The University Club of Toronto is thrilled to welcome three teams of designers to exhibit their work for the duration of the DesignTO Festival – from January 23 to February 1 – as part of Canada’s largest celebration of design. For complete programming, please visit https://designto.org/.

Abundant Abundance | Studies in Plastic #1-3 (2025) by Look-i-Like

https://designto.org/event/abundant-abundance-studies-in-plastics

This exhibition investigates the material form of upcycled plastics, while attending to the poetic potential of a substance typically assigned little or no value. The project emerged during the pandemic, a moment —like many households—when artists Christina Zeidler and Deanne Lehtinen experienced an influx of soft plastics into their homes. Confronted by the sheer volume of this material, they became curious about how such an abundant and persistent byproduct of daily life might be reimagined as a resource for making.

“As designers, we are often asked to ‘solve a problem.’ Yet this problem is vast and deeply embedded in everyday systems. Rather than proposing solutions, we approach the material as artists—using experimentation and material exploration to ask questions instead.”

At the core of the work is an interest in shifting our relationship to so-called disposable materials, moving from habits of neglect toward forms of attention and care. By looking closely at plastics that are routinely overlooked, the project asks whether a change in perspective might allow these materials to be seen—and treated—as something valued rather than discarded.

How Heavy is a Building? by Ha/f Climate Design, Make Good Projects & Gavin Le Ber

https://designto.org/event/how-heavy-is-a-building

‘How Heavy is a Building?’ explores the unseen material, cultural, and environmental weight of architecture. Developed by Ha/f Climate Design and Make Good Projects, the film traces the embodied carbon of three of Lisbon’s most iconic cultural institutions—the Museu do Design (MUDE), the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology (MAAT), and the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB). Through site investigations, interviews, and visual storytelling, it examines how construction materials and systems such as concrete, steel, and HVAC embody energy, history, and labour.

By connecting Lisbon and Toronto, the project reveals how global networks of extraction, production, and reuse shape our cities. It translates complex architectural research into an accessible narrative that invites viewers to see buildings not as static forms, but as living records of resource use and cultural exchange.

Presented in English and Portuguese, the film blends technical precision with poetic reflection to illuminate how architecture reflects both the ambitions and burdens of modernity. ‘How Heavy is a Building?’ asks what it means to “weigh” the built environment—and how this act might inspire more sustainable and imaginative futures.

Houses Worth by Giaimo

Houses Worth is an installation that translates the embodied carbon of threatened Toronto high-rise buildings into a familiar and easily understood unit: the single-family house. Focusing on three at-risk towers, the project calculates each building’s material and carbon value as the equivalent number of houses, reframing demolition as a measurable and relatable loss