Robert McKaye

Senior Manager, Planning and Design at The Bentway Conservancy

Speaker

Robert is an interdisciplinary designer, cultural strategist, educator and artist living in Toronto. Currently, he is Senior Manager of Planning and Design at The Bentway Conservancy where he leads a team of designers and planners in projects that intersect architecture, adaptive reuse, urban design and artistic programming.

Since 2020, he has led the development of key architectural and public space projects that leverage the existing Gardiner Expressway, and offer unique and inspiring public experiences. He has been fundamental to the development of the Planning and Design department, leading The Bentway’s expansion priorities to new spaces, and instituting various strategic initiatives including sustainability auditing, creation of pre-design feasibility workflows, exploring new technologies for public spaces, and fellowship programs to support the organization’s broad portfolio.

During his time at KPMB Architects from 2015-2020 he played key roles for various cultural and institutional projects, most notably acting as project architect for Canada's Diversity Gardens in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a conservatory for the 21st century that celebrates the intersection of people and horticulture.  In 2016 he became a founding member of KPMB-LAB, a research arm focused on advancing the firm’s innovative and sustainable construction, and oversaw projects focusing on computational design and micro-climate analysis for early-stage design.

His personal research explores urban regeneration and adaptive reuse as drivers for new cultural expression, centering sustainability, consensus building, and the power of social capital in design processes.