dw /a is a Toronto-based studio led by Deborah Wang (MFA, M.Arch, OAA) who brings a unique multidisciplinary approach to her practice, as a licensed architect, designer, independent curator and artistic director of Canada’s leading design festival.
For 15 years Deborah worked with notable architectural offices on award-winning projects, including residential, cultural and academic buildings.
Deborah launched dw /a in 2022 as a sole practitioner with an affinity for small projects and keen interest in how people live, experience and form the spaces of everyday life. She is especially adept at designing single-family and multigenerational homes, but likewise at creating spaces for art and public engagement through curation and design. With each project, she brings skill and thoughtfulness, with a sensitivity to a range of scales from the site and context to the smallest details, and a collaborative approach.
Deborah’s deep engagement with contemporary art, design and architecture is evidenced by her contributions to the built environment, public exhibitions and programs, design education and community building.
As a guest speaker, she has delivered talks for The Bentway, Detroit Design Festival, WantedDesign (New York), University of Lethbridge and OCAD University. She has served as a juror for the Ontario Association of Architects Design Excellence Awards, Metrolinx Art Advisory Panel, and City of Mississauga’s Public Art Program, and is on the Board of Directors for the Toronto Biennial of Art. She has been featured in The Globe and Mail, profiled in Azure Magazine, and interviewed by Monocle Radio.
Deborah holds a Master of Fine Arts from OCAD University, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Waterloo, where she earned Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Student Medal for highest academic achievement. She is a licensed architect with the Ontario Association of Architects.