Approach

We are passionate about quality

We believe that high-quality design can have a positive impact on people’s lives. Rooted in a strong sense of purpose, our work is driven by a pursuit of design excellence and enduring quality. For us, design excellence in architecture means striving for the highest level of quality, innovation, and effectiveness in creating built environments that enhance the human experience. We believe that design excellence is not limited to iconic or monumental structures; it can also be found in modest, everyday buildings that demonstrate thoughtful design and sensitivity to their surroundings. Our commitment to enhancing the human experience extends to creating spaces that foster connection, well-being, and a sense of place, leaving a lasting positive impact on individuals and communities alike.

A collaborative process that inspires

Site attributes, physical and social contexts, cultural factors, and a deep understanding of users’ needs are the foundations for design excellence. We engage in a rigorous process of research, conceptualization, iteration, refinement, and collaboration among our team of architects, engineers, clients, and stakeholders to ensure that the final outcome exceeds expectations. We approach each project with a holistic perspective, considering not only aesthetic appeal but also functionality, sustainability, cultural relevance, and ability to meet the needs of users. Our goal is to produce meaningful and impactful built solutions that inspire, uplift, and enrich the lives of those who interact with them.

At every scale, we are committed to people-centred design, social sustainability, and liveability. Our core values are deeply rooted in social impact, fostering better-built environments that prioritize the needs and experiences of those who inhabit them. Our design approach revolves around promoting well-being, understanding and translating how people engage with their physical surroundings, and what brings them joy.

We integrate natural elements into our work

The need to embrace the power of nature and its associated biophilic principles means that our projects incorporate natural daylight, connect to natural surroundings, and integrate natural materials to achieve harmonious and healthy spaces that elevate human health and well-being. Our projects expand the possibilities of what constitutes an interior space by providing access to nature spatially and contextually.

The fundamental power of light is an essential part of our work. We seamlessly integrate natural light to infuse our spaces with warmth, vitality, and a sense of connection to the outdoors. Maximizing the numerous aesthetic and health-related benefits of daylight includes everything from strategically positioned windows and skylights to light wells and clerestory openings that evolve with the changing patterns of daylight throughout the seasons.

Our work is defined by materiality and craft

Our multidisciplinary approach to architecture, interiors and landscape considers every element as an integrated whole, ensuring that design activates every aspect of the final product. Each project is considered from a macro to micro scale, from the full extent of the site to the fine details on the interior. Our design approach seeks to imbue our projects with character, energy, and finely crafted detail. We strive to create built work that is not only functional but also elegant, striking a balance between clarity and warmth, and reflecting a heightened sensitivity to materiality, craft, and the resulting spatial experiences.

Our approach has led to the creation of spaces where distinctive form, material, and colour play a powerful role. We prioritize environments integrating wood as both a building material and finish. Wood, being a renewable and carbon-neutral material, not only contributes to a healthy environment but also enhances the aesthetic richness of our projects.

Research drives design

A common thread in our work is a commitment to enhancing the public realm through built work, research, and advocacy. Continuously challenging the status quo drives our research projects, ranging from density to liveability, material explorations to sensitive urban interventions, with a focus on environmental and social sustainability. Through our research studies, installations, and design work, we explore new and evolving modes of occupying space. We look to question the status quo in an effort to uncover opportunities for innovation. Our approach combines strategic consultancy and human-centred design with ongoing research on sustainability and liveability.

Our self-initiated design research focuses on developing approaches to address the shortage of housing options in urban areas by proposing incremental, rapid solutions to increase density, prioritizing ‘missing middle’ and midrise solutions that integrate into existing neighborhoods with an emphasis on supporting liveability for inhabitants. These schemes explore means to enhance the livability, flexibility, and accessibility of multi-unit housing for diverse income levels, cultures, and generations.

Thought Leadership

Our firm’s commitment to enhancing the public realm involves sharing our research with colleagues and the general public to support advocacy efforts and thought leadership. Advocacy efforts include speaking engagements and volunteer efforts to improve urban density and liveability, material explorations, sensitive urban interventions and environmental sustainability–a core strength of our practice.

Intensive ongoing research in both Canada and Scandinavia has made our firm effective advocates for progressive design and planning that exemplifies best practices in social and environmental sustainability, climate-positive developments, and urban resilience.