BRIGITTE SHIM

Like most Ontarians, I was born somewhere else. My Hakka Chinese parents and all of my siblings were born on the sunny tropical Caribbean island of Jamaica. Upon arriving in Canada, we stepped off the airplane and quickly descended into a gigantic freezer. A few days later, a February blizzard hit Toronto and I caught my first glimpse of snow. The dull urban fabric magically transformed into a winter wonderland overnight. My first snow angel has long since melted but the extraordinary experience of being enveloped by little teeny snowflakes which, when multiplied, have the capacity to create mountain ranges for tobogganing, as well as armies of snowmen, still resonates with me. Experiencing snow for the first time as a child has left an indelible mark on me, and it is somehow connected to my deep respect for and appreciation of our remarkable Canadian landscape. Brigitte Shim, CM is a principal with Shim-Sutcliffe Architects and teaches architecture at the University of Toronto.