Kimberley Wint's Master's thesis focusses on redevelopment of Trenchtown in Jamaica
April 29, 2021
Developing an interest in art and math at a young age was the impetus for Kimberley Wint considering architecture as a career.
In high school, she volunteered with Habitat for Humanity that’s a shared mission to build simple, decent and affordable homes alongside families living in need.
That experience solidified her interest in the field.
“Just putting up drywall and actually seeing people go into their brand new homes was an eye-opener,” said Wint who completed high school at Holy Trinity Catholic in Courtice. “I knew what I wanted to do since Grade Nine. I was doing a lot of digital stuff and taking art classes. When the time came for me to submit a portfolio to a university, I was ready and prepared.”
Accepted into the University of Toronto in 2014, Wint completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architecture, Landscape & Design four years later.
She however left feeling unfulfilled.
“Though my experience at U of T was good, I don’t think I got anything that was practical out of the program,” Wint said. “It wasn’t hands-on as I expected. It was more about creating nice drawings.”
During the fourth year, she was encouraged by her mother to apply to Carleton University’s Studio First program.
“I knew about the program and wanted to apply, but mom was the one that really pushed me to do it,” said Wint who was a part-time Performance Artist at the U of T Art Museum.
The first and only program of its kind in Canada is an intensive five-week studio in architectural design for students from a wide range of backgrounds who are considering graduate studies in architecture, urban design or landscape architecture.
It provides a post-baccalaureate “bridge” from an undergraduate degree in any field towards entrance into a three-year accredited professional degree in architecture.
“To be at a university in Canada’s capital, getting a sense of what Carleton had of offer and being in a studio atmosphere was very inspiring,” she said. “I wasn’t too sure I wanted to go into Architecture after my four years at U of T. The Studio First program did it for me.”
During the participants’ final review, Wint was fortunate to have the university’s graduate director at the time in attendance.
“We basically posted our drawings on a board for the professor’s to critique them and external guests to provide feedback,” she said. “The grad director thought my work was good and that I should apply to enter the graduate program. I was in shock because I wasn’t too sure at the time of I wanted to go that route. He however encouraged me to reach out to him which I did in the summer of 2018 and was accepted.”
Accredited by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB), Carleton University Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism facilities is among the best in Canada and North America. It also produced top Canadian architects Gregory Henriquez whose work is founded on the belief that meaningful architecture must be a poetic expression of social justice and Ritchard Brisbin who designed the Ottawa Convention Centre and Ottawa International Airport Terminal.
Wint’s Master’s thesis is ‘Preserving the Heartbeat of Trenchtown – A Vision for Urban Renewal’.
An aerial rendering of Wint’s project (Photo contributed)
Part of Kingston which is Jamaica’s capital, Trench Town is the home of late music legend Bob Marley and the Trench Town Culture Yard Museum which is a National Historic Site.
It’s also one of the island’s poorest and underdeveloped neighbourhoods.
Born in Canada to parents of Jamaican British background, Wint has visited Jamaica on several occasions.
“In the summer of 2020 while thinking about what I wanted my project to be, I made the decision that it should be about Jamaica and very relatable to my family and me,” she said.
Wint reached out to the University of the West Indies and the University of Technology who suggested she contact Christopher Whyms-Stone, a Jamaican architect and former President of the Jamaican Institute of Architects who is involved in the redevelopment of Trench Town.
A final rendering of Wint’s project (Photo contributed)
“After talking to Christopher and doing further research, I grasped a better understanding of the need to redevelop the community,” she said. “My project aims to develop affordable housing that’s sustainable and energy efficient. Through my design, I am trying to propose a future of Trench Town that can be very prosperous.”
Earlier this year, Wint was among six recipients of $1,500 Azrieli Mini-Thesis Awards presented annually to students who demonstrate excellence in their thesis research and design work.
The awards committee chose the winners following a mid-term evaluation of the master’s thesis. Students submitted a comprehensive document outlining their research and design methodologies and approach as well as architectural drawings and other media used to explore and examine their topics.
Wint’s mini-thesis presents an overall complete package clearly stating ambitions and intentions for a housing project in the redevelopment of Trench Town in Jamaica by researching historical, typological, and morphological context.
A final rendering of Wint’s project (Photo contributed)
The project is already proposing units of housing typology while considering intentions for the development at the urban scale.
“I am really impressed with the quality of the proposal she has come up with,” said Associate Professor Benjamin Gianni who is her Master’s Advisor. “I was also delighted to learn a lot about Trenchtown and Kingston in the process. I have a sub-specialization, looking at informal settlements and I have worked with students to explore them in China, India and Angola. She studied strategies that have been used in Africa and India and applied them to Trenchtown. She really pulled it off extremely well.”
In her last year at U of T, Wint met Zimbabwean-born Nicole Moyo who graduated from the university Master’s program in 2015 and teaches part-time at Carleton.
“In my last year in undergraduate school, I was struggling with what I wanted to do and she encouraged me by letting me know I could take on the world with my skill sets,” she said. “She’s a role model.”
Wint comes from a heavily supportive family environment.
Her parents – dad was born in England and her mother in Jamaica – migrated to Canada in 1994.
“My parents have embraced me all the way, giving advice and encouraging me to be the best I can,” Wint said. “My younger sister read about 30 pages of my mini-thesis before submission and helped me with corrections. She is always looking out for me and I am so proud of her.”
Chevonne Wint is enrolled in Brock University’s Concurrent Education, Child & Youth Studies program.
