2023 / Edmonton, AB

This home was designed for a professional couple desiring to age in place. Located in a newer suburban neighbourhood, the property narrows as it slopes down to a treed ravine at its rear.

The composition consists of 3 sloped roof volumes connected by a flat-roofed datum. The sloped components contain living / dining / den areas, a master bedroom / ensuite, and a vehicle garage / mezzanine. The entrance corridor, kitchen, and utilitarian functions are placed in the flat-roofed areas.

A skylight brings daylight directly to the stairs. This same light filters through a wood screen to the adjacent kitchen area.

The home responds to its site as well as a broad program of requirements. Spaces on the lower level include a study, exercise area, media-entertaining area complete with full kitchen, wine cellar, guest bedrooms, and sauna.

All four levels of the home, including vehicle garage, can be accessed by a vertical lift.

2018 / Edmonton, AB

This project for Catholic Social Services provides two group homes on an infill property designated in a mature neighbourhood overlay.

Each of the mirrored residences has living accommodations for 4 residents and a caregiver to full barrier-free standards. The residences are organized to create a shared outdoor courtyard area which provides a secure amenity area for the residents as well as minimal sight lines from neighbouring properties.

The single-storey massing, sloped roof forms, coloured stucco/horizontal cladding, decorative fencing, and rich vegetation will integrate the project into its context of primarily single-family houses.

2017 / Jasper, AB

Located at Aspen Street along Jasper’s prominent Connaught Road, the 9-unit apartment building was developed to meet strict design guidelines imposed by Parks Canada and the Town of Jasper.

Challenges included requirements for on-site vehicle parking, landscaping, materials and colours, and a maximum height. The two-and-a-half storey building contains eight 2-bedroom apartments and one 3-bedroom apartments, with amenity suite and utility functions situated at the lower level. The four suites on the upper floor each contain a loft space complete with dormers providing daylight and mountain views.

Sloped roof forms, cement board siding, and natural stone veneer cladding provide a scale and expression which integrate the project with its neighbouring context of constructed and natural forms.

2016 / Sturgeon County, AB

The residence for a young family occupies a large forested and sloping site in Sturgeon County. Program functions are organized in two wings angled at 117 degrees and oriented to the forested ravine view. The two wings are linked by an outdoor deck designed as an arc segment between the two wings, to provide a wide and private panoramic vista. 

The wing with family, kitchen, dining and living room functions is steps down the natural slope of the site, ending with full height continuous glazing at one end. Massing consists of linear forms clad in dark horizontal siding, topped with one-way sloped roofing clad with lighter coloured vertical siding. Formal landscaping provides a scaled transition to the dense natural forest surrounding the residence.

2009 / Winnipeg, MB

Approximately 340-square-metre area home for a professional couple with two young children. The design takes advantage of its situation on a wide lot along the Red River by orientating all living spaces toward the rear.

Living / dining, and family areas are located on the upper level, with bedrooms on the first level. A two-level deck separates living and family areas and master bedroom from the other bedrooms.

Expansive front entrance and high second floor spaces are suited for entertaining large groupings. The open skylit stairwell brings daylight into the basement and allows for a future chair lift. Exterior Materials include stucco and rundle stone.

2009 / Edmonton, AB

The 14-suite, 3-storey apartment building is designed as the first of a 2-phase development to replace the original 60-year old apartment building on the same site.

Suites are studio units – 2 of which are barrier-free – designed to accommodate youths in the Boys & Girls Club program. A lounge is provided on each floor for resident use. One 2-bedroom resident manager suite is provided on the main floor, along with laundry, multi-purpose classroom and offices for program staff located in the basement. The mechanical system is designed to serve the future second phase addition.

The program and design respond to the needs of the Boys & Girls Club training / rehabilitation mandate, providing safe accommodations for growth into responsibility and independent living. Suites are efficiently laid out with defined dining and living / sleeping areas, and fully functioning kitchen; lounges located at the end of each corridor provide shared space for group interaction.

Interior finishes including carpets and resilient flooring, are chosen for low maintenance while providing a residential character. Exterior materials including vinyl siding, metal roof and split-face concrete block on the main floor, provide long-term durability along with a modern, youthful expression appropriate for its function.

2008 / Edmonton, AB

The design places a 35-unit 4-storey apartment building and 9 townhouse units along with surface vehicle parking on a tight site with central utility right-of-way through the site centre.

Half of the apartment building footprint was constructed over vehicle parking to meet minimum bylaw requirements with the desired density. Five barrier-free access suites are contained in the apartment building on various levels. The mix of unit types including 1 and 2-bedroom apartment suites, and 3-bedroom 2-storey townhouses, enriches the project community.

The formal townhouse entrances and primary apartment building entry are oriented toward the two streets, with site amenity areas placed in between. The placement of windows to all areas of the site, and generous site lighting lend a sense of security to the development.

The overall massing, variety of housing shapes, and materials including cultured stone cladding, stone wainscoting, acrylic stucco with patterned reveals add richness to the development, while the different components are tied together by sloped, shingled roofing, and a complementary colour scheme.

Barrier-free units are designed with wider circulation clearances, lowered kitchen / washroom millwork, barrier-free showers and appliances. A continuous bed of drainage tile was placed below the concrete slab tied to a large capacity sump pit to protect the full height basement from a high water table.

2006 / Edmonton, AB

A 44-unit affordable townhouse development in north Edmonton. Two-storey 2 and 3-bedroom units in groupings of varying sizes are organized around a central island containing outdoor amenity area and 2 attached barrier-free bungalow units.

The site area, approximating a city block, is bounded on 2 sides by streets, one side by a school, and another side by single-family houses.  The formal entrance and living rooms face the site perimeter, with kitchen / dining areas backing onto private yards facing the site’s interior access road and central island.

The organization of townhouse groupings provides a strong sense of project unity and security, through design consistency and common orientation to the central amenity area. Although the maximum density was achieved in terms of number of units, the floor areas are generously sized, averaging over 105-square-metre area for the 3-bedroom units and full basement.

The groupings vary in unit sequence, length and colour, to lend the project a sense of variation, further enhanced by the project landscaping. Stone cladding on the lower floors reduce the apparent height and help relate the development to the adjacent single-family residences. Massing and facade details complete with roof dormers, window bays and muntins, and masonry veneer are used to provide scale and increase unit individuality within a restricted project budget.

A significant technical challenge was the maintenance of site drainage patterns across the site, while achieving positive drainage for the residences and ease of access to the barrier-free units. Cost-effective measures employed for the interior, included using accent walls to provide multiple colour schemes, employing pre-fabricated kitchen / washroom millwork.

2000 / Toronto, ON

Approximately 4500-square-metres, this residence was designed for a couple. The exterior design reflects the two sides of its context in an established residential neighbourhood, backing onto a large treed ravine, as well as the internal program of spaces.

A large central living space flows into the more private dining and prayer spaces, bordered on the first level by kitchen and family spaces, and on the second level by main bedroom and private study. The large open living area is given focus and scale by a landscaped water garden.

The majority of spaces access exterior decks and balconies, orientating toward the ravine while maintaining privacy for the residents.Exterior materials include coursed limestone and stucco.

1995 / Edmonton, AB

A family residence for a 10-meter wide infill lot, the design explores issues of privacy and controlled views within narrow urban sites, expression and treatment of front entrance and attached garage, the context of post-war speculative single-family and multi-family housing, and directions for urban renewal.

Constructed on a limited budget, exterior amenities include a reflecting pond, courtyard, balcony, and decks. Interiors incorporate hardwood floors, high exposed structural ceilings, and custom built-in millwork.

1994 / Edmonton, AB

A family residence for a 10-meter wide infill lot, the design explores issues of privacy and controlled views within narrow urban sites, expression and treatment of front entrance and attached garage, the context of post-war speculative single-family and multi-family housing, and directions for urban renewal.

Constructed on a limited budget, exterior amenities include a reflecting pond, courtyard, balcony, and decks. Interiors incorporate hardwood floors, high exposed structural ceilings, and custom built-in millwork.