Five Questions with a New RPP – Dayna Wlasoff

On April 30, 2021, Dayna Wlasoff in Thinkspace’s Surrey office became a Registered Professional Planner (RPP). The designation is the end product of a long journey that started nearly a decade ago with a bachelor's degree in Architectural Science, led to a master’s degree in Planning, and eventually culminated in the rigorous RPP certification requirements, which included two years of work experience, a one-year mentorship, an ethics course and exam, and finally the professional exam.

We thought it would be interesting to hear from Dayna on why she chose to pursue planning, and how she plans to put her stamp on Thinkspace projects.

Thinkspace: Why did you choose planning as a career?
Dayna: I didn’t always want to be a planner – I originally thought I wanted to be an architect. During school, I quickly learned that I had more of a passion for the analysis and big-picture thinking. I became intrigued by the notion of designing and strengthening the places we live. I believe every project should respond to its context, and both positive and negative space should be designed intentionally at every scale with the user in mind.

Thinkspace: What’s the best thing about being a registered planner?
Dayna: Right now, the best part is knowing that the certification process is done. The best thing about being registered in the long run is knowing that I can mentor young professionals to tackle some of the challenges and missed opportunities that I come across.

Thinkspace: What are your favourite types of planning projects?
Dayna: I enjoy planning and design at all scales – from a building to a campus or community, whether that is through doing everything from a feasibility study to a master plan.

Thinkspace: Tell us something planners do that might surprise people.
Dayna: Planners help ground architects. A planner defines the context and helps shape the physical layout, while the architect responds to the context of a specific location.

Thinkspace: What perspective do you offer to projects at Thinkspace?
Dayna: With having both an architecture and planning background, I hope to help bridge the gap and start to integrate the disciplines. Planners and architects are both concerned with the appearance, functionality, and arrangement of spaces; together, we can create integrated design solutions across all scales of projects.

Congratulations, Dayna, on this amazing accomplishment! All of us at Thinkspace are glad to have you on the team, and are excited about delivering truly integrated projects for our clients!