Voices

As an architect and interior designer, I work with homeowners on custom homes and renovations that focus on sustainability, beauty, and innovation.   I am interested in exploring all things green, including the framework surrounding design and construction in Vancouver. 

My family lives in a condo in the West End.  We love the scale, density, and sense of community in our neighbourhood.  It is a place where we feel rooted, connected, and inspired by the stunning backdrop provided by the surrounds: ocean, sea wall, Stanley Park, mountains, and lively commercial streets like Davie and Robson.

As a community, we need to address the inevitability of growth.  If we are building homes that we want to last for over 100 years, then we need to be proposing designs that are responsive to the current and future fabric of our neighbourhoods.   We need to cultivate creativity and allow for more flexibility in the look, shape, and density of our homes while respecting the scale and rhythm of the community.  We want to see more variability, more diversity, maybe even a few more 'visual mistakes', if that means the surrounding field is richer.  We need to continue with the amazing initiatives like the Passive House Bylaw, and pursue excellence. Full stop.  Good design does not always respond well to a checklist. It cannot be prescribed. 

We are proud to be working in a City with a legacy of sustainable initiatives, and are excited to contribute to a movement that continues to push the envelope, and that supports a stronger culture of design and diversity in the built form.

When we moved to Vancouver we loved the fine-grained scale of the commercial streets (main st., west broadway, commercial drive) and the uniqueness of the homes in the city's residential neighbourhoods.

Moving forward I hope that we can keep that fine grained urbanism while also densifying our community and lowering our carbon footprint.

I live in a loft condo in Mt. Pleasant, and love it. I can walk to work, daycare, and the many local breweries. The 'hood is a great mix of houses and apartment buildings of all ages, and Dude Chilling park has become a real centre of activity.

I'm interested in Single Lot Density and options for building low carbon 5-plexes (modeled after the 'Plex in Montreal).  I'm hoping the city continues their positive work on making Passive House easier to achieve.