Praxis II Showcase

Engineering design is best learned at the intersection of theory, practice and lived experience. Students in Engineering Science Praxis are challenged to explore the strengths and limitations of design theory and engineering practice by applying both to their daily lives.

Structured around the theme of "Design for Toronto," Praxis II offers Engineering Science students the opportunity to apply their engineering, design and communication skills to local challenges. Focusing on Toronto allows the students to gain first-hand experience with the issues confronting the City and provides them with the opportunity to engage one-on-one with stakeholders, including City and community representatives. In Praxis II, students identify and solve design challenges, sourced from across the GTA, enriching both communities and knowledge.

Responding to a hypothetical City call for special projects, the class scours the City looking for aspects in need of sustainable improvement. In their responses they define an engineering problem and produce a Request for Proposal (RFP) complete with background, problem statement and engineering requirements. These RFPs are developed independently by the class and are written from the perspective of one or more City Divisions. This year the class identified a range of civic-minded projects involving city agencies such as the TTC, parks and recreation, waste management and emergency medical services.

Praxis II culminates in the Praxis Design for Toronto Showcase. At the Showcase students share both their understanding of the challenges and their design solutions to a wide audience through posters, prototypes and presentations. Last year's Showcase, our first Design for Toronto themed event, produced designs for, among others, improving signage in the PATH, integrating alternative energy (production methods) into the downtown core, cyclist and pedestrain safety at several major routes and intersections, and improving the TTC's emergency response system.

The students defended their designs to city councillors, representatives of the TTC and to other skilled designers from the Toronto area. The participation of these City officials, corporations, and members of the public in the Showcase helped create a more authentic design experience for the students, giving their work a much more real and immediate context. Designs from last year's Showcase were featured in a five day feature in The Toronto Star's "Your City My City" section, The National Post and several local blogs. More pictures of last year's event, posters, and prototypes are available here.

This year, our first year Engineering Science students have identified challenges relating to the TTC (34% of the teams), environmental issues (13%), cycling (10%), litter (9%), roads and traffic (9%), vermin and pathogens (7%), pedestrians (6%), City information (6%), EMS (2%), and food banks (2%). A complete list of the challenges identified by the students is available for download.

The titles and abstracts for the nine chosen design problems follow, with the full documents available upon request:

• RFP A - A Communications System Linking Food Retailers to Food Banks [abstract]
• RFP B - A New Road to Toronto’s Waterfront [abstract]
• RFP C - Ambulance Response Times in the Bridle Path [abstract]
• RFP D - Implementing an Advanced Traveler Information System in Toronto [abstract]
• RFP E1 - Reducing Environmental Contamination from Roadside Drainage in Toronto [abstract]
• RFP E2 - Reducing Pathogens in Toronto Beaches due to Combined Sewer Overflow [abstract]
• RFP F - Improving the Lubrication System around the YUS Union Loop [abstract]
• RFP G - Retrofitting Toronto’s “Street Furniture” Litter Bin [abstract]
• RFP H - Streetcar Stop Information System [abstract]

This year's first year class has spent the last six weeks of the course designing and prototyping solutions to these RFPs.

Contact Information

Alan Chong Course Instructor Tel: 416-978-8512 Email: alan.chong@utoronto.ca

Jason Foster Course Instructor Tel: 416-978-7024 Email: jason.foster@utoronto.ca