We are honored to have Kyra Clarkson host an intimate BEAToronto Talk on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. This session will be held in-person, starting at a MODERNest home for a tour and gathering at Standard Shop afterwards for the talk & networking. Event schedule and location details below.
Kyra Clarkson will talk about the Architect as Developer in Toronto’s downtown core. Kyra and her husband founded MODERNest Inc. in 2011 in response to what they saw as limited choices in Toronto’s housing market for people wanting a modern aesthetic but without the time, budget or inclination to commission a custom-designed home themselves. By creating quality, honest and inspiring homes with a modern spirit, they aspire to strengthen communities and revitalize the urban fabric.
This event includes a walkking tour of four MODERNest Houses, starting at House 3 at 101 Robinson St followed by the Talk at Standard Shop at 145 Tecumseth St.
Register for the event via Eventbrite.
In their BEAT Talk, Nathalie de Vries and Sanne van der Burgh will recount the projects and stories that mark their careers. Beginning with Nathalie’s story of how she became the first of MVRDV’s three founding partners to “take the plunge” and leave her previous job – allowing her to lead the construction supervision of the studio’s first built project, Villa VPRO – the conversation will reflect on navigating and succeeding within traditionally male-dominated fields. Sanne will connect these experiences to her own field of practice, working within sustainability and technology-driven design environments, and reflect on how this shapes questions of authorship, visibility, and agency today.
At the same time, they will reflect on the complexities of the “woman in architecture” label, a moniker that can both celebrate an architect’s successes and draw attention away from their unique contributions to the profession. Nathalie will discuss how, after initially rejecting the label, she grew to accept it as a tool to provide a role model for younger architects.
BEAToronto is a volunteer-run organization made up of architects, designers, leaders, and entrepreneurs creating opportunities for community-building, advocacy, networking, and mentorship. We believe that empowering women in the design community improves and enriches the practice of architecture, the quality of the built environment, and ultimately, the human experience.
We are honoured to have Emilie McIver host the BEAT Workshop session on Wednesday, May 13th, 2026 at the Diamond Schmitt Architects Office.
At this Talk, Vivian & Kara will discuss how architectural ideas develop across academia and professional practice. They will reflect on how research into history, craft, and local construction traditions informs their design process, and how ideas move between teaching, speculative work, and built projects. With a particular focus on rural work, the lecture will explore how vernacular form, typology, materiality, and sustainability connect academic research with contemporary construction.
Join BEAT in a kitchen party style Dinner with Liz Wreford and Peter Sampson from Public City!
BEAT believes that every conversation counts and works to create inviting contexts that foster open dialogue. Each BEAT Dinner is hosted at a remarkable Toronto restaurant. A highlight of this event is that a different VIP guest of honour will be invited to each dinner.
BEAToronto is thrilled to invite members to Taking Stock; a project we are proud to support as a partner.
“Taking Stock: Voices of Women in Architecture Across Canada” is a 2-day symposium at Toronto Metropolitan University, Department of Architectural Science, 6 & 7 March, that brings together students, architects, academics, advocates, historians, journalists, policymakers, statisticians, and others to share knowledge and experiences, advance essential conversations, and spark systemic, embedded change in pedagogy, practice, and policy for women in architecture.
BEAT is thrilled for the next edition in our BEAT Forum Series!
Access by Design: Rethinking Accessibility in Architecture
Presentation + Panel Discussion
Saturday Feb 7, 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM
OCAD University, Room # 230
This event explores how the meanings of accessibility and disability in architecture are changing—both in the spaces we design and within the profession itself. We begin with a keynote from a leading expert in accessible, disability-informed design, offering a framing of accessibility that moves beyond code compliance to consider equity, lived experience, and belonging. A panel discussion will follow, bringing together designers, advocates, and educators to examine what accessibility looks like in practice: how we shape environments that welcome a wide range of bodies and minds, and how we build a profession that reflects diverse abilities, perspectives, and needs.
Join BEAToronto in touring King West restaurant SARA, praised by the Michelin guide for “its cool, almost monastic modernity” and for its design as “a place to keep the outside world at bay.” Then join the designer for bites, or for a full family-style chef’s tasting menu dinner.
Your guide is Spanish architect Arancha González Bernardo, co-founder of Toronto-based Odami, who converted the 1900s Victorian townhouse into SARA, a process she says involved “striking the right balance between preserving the building’s domestic character, and maximizing its potential as a restaurant.”
Join us for an exclusive tour of Limberlost Place, led by four women whose contributions were key to the design and construction of this landmark project.
Located on George Brown Polytechnic’s Waterfront Campus, the 10-storey Limberlost Place is Canada’s only—and possibly the world’s first—academic mass timber tower. To accomplish this feat, the team led by Moriyama Teshima Architects and Acton Ostry Architects needed to achieve the longer spans required for classrooms with mass timber, as well as to overcome regulatory hurdles related to the occupant load of an assembly-type building.
A Celebration of BEAT’s Founders
Wednesday, November 26, 6:30 - 9:00 pm
Location: KPMB Architects, 351 King Street East, Suite 1200
Please join us in celebrating Shirley Blumberg, Brigitte Shim, and Betsy Williamson’s work in founding BEAT, and their contributions in stewarding the organization through its first decade!
As Building Equality in Architecture Toronto (BEAT) marks its 10th anniversary, we invite you to celebrate a decade of empowering women in architecture and design!
Since our founding, BEAT has been a volunteer-run organization dedicated to community-building, advocacy, networking, and mentorship, fostering opportunities for women to thrive in the architecture and design industry.
Shared life stories have the power to empower, inspire, and guide us through our personal and professional journeys. In this spirit, BEAT is excited to collaborate with DIALOG as they host an evening of conversation featuring five diverse voices from their design practice, each representing different disciplines, backgrounds, and experiences.
Navigating the early years of your architecture career can be challenging. How do you make yourself heard in meetings, on calls, or on-site? In Finding Your Voice, four accomplished principals share their personal journeys, the obstacles they've faced, and the strategies they've used to establish their presence in the profession. This candid and inspiring conversation will explore how different personalities, strengths, and experiences shape the way architects communicate and lead. If you're looking to refine your professional voice and learn from those who’ve walked the same path, this discussion should not be missed.
We are honored to have the winners of 2022 Prix De Rome in Architecture - Emerging Practitioner conduct a BEAT Talk on Wednesday, February 5, 2025: Ivee Wang, Julia Nakanishi, and Paulette Cameron. This session will be held in-person at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, building, University of Toronto, room DA230 . Event schedule and location details below.
BEAT is a volunteer-run organization made up of architects, designers, leaders, and entrepreneurs creating opportunities for community-building, advocacy, networking, and mentorship.
BEAT Talks are a series of discussions held at the offices of Architects across the city. Hosts will share their learned experience.
BEAT Talks qualify for OAA Structured Learning hours
Join us for a workshop on June 13th that will help you understand your value, and teach you how to communicate what you need to be successful in your role. We’ll review how to articulate your strengths and identify any specific needs that will help you grow professionally. This workshop is led by Sophie Warwick, who specializes in developing.
Bring your questions to HR expert and career coach Allison Venditti, founder of Moms at Work and MyParentalLeave.ca. On Thursday, March 28, 2024, BEAT will be hosting a full hour of Q&A with Allison, one of Canada’s leading advocates for working parents. Allison has over 15 years of experience creating programs, policies, and change for companies and individuals. She has personally worked with over 800 individuals, successfully advocated for pay transparency legislation, and runs Canada’s only comprehensive program to support working parents returning to work successfully from parental leave, with over 200 participants in 18 months.
In the workplace today, it is important that we are known to others, and to ensure that others are aware of our resourcefulness. Networking can be one of the most powerful and productive activities an individual can do to launch and manage their career. The BEAT x Stantec MIX will be a platform to develop a series of relationships across Toronto’s Architecture and Design communities.
The event will include five invited Featured Guests who are stationed in five specific Zones. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with the Featured Guests and meet a succession of individuals in small groups throughout the evening.
We are honored to have Maggie Bennedsen, Senior Associate at Kohn Shnier Architects conduct a BEAT Talk on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. This session will be held in-person at the Paul M. Cadario Conference Centre in Croft Chapter House, University College UofT. Maggie Bennedsen brings over two decades of her extensive experience in leading teams across a diverse array of projects to Kohn Shnier. Central to her approach is the commitment to creating designs that are inherently responsive to user input and firmly grounded in the seamless integration of technical requirements; through this collaborative approach, Maggie consistently delivers projects that not only inspire but also exhibit a high level of practicality.
BEAT Talks are a series of discussions held at the offices of Architects across the city. Hosts will share their learned experience. BEAT Talks qualify for OAA Structured Learning hours.
SOSA x BEAT X BAIDA presents Game Night!
Join us for a delightful evening of fun, games, and celebration as SOSA X BEAT X BAIDA come together to cap off the year with a bang!
