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Chris is well into his second decade working within the architectural field, 15 of which have been with Trace Architectures. Starting at Carleton University (B.Arch.St. and M.Arch) Chris gravitates towards rehabilitating and adaptive reuse as he enjoys working with buildings and sites with layered histories to draw on.
Being able to work at multiple scales, from the smallest detail to the largest site and neighbourhood plan is appealing to me. This keeps our work interesting and reinforces the interconnectivity between things. I much prefer an established context to guide or inspire a design. It is in the response to context (tangible and intangible) that great design can be generated.
To promote interest and awareness of value in the recent past, Chris is the chair of docomomo Ontario and curator of the online resource capitalmodern.ca. This interest has evolved into Chris becoming the lead for conservation projects affecting buildings and sites of the recent past.
As part of my evolution to partner within the studio, one of my roles is exploring the structure and approach to work within the office. Over the past few years I have led the shift to hybrid and continue to work with the team to build out the tools and approaches that allow us to work this way. This ranges from restructuring our collaborative tools to take advantage of cloud-based technologies that reduce location-based frictions with an emphasis on remote-first. Beyond this we have collectively codified our work process to improve project delivery and communication on projects.
As a studio-based and focused architectural and research office, our shift to hybrid has necessitated a re-assessment of how we interact and mentor within the office. Mentoring is a foundational element of the architectural profession, and the less formal and structured approach was not compatible with our new work approach, requiring a more intentional approach. At a basic level, our approach now includes periodic check-ins, specific to intern experience, along with increased communication related to a broader cross section of practice management topics. As a byproduct, the entire office has benefited with greater awareness of industry trends, new/adapted work approaches and on-going efforts to further improve how we work and collaborate.
Seeking to create greater awareness within the National Capital Region and to learn more about creating web sites Chris created Capital Modern, an online resource for documenting buildings, sites and landscapes in the National Capital Region for better or worse. There are currently over 100 sites in the periodically growing gallery of Modern Works.
To check out, connect or contribute to Capital Modern, just use the links below.
TRACE acknowledges the traditional unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People, recognizing their presence and deep connection to this territory since time immemorial. We express our gratitude for the opportunity to work, live and contribute to meaningful places on this land.
222 Laurier Avenue East,
Studio 201 Ottawa, ON, K1N 6P2
613-244-2323