Shahrzad Soudian
Shahrzad Soudian is a key KPMB Lab contributor. With an undergraduate degree in architectural engineering, a master’s degree in building science, and a doctorate in mechanical and industrial engineering, her interdisciplinary knowledge, technical proficiency, and commitment to sustainable practice informs her expertise in addressing the climate crisis. She intimately understands the vital role building materials play in the high performance of the built environment. At KPMB, she is involved in developing the Lab’s guidelines and tools employed by all project teams, and leads various analyses including zero energy targets, whole building life cycle studies, decarbonization evaluations, and impact of solar energy generation on envelope design and building form at the early design stages.
Haley Anderson
Haley Anderson is a Climate Change Project Coordinator at ICLEI Canada and an independent Circular Strategy Consultant. At ICLEI, Anderson supports a wide range of climate projects and develops adaptation resources for local governments, such as green infrastructure home retrofit programs to increase flood and heat resilience. She finds joy in co-creating human-centered sustainability solutions across sectors, identifying synergies, and opportunities for collaboration. She has successfully secured grant funding and support to implement innovative circular economy projects through funders such as COIL, the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad. In collaboration with Ouroboros Deconstruction and Ha/f Climate Design, her work to develop systems and partnerships for material reuse was showcased with designers and furniture makers at the Circular Living Lab during the DesignTO Festival 2024.
Anna Beznogova
Anna Beznogova is an architect and Sustainability Advisor with the Toronto/Ottawa studio of Perkins&Will, where she champions sustainable and resilient design across the studio’s portfolio. Beznogova is also an educator at the University of Waterloo and Willowbank School of Restoration Arts where she teaches sustainable design, with a focus on embodied carbon and resource circularity. She is a Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment AP (BCIT), Certified Passive House Designer (PHI), and LEED Green Associate (CAGBC).
Jesce Walz
Jesce Walz is a Senior Research Lead at Perkins&Will. Her background includes two decades of experience in the design industry with a focus on regenerative frameworks as well as circular, carbon-storing, and innovative materials. As a key member of Perkins&Will Research, Walz serves as a principal investigator and strategic leader, developing design guidance, tools, processes, and initiatives to improve the climate impacts of projects across the firm’s global portfolio. Beyond her work at Perkins&Will, she contributes as a university lecturer and engages with industry groups such as the International Living Futures Institute, Climate Smart Wood Group, and Carbon Leadership Forum.
Kael Opie
A principal at KPMB Architects, Kael Opie brings expertise in advanced building technologies and in-depth experience in the integration of energy efficiency and cutting-edge sustainable strategies into building design. Opie believes that the power of architecture holds both immense promise and responsibility and that we collectively need to shape our buildings to realize the future we see for ourselves. Working holistically and always beginning from a “first principles” perspective, he strives to synthesize site, climate, programmatic elements, and client aspirations into a unified and synergistic whole. Opie was the project architect for the first LEED Platinum-certified commercial project in the Toronto area — the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.