We're not your typical suit-and-tie firm. We get our hands dirty, sketch on napkins, and genuinely believe buildings should work WITH the planet, not against it.
Started back in 2012 in a cramped office above a coffee shop on Commercial Drive. Yeah, we could smell the espresso through the floorboards every morning - not the worst way to start your day, honestly.
What began as two architects who couldn't find anyone else crazy enough to focus on timber and sustainable design has grown into a team of 14 passionate folks who actually get excited about lumber grades and passive heating systems.
We've messed up, learned a ton, and built some pretty rad spaces across BC. Every project teaches us something new - that's the fun part.
Look, we're kinda obsessed with wood. Not in a weird way - just in a "this material sequesters carbon, looks beautiful, and performs better than most people think" way. Cross-laminated timber, mass timber, engineered wood... it's all on the table.
We spend a lot of time just... looking at sites. Watching how the light moves, where water flows, how the wind behaves. Sounds hippie-ish, but it actually saves clients money and creates spaces that just feel right.
Urban sprawl's a mess, and we're trying to do our part to fix it. Dense doesn't have to mean depressing. We design urban spaces where people actually want to hang out, not just pass through.
There's something special about breathing new life into a heritage structure. Plus, renovating is usually greener than demolishing and starting over. We've saved some real beauties from the wrecking ball.
Principal Architect
Started this whole thing after getting fed up with firms that treated sustainability as a checkbox. Big on passive house design and probably drinks too much tea. Has a weird collection of wood samples in her office.
Design Director
The guy who makes Elena's wild ideas actually buildable. Trained in Tokyo, came back to Vancouver for the mountains. Obsessed with joinery details and won't shut up about shoji screens. We love him anyway.
Urban Planning Lead
Joined us from Toronto in 2018. If there's a zoning bylaw, she's read it - twice. Somehow makes municipal regulations interesting at parties. Runs a side blog about walkable neighborhoods.
Forget the stuffy presentations and fifty-page proposals. We start with coffee (or beer, depending on the time of day) and an honest conversation about what you need.
Then we sketch. A lot. On paper, whiteboards, sometimes on the back of permits. We bring you into the process early and often because, frankly, it's your building - we're just the nerds who know how to make it stand up and meet code.
Let's Grab That CoffeeFounded with two architects, one drafting table, and way too much optimism. First project was a backyard studio that's still standing (thankfully).
Landed a mixed-use timber building in Kitsilano. It won some awards, got us noticed, and proved that mass timber wasn't just a European thing.
Moved to our current Granville Street space. Added urban planning to our services because we kept getting frustrated with car-centric developments around our projects.
Like everyone else, figured out Zoom. Also realized people wanted homes that actually worked for living in 24/7. Designed a bunch of home offices that don't feel like caves.
Team of 14, working on everything from laneway houses to a six-story mass timber complex. Still sketching on napkins. Still believing in what we do.
Every building teaches us something. Every client pushes us to think differently. That's what keeps this job interesting after all these years.