THESIS: Globalization, Multiculturalism and the Evolution of Suburban Toronto

Abstract by Farimah Tehrani

Canadian cities and their built form will continue to evolve as they are affected by trends in globalization and the consequent mobilization of populations through mass immigration. This thesis investigates the impact on the buildings in suburban areas that immigrant communities move to, and proposes to develop design strategies to establish a common built identity for communities shared by Canadians and new immigrants seeking a life in Canada.

This Architecture will deal with the impact of mass migration towards the North American Suburb and the creation of ethnic enclaves. In particular, it contemplates how the Iranian immigrant community can manifest their traditional building formats in the new urban context of the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill.

The research is based on the study of the form and functions of typical buildings, both in Iranian traditional cities and the suburbs of Toronto. The objective of the design case studies is to develop a new interpretation of building form and function which answers to the needs of Iranian-Canadian citizens of Richmond Hill. Each interpretation is based on a transformation of a Canadian suburban building type using the form, program, and culturally defined habits found in traditional Iranian architecture.

This thesis looks at a hybridized architecture, which combines the original architecture of homeland cultures and standardized commercial and residential architecture of North American suburbs. This study presents a residential architecture as a private realm and represents a public realm through the typologies of a café and shopping plaza.

The examining committee is as follows:

Supervisor: Val Rynnimeri University of Waterloo

Committee Members: Ryszard Sliwka , University of Waterloo

Rick Andrighetti, University of Waterloo

External Reader: Fred Thompson

The committee has been approved as authorized by the Graduate Studies Committee.

The Defence Examination will take place on June 10, 2015 at 1:00 PM in ARC 2003

A copy of the thesis is available for perusal in ARC 2106A.