IDC members and industry leaders from across North America gathered at The Rec Room, located in the historic Roundhouse, in Toronto, Ont. on Nov. 6 and 7 to learn, engage, and network at the 2024 IDC Design Symposium – ‘Canadian Design at Home and Around the World.’
The event was an opportunity for participants from the design and architecture community across Canada to learn together, connect, and network.
The symposium was made possible by the generous support from Benjamin Moore, Neolith + Ciot, and Teknion.
Participants attended design tours, collected IDCEC credits through panel discussions, heard from incredible speakers, and celebrated the best of interior design at the IDC Awards Celebration, featuring the prestigious Value of Design Awards (VODA).
Highlights of the IDC Design Symposium include:
Captivating Design Tours
Participants were provided the opportunity to join two Design Symposium tours.
IDC joined forces with the Retail Design Institute Canada to coordinate a design tour of the Waterworks Food Hall to learn more about the redesign process of this historic market through the lead of the project’s interior designers.
Exclusive to Design Symposium attendees, ‘Dine with the Designer’ at the Florette restaurant provided a unique opportunity to enjoy great food and company while experiencing first-hand the work of IDC member Dyonne Fashina of Denizens of Design who provided insights on the design process throughout the meal.
Two Incredible Keynotes
Photo: Nick Wons
This year’s keynotes provided captivating presentations; their stories and future-oriented topics inspired and educated.
Dwayne Matthews, an education strategist and innovation evangelist creating future-focused learning experiences, explored how AI is transforming interior design, education, and the world around us.
Prolific and visionary architect, Tye Farrow, explained the effects of built environments on our well-being and discussed ways in which we can construct healthy buildings.
Four Engaging Expert Panel Discussions
Photo: Nick Wons
The panel “Working with Canadian Makers” centered on how Canadian makers and design professionals can integrate their practices. Moderator Joel Berman, a renowned glass artist, product designer, and President of Joel Berman Design, and panelists Kate MacNeill, Owner and Founder of Concord, a Toronto-based lighting design and manufacturing studio, and Peter Coolican, Founder of Coolican & Company, a small-batch design and production studio, shared their experiences and advice as it relates to processes for new makers to grow and the many pathways to success.
The second panel, “Canadian Chic & Color Palettes: Celebrating Design from Cottage Charm to Urban Sophistication,” was presented by Benjamin Moore, who also announced their 2025 Colour of the Year, Cinnamon Slate 2113-40. Joining Benjamin Moore’s Sharon Grech were design luminaries Jeffrey Douglas, Sam Sacks, and Colette van den Thillart who discussed what it means to be Canadian Chic and how the Canadian culture and landscape have impacted their designs.
Ojiibik Co-Founder and Vice President of Sales, Chris Lefebvre and Magnolia Perron, Indigenous Women and Youth Program Manager at the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA), led a workshop on the meaning of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 94 Calls to Action and how they can be used by professionals on their journeys of reconciliation to implement meaningful practices.
Day two of the Design Symposium kicked off with a ‘fireside chat’ by Teknion on the role of empathy in today’s workplace. Tracy Wymer, Teknion’s Vice President of Insights & Inspiration and Jade Franklin, Teknion’s Vice President of Architecture & Design were joined by Chantal Frenette of M Moser Associates and Michael Inzlicht, PhD, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto and Founder of Work and Play Lab, to discuss valuable insights from both clinical and design perspectives on how designers can cultivate new empathic rituals in their work and lives.
Three Enlightening Presentations
Photo: Nick Wons
As cities around the world continue to struggle with rising office vacancy rates, and an alarming lack of affordable housing, office-to-residential conversions stand out as a realistic method to form part of the solution. In ‘From Vacancy to Vibrancy,’ Gensler’s Duanne Render made the case for conversion by using real project examples and research to propose how Gensler’s algorithm to determine which properties make for a suitable conversion candidate stand out as a realistic method to form part of the solution.
Material Bank’s Rebecca Best presented two insightful presentations. Best first provided an overview of Material Bank, spanning its history and the continued innovations of a platform that has revolutionized how architecture and design professionals research and sample materials.
Best’s second presentation raised awareness of the incredible impact of reducing a building’s carbon footprint with responsible interior material selections and provided insights on how to make future actions with more thoughtful consideration of the impact of embodied carbon within our interior spaces.
Recognizing IDC Members at the Awards Celebration
Photo: Nick Wons
Each year, IDC celebrates outstanding IDC members and their work and innovation within the interior design community. The Awards Celebration presented the 2024 Value of Design Awards (VODA), the Industry Partners-exclusive Innovation Awards, the Innovation in Design Thinking Student Competition, and the Legacy Award for Distinguished Service. See this year’s winning projects.
Connections at Annual General Meeting
The 52nd Annual General Meeting was held on Nov. 5 at Le Germain Hotel Toronto Maple Leaf Square in Toronto where members heard a report on IDC’s activities over the past year.
A new IDC President and Vice President were elected to the IDC Board of Directors and one new Board member was appointed. Meet the new Board.
The 2024 IDC Design Symposium brought together participants from the design and architecture community across Canada to explore the crucial role of design in shaping a productive, healthy, and inclusive society. The event encouraged collaboration, inclusion, growth, and opportunity. It was a massive success and we look forward to capturing the spirits of IDC members and the design community again at the 2025 IDC Design Symposium!
The event was presented by Benjamin Moore, Teknion, and Neolith + Ciot. Additional program sponsors included 3M, Blum, Crown Surface Solutions, Euro Tile and Stone, Global Upholstery Co. Inc., Hanstone Canada, Keilhauer, Kohler, Marbella, Metro Wallcoverings, Mohawk Group, Nienkamper, PROLINK, Rockfon, TORLYS Smart Floors, and Ya Fabrica.
Design firms Bullock + Wood Design and CIBC also sponsored this year’s event. Supporters included Azure, Elite Exhibitions, International Property Awards, and DesignTO.
2025 IDC Design Symposium details coming soon. For more information, please contact communications@idcanada.org.
