mylène Riva, in the department of Geography. She complemented her studies with a minor in Environment in McGill’s Bieler School of Environment. Maria is a member of the Health Geography lab, and is working in collaboration with the Reconstruct team by conducting interviews with building occupants. Her Honours thesis focused on analyzing residential energy efficiency initiatives in Quebec and their relation to energy poverty from the Energy Justice perspective.

Aidan is an undergraduate architecture student interested in using architectural methods to instigate positive ecological change. This curiosity developed through diverse work in renovation in Montreal and for Parks Canada on Cape Breton Island. It was these experiences which gave him both an ecological affinity and exposure to Montreal’s construction industry. His principal interest related to Reconstruct are in collaborating with stakeholders to develop actionable retrofits for Quebec and Canada given the immensity of the climate crisis. Outside the academic context, he enjoys leading the band Mutiny, skateboarding, and exploring trackless wilderness.

Sarrah Kayed is a motivated and detail-oriented Palestinian architecture graduate from McGill University with a passion for sustainable building design. As part of the Reconstruct team, Sarrah is particularly interested in retrofit solutions, specifically the design and validation of prefabricated exterior envelope panel solutions. Additionally, as the Equity and Mental Health Coordinator at the Architecture Student Association, Sarrah has honed her skills in conflict resolution and teamwork. Sarrah plans to complete her Undergraduate degree in Architectural Engineering and pursue a career in sustainable building design.

Sophie is a research associate at the Canada Research Chair in Housing, Community and Health led by Prof. Mylène Riva at McGill University. She holds an MA in Geography and a BSc in Environment (Ecological Determinants of Health) from McGill. She is currently coordinating a research project that explores the social and spatial distribution of energy poverty in Quebec, its lived experience and implications on health and well-being, and analyses existing and potential initiatives to tackle the issue. For Reconstruct, Sophie will be involved in conducting interviews and assessing the social impacts of the retrofits.

Jordan completed both his B.Eng. and M.A.Sc. at Carleton University and has a background in aerospace engineering, energy modelling, and greenhouse & economic analysis of energy systems. He started his PhD in 2021 with the focus on deep energy retrofits in Canada, and his with current work entails calibrating a hygrothermal model in WUFI with in-situ data.

Kristine Prochnau is a graduate of the Masters of Architecture at the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism. She has been a researcher at the Carleton Immersive Media Studio since 2017, focused on Digitally Assisted Fabrication — investigating the intersection of digital tools with traditional methods of craft using multi-axis CNC equipped robotic arms and a variety of materials. In 2023 she was a visiting researcher at the Aarhus School of Architecture in Denmark, and Factum Arte in Madrid, Spain. Her doctoral research investigates the relationships between existing suburban homes, their inhabitants, and the environment while exploring semi-automated robotic fabrication applications for retrofit and rehabilitation.

Isaac completed his B.Eng. in Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering at Carleton University in 2023. During his final year, Isaac contributed to the design of a low energy multi-unit residential building as part of his capstone project. This experience and his background in sustainability led him to pursue a M.A.Sc in Building Engineering at Carleton University with a concentration in building performance under the supervision of Dr. Cynthia Cruickshank and Dr. Daniel Chung. Isaac’s research will focus on the optimization of mechanical systems in commercial buildings that have undergone a deep energy retrofit by using building performance simulation tools such as TRNSYS.

I am a PhD student at University of Toronto’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. I hold an undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from JMI University and a Master of Science in Architectural Engineering-Structural from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As part of ReCONstruct's energy modelling efforts, I conduct building energy performance simulation of the l'Île-Bizard Community Centre with an emphasis on exploring potential energy saving through retrofit measures. More specifically, I investigate the impact of various parameters, including future weather scenarios from a climate change perspective, materials and construction assemblies, as well as natural ventilation and air infiltration on the energy performance of the l'Île-Bizard building.

Frédéric Verrier-Paquette is completing his Masters in Architecture at McGill. Before that, he worked as a research technician on Reconstruct involved in project coordination and communications, and researching methods of mass retrofit implementation across Quebec. He has experience in product design and manufacturing, as well as architectural research. Past sustainability research has largely been focused on life cycle and energy assessment, while his design work focuses on computation and the exploration of the impacts and relationships between users and the built environment. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from McGill University and started his Master of Architecture at Columbia University GSAPP before transferring to McGill.

Alina is a 3rd year undergraduate student at McGill studying civil engineering. She is involved in the concrete canoe design team as the hull design and structural analysis lead. She is looking forward to getting more involved in student life as the incoming equity and mental health representative for the Civil Engineering Undergraduate Society. Alina is passionate about efforts on improving existing infrastructure and housing. Alina is interested in the logistics and execution of a mass remodelling of the retrofitting industry, in particular mass retrofits of residential buildings. Furthermore, she is intrigued by the engineering, development, and scaling of exterior panels to suit such a large scale retrofit project.

Amanda just completed her Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from McGill University where she focused on structural design. She complemented her studies with research experience in existing structures, specifically concrete and masonry buildings and bridges. She will be starting her Master’s in Sustainability in Engineering and Design at McGill University in the fall, where she plans on pursuing the sustainable infrastructure stream. She just joined Reconstruct as a research assistant on the architectural solutions team and is looking forward to relating this work to her future academic projects.

Antoine is entering the Master of Architecture program at McGill University and currently works as a Research Assistant with ReCONstruct. As a member of the Architectural Solutions team, he is involved in developing various design strategies and opportunities for ongoing research on retrofit scenarios. Antoine holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from McGill University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Université de Montréal. He has accumulated a variety of professional experiences, having worked as a project manager, architectural intern, and on construction sites. His research interests lie at the intersection of architectural design and sustainable construction techniques.

Bavisha is a Master’s student in the Department of Geography at McGill University. She began her MA program in Fall 2022 after completing her BA in International Development with a minor in Health Geography. Her research focuses on housing as a social determinant of health and its relation to healthy aging and “aging in place.” During her MA, Bavisha will examine how various housing characteristics impact the well-being of older adults across rural and urban environments in Canada. Her thesis builds on previous research that acknowledges that housing needs may change and evolve over time as people age. This may be a step in ensuring healthy housing where older Canadians can “age in place” for a longer period of time.

Daniel is beginning his final year of his Master of Architecture at McGill University. He graduated with honors in the Bachelor of Architectural Science program at Toronto Metropolitan University, specializing in building science. He also has a background in finance, and his architectural experience includes multidisciplinary projects designing aviation and transit hubs. He then transitioned into multi-unit residential design and construction before focusing on housing research around the redevelopment of Catholic Church-owned properties to alleviate the housing crisis. His role with ReCONstruct involves creating and communicating feasibility studies to various parties, proving the value case for Deep Energy Retrofits.

Florence Roy is a second-year Master of Architecture student at McGill University. As a research assistant on the ReCONstruct project within the LCA team, she explores circularity in the construction process and the design phases of architectural projects. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Université de Montréal and has previous experience as an intern at a small firm in Córdoba, Argentina. Florence began her journey in architecture with a growing interest in sustainable design and aims to place ecological considerations at the forefront of her future practice.

Gabriel Audra (he/him) is an undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Science in Architecture program at McGill University, currently working as a Research Assistant with Reconstruct through the SURE program. Through this position, he is specifically engaged in architectural solutions and social engagement as it relates to retrofit potential for the multi-unit residential building stock of Quebec. Having grown up in the oil and gas centric environments of Alberta, Gabriel is particularly keen about the intersectionality between architecture and the green energy transition. He has been an environmental advocate on campus, having held positions on both the McGill Energy Association and McGill Greenpeace.

Jana is an undergraduate mechanical engineering student at McGill University, with a profound interest in sustainability within the realm of engineering. She worked as a mechanical engineering intern at the McGill Office of Sustainability, where she led a project aimed at implementing a solution to the issue of recycling contamination on campus, contributing to McGill’s goal of going zero waste by 2035. Additionally, she worked as a product planning and program management intern at Bombardier, where she gained insights on the practical applications of engineering, particularly in developing products, from conceptualization to execution.  Jana is motivated to continue exploring innovative ways to integrate sustainable solutions within engineering practices, aspiring to play a significant role in advancing environmental consciousness within the industry.

Karine is a recent graduate of UQAM University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in environmental design. This fall, she will continue her studies in McGill's Master of Architecture program. Previously, Karine owned her own graphic design studio. As a new member of the ReCONstruct team, she is excited to contribute to the project. With her multidisciplinary design background and a strong interest in sustainable design practices and the passive house concept, she will initially focus on supporting the project's graphic communications.

Laurianne is a Ph.D. student in Geography at McGill University. Through her doctoral research, she is exploring the lived experience of households facing energy poverty and identifying inclusive policies to address energy poverty within a just energy transition using a mixed method approach. Her research interests center on energy poverty, healthy housing, energy justice, and community-led research. Within the ReCONstruct project, Laurianne will be involved with the interviews and the assessment of the social and well-being impacts of retrofits

With a bachelor’s degree in environmental design and a technical diploma in architecture, Maxime is currently pursuing his second year of a master’s degree at McGill University. He is particularly interested in the design of new techniques and products related to regenerative materials from agriculture, from their production methods to their architectural expressions.

Nuoya is currently in her final year of her Master's degree in architecture at McGill University, where she has refined her skills in research and design integration. Joining ReCONstruct, Nuoya leverages her experience in long term care (LTC) architecture firm, specializing in architectural drawing sets and multidisciplinary coordination among architects and engineers. As a research assistant, Nuoya is focused on exploring the value proposition and non-energy benefits of retrofitting. Her thesis research looks at how retrofit can alleviate the shortage of LTC facilities across Canada. With experience in LTC architecture and a commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, Nuoya is positioned to drive sustainable change within the built environment."

Roya Missaghian recently graduated from Carleton University with a bachelor’s degree in Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering and is currently working towards a Master of Applied Science in Sustainable Energy and Policy. She was a co-op student at the National Research Council of Canada (NSRC), where she led experiments on a biogas-diesel dual-fuel engine, and where her passion for research began. Roya also has a passion for sustainability, which grew while working on her fourth-year capstone project. The goal of the project was to provide a net-zero electricity solution for Ottawa with the use of nuclear energy. She hopes to combine her passions for research and sustainability by working with ReCONstruct to provide sustainable building solutions. Her research interests include hygrothermal modelling and data monitoring and analysis for the Centre Socioculturel de l’Ile-Bizard.

Carlo Carbone joined the team of the School of Design to contribute to the teaching of design and construction of the architectural project and with the intention of developing a research-creation axis related to prefabrication. His experience is based on projects and collaborations of a diverse nature. Among his accomplishments are the design of the adjustment master plan for St. Joseph’s Oratory, the design of a housing prototype for the City of Portland, and the implementation of a catalog design process for a prefabricated housing manufacturer. Since 2001, he has been involved with the University of Montreal’s School of Architecture in design studio teaching, construction courses and summer workshops on design and construction exercises. Carlo Carbone is a graduate architect from the School of Architecture of the University of Montreal (1998). He is a member of the Quebec Order of Architects. He completed in 2012 a master’s degree in applied sciences (planning) at the Faculty of Planning of the Université de Montréal.

Dr. Daniel Chung is an Associate Professor of Building Science at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. He is a registered architect and professional engineer with over twenty years of professional experience in building design. He has a PhD in Architectural Engineering and his research focuses on hygrothermal simulation, analysis, and verification of building envelopes to develop better performing and more resilient buildings in the context of climate change. Degradation, stochastic, and regression analyses are used to study the probabilistic outcomes and long-term behavior of building envelopes. Recently Dr. Chung served as an expert participant on behalf of the US in the International Energy Agency Solar Heating & Cooling Programme Task 59/Annex 76: Deep Renovation of Historic Buildings Towards Lowest Possible Energy Demand and CO2 Emissions.

Dr. Cynthia Cruickshank, PEng is a Full Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University. She received her Ph.D. (2009) and B.A.Sc. (2003) degrees at Queen’s University. She is the Principal Investigator and Director of the $5.1M Carleton University Centre for Advanced Building Envelope Research (CU-CABER). Her research focuses on the optimization of advanced building energy systems for high-performance buildings, including energy-efficient insulation materials, solar-assisted heat pumps, and thermal storage. With many collaborations with industry and government, since 2010, she has been a member of the Canadian Home Builders Association Technical Research Committee.

Stephen Fai is a full professor in the Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism at Carleton University. He holds professional B.Arch (Carleton, 1990) and a M.A. and PhD in Religious Studies (Ottawa, 1996; 2006). Having served as the acting director of the School (2002 - 2004), director (2004 - 2005), and associate director—graduate programs (2006 – 2010), he is currently the co-chair of the PhD program. Professor Fai is cross appointed to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art and Culture (ICSLAC). He is also the director of the Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS). CIMS is a multidisciplinary research unit that addresses theoretical and applied research questions related to the integration of digital technologies in the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner operator (AECOO) industry.

Nik Luka is cross-appointed to the Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture and the School of Urban Planning at McGill University, where he is also Associate Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montréal. As an ethnographer specialised in housing, social practice, and landscape studies, he works in close collaboration with civil-society organisations and state agencies on coproduction through community-based design.

Mylène Riva is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at McGill University, where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Housing, Community and Health. She leads an applied research program that spans health geography and population health to understand housing conditions as structural determinants of health and as settings for intervention to promote health and well-being in urban, rural, and remote geographical locations. Her current research explores the intersection between housing, energy, and health, with a focus on energy poverty. She is committed to working with communities, organizations, and governments to provide rigorous scientific evidence that can be used to inform practice and public policy.

Linda supports the implementation of pilot projects and partnerships within the team of the Chair in Architecture, Energy and Environment. A member of the Network of the Future team at Hydro-Québec, she has years of experience in network management, marketing, communication, strategic planning and management of innovation projects. She has collaborated on several projects integrating distributed energy resources by proposing innovative approaches to communities with the aim of engaging them in energy transition. She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, she has acquired solid management experience in Quebec and abroad in institutional, municipal and community organizations.

Ella is a recent graduate of McGill University’s Bachelor of Architecture program. She completed a minor in Environment from McGill’s Bieler School of Environment, and is interested in pursuing work that combines her background in and passion for these two fields of study. Ella joined the Reconstruct team in March 2022. As a research technician, Ella has worked on stakeholder engagement and mapping, knowledge dissemination strategies, and coordination of the emerging retrofit accelerator network. Her current work under the MURB team, with Gabi Goldman and Maddie Lachance, focuses on researching the regulatory and financial landscape of social and affordable housing in Quebec.

Étienne completed his master’s student in architecture at McGill University in April 2024. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Design from UQAM. In Reconstruct, he played an important role in developing panel and design solutions and documentation for the Ile Bizard pilot project. Before joining the team, he worked as a research assistant for the CUBE Studio on prefabrication in architecture, as well as an Environmental Designer for an architectural office in Montreal.

Maddie Lachance (she/her) completed her Master of Architecture at McGill University in April 2024.  As a Research Assistant with Reconstruct,  she to studied the retrofit potential of the social and affordable housing stock of Québec. She graduated in 2021 from Bachelor of Architectural Science (Honours, Co-op) at the University of Waterloo and has three years of work experience in professional architecture environments. Her Masters research explored the potential in retrofitting existing housing to better meet the changing user needs of our diversely-abled population and rapidly changing climate.

Sharon completed her undergraduate studies at McGill University in April 2024, with a joint major in Computer Science and Statistics. Within Reconstruct, she worked on the Digital Platform, specifically the Building identification tool, and evaluated data accessibility and accuracy, determining data collection protocols, and building libraries to store large volume of data in strategic ways. Her research interests include data analysis, software developing, and enjoys the pragmatic problem-solving and creative nature of software developing.