Every few years, we dedicate an issue to showcasing emerging talent. The following pages put the spotlight on 20 firms that our curatorial team chose for the contributions they?re making to the culture of Canadian architecture. It?s a small sampling of the many firms we feel are worth watching in the years to come.
As someone in my mid-40s, I was interested to see that at least a half-dozen of the firms featured this year were founded by architects who had just turned 40. It?s an emergence story that?s familiar: an architect is employed at established firms for a dozen years, then opens up their own practice. Sometimes, there?s a precipitating incident: they?ve started a family, and can find better flexibility by being their own boss. Their peers in other fields have become established enough to now be clients, and are willing to entrust a renovation or small business design commission to their long-time friend. Or, it?s just a mid-life crisis thing. As one of our selected architects put it, there?s something about hitting 40 that makes you question: if not now, then when" Frankly, it?s also challenging to start your own firm any sooner than 40. While decades ago, an architect?s scope of work was simpler? the design drawings for a large building were sometimes only a dozen sheets, and many more details were worked out on-site with the aid of builders?now, the work is much more complex. The technical requirements for buildings have become more rigorous, coordinating a w...