Bursary honours architect Paul Stevens, mentor to the next generation
Jun 5, 2026
The Paul Stevens Boundless Promise Award will support Indigenous and Black architectural and visual studies undergraduates at the University of Toronto.
Canadian visionary architect and University of Toronto alumnus Paul Stevens (1963-2025) will be remembered through a newly created bursary supporting students at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.
First announced at his celebration of life at U of T’s Hart House on November 21, 2025, the Paul Stevens Boundless Promise Awardwill be awarded on the basis of financial need with priority and preference given to Indigenous or Black students enrolled in the architectural studies or visual studies program at the Daniels Faculty.
Made possible by the generosity of his spouse, Tanya Phillipps-Stevens, the annual award funds will be matched 1:1 in perpetuity through the Defy Gravity Campaign’s Boundless Promise Program. The program, a legacy of the Boundless Campaign, doubles the impact of donations made towards needs-based awards.
Phillipps-Stevens says the bursary honours her husband’s impact on architecture – his life’s passion – and carries forward his wish to provide equitable opportunities for future designers to create a better, more beautiful world. “My husband’s greatest attributes are his generosity of spirit and his authentic connection with people. Paul always gave his time, his boundless talents, and his treasure across many areas of his life,” says Phillipps-Stevens.
Paul always gave his time, his boundless talents, and his treasure across many areas of his life.
“This award is a continuation of his longstanding commitment to inclusion and interconnectedness, mentoring and supporting the next generation.”
Paul always gave his time, his boundless talents, and his treasure across many areas of his life.
A distinguished career
Inspired by his artistic mother and his father who worked as an engineer, Stevens knew by age eight he wanted to become an architect. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1987 and became a co-founder and co-owner of Toronto-based ZAS Architects + Interiors in 1994, where he served as senior principal.
Over his distinguished career, Stevens shaped some of Canada’s most celebrated civic and institutional spaces including the Billy Bishop Airport Tunnel, Canoe Landing Community Campus + Schools, River City Condominiums, Vaughan Civic Centre Library and York University’s Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence and a symbolic final project – the Sam Ibrahim Building at U of T’s Scarborough campus – which hosted its grand opening in April 2025. Beyond his work in Canada, his practice encompassed projects from Dubai to Shanghai.
Paul Stevens at the April 2025 opening of the Sam Ibrahim Building, U of T Scarborough.
A dedicated mentor to emerging talent, Stevens and his practice participated in the Daniels Faculty’s undergraduate Design Research Internship Program (DRIP). “He was deeply inspired by the young creatives at Daniels and would always invite students and intern architects to work alongside him at his office, serving as a partnering practitioner with DRIP,” says Phillipps-Stevens. She adds that her husband’s transformational leadership style is rooted in a vision of human-centred and sustainable design excellence, exemplary collaborations and industry-leading community engagement.
Paul Stevens at the April 2025 opening of the Sam Ibrahim Building, U of T Scarborough.
Unlocking opportunities for diverse recipients
“By creating this award for Indigenous and Black students, we honour Paul’s legacy and core values of excellence, innovation, sustainability and equity,” she says. “My hope is to expand the industry by providing greater access for underrepresented aspiring creators to learn how to be the change they wish to see. This fund unlocks boundless opportunities for diverse recipients to become changemakers, like Paul, who harness their talents to make an inclusive blueprint for solving current and future societal challenges.”
“His sympathy for people and his passion for the material of building made Paul a remarkable architect,” says Robert Levit,acting dean of the Daniels Faculty. “While I had known Paul in many professional contexts, it was shortly before his untimely passing that I met with him to discuss his interest in philanthropic support for Daniels students. He explained to me how his childhood in northern Ontario had shaped in him a strong sense of community with the diverse population of his childhood world, and also for the materials – wood, abundant in northern Ontario – that would inspire him to become an architect.”
“His family’s gift to the Faculty to support Indigenous and Black students reflects his commitment to enlarging the scope of who shapes our built world and, by doing so, broadens how we can imagine the architecture that makes our communities. Paul’s gift will have a lasting impact on who will make up future generations of architects.”
