Marianne McKenna to deliver keynote at Taking Stock

February 26, 2025

Next week, KPMB founding partner Marianne McKenna will deliver one of two keynote addresses at “Taking Stock: Voices of Women in Architecture Across Canada”, hosted by Building Equality in Architecture Toronto (BEA Toronto) at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Department of Architectural Science.  

The two-day symposium, happening March 6 and 7, will bring students, architects, historians, journalists, policymakers, and other professionals together to “share knowledge and experiences, advance essential conversations, and spark systemic, embedded change in pedagogy, practice, and policy for women in architecture.” 

McKenna will deliver the event’s March 7 keynote , sharing lessons and insights from her multidecade career. In 2012, she was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada for her contributions to “architecture that enriches the public experience”. She was awarded the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s (RAIC) prestigious Gold Medal in 2025.  

In addition to the keynotes, the symposium will feature five moderated panels, including “Women in Academia”, “Intersectional Barriers, the Politics of Space, and Rethinking ‘the Body’ in Design”, “Indigenous Women in Architecture”, and “Women in Practice”. 

McKenna will join the fifth and culminating panel: “Taking Stock – Insight to Action”, which will discuss future steps and explore frameworks and policies to advance equity in the field. The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Shelagh McCartney and feature Dr. Annmarie Adams of McGill University, KaaSheGaaBaaWeak (Eladia Smoke) of Smoke Architecture, and architecture writer Rhys Phillips as fellow panellists.   

The two-day symposium will be hosted by KPMB associate and BEA Toronto executive board chair Ramona Adlakha. The event has been in development for multiple years, emerging from a conversation between Adlakha and Jennifer Esposito of Place of Work and the late architectural and urban designer Shannon Bassett.

“Taking Stock: Voices of Women in Architecture Across Canada” qualifies for OAA Structured Learning Hours.  

Event details 

Event: Taking Stock: Voices of Women in Architecture Across Canada
Presentation: Opening Keynote: Creating Space in Professional Practice
Date & Time: March 7, 9:30 – 10:15 AM 
Location: Toronto Metropolitan University Department of Architectural Science, 325 Church St., Toronto, Ontario

See the full symposium program and register at Toronto Metropolitan University.