January 16, 2016, by Audriana VanderWerf, Landscape Trades
An interview with Haig Seferian, principal of Seferian Design Group in Burlington, Ontario and a leading champion from establishing and promoting meaningful credentials for landscape designers.
It was the mid 1980s, and young Haig Seferian sat alone on a park bench in California. While studying landscape architecture at the University of Guelph, Haig found a way to complete a year of studies at the School of Environmental Design at California Polytechnic Institute Pomona. However he began late and fell behind quickly. He then pulled 14 all-nighters in a ten-week stretch to catch up…
On December 19th, 2015, the Armenian Community in Markham, led by Frank Scarpitti, broke ground on a project that was over two years in the making.
The Armenian Genocide Memorial Forest will be located in Ashton Meadows Park on the northeast corner of Woodbine Avenue and Calvert Road, just north of 16th Avenue in the City of Markham. In the spring of 2016, 100 trees of 13 species will be planted in honour of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide. There will be a plaque explaining the significance of the Forest of Hope. Designed by renowned landscape architect, Mr. Haig Seferian, the memorial grove will be a place of beauty, contemplation and community.
Seferian Design Group received a Landscape Ontario Awards of Excellence for their work on the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board Outdoor Kindergarten Childcare Renovations. The annual competition features more than 40 categories of entries judged by a panel of respected horticulture industry experts. Only those entries deemed truly excellent are honoured with awards. The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) is one of the largest and most diverse districts in Ontario, operating 149 Elementary and Secondary Catholic schools throughout Mississauga, Brampton, Caledon and Orangeville.
In 2015, 22 schools were selected to have their Kindergarten Outdoor Areas renovated. The DPCDSB had a requirement: the transformation of plain, sterile asphalt yards into low-maintenance, yet dynamic outdoor learning environments, instead of just playgrounds. Former asphalt jungles were replaced with brightly coloured asphalt and soft turf, big outdoor blackboards, planters for gardening, dramatic play areas, and wooden stages. Painted mathematical shapes and the alphabet were provided to be used by the teachers as learning tools extended to the outside, where kindergarten kids are exposed to at least two 40-minute blocks each day.
After consultation with the kids, each school chose a unique carving created by a local artist. The carvings, always an animal indigenous to Ontario, provide an identity to each play area. In order to keep the project on budget, the design combined elements of naturalized yards with the existing asphalt pads, creating a hybrid version that provides fun opportunities of learning and discovery, and also promotes a reconnection with nature.
In January 2015, Haig Seferian and Brad Smith will be the closing keynote at the Landscape Ontario Landscape Designer’s Conference. Today, obesity is poised to overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death in America. More than a third of all Americans are obese and an additional third, overweight. Active Design is an approach to the development of buildings, streets, and neighborhoods that uses architecture and urban planning to make daily physical activity and healthy foods more accessible and inviting. Through Transportation, Buildings, Recreation and Food Access, Active Design transforms the built environment.
Designs of the future must include physical activity on some level for all. The Centre for Active Design based in New York City drives this concept to design industry. We are seeing this in playgrounds for children and public spaces that are playgrounds for adults. In this session Haig Seferian and Brad Smith will explore three case studies where active design principles have been incorporated to make a difference in how people use outdoor space.
On November 12, 2015 Seferian Design Group as part of a multidisciplinary team received a City of Hamilton Urban Design Award in Excellence in Heritage Restoration for their work on Gage Park.
As one of Hamilton’s most iconic and historically rich landscapes, this park was designed in the 1920’s by Landscape Architects Dunnington-Grubb (early founders of the profession of Landscape Architecture in Canada). This 28 hectare City park required substantial restoration and preservation of significant features to ensure the unique character and historical integrity of the park is well maintained for future generations.
The restoration included the reconstruction of the 1927 feature fountain and reflecting pool. The park was upgraded with the installation of new mechanical systems, LED lighting fixtures, and plant material. Personal safety and comfort was enhanced by improving sightlines, illumination, and improved park attractions. It was necessary to integrate storm water management measures and use innovative low-impact techniques without altering or impacting the Park’s design intent. Restoration materials included brick and stone that maintained the architectural features of the park. Finally, a new bicycle pump track was installed to attract new visitors to the park.
The City congratulated the approach taken by the design team to both restore this historic park and make repairs to the functional systems of the park. The restoration respects the historical design intent of the park yet provides new elements to broaden its appeal.
Large historic parks are an important public amenity in dense urban areas. Gage Park stands out as a green gem in contrast with the built form that surrounds the park. The Jury stresses the importance of sustaining adequate public investments in these parks to both preserve their important historic elements and to allow these parks to evolve to be relevant to new generations of visitors.
The Ursula Franklin Academy opened in September 1995. UFA provides leadership in the creative use of information and communications technology to enhance learning and build a community. In 1999, Industry Canada, on the advice of the Canadian Association of School Administrators, designated UFA as one of 24 pioneer members of Canada’s Network of Innovative Schools (NIS).
SDG assisted the students and teachers in creating a four-season landscape design that will service the UFA community, the Bloor West Village community as well as local flora and fauna. Together the team solicited input from all parts of the community; students, teachers, the administration, parents, neighbours and Creative Corners, the on-site nursery. The students conducted surveys, held meetings, created wish lists and asked everyone to let their imaginations run “wild”, literally.
The entire project will be hand built, using up-cycled, salvaged, and sustainable products. The schoolyard master plan included an outdoor classroom, a ‘wander and wonder’ garden, spiral pathways, tree plantings, bike racks, ecological gardens, herb gardens, and a ‘Peace’ garden for quiet reflection and passive relaxation.
https://youtu.be/tr1AAKizkGQ
In January 2015, UFA in association with Ryerson University was awarded Design Challenge Champions by Come Alive Outside. The school will receive funding from the organization to implement their schoolyard design. Once completed, the Canadian Wildlife Federation has agreed to certify the space as ‘Wildlife Friendly’.
Winners of the 2013 Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) were announced at the 11th annual CNLA National Awards of Landscape Excellence ceremony in St. John’s, NL on Wednesday, January 29, 2014. Landscape Newfoundland and Labrador hosted the event in conjunction with its provincial Awards of Landscape Excellence. It was a fun evening with members, staff, volunteers and other distinguished guests gathered to celebrate the best in the industry.
The National Awards of Landscape Excellence are a way for Canada to recognize those companies that have actively participated in significantly raising the level of professionalism in the landscape industry.
Haig Seferian received a recognition Award for his dedication and leadership with the Certified Landscape Designer program.
The 2013 Chamber of Commerce Burlington Business Awards Gala was a great success with plenty of surprises and a very happy crowd. Over 425 people attended this year’s event held on April 11, 2013 at the Burlington Convention Centre. Seferian Design Group was awarded with the Small Business Excellence Award from the City of Burlington Chamber of Commerce. The award was presented by Shelly McQuade, Vice Chair at Burlington Chamber of Commerce. Staff members were hailed as the most creative Design Team in Burlington. During her presentation, Shelly noted that Seferian Design Group offers unique and inspiring landscape concepts for residential, commercial, environmental and special projects, including many public-space community projects.
The evening started with a special VIP champagne reception for award finalists, winners, sponsors and other VIPs. After a terrific cocktail reception and dinner the awards presentation began. Chamber President, Keith Hoey, MCd the event with award presentations made by Mayor Rick Goldring, John Chisholm of BEDC, Gord Langford of Tourism Burlington, and Shelley McQuade of the Chamber of Commerce.
We at Seferian Design Group are very proud to be part of the Burlington Community!
Built in 1978, the Burlington Art Centre (BAC) is a mecca of visual arts in the city. Each year over 100,000 people go to the BAC to view exhibitions, work in studios, use the facilities and participate in a variety of programs. Among its features, the BAC has a unique central courtyard. Despite its aesthetic appeal, the courtyard was not accessible to people with reduced mobility and was difficult to navigate for people with intellectual disabilities. An extensive courtyard accessibility project was completed.
The project received significant support from the City of Burlington and received over $200,000 of in-kind materials and labour from a number of community businesses co-ordinated by Seferian Design Group. The renewed BAC courtyard is a stunning outdoor oasis that can be enjoyed by everyone, and a model of community partners combining resources to meet an ambitious goal.
In 2009, Seferian Design Group was retained by the City of Toronto as part of a multidisciplinary design team to create a unique streetscape within Liberty Village. The site included the streetscape block along King Street, bordered on one side by Jefferson Avenue and the other side by Atlantic Avenue.
Seferian Design Group’s design started with a vision and drew on the industrial past of Liberty Village, but blended new modern, trendy aspects into the overall theme. The design included raised planters, mass plantings, decorative screens, paving patterns and two sculptural icons which anchor each end of the block.
The gateway sculpture was designed by Artist Michael Golland, a long-time member of the Liberty Village community. This public art installation was the final component of the King Atlantic Gateway project, an improvement program cost-shared by the Liberty Village BIA and the City of Toronto. Liberty Village now has an attractive, unique and welcoming entry from King Street. An entry that reflects this unique, historic and creative Liberty Village community.
Seferian Design Group was awarded a City of Toronto Civic Award for their work on the Liberty Village Gateway project.
