Studio

Hi (or Ahlan if you speak Arabic)! My name is Samar Sabie. I am a graduate computer science student with a background in architecture and a genuine interest in the health, development, and human rights of populations in diaspora. Currently, I am pursuing an M.Sc at the University of Toronto, where I also completed a B.Sc with high distinction in architecture and computer science, and a professional Master of Architecture (M.Arch). Because of my unique training in architecture and computer science, I have developed over the course of my postsecondary education a true passion and aptitude for computation intensive multidisciplinary research. From 2011 to 2014, I was a research assistant at the UofT Responsive Architecture Design lab and a lead developer for its flagship project, the IM Blanky, a computational fabric capable of detecting motion, monitoring breathing patterns and sleep apnea, and relaying vital signs for clinical analysis. My work on the blanky was featured in the book “The Living, Breathing, Thinking Responsive Buildings of the Future” as well as the BBC, CTV, Domus, and Dezeen. In 2013, I took a landscape research studio Nissological Codes a dynamic zoning code for the Florida Bay. The zoning code evolves over time based on environmental, ecological, economic, and energy demand parameters to enable offshore energy, food production, waste management, and tourism activities. Prior to that, I worked on responsive architectural systems at Toronto Rehab, on the microsimulation and integrated urban modeling engine ILUTE at Cities Center (UofT), and on climate change modelling and scientific collaboration at the Department of Computer Science (UofT). Samar was also an assistant designer and software developer at Khoury Levit Fong (2011) and Geraghty and Associates (2013) architectural firms.
My research shifted scope to encompass refugees issues after getting elected as a president of the Arab
Students’ Association (UofT) in 2012-2013. Through that position, I became involved in various dialogues on human rights in diaspora, conflict resolution, and Canada’s role in facing global displacement crises. This propelled me to seek in my studies and research interventions for building better refugee camps by synthesizing design and information technology and actuate their deployment through necessary policy reforms. My M.Arch thesis “Architecture for Long Term Refugee Relief: A Design and Policy ManualMiddle East Edition” won the prestigious Irving Grossman Prize, and placed the top among 91 architecture theses at UofT in 2015. I am building upon this work in my current M.Sc research, by formulating the conceptual and practical frameworks for Canada to ameliorate its responses to forced displacement.
Outside the classroom and research lab, I try to be active on campus. I currently represents the Computer Science Graduate Students’ Benevolent Society (CSGSBS) at the department of computer science undergraduate affairs committee. I am also a mentor with the iLEAD institute. In the past, I  was a department ambassador and a Gr8 Designs for Gr8 Girls mentor. Through my repertoire of design and programming skills, Samar also consistently contributes to many not-for-profit and charity organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Daughters for Life, Refuge Aid, Orphan Sponsorship UofT, and Enactus Canada.