What We Do Best

Commercial projects come with their own set of challenges that honestly keep things interesting. You're balancing brand identity, employee workflow, customer experience, and building codes that can get pretty specific depending on what type of business we're talking about.

We've done office spaces, retail environments, restaurants, and mixed-use developments. Each one needs a different approach. An office has gotta support how people actually work these days (spoiler: it's not just rows of cubicles anymore). Retail needs to guide people through the space without making it obvious. And restaurants? They're probably the trickiest because the design affects everything from kitchen efficiency to whether people want to linger over dessert.

Look, we're not gonna pretend that sustainable design is optional anymore. It's 2025, and between climate targets and operating costs, there's really no good reason to design buildings that waste energy. Plus Vancouver's got some pretty ambitious green building requirements these days.

Our approach looks at the whole picture - passive solar design, natural ventilation, water management, material selection, all that stuff. Sometimes the solutions are high-tech (geothermal systems, solar arrays, greywater recycling), but honestly some of the best moves are just smart orientation and good windows. We also focus on materials that'll last and can be sourced without shipping them halfway around the world.

Sometimes the exterior's fine but the inside just doesn't work. Maybe the kitchen's too small, maybe there's a weird hallway that eats up square footage, maybe the flow just feels off. That's where interior space planning comes in - we reconfigure what's already there to make it actually function.

This service works for both residential and commercial clients. We'll analyze how you're using the space now, figure out what's causing friction, and propose layouts that solve those problems. Could be as simple as moving a wall or as involved as a complete interior gut job. We also coordinate with contractors and handle permitting because let's be real, dealing with city paperwork isn't anyone's idea of fun.

Urban development's a whole different beast - you're thinking about multiple buildings, public spaces, infrastructure, and how everything connects to the neighborhood that's already there. We consult on these larger-scale projects, helping developers and municipalities figure out what actually makes sense for a site.

Our role usually involves feasibility studies, master planning, and navigating zoning regulations. Vancouver's constantly evolving its density policies, and honestly keeping up with what's allowed where can be a full-time job. We help clients understand what's possible, what'll get community support, and what's gonna cause headaches down the road. The goal's always to create developments that add to the urban fabric instead of just plopping buildings down without thinking about context.

If you're going for LEED, WELL, Passive House, or any other green building certification, we can guide you through the process. These certifications aren't just nice-to-haves anymore - they affect property values, tenant satisfaction, and operating costs. Plus some municipalities offer incentives that can offset the extra upfront investment.

We'll help you decide which certification makes sense for your project (they're not all created equal), then manage the documentation and verification process. Fair warning: it involves a lot of paperwork and coordination with engineers and contractors. But we've done it enough times that we know which battles are worth fighting and where you can find efficiencies. The end result's a building that performs better and has third-party verification to prove it.