Stefan Novakovic
@novakovicto.bsky.social
Writer + Editor | Architecture + Cities | Toronto + Elsewhere
Toronto’s skyline is famous for its boxy, blue-glass towers. But a quiet technological revolution is changing that. Read @novakovicto.bsky.social's look at how mass timber – also called engineered wood – might be the future of Canadian housing and infrastructure: www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
Would you live in a highrise made of wood? Inside Canada’s mass timber construction boom
Climate-friendly mass timber is speeding up construction and, surprisingly, improving fire safety
begiant.ca
Toronto has a new park in the Port Lands, and it's celebrating the opening in style:
What the Carneys of the world ignore is even the business case for slashing environmental protections doesn’t work. I work for a small business. We won’t get foot traffic until the smoke clears. No one will buy a coffee, sit on the patio, anything. This hurts business, it’s bad for the economy.
In the fifth issue of EXPO, a look at procurement policy. An anonymous Canadian architect delves into the experience of public RFPs — including instances where government agencies end up breaking their own rules. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
Shouldn’t “Buy Canadian” Include Public Architecture? — EXPO the magazine
A nationally prominent architect reflects on the challenges of designing buildings abroad for Global Affairs Canada.
expothemagazine.com
Hello! 👋 I'm hoping to raise money for two Bay Area cat rescues. If you post a screenshot of you donating at least $20, I will answer a style-related question for you. But first, let me tell you about the rescues, why they're worthy of your support, and hopefully get you to adopt a cat. 🧵
Public land should serve the public. Sadly in Toronto, the parks department and library actively resist this kind of deal and no one makes them cooperate.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov · 2mo agoNew Yorkers need affordable homes. New Yorkers need great public libraries. So we're building both. Today, we took the next step toward creating a brand-new library and more than 200 affordable homes at the New Utrecht Library site in Brooklyn. Because public land should serve the public.
FIFA has prohibited Haitian World Cup jerseys with a depiction of the Nov. 18, 1803, Bataille de Vertières aka the triumph of the Haitian Revolution against slavery. Depraved. amp.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...
In the fifth issue of EXPO, a look at procurement policy. An anonymous Canadian architect delves into the experience of public RFPs — including instances where government agencies end up breaking their own rules. www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
Shouldn’t “Buy Canadian” Include Public Architecture? — EXPO the magazine
A nationally prominent architect reflects on the challenges of designing buildings abroad for Global Affairs Canada.
expothemagazine.com
Public consultation on the future of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Current status: Open Consultation period: June 8, 2026 to July 24, 2026. tc.canada.ca/en/corporate...
TheTrillium.ca@thetrillium.bsky.social · 2mo agoFeds launch Billy Bishop consultation
My thoughts on the mixed messages of the Obamalisk and its campus www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
The Obama Presidential Center Wants to Be Everything But a Library
Aiming for a merger of celebrity and community, the monolithic tower stands as a contradictory, even off-putting symbol of Barack Obama’s presidency.
bloomberg.com
Meanwhile this does nothing for design literacy, for sophistication in design dialogue, something to eloquently captured by @novakovicto.bsky.social; this is a key role that the RAIC should be taking: to make design more well understood by Canadians 4/ www.azuremagazine.com/article/cana...
Canada's Afghanistan War Memorial and the Crisis of Design Literacy
The controversy over the National Monument to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan reflects a lack of institutional respect for democracy.
azuremagazine.com
@novakovicto.bsky.social’s longread on how, from bus garages and fire halls to power stations, public pools and stormwater facilities, Pat Hanson and her design firm, gh3*, are bringing surprising grace and technological sophistication to hard-working civic buildings: www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
How Pat Hanson and gh3* make Canada's civic buildings beautiful
Pat Hanson is turning Canada's bus garages, fire halls and stormwater facilities into cutting-edge, sustainable design showcases
begiant.ca
A month in hospital costs: $30K Month in prison: $9.4K Month in shelter: $6.8K Supportive housing per month: $3.8K Figures from @uhn.ca ‘s Dr. Andrew Boozary h/t @housingnowto.bsky.social
HousingNowTO@housingnowto.bsky.social · 2mo ago[Toronto, ON] A coalition of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area's largest public housing providers will join executives from Scotiabank on June 1 to launch a major new report examining the economic and social impact of public housing investment across the region.
The greatest piece of criticism I have read this year. Thomas de Monchaux on Adjaye, cruelty, overbuilding, and a kinder future architecture. nyra.nyc/articles/deb...
Debris of Separation
Two new museums, and the elephant in the room
nyra.nyc
As always, @jocelynsquires.bsky.social has an excellent summary of our talk currently happening at UofT Daniels as part of Doors Open Toronto 2026!
Jocelyn Lambert Squires@jocelynsquires.bsky.social · 2mo agoHere at Architects Talk: Toronto's Identity, presented by @tosoarch.bsky.social for #DoorsOpenTO at #UofTDaniels! @novakovicto.bsky.social giving beautiful context on the question of, what is architecture in Toronto? Glorious to see the room so full ❤️
"Where do you see the most inspiring advocacy?" I love @novakovicto.bsky.social's outlook, there's a time for criticism and there's a time to look for the vision that can engage and energize people. That question does both!
Here at Architects Talk: Toronto's Identity, presented by @tosoarch.bsky.social for #DoorsOpenTO at #UofTDaniels! @novakovicto.bsky.social giving beautiful context on the question of, what is architecture in Toronto? Glorious to see the room so full ❤️
Even amid Vancouver’s soaring condominiums and natural surroundings, Sen̓áḵw is a showstopper. But one of its most radical technological innovations is almost entirely buried underground. @novakovicto.bsky.social on the energy revolution shaping its development: www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
How Vancouver’s Sen̓áḵw will heat 6,000 homes with sewage
The scale and ingenuity of this Vancouver project is the next step in an energy revolution shaping development across Canada
begiant.ca
Good to see stories like this making their way to local media in smaller GTA markets. Kudos @novakovicto.bsky.social
The rise of the citizen developer
Homeowners are building the 'missing middle' at a time when Canadians desperately need more housing options
auroratoday.ca
The new Pizzeria Badiali on Markham in Mirvish Village has already recreated the Pizzeria Badiali line on Dovercourt.
For context, our city still has not achieved #VisionZero, the strategy approved by Toronto City Council to reduce traffic-related serious injuries and deaths to zero. Raise your hand if your neighbourhood still has 40 km/h speed zones beside schools. youtu.be/HtjfjIxHbqQ?...
Vision Zero Road Safety Plan
YouTube video by Transportation Services
youtu.be
Tom Flood@tomflood.bsky.social · 3mo agoWould be great if we applied the same level of design, testing and scrutiny used for our children's car seats to the bike lanes they ride to school in.
Who wants to join a “Love Parade!” A bike tour celebrating five iconic Toronto parks designed by Claude Cormier. The tour is a celebration of public space and a collective moment of remembrance honouring Cormier’s lasting contribution to Toronto’s park landscape. Details at LoveParade.eventbrite.com
Infrastory is back with more posts this week - today’s is about how Toronto completely inverts expectations of what is possible for transit in car-oriented areas. Much to learn here for cities in North America and across the world! open.substack.com/pub/infrasto...
The Toronto Model for Transit
Induced demand is real for transit too
open.substack.com
To the left is a regular Montreal bus shelter on a hot day. On the right? One with a green roof. It’s nearly 3 degrees cooler. Here’s @novakovicto.bsky.social on how rooftop greenery is giving commuters natural insulation 🚌 www.begiant.ca/stories/idea... CC @etsmtl.bsky.social
Dollar General discovers the Gruen Transfer: “This new format is designed to be more open and inviting, resulting in greater browsing and treasure hunt shopping as customers are exposed to more categories as they navigate the store" www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/b...
An important discussion that starts from bankruptcy but ends up dealing with many of the fundamental challenges facing the architectural profession
Stefan Novakovic@novakovicto.bsky.social · 3mo agoIn EXPO, @anotherglassbox.bsky.social and I talk about the abrupt closure of Brook McIlroy, a hugely respected Toronto design firm that went bankrupt last month. We look at the realities of running an architecture business and the need for succession planning: www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
Interestingly the Canadian census doesn't want to accept "Serbo-Croatian" as a choice of maternal language, instead asking you to select "Serbian," "Bosnian" or "Croatian" as distinct languages, an ethno-linguistic politics that I don't want to perpetuate.
In EXPO, @anotherglassbox.bsky.social and I talk about the abrupt closure of Brook McIlroy, a hugely respected Toronto design firm that went bankrupt last month. We look at the realities of running an architecture business and the need for succession planning: www.expothemagazine.com/expo-essays/...
Going for Broke: On Bankruptcy and Business Development — EXPO the magazine
Dan Seljak reflects on the closure of acclaimed firm Brook McIlroy, the challenges of architectural marketing, and the joys of urban advocacy.
expothemagazine.com
