Image courtesy of the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape (SAPL)

In November 2019, the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape (UCalgary SAPL) announced its new Doctor of Design (DDes) program targeted towards practicing architects, planners, and landscape architects looking to “leverage their existing expertise into new areas of innovation.” While institutions within the United States offer such programs, UCalgary is the first to launch a DDes program in Canada. Currently, the program has two active DDes cohorts that began in 2020 and 2021 with a total of 16 candidates located in Canada, Nigeria, Nepal, and Saudi Arabia.

Barry Johns is an accomplished architect with 40 years of experience leading his firm, Barry Johns Architecture, located in Alberta, CA. Johns is currently a part of the 2023 DDes cohort at UCalgary.

His research topic is the densification of housing typologies in mature urban neighbourhoods. He is examining the house building industry, changing demographics, regulatory frameworks, and of course the attainability and affordability crisis in Canadian cities.

To learn more about the experience of Barry and program critic Marcelo Stamm, Ph.D., please see their answers to a series of questions where they share their experiences and explain how DDes fosters the work and minds of candidates looking to expand their architectural expertise in both practice and theory.

Image © Barry Johns (DDes’23)/Courtesy of UCalgary DDes