Rachel Streef
BID, ARIDO Intern
Designer, Interiors
& Accessibility Co-ordinator
Who Rachel is
Rachel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from Fanshawe College and is currently an ARIDO Intern. Passionate about creating functional interiors, she dedicated her thesis to designing inclusive, aging-friendly, and mind-friendly environments. Rachel loves that her work allows her to influence how people experience the built environment.
Outside of work, Rachel enjoys kayaking, relaxing at her family cottage, skiing, and park-style roller skating. On relaxed days, she experiments with new recipes in the kitchen.
"The role of a designer is that of a good, thoughtful host, anticipating the needs of their guests."
What Rachel Does
As the in-house designer for interiors, Rachel takes on a variety of projects, supporting teams with tasks such as selecting materials and furnishings, creating 2D and 3D visualizations, writing specifications, and producing interior working drawings. As the sample librarian, she introduces new products and knowledge to meet the team’s needs. Additionally, Rachel conducts accessibility reviews of drawings and existing sites, generating reports to improve accessibility for diverse user groups.
Why Rachel Does It
Rachel's inherent creativity was nurtured from a young age, experimenting with various art forms, from scrapbooking with her mom to painting and sculpting. Her interest in construction grew from watching her grandpa design and build homes and cottages. Combining these interests led her to pursue a career in Interior Design, where she realized she could make a meaningful difference for the users of the spaces she creates.
To fulfill our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, every member of the Unity team has chosen an organization that aligns with their personal values and purpose. Unity has made a donation on behalf of each team member to their chosen organization.
Giving
Why Rachel chose: CADS Ontario
“I chose to support Canadian Adaptive Snowsports because of their work to make skiing an accessible sport for people with physical and/or intellectual disabilities. With over 400 volunteers the organization connects volunteers and instructors with individuals to help them learn to ski and participate in the ski community. They also help to remove barriers such as access to adaptive equipment, which is often a reason people don’t participate in the sport. ”