< ECU Directory

Laura Kozak

Assistant Professor

Availability:

Education:

BFA
MASArch

Bio

Laura Kozak has published and presented papers at Participatory Design Conference, PIVOT: A World of Many Centers, Cumulus, The Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) and the Service Design and Innovation Conference (ServDes). She is a past president of 221A Artist Run Centre Society and a recipient of ECU’s Ian Wallace Award for Teaching Excellence. She holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture from UBC and a BFA from Emily Carr.

Websites:

Research Interests

Laura’s place-based research is focused on food practices and climate justice. She is a member of ECU’s DESIS Lab, and works to form durable, community-based relationships through interdisciplinary collaboration, field work and participatory action research. Getting outside is central to her work. In 2023, she co-led a Climate Justice Field School for sustainability planners and policy-makers at the City of Vancouver in collaboration with a renowned group of cultural and social justice practitioners. She is part of an interdisciplinary team working on Mapping swiya, which draws on shíshálh ways of knowing to re-surface stories of time and place, and is co-leading the Circular Food Innovation Lab in collaboration with numerous food businesses, food rescue organizations, local Nations, City of Vancouver Engineering Services and Solutions Lab.

Courses

Course Name Department Course Code Term
Community Projects CCID 202 26/SU

Description

This Culture and Community Interdisciplinary (CCID) practice based topics course, will offer students an opportunity to engage in coursework focused on embedded practice that includes an off-site fieldwork experience. This includes various sites and locations away from the University campus, including but not limited to long distance fieldtrips, field houses, neighbourhood houses, community centres, and other learning spaces related to curriculum. Students will create their own practice-based projects based on site research, cultural context, and independent studio work related to course-specific learning outcomes, and research requirements of the faculty teaching the course. This course is open to students in any degree program.

Each section of this course runs with a different topic. See here .

Pre-requisites

No prerequisites.

Community Projects CCID 302 26/SU

Description

This Culture and Community Interdisciplinary (CCID) practice based topics course, will offer students an opportunity to engage in coursework focused on embedded practice that includes an off-site fieldwork experience. This includes various sites and locations away from the University campus, including but not limited to long distance fieldtrips, field houses, neighbourhood houses, community centres, and other learning spaces related to curriculum. Students will create their own practice-based projects based on site research, cultural context, and independent studio work related to course-specific learning outcomes, and research requirements of the faculty teaching the course. This course is open to students in any degree program.

Each section of this course runs with a different topic. See here .

Pre-requisites

No prerequisites.

Social Science SOCS 300 26/SU

Description

This course offers the opportunity to study a specific discipline in the social sciences. Through a study of selected issues, which will change from time to time, students will gain a better understanding of contemporary social and cultural theories and the methods of analysis in the fields of anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, or women's studies, especially as they relate to critical issues in art and design.

Each section of this course runs with a different topic. See here .

Pre-requisites

No prerequisites.

Foundation Studio Courses FNDT 181 26/SP

Description

This course provides an introduction to Industrial Design. Students will gain experience with the range of activities that comprise the design process, including generating, refining, and communicating 2D, 3D, and 4D ideas. This course will use lectures, discussions, and assignments to cover design processes, concepts and principles of experience creation, form, meaning and context in design, and visual, verbal, and written communication. Along with an introduction to materiality and hand skills, students will engage digital literacy skills in generating, developing, documenting, and presenting outcomes using relevant software.

Pre-requisites

No prerequisites.