The Athabasca Architectural Maker Space provides new opportunities for teaching, learning, and research in place and digital space
The Athabasca Architectural Maker Space gives students and researchers access to cutting-edge technology and innovative ways of teaching and learning from anywhere in the world.
Opened in June 2025, the maker space includes important tools for architectural education, including 3D printers and scanners, virtual reality equipment, remote sensors, and an audiovisual podcasting studio.
“Our goal with this space is to provide a learning and research experience which is second to none,” said professor Dr. Douglas MacLeod. “And by providing students with the equipment that they need to investigate areas like regenerative design or like virtual design, we provide something very, very special here.”
Not only can students use the space for learning, researchers in AU’s Centre for Architecture can use its resources in their own work.
Research focused on regenerative and virtual design
Architecture research at 91制片厂is focused mainly on regenerative and virtual design. Regenerative design is design that is ecologically restorative, socially just, and culturally rich, MacLeod explained.
The focus on virtual design, using virtual-reality tools and environments, allows researchers and students to understand the buildings they’re designing in a broader context.
“For architects, it really starts to move the design from designing an object into designing an experience, so that the students become more advanced in design as they start to understand their impact on space in a virtual world,” professor Veronica Madonna said.
What we offer is accessibility to architectural education so that anyone, anywhere in Canada and around the world, can learn about architecture if they want to.
Dr. Henry Tsang
A unique learning opportunity
In addition to empowering research at AU, the maker space provides a unique opportunity for students to access these tools from wherever they are—in a city or in a rural or remote area.
It’s a remarkable achievement to open a facility that can be accessed not only in person, but also in digital space, architecture professor Dr. Trevor Butler said.
“It took us a long time to get to the point where we could actually pull all of this technical, practical modeling kind of information together in one place, make it available—to the university, a community, a campus as a whole.”
The enthusiasm about what this space can mean for students is shared by everyone in the department. AU’s architecture programs are the first of their kind in Canada, and they continue to resonate with students who might not be willing or able to attend a traditional bricks-and-mortar school.
“What we offer is accessibility to architectural education so that anyone, anywhere in Canada and around the world, can learn about architecture if they want to,” said Dr. Henry Tsang, architecture professor and chair of the Centre for Architecture.
Learn more about teaching, learning, and research in the Centre for Architecture.
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