Behind the Build

Jon Cummings is a Toronto based architect and educator who grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario. After early interests in drawing, painting, sculpture, and ceramics, his path toward architecture deepened through travel and close study of the built environment, including formative time in Italy and exposure to historic and contemporary works.He studied architecture at the University of Waterloo, completing multiple co op terms in Canada and abroad, including work experiences in Peterborough, Boston, New York, Dublin, and Toronto, as well as time in Los Angeles at Morphosis. After a solo backpacking trip across Europe, he pursued graduate studies at the University of Toronto and contributed to an architecture exhibition led by professor John McMinn that was installed at the Venice Biennale of Architecture.Cummings spent more than a decade at architects Alliance in Toronto, gaining end to end experience across project phases and building types. In 2021, he founded his own studio, Jon Cummings Architecture, also known as JC A, based in Toronto. His practice focuses on residential work at multiple scales, including renovations, new builds, multiplex housing, and accessory dwelling units, alongside public sector and campus renovation work. He is interested in contemporary architectural language, local sustainable materials, and the expressive potential of structure, mechanical systems, and light as visible parts of how buildings are made.Curated Podcast Sponsors:⁠Caplan's Appliances⁠⁠The Doors⁠⁠Aquanta Pools⁠ To connect with our sponsors, email me: [email protected]⁠Behind the Build Instagram

Toronto based interior designer Laura Stein grew up in the city and is the founder of Laura Stein Interiors and LSI Workshop, a business she created to mentor and support interior decorators and designers. A lifelong creative, she discovered her love of spaces at twelve when she was allowed to redesign her childhood bedroom, sparking a lasting fascination with textiles, colour, and the way rooms feel.Laura studied film and communications at McGill University and went on to earn a masters degree in marketing communications from Boston University. She began her career in Boston as an art director and graphic designer in advertising and publishing, where she art directed photo shoots and designed three dimensional sets. A move back to Toronto led to styling work on HGTV productions, night classes in interior design at George Brown College, and eventually the launch of her own firm from a spare bedroom in her parents home.For about twenty years Laura has grown her practice from small renovations to large scale projects, including whole home gut renovations, new construction and a twenty thousand square foot residence, supported at its peak by a studio team of seven. Known as the queen of systems, she built her business on thoughtful processes, client experience and strong industry relationships, even helping adapt the Studio Designer platform for Canadian designers.Today Laura continues to take on select Toronto based design projects while focusing much of her energy on LSI Workshop, where she combines creative mentoring, process templates and branding support to help designers align their work, client journey and brand. Listeners can find links to her website in the episode liner notes and follow her ongoing work and resources for designers on Instagram and through her newsletter.Laura Stein Interiors WorkshopCurated Podcast Sponsors:Caplan's AppliancesThe DoorsAquanta Pools To connect with our sponsors, email me: [email protected] the Build Instagram

Jason Fung is the founder and principal of Jason Fung Architect, a boutique architecture practice based in Toronto, Canada. He grew up in Markham, Ontario, in a middle income household where his parents encouraged both academic rigor and creative exploration. Alongside strong grounding in math and science at school, he spent weekends in visual art classes and piano lessons, developing early skills in drawing, observation, and proportion that carried through to university.Fung completed both his undergraduate degree and master’s degree in architecture at Toronto Metropolitan University, then known as Ryerson University. He entered the profession with limited exposure to architectural practice but gained early insight through a high school co op placement at the firm Robbie Young & Wright, later absorbed into IBI Group. His professional experience spans a range of scales and typologies, including retail and shopping centre work with pellow plus associates, residential design with AGATHOM, condominium projects in Vaughan with architect Alan Tregebov, and mid rise and residential work with Studio JCI.In 2016, he founded Jason Fung Architect, initially operating from his parents’ home in Markham. His first built work included a renovation of his family kitchen and bathroom, followed by a modest rear residential addition that became his first featured project. The practice has since grown into a small team delivering residential, commercial, and institutional projects, including renovation work for public education clients. Fung’s approach emphasizes accountability, staff autonomy, sustainable working hours, and long term professional balance.Outside of practice, he is an avid traveler and film enthusiast. His travels have included extended time throughout Europe, as well as Peru and India, with experiences at Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal, and along the Ganges River shaping his understanding of architecture, culture, and place. He frequently revisits films such as Back to the Future, Star Wars, and The Lord of the Rings, and he and his wife are raising their young son in Toronto.Curated Podcast Sponsors:⁠Caplan's Appliances⁠⁠The Doors⁠⁠Aquanta Pools⁠ To connect with our sponsors, email me: [email protected]⁠Behind the Build Instagram

Marti Gallucci is a Partner and Design Director at Mason Studio, where she has been a key part of the firm’s evolution for over 13 years. She joined the studio as an intern during her fourth year of university, became its first employee, and has grown alongside the practice as it expanded into a multidisciplinary team of approximately 25 people. Her work spans hospitality, restaurants, hotels, private residences, retail, multi unit residential, and self initiated exhibitions and installations, with a strong emphasis on sensory driven, immersive environments.She lives in Stouffville, Ontario, and was raised primarily in Goodwood, with time spent in both Stouffville and Uxbridge. Growing up on a 100 acre rural property, she was exposed early to renovation and hands on building through projects completed with her family and her grandfather, experiences that shaped her interest in space, materiality, and how environments are lived in. She also competed extensively in sports, including figure skating and rep hockey, and played in a tournament that included Team China during their Olympic preparations.Gallucci initially pursued architecture, completing a year at Carleton University in Ottawa in the History and Theory of Architecture program before earning a four year degree in Interior Design from Ryerson University. At Mason Studio, she contributed to early landmark projects including the Duke condominium sales office in the Junction and the Andaz Hotel in Ottawa, where the studio designed the common areas, restaurants, rooftop outdoor space, and guest suites. Her work on that project included collaboration with Canadian artists and makers such as Art Bank, MSDS Studio, Derek McLeod, and Creative Matters, reinforcing the studio’s commitment to craft, storytelling, and place.Outside of practice, she prioritizes time with her family and continues to renovate and build with her husband, including plans for a new home in the countryside.Curated Podcast Sponsors:⁠Caplan's Appliances⁠⁠The Doors⁠⁠Aquanta Pools⁠ To connect with our sponsors, email me: [email protected]⁠Behind the Build Instagram

Nicolas Koff, Uros Novakovic, and Sebastian Bartnicki are the founding partners of Office Ou, a practice shaped as much by lived experience and cultural memory as by formal architectural training. Each arrived at architecture indirectly, carrying with them deep impressions of place, history, and making that would later converge into a shared way of working.Nico grew up in Paris, fascinated by archaeology, ancient civilizations, and the way history embeds itself in landscapes. Childhood trips to Normandy, where WWII bunkers sat quietly along the coast, taught him to read terrain as a record of human action. After moving to Canada as a teenager to escape antisemitism, he found confidence through language, teaching French and rediscovering his footing. His academic path began in East Asian studies before expanding into architecture, landscape architecture, and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania, reflecting an enduring interest in scale, geography, and cultural systems.Uros was born in Belgrade and raised in Prague, where early memories of late-socialist streets gave way to the optimism of the Velvet Revolution. As a teenager, the city became his playground, shaped by daily walks through the historic center and school trips into the countryside. Moving to Toronto at fourteen was a shock that sharpened his awareness of urban form and what cities offer their inhabitants. His education at the University of Waterloo and formative work experience in Shanghai reinforced a belief in architecture as both cultural and exploratory.Sebastian grew up in Ontario immersed in drawing, painting, and meticulously constructed Lego worlds. Encouraged by a high school art teacher, he discovered architecture as a bridge between creativity and rigor. At Waterloo’s Cambridge campus and later in Rome, studying history in situ revealed architecture as part of a long, interconnected lineage shaped by politics, economics, and culture. Work experiences in New York, London, and Montreal further expanded his understanding of cities as living systems.Their partnership formed organically through late-night competitions, shared apartments, and an intuitive creative rhythm. Office Ou emerged not from a business plan, but from curiosity, trust, and a shared commitment to thoughtful, context-driven design.Impossible Toronto: https://impossibletoronto.ca/Curated Podcast Sponsors:Caplan's Appliances: https://caplans.ca/The Doors: https://thedoors4u.com/Aquanta Pools: https://aquanta.caTo connect with our sponsors, email me: [email protected] the Build on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behind_the_build_podcast