Kosmic 2025: Life in Section

Continuing a half-century of tradition, students at the Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism once again transformed the Architecture Building with interactive installations, coloured lights, and music for the school’s annual Kosmic extravaganza.

Kosmic 2025, which took place on Friday, Jan. 31, was by all accounts a success. A sold-out crowd of 250 attendees danced, enjoyed live music and DJ sets, and explored the artworks and immersive experiences created by architecture students on the theme, Life in Section.

The organizers were fourth-year BAS (Conservation & Sustainability) students Kate Giles, Milena Perini, and Mikayla Tretiak. “We are so happy and proud of ourselves for hosting a fun, creative, and safe event,” they said.

Left to right: Mikayla Tretiak, Milena Perini, Kate Giles

Students mounted their installations on the main level, including the Lightroom Gallery, the Hub, and Room 209. The Pit became a dance floor and stage for three local bands. The DJs set up in the alcove under Fab Lab. At the opposite end of the Pit, was a maker’s space for people to draw and informally participate in the school culture of pinning up work.

Throughout it all, the Street swirled with high-spirited Carleton University students, mostly, but not all, from architecture. “We were very happy with how many students from other programs attended,” said the organizers. “It was great to see so many people discovering the Architecture Building in such a vibrant environment.”

Adding to the festive atmosphere, many guests embraced the dress code: Layered & Loved, Reclaimed & Handmade encouraged participants to wear clothes they have loved for years, handmade pieces, and items that have been mended, altered, or modified.

The smooth running of the event marks the second year since students, with the support of Director Anne Bordeleau and staff, brought Kosmic back to Building 22 after a long absence.

“We’re hoping this year and last year will show that we can host this kind of event without any issues and hopefully capacity can go up so that it can become a fundraiser for Directed Studies Abroad like Kosmic used to be,” said Tretiak.

Like the dress code, Kosmic itself is layered, loved, reclaimed, and handmade. Launched in 1973 by the school’s earliest students, it grew over the years and took over much of the building. In the 1990s, it made American TV host David Letterman’s list of Top 10 college parties. Kosmic peaked in 2000 when 3,300 revelers descended. The university first banned, then constrained the event, which moved off-site in the mid-2000s and popped up at different venues in Ottawa for 17 years.

In 2024, Kosmic returned to the Architecture Building, thanks to the dogged efforts of then-fourth-year students Cam Gordon, Connor Jermyn, and Noah Perkins. Their months-long campaign, which included working with the school administration, the Dean’s office, and the Carleton risk management team, laid the groundwork for this year’s repeat.

Kate Giles, Mikayla Tretiak, and Milena Perini were among the students who took part in 2024. They made a large multi-media skeleton mural displayed in the Pit. “We really enjoyed the event last year,” said Giles. “We spent two full days in the studio working on this big mural and listening to Innerspeaker. It was so rewarding once we stepped back, or rather up onto the table it was on, to look at the piece when it was finished.”

Noticing the effort and enthusiasm that went into their work, Gordon saw them as successors. “After Kosmic, we only had one last job to do, ensuring that we handed it off to a good group who would be up for the challenge,” he said.  

Giles, Tretiak, and Perini happily took up the torch. “We just felt like they had done such a good job last year that we wanted to continue what they had already started,” said Tretiak. “Bringing it back in the Architecture Building was so special. We felt that we could build on that and help continue that legacy.”

The two teams met several times over the summer to discuss logistics and hand over accounts. “We told them to make it a fun moment, not just everyone but also for themselves,” says Perkins. “It’s a cool project.”

Giles organized the volunteers and bands, ran the social media, set up ticket sales, and did graphic design and communication. Tretiak facilitated student outreach, installation artist organization, poster and merch design, and coordinated with the school’s administration. Perini managed the $4,000 budget, (proceeds from last year), and, as an employee of Ollie’s, negotiated a welcome spread of spring rolls, chicken nuggets, pierogies, and salsa and chips.

“We have known each other for four years now and have collaborated in studio, and have lived together,” explained Giles. “We’re running this event on the power of friendship. We just know how to talk to each other and get the job done.”

To their relief, they secured approval from Carleton’s risk management office, early on last fall. “I was worried that they were going to say no,” says Tretiak. “We had security at the event and volunteers monitoring access points in the building. We also weren’t serving alcohol, which was one of the biggest concerns from risk management.”

A group of 30 student volunteers received guests, checked coats, and helped ensure a well-organized party.

This year’s theme, Life in Section, asked students to consider what is revealed when layers are peeled back, added or omitted, and what is uncovered at these intersections. 

“We were inspired by things like fruit getting cut in half and natural things outside the built realm,” said Tretiak. “We titled it ‘Life in Section’ because we wanted to move outside of architecture. It’s so broad, but people could go any way they wanted with it and discover what happens when you cut through.”

The event featured 10 creative projects made by students from all stages of the program, from first-year undergraduates to master’s students. The pieces varied in scale and included projected video works, wall-mounted art pieces, and interactive installations. Among the materials used were paper, textile, yarn, tinfoil, wire, film strips, mirrors, acrylic, plexiglass, fish wire, and bits of inorganic trash.

“We heard so many stories that there’s this big event called Kosmic, that we wanted to participate,” said Mia Wong, a first-year student who worked with classmate Cara Li on a three-part hanging fish sculpture called Scales to Skeleton.

The programming showcased Carleton talent, opening with a DJ set by LFOTECH, followed by sets by the Dani Uno Band, Pretty Good, Lady Grey and the Phantoms, which all include Carleton students. The evening closed out with a vinyl DJ set by master’s student Noah Perkins and MAS student Evan Mullen, aka EV Love and Geunf.

“Organizing Kosmic was a significant opportunity for us and we are extremely pleased with where we were able to take it,” said the organizers. “We could not have done it without each other and the support of the outstanding school, faculty, and students.”