Infrastructure Institute x Urban Minds Workshop at DesignTO

The Infrastructure Institute is a training, advisory and interdisciplinary research hub based at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities. In 2022, the Institute launched the +(plus) Exhibition to celebrate Toronto’s leadership in the design and implementation of mixed-use buildings. Building on the ideas from +(plus), Urban Minds partnered with the Infrastructure Institute to engage youth in the +(plus) 2.0 Exhibition through a model-making workshop during the DesignTO Festival.

This workshop invited middle school students interested in urban design and architecture to participate in a design challenge. The students began with a guided tour of the +(plus) 2.0 Exhibition and an introduction to the design challenge. In pairs, the students constructed prototypes of creative mixed-use solutions using provided materials and presented them in front of professionals from Urban Minds and the Infrastructure Institute.