Toronto architecture firm RVTR, co-directed by incoming architecture faculty members Geoffrey Thün and Kathy Velikov, is the winner of the Professional Prix de Rome in architecture for 2009 awarded by The Canada Council for the Arts. The prize, valued at $50,000, recognizes exceptional talent and achievement in the field of architecture and architectural design and is awarded to a young architect or practitioner of architecture, an architecture firm, or an architectural design firm that has completed its first buildings and demonstrated exceptional artistic potential. The award was established in 1987 and allows the winners to travel to other parts of the world to hone their skills, develop their creative practice, and strengthen their presence in international architecture culture. The project can involve multiple trips to a number of destinations, spread over a two-year period.
Geoffrey Thün completed his B.Arch at the University of Waterloo and holds a master’s degree in urban design from the University of Toronto. He is currently assistant professor at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, where he is faculty lead and primary investigator for North House and the Post Carbon Highway design research projects. In September 2009, he will be associate professor at Taubman College. He received the 2008 Young Architects Forum Award from the Architectural League of New York.
Kathy Velikov, a member of the Ontario Association of Architects, completed her B.Arch at the University of Waterloo and her master’s degree in history of art and architecture at the University of Toronto. She is currently Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, where she teaches design studio, advanced research and theory, and is also chair of the Canada Green Building Council’s Academic Education Committee. In September 2009, she will be assistant professor at Taubman College, where she previously held the 2006/07 Oberdick Fellowship. She received the 2008 Young Architects Forum Award from the Architectural League of New York.
