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Brigitte Shim

Professor

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design

  • Professor
    John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design
  • 416- 778-7434 (Mobile)
  • 416-368-3892 (Work)
  • University of Toronto, John H. Daniels, Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, 1 Spadina Crescent, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2J5, Canada

BIO

Brigitte Shim is a Professor at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto since 1988, engaged in core design studios, advanced design studios as well as a range of elective courses and undergraduate courses in the History and Theory of Landscape Architecture. She was the 2019 Louis I. Kahn Professor of Architectural Design at Yale University’s School of Architecture and has been a visiting chair and lecturer at numerous universities including Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, The Cooper Union and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. She has served on numerous international, national and local design juries as an advocate for design excellence including the 2007 Aga Khan Architecture Award Master jury. 

Brigitte Shim along with her partner, A. Howard Sutcliffe are both principals in the design firm Shim-Sutcliffe Architects. Shim-Sutcliffe’s built work explores the integration and interrelated scales of architecture, landscape and furniture and fittings. To date, Shim and Sutcliffe have received fifteen Governor General’s Medals and Awards for Architecture from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and an American Institute of Architects National Honor Award along with many other professional accolades for their built work ranging from projects for non-profit groups to public and private clients.

In January 2013, Brigitte Shim and her partner A. Howard Sutcliffe were both awarded the Order of Canada, “for their contributions as architects designing sophisticated structures that represent the best of Canadian design to the world.” along with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Shim was the 2014, 2010, and 2005 Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor at Yale University’s School of Architecture, and both she and Sutcliffe held the 2014 University of Auckland Distinguished Visitors’ Award at the School of Architecture and Planning within the National Institute for Creative Arts and Industries in Auckland New Zealand. In addition, Shim was the William B. and Charlotte Shepherd Davenport Visiting Professor (2008), the Henry Bishop Visiting Chair (2001), and the Visiting Bicentennial Professor in Canadian Studies (2001) at Yale University’s School of Architecture. She also held the invited international visiting professorship at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (2002) and at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (1996 and 1993). Shim was the Portman Visiting Critic at Georgia Institute of Technology’s College of Design (2016), the Somerville Visiting Lecturer at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Environmental Design (2013), and the Martell Distinguished Visiting Critic at the University of Buffalo’s School of Architecture and Planning (2006). She was a Visiting Professor for the Thesis Program at McGill University’s School of Architecture (1992), and the Visiting Critics Studio at Carleton University’s School of Architecture (1990).

Media Availability: TV, Radio, Print/Online

MEDIA

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ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Professor
    University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada2014 - present
  • Louis I Kahn Visiting Professor of Architectural Design
    Yale University, School of Architecture, New Haven, United States2019 - 2019
  • The Ellen and Sidney Feltman Seminar
    Cooper Union, The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, New York, United States2019 - 2019
  • 2016 Portman Visiting Critic
    Georgia Institute of Technology College of Design, School of Architecture, Atlanta, United States2016 - 2016
  • University of Auckland Distinguished Visitors’ Award
    University of Auckland, School of Architecture and Planning, National Institute for Creative Arts and Industries, Auckland, New Zealand2014 - 2014
  • Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor of Architectural Design
    Yale University, School of Architecture, New Haven, United States2014 - 2014
  • Somerville Visiting Lectureship
    University of Calgary, Faculty of Environmental Design, Calgary, Canada2013 - 2013
  • Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor of Architectural Design
    Yale University, School of Architecture, New Haven, United States2010 - 2010
  • The William B. and Charlotte Sheperd Davenport Visiting Professorship of Architectural Design
    Yale University, School of Architecture, New Haven, United States2008 - 2008
  • Martell Distinguished Visiting Critic
    University at Buffalo, State University of New York, School of Architecture and Planning, Buffalo, United States2006 - 2006
  • Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor of Architectural Design
    Yale University, School of Architecture, New Haven, United States2005 - 2005
  • Invited International Visiting Professor
    École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Ecole d’Architecture, Lausanne, Switzerland2002 - 2002
  • Henry Bishop Visiting Chair in Architecture and Visiting Bicentennial Professor in Canadian Studies
    Yale University, School of Architecture, New Haven, United States2001 - 2001
  • Visiting Professor
    University of Oregon, College of Architecture and Allied Arts, Eugene, United States1999 - 1999
  • Associate Professor
    University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada1996 - 2013
  • Visiting Professor
    Harvard University (Graduate School of Design), Department of Architecture, Cambridge, United States1996 - 1996
  • Visiting Professor
    University of Oregon (Portland Summer Studio), College of Architecture and Allied Arts, Eugene, United States1996 - 1996
  • Visiting Professor
    Harvard University, Department of Architecture, Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, United States1993 - 1993
  • Acting Associate Dean Student Affairs and Special Projects
    University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada1992 - 1993
  • Visiting Professor for Thesis Program
    McGill University, School of Architecture, Montreal, Canada1992 - 1992
  • Visiting Critics Studio
    Carleton University, School of Architecture, Ottawa, Canada1990 - 1990
  • Assistant Professor
    University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada1988 - 1996
  • Sessional Lecturer/Fifth Year Thesis Program
    University of Waterloo, School of Architecture, Waterloo, Canada1987 - 1987
  • Sessional Lecturer/ Second Year Architecture
    University of Waterloo, School of Architecture, Waterloo, Canada1986 - 1986

NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Principal
    Shim-Sutcliffe Architects Inc., Toronto, Canada1994 - present
  • Principal
    Brigitte Shim Architect, Toronto, Canada1988 - 1996
  • Architect
    Baird / Sampson Architects, Toronto, Canada1983 - 1987
  • Architect (apprentice)
    Arthur Erickson Architects, Toronto, Canada1981 - 1981

DEGREES

  • Bachelors of Architecture
    University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada1983
  • Bachelors of Environmental Studies
    University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada1981

LANGUAGES

  • English
    Can read, write, speak, understand and peer review

AVAILABILITY

  • Industry Projects
  • Masters Research or PhD student supervision
  • Media enquiries

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