From cognitive science and cabinetry to architecture

Justin “Olive” Lazarus is in his final year of the three-year Master of Architecture program at Carleton University.  These three years have been "the most challenging and inspiring years of my life,” he observes. “It’s like a constant stream of micro discoveries." He’s happy to be doing it.

Before architecture, Lazarus was pulled in many directions by his interests. "I spent my late teens and twenties gridlocked between academic and artistic ambition,” he recalls. “I had begun releasing original music with a group that quickly gained traction and began touring.”

 At the same time, he was at McGill University, majoring in Cognitive Science — “immersed in dense theories of anthropology and neurology, micro-analyzing philosophical texts while coding in four different programming languages.”

Justin “Olive” Lazarus working with a straw compressor he built in studio at the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism

After graduating in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts & Science, Lazarus realized: "I wanted to do something tactile and hands-on,” which led him to try cabinet making. Learning cabinetry helped him bridge the mental gap between "the cerebral and the concrete," and suggested that architecture could be the “intersection” of his many interests.

A switch of discipline was a scary prospect. The STUDIO FIRST summer program at Carleton University offered the chance to test the possibility. “It's a leap of faith to suddenly open your life up to a completely new direction,” he says. “I figured if it didn't work out, at least I would plant the seeds and see where they would take me.”

STUDIO FIRST, which he took in 2021, "opened my eyes to new exploratory ways of thinking through making I hadn't experienced before."

With the portfolio he built largely from the program, he was accepted by both Carleton and the University of British Columbia into their three-year Master of Architecture programs. He chose Carleton.

Work from Lazarus’ Master of Architecture application portfolio

When applying to STUDIO FIRST, Lazarus observed how "psycho-sociological contexts manifest into choices of material and design. I am fascinated by the way boundless creativity is in dialogue with the realities of labour, technology, and human need.”

As a student, making as well as thinking became part of the work. “Drawings and models are meticulous and time-consuming, and strategic compromises need to be made constantly.  The best part is all the thoughtful discussions I have with students and faculty members.”

Recent drawing by Olive Lazarus

Lazarus is currently working on his thesis, which includes a deep analysis of straw as a building material.

“The future is not totally clear to me yet, but I would like to work with biogenic materials,” he says. “I am committed to building healthier landscapes and restructuring the way we conceive of supply chains.”