Dr. Paul Floerke

When he is not busy lecturing, leading the department’s Global Learning program, or pursuing his research in new wood architecture, Paul Floerke is often thinking about teaching and how architects are best educated. “Teachers can’t simply put a funnel on students’ heads and pour the knowledge in,” he says. “Instead, students must learn by doing.”

At Toronto Met, architectural science students “learn by doing” in the studio, where they work on models and concepts, and share ideas. It’s a place where they can receive guidance from their professors and their peers, while also having enough freedom to explore their own path. Floerke spends many hours in studio with his students, teaching them to be critical thinkers who will be responsible for building in our society. “I would like them to see architecture for what it is: a useful art.”