Festival Art Souterrain

The McCord Stewart Museum – in collaboration with the 2025 Art Souterrain Festival on the theme of Habitat – presents “Occupying Space, Shaping Community,” a round table discussion tied to the exhibition Little Burgundy: Evolving Montreal by photographer Andrew Jackson.

Reflecting on architecture’s impact on the social and community fabric of Montreal, the conversation will explore two examples of projects that aim to create community through design and social architecture practices.

A project led by architect Shane Laptiste in the Little Burgundy neighbourhood will highlight the spatial dynamics of Black communities in Montreal, and certain inclusive architectural practices that respond to their needs, both cultural and structural.

Members of the Architecture Without Borders Quebec (AWBQ) team will take a cross-disciplinary look at design and architecture practices that aim to create urban solidarity for homeless people. Through a critical lens, they will explore how architecture has the power to erode communities, or to build community and foster social and spatial coexistence.

Moderator:

• Tania Paula Garza Rico

Speakers:

• Sonia Blank
• Olivia Daigneault Deschênes
• Shane Laptiste

Biographies:
Shane Laptiste
Shane Laptiste’s architectural interests investigate community informed architecture that is responsive to the cultural and spatial needs of the impacted users. He has a particular interest in the spatial and environmental dynamics of Black communities and is a licensed architect in Ontario and Quebec and holds BSc(Arch) and MArch degrees from McGill University, where he also serves as a studio instructor.
Shane is a sessional instructor at the University of Toronto and serves as a board member with the Canadian Architectural Certification Board. He has previously served as a director for Capital Region Housing, Media Architecture Design Edmonton, Nuit Blanche Edmonton and NCC Charles H Este Community Centre. He is currently leading several projects supporting art, gathering and joy in marginalized communities.

Sonia Blank
Sonia Blank has been an architect and research associate at Architecture Without Borders Quebec (AWBQ) since 2022. In recent years, she has been a studio instructor at McGill University and has collaborated on several multidisciplinary research projects across Canada. At AWBQ, she explores participatory design methods involving marginalized communities and develops architectural practices adapted to their needs. In 2023, Sonia contributed to the catalogue Architecture + Homelessness: Inclusive practices for urban solidarity, an overview of design practices that support the wellbeing of homeless people.

Sonia studied architecture at Université de Montréal (BScArch, 2016) and McGill University (MArch, 2018). Her research-creation thesis examined design practices in former conflict zones in Berlin. In addition to being a member of the Ordre des architectes du Québec (OAQ), Sonia has practised architecture for bogevischs buero in Munich and EVOQ Architecture in Montreal. Alongside her work, she is actively involved in community initiatives addressing homelessness and reflects on the role of design in collective action.

Olivia Daigneault Deschênes
Olivia Daigneault Deschênes is an OAQ architect and project manager for Architecture Without Borders Quebec’s Urban Solidarity program. She holds a bachelor of architecture from Université de Montréal (2015) and a master of architecture from the University of British Columbia (2018). Her thesis focused on critical and feminist spatial practices by exploring gynecological exam spaces. Throughout her academic and professional career in architecture, Olivia has developed an interdisciplinary research-creation practice combining design and social sciences, with a particular focus on feminist theories in architecture. In 2023, she completed an architectural research residency at the British School at Rome, where she explored the feeling of fear in public space.

She joined the AWBQ team in 2021, where she leads design projects for community organizations as part of the research-action and dissemination project on architecture and homelessness. Her approach to architectural design is adapted to the realities of the community sector and based on participatory methods.

Sonia and Olivia both participated – as curators – in the exhibition (In)visible : le design au prisme de l’itinérance, presented at the Centre de design de l’UQAM in 2024 by the Collectif architecture + itinérance.

Tania Paula Garza Rico
Tania Paula Garza Rico defines herself as a woman, an architect and an immigrant. She began her studies in Mexico before earning a master of architecture from Université Laval. Paula is a member of the Ordre des Architectes du Québec and a lecturer at the Université de Montréal and Université Laval. Her work explores the links between housing and social justice in multi-context projects in Tunisia, Mexico, the United States and Quebec.

As head of housing expertise at Société Logique, Paula applies her technical and conceptual knowledge and her interdisciplinary leadership experience to advocate an inclusive and collaborate design approach. She is interested in architectural tools that bridge the systemic gaps that limit access to quality housing for all.

She believes that architecture is not only a reflection of our societal priorities and values; it is also a driver of change.