City of Markham Design Review Panel (DRP)

Panel Members 

Markham’s DRP panel members are comprised of a diverse and multi-disciplinary team of design professionals, including architects, landscape architects, urban designers and transportation engineers committed to design excellence in the City of Markham. 

Shadi Adab, M.Arch., M.U.P., MCIP, RPP

Associate, Urban Design, MHBC Planning

Shadi Adab is an urban designer and Registered Professional Planner with experience working across the public and private sectors at the intersection of architecture, planning, and urban design. She holds a Master’s in Architecture and a Master’s in Urban Planning.

Shadi has contributed to a wide range of development projects throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, including master plans, block plans, urban design studies, and design guidelines. She is experienced in coordinating interdisciplinary teams and delivering creative, context-sensitive solutions for projects of varying scales and complexities.

Her work combines design thinking, policy analysis, and technical expertise with strong communication, organizational, and project management skills. Over the course of her career, Shadi has worked on diverse city-building initiatives involving mixed-use, residential, transit-oriented, and community-focused developments. She also spent a decade working in municipal urban design, where she reviewed and guided development applications and contributed to policy and urban design initiatives.

Shadi is recognized for her collaborative approach, strategic thinking, and ability to navigate complex planning and urban design challenges.

Khatereh Baharikhoob, B.Arch, MUD, RPP, MCIP, OALA, CSLA

Founder and Principal, Unbound Architecture, Planning and Design

Khatereh (Khat) Baharikhoob is the Founder and Principal of Unbound Architecture, Planning and Design, a multidisciplinary practice specializing in urban design, planning, landscape architecture, and campus planning. She is a Registered Professional Planner (RPP), Full Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP), Ontario Association of Landscape Architects (OALA), and Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA).

With over 15 years of experience, Khat has led complex city-building initiatives across Canada, including master plans, campus plans, public realm strategies, and mixed-use development projects. Her work is rooted in creating places that are responsive to community needs, environmental stewardship, cultural context, and long-term resilience. She is passionate about advancing design excellence and fostering thoughtful, inclusive, and sustainable growth through collaborative planning and design processes.

Joy Charbonneau, BA (Hons), M.Arch, OAA

Senior Architect, Diamond Schmitt Architects

Joy has over 20 years of experience as a design leader in architecture and architectural interiors. Joy’s unique mix of artistry, business acumen, and cross disciplinary collaborations results in innovative award-winning projects, engaged teams and exceptional client experiences.

A highly regarded voice in the design industry, Joy is a regular panelist and speaker at national industry conferences.

Throughout Joy’s career, she has volunteered her time to organize mentorship events for aspiring women architects, and curated exhibitions to grow opportunities for Canadian designers to have visibility. In this capacity, Joy co-founded the Toronto Design Offsite Festival – Ontario’s largest cultural celebration of design; and Building Equality in Architecture Toronto (BEAT).

Aside from her career as an Architect, Joy works independently and collaboratively as an artist, designer, and curator. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows at various Toronto galleries, the Toronto Art Fair, The Art Gallery of Hamilton, Brooklyn, and in Milan.

Mansoor Kazerouni, M.Arch, OAA, FRAIC.

Global Director of Architecture and Urbanism, Arcadis 

Mansoor Kazerouni is a highly accomplished architect with over three decades of experience. He holds a Master of Architecture from a leading university, reflecting his exceptional talent and dedication to the profession. He currently serves as Global Director of Architecture and Urbanism at Arcadis, where the division was recently ranked second globally in the World Architecture 100 (WA100), recognizing it as one of the largest architectural practices in the world.

Throughout his career, Mansoor has worked with leading architectural firms, contributing to a diverse range of projects across North America, the UK, India, and the UAE. His experience spans master planning, rental residential and condominium developments, hotels, and commercial and institutional projects, with a strong focus on innovative urban design and sustainable, high-performance building strategies.

A recognized thought leader, Mansoor serves as an expert witness in hearings, mediations, and arbitration proceedings related to development proposals. He is also an active speaker and lecturer at universities, conferences, and industry panels, and is deeply committed to mentorship.

He is a licensed architect and a member of the OAA and RAIC. In 2025, he was elected as a Global Governing Trustee for ULI, contributing to shaping sustainable and thriving communities worldwide.

Brian Melcher, OAA, AIA, MRAIC, CPHD 

Principal, Superkül

Brian is a Principal at Superkül, an award-winning architecture and design practice based in Toronto. With over 20 years of experience at leading firms in Canada and the United States, he brings a strong design voice shaped by work across North America, Europe, and Asia.

His work is defined by a commitment to rigorous design thinking and a belief in architecture’s capacity to shape meaningful, enduring spaces. He has contributed to a wide range of projects—including cultural institutions, high-rise residential towers, and complex mixed-use developments—each informed by a careful response to context, program, and material expression.

At Superkül, Brian leads the design of mixed-use and multi-unit residential projects, focusing on the integration of architectural clarity, livability, and environmental performance. His approach couples conceptual design leadership with a deep engagement in the technical and collaborative processes required to realize ambitious work. He is particularly interested in how innovation in construction, sustainability, and building systems can strengthen both architectural expression and long-term resilience.

Nick G. Poulos, P.Eng., MCIP, RPP 

Partner, Poulos & Chung Limited 

Nick G. Poulos is a Partner at Poulos & Chung Limited, the transportation consulting firm he co‑founded in 2000 with Norman Q. Chung. Together, they bring over 40 years of experience in transportation planning, traffic engineering, transit planning, and transportation modelling. Their firm is recognized for delivering solutions that balance project needs with the surrounding community and environment.

He has extensive experience across all disciplines of transportation in Ontario, with contributions to municipal transit studies, transit terminal design, and work with GO Transit and the Province of Ontario on specialized policy reviews and transit initiatives. His work includes the functional design of transit terminals, supporting infrastructure, and the evaluation of rapid transit alternatives.

He brings a strong focus on integrating transportation and land‑use planning, collaborating with prominent planners to develop balanced, community‑focused solutions. His contributions have supported major concept plans and secondary plans in Markham, Vaughan, Orangeville, Oakville, Niagara‑on‑the‑Lake, and Kingston. Throughout his career, he has played a key role in advancing innovative municipal road design standards and transit‑supportive planning policies, helping shape livable, well‑planned communities across Ontario.

Michel Trocmé, B.Arch., M.A.U.D

Partner, Urban Strategies Inc. 

Michel is widely recognized as a leader in the field, creating distinctive, high-quality environments which foster a strong sense of community. Over thirty years, Michel’s strategic and collaborative approach have delivered a remarkable and diverse track record of built projects across Canada, the US, Europe and Asia encompassing Urban Regeneration, New Communities, Waterfronts, Parks, Institutional Campuses and Research Parks. His recent work in B.C. includes leading the urban design for the Jericho Lands conceptual plan, Burnaby Lake Village in Burnaby and the Surrey Centre Plan. 

In Toronto he has been working on the Downsview Lands Redevelopment Framework, Alexandra Park Revitalization, and the Yorkdale Shopping Centre Master Plan.  He’s also leading major international projects such as Nanyang University Master Plan in Singapore.  Michel is a frequent speaker at conferences, serves on design juries and has taught urban design studios at the Harvard Design School and The University of Toronto. He is on the City of Markham’s Design Review Panel, serves on the Urban Land Institute’s Place Making Council. In his three-part Idea Lab series ‘This is Paris’, Michel explores recent initiatives which have brought a new shine to the ‘City of Light’.

Richard Witt, B.E.S., B.Arch., OAA, AAA, AIBC, MAA, SAA, NSAA, AANB, FRAIC, NCARB, LEED AP

Principal, Global Head of Housing, BDP Quadrangle

Based in Toronto, Richard is a Principal at BDP and the firm’s Global Head of Housing, with oversight of housing work across a range of international markets. He combines global insight with hands on leadership of local teams delivering complex, sustainable, and inclusive projects at scale, particularly mixed use, high rise and workplace developments. His approach reflects a belief that thoughtful architecture plays a critical role in shaping resilient, livable cities while supporting the realities of development.

Richard is closely involved in the development and design community; He has previously held leadership roles with the Urban Land Institute and the Toronto Society of Architects and currently serves as Chair of the Canadian chapter of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. He has also participated on several design review panels and award juries over the past 20 years. Richard is licensed to practise architecture in most Canadian provinces as well as several US states and is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.

Terms of Reference 

For more information, please refer to the City’s Design Review Panel Terms of Reference document. 

Applications Subject to the Design Review Panel 

All new significant and complex mixed-use, high-density residential developments requiring an Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By‑law Amendment, Draft Plan of Subdivision, and/or Site Plan Control application are subject to review by the Panel. 

In addition, new developments within specific areas of the City may also be required to undergo DRP review, including: 

• Developments within intensification areas or Secondary Plan areas, including the City’s special character areas. These include, but are not limited to, Markham Centre, Markham Road–Mount Joy, Markville, Yonge Corridor, Langstaff, and Cornell Centre.
• Developments within transit‑oriented communities, including transit‑oriented developments and Major Transit Station Areas.
• High‑profile developments, as determined at the discretion of the Director of Planning and Urban Design.
   

Reference Documents for Applicants 

The City’s Design Review Panel review process follows a phased approach whereby development applications are reviewed at the Official Plan Amendment, Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of subdivision stages, followed by a subsequent Site Plan Control stage. This structure ensures that high-level urban design objectives and public realm principles are established at the outset, while securing the appropriate zoning framework necessary to implement these principles.

At the site plan stage, the focus shifts to a more detailed review of built from and massing, site and building design and landscape design elements. This stage allows for refinement of the proposal and resolve outstanding urban design matters to support the delivery of a high-quality built form and public realm.

Together, these stages form a continuous and coordinated design evaluation process. They provide applicants with meaningfu opportunities to incorporate DRP feedback as the project evolves and support cohesive, well‑designed development outcomes.

Applicant Resources

The following documents are available to guide applicants through the DRP process, based on the type of application being reviewed:

• Applicant Guide for Stage 1 – Official Plan Amendment (OPA), Zoning By-law Amendment (ZBA) and Draft Plan of Subdivision (SU) applications
• Applicant Guide for Stage 2 – Site Plan Control (SPC) applications
• Applicant Project Summary Sheet

Applicants are asked to complete this document and submit key information related to the proposed development, including project statistics, site characteristics, land use designations, zoning permissions and other relevant details.

Contact Us: 

Oscar Lam 
Planner II, Urban Design & Design Review Panel Coordinator  
Planning and Urban Design Department 
City of Markham 
101 Town Centre Boulevard, Markham, ON L3R 9W3 
olam@markham.ca