Date/Time
Date(s) - April 2, 2014
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Location
Fortis BC Centre
Categories No Categories
Keynote Title: Beauty from Ashes: Living, Loving and Leading Redemptively
May So is an architect who specializes in creating spaces where people feel like they belong.
Inspired by values of social justice and creativity, her design and project leadership at Henriquez Partners Architects over the last twelve years has contributed to the success of civically significant projects such as the Woodward’s Redevelopment. She currently manages TELUS Garden, a $750 million, 1 million square foot residential and office development at the TELUS headquarters in downtown Vancouver.
May has published on topics of housing, urban growth and Vancouver’s planning regime. She also co-authored two books on the work of Henriquez Partners, Towards an Ethical Architecture: Issues within the Work of Gregory Henriquez and Body Heat: The Story of the Woodward’s Redevelopment. As editor of Archimemo, the firm’s research and external communication platform, she works to deepen dialogue around the firm’s core values of design, community, culture, social justice and sustainability.
Several years ago, May suffered a personal loss that forced her to step back from leadership. As a follower with an abiding faith in Jesus Christ, it was in this time that May was able to draw deeper into God’s life-giving presence and begin living out more wholly the purposes for which He had designed her.
Desiring to advance the dignity and flourishing of others now spurs May to mentor and to serve on several non-profit boards including City in Focus, which cares for the soul of the city, and Lazarus Community Society, which provides second-stage housing for people in recovery. Passionate about sharing God’s heart for justice and equipping people to be vessels of justice in their communities, she recently realized a vision to convene Vancouver’s first Justice Conference in February 2014.
Born in Hong Kong, May immigrated with her family to Canada at age five. She began working in architecture firms while earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from the University of Calgary. Soon after joining Henriquez Partners in 2002, she received a Master of Architecture from the University of British Columbia. May’s intense engagement with her environment extends to her enthusiasm for hiking, photography, current affairs, large cities and international travel.