Patkau Architects is an

architecture firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and other countri ...

based in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is a full-service firm practicing in Canada and the United States. Its project scope includes, but is not limited to, gallery installations, art galleries, libraries, university buildings, urban planning and private residences. The firm has received numerous national and international architectural awards.Architectural Institute of British Columbia firm directory
Retrieved 2014-01-15 Patkau Architects also represented Canada at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

in 2006. Patkau Architects' work has been widely published, including three books dedicated to the firm's work, numerous articles in professional journals and books, and their work has been featured in exhibitions around the world. They have also published their own book entitled ''Patkau Architects: Material Operations in 2017 that discusses the firm's beliefs and techniques through materials and unconventional practices.

History

John and Patricia Patkau

John and Patricia Patkau were both born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba in Canada, John on August 18, 1947 and Patricia on February 25, 1950. They met whilst when they were both getting an undergraduate degree at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

in 1973. They both went on to receive their Masters of Architecture, John continued at the University of Manitoba in 1973 and Patricia completed hers at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1978.

Patkau Architects

The firm was founded by spouses John Patkau and Patricia Patkau in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

in 1978. It was relocated to Vancouver in 1984. Michael Cunningham was the third principal from 1995 until he departing from the firm in 2010. As of 2014 the firm has a total staff of 20, including four principals: John Patkau, Patricia Patkau, Greg Boothroyd and David Shone. Patkau Architects has been one of the pioneers in using wood within the architectural industry and have received seven wood design awards starting in 1984. Both Patricia Patkau and John Patkau are fellows of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada, honorary fellows of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

and of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, members of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Art The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

, and members of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

.''John and Patricia Patkau - Patkau Architects'', Canadian Architect, May 2009
Retrieved 2014-01-16

Design approach

The firm's work has been noted for drawing on the principles of

modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form ...

that is also inspired by the natural setting and traditions of Canada's West Coast and the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. Their designs are known for their sculptural quality, multifaceted expression of material, comfort, and clear delineation of detail. Patkau Architects design in such a way that they attempt to respond to the natural environment that surrounds their building site, not impose on it. They draw inspiration from the natural environment and are currently pushing the limitations of wood in architecture. Their drive to pull as much from nature as possible has led them towards innovation in ways further than just using natural materials like wood; in the Temple of Light specifically, they used "light" as a primary building material. Architectural historian-theorist

Kenneth Frampton Kenneth Brian Frampton (born 20 November 1930) is a British architect, critic and historian. He is the Ware Professor of Architecture at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, New York. He has be ...

has described the firm's work as "very close to what I attempted to define in 1983 as

Critical Regionalism Critical regionalism is an approach to architecture that strives to counter the placelessness and lack of identity of the International Style, but also rejects the whimsical individualism and ornamentation of Postmodern architecture. The stylings ...

Notable Projects

University of Toronto Academic Wood Tower

Patkau Architects, alongside MJMA, designed a 15 storey wooden tower for the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

located in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario to be used for classrooms and offices. It is designed to be 80 meters tall which will make it North America's tallest structural timber building. The entire structure of the tower is constructed using glu-laminated mass timber, some of which is left exposed to draw attention to the construction method. The design is hoping to create precedent for future mass timber construction as the zoning for height restrictions of tall wood buildings is being challenged in order to complete the project.

Capilano Library

The Capilano Library is a 10,000 square foot, all black, linear form with a statement roof that has multiple sharp undulations with a softer, wooden clad underside located in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta commissioned as a new branch for the Edmonton library. The library contains a children's area and a community room for meetings and events alongside the main library programming.

Temple of Light

The original Temple of Light, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, burnt down in June 2014. For the redesign, in order to bring nature and the sacred into the temple as much as possible, Patkau Architects created "portals of light" that extend from the oculus at the top throughout the entire height of the space. The form is made up of complex, petal-like shapes and was accomplished by fabricating panels off-site to be assembled together on the building site.

Audain Art Museum

The Audain Art Museum is a 56,000 square foot, two storey museum located in Whistler, British Columbia that houses

Michael Audain Michael James Audain, (born July 31, 1937) is a Canadian home builder, philanthropist and art collector. He is the Chairman and major shareholder of the privately held Polygon Homes Ltd., one of the largest multi-family builders in British Colu ...

's personal art collection. The museum is located on a

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

at the base of

Whistler Mountain Whistler Mountain is a mountain in the Fitzsimmons Range of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, located on the northwestern edge of Garibaldi Provincial Park. It is the location of the Whistler-Blackcomb, Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort an ...

, so the structure is raised one full storey on piers to avoid the flooding and implements a seismic system, steel trusses,

prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...

wood panels and handles

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

s. A steel structural system was used to handle the large cantilevers.

Hadaway House

Hadaway House is a private residence in Whistler, British Columbia. The shape of the house was designed based on the size and height restrictions of the area, as well as the need to shed snow off the roof. Whistler has very strict zoning regulations, so the design was started with the envelope instead of being designed from the inside out under normal circumstances. The construction of the house brings together various systems; it uses a concrete slab system with steel and heavy timber framing. These systems were all used in tandem to create the most efficient system overall to counteract the intense seismic and snow loads.

List of Projects

Residential

* 2019: Trail's End House * 2013: Hadaway House * 2012: Tula House * 2011: Mishrifah Villa * Unrealized: Cottages at Fallingwater * 2009: Linear House * Prototype: Prototype Cottage * 2000: Agosta House * 2000: Shaw House * 1998: La Petite Maison du Weekend * 1993: Barnes House * 1987: Porter-Vanderbosch Renovation * 1986: Appleton House * 1984: Patkau House * 1983: Pyrch House

Educational

* Current: Academic Wood Tower University of Toronto * 2014: Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport * 2012: Daegu Gosan Public Library * 2012: ARTLab * 2009: Beaty Biodiversity Center & Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory * 2005: Winnipeg Millennium Library * 2005: Centre for Music Art and Design at University of Manitoba * 2005: La Grande Bibliotheque du Quebec * 1996: Nursing and Biomedical Sciences Building at the Texas Medical Center * 1995: Strawberry Vale Elementary School * 1995: Emily Carr College of Art & Design * 1992: Newton Library * 1991: Seabird Island School

Cultural

* Current: Thunder Bay Art Gallery * 2018: Capilano Library * 2017: Temple of Light * 2017: Polygon Gallery * 2016: Audain Art Museum * 2012: Fort York National Historic Site Visitors Centre * 2012: Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Church * 2012: Rift * 2012: Cocoons * 2011: Onefold * Suspended: Marpole-Oakridge Community Center * 2011: Winnipeg Scating Shelters * 2011: Gleneagles Community Center * 1999: Air Canada International Arrivals Lounge * 1992: Newton Library * 1992: Canadian Clay and Glass Library

Awards

The firm has been the recipient of at least one architectural design award per year in every year but three since 1981. These awards include fifteen Governor General's Awards and Medals in Architecture, eight

Architectural Institute of British Columbia The Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC) is the regulatory body responsible for registering and licensing all architects in the Province of British Columbia in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces ...

's Lieutenant Governor's Awards, thirteen Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence, awards from the

, Canadian Architect magazine, and various national and international design competitions. Most recently, they were awarded the Canadian Wood Council design innovation award for the Temple of Light in

Kootenay Bay Kootenay Bay is an unincorporated community on the east shore of Kootenay Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The ferry terminal and former steamboat landing, on BC Highway 3A, is by road about north of Creston a ...

, British Columbia, Canada.

Publications

There are three published books based on their career, including two self-written books. Each publication documents different projects representing different time periods of Patkau Architects’ growth.

Biographical Publications

Patkau Architects: projects, 1978-1990 by Andrew Gruft

Andrew Gruft published his essay on Patkau Architects in 1990. The essay catalogs an exhibition that the University of British Columbia's Fine Arts Gallery held in late 1990.

Patkau Architects by Brian Carter

Brian Carter wrote the book Patkau Architects: Selected Projects 1983-1994 which was published in 1994 and highlights their earlier works. This book covers 10 of Patkau Architects's projects that were at the forefront of innovation at the time.

Patkau Architects by Kenneth Frampton

wrote his book Patkau Architects in 2006. The book reviews seventeen projects of all different categories including cultural and institutional, schools and residential.

= Projects Mentioned

= * Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery * National Library of Quebec in Montreal * Winnipeg Centennial Library addition * Gleneagles Community Center * North by Northwest * Nursing and Biomedical Sciences Building at the University of Texas Houston Health Science Center * New College House Student Residence at the University of Pennsylvania * Seabird Island School * Strawberry Vale School * Newton Library * Shaw House * Petite Maison du Weekend * Prototype Cottage * Agosta House * Barnes House * Little House

Self-Written Publications

Patkau Architects: Material Operations

Patkau Architects wrote their book "Patkau Architects: Material Operations" and published it on the

Princeton Architectural Press Princeton Architectural Press is a small press publisher, specializing in books on architecture, design, photography, landscape, and visual culture, with over 1,000 titles on its backlist. In 2013, it added a line of stationery products, including ...

in New York in 2017. They explain their unique perspective of architecture and how they are attempting to stand out and reach new heights within the profession. It goes into depth about their use of unconventional methods to achieve creativity and their artistic approach.

External links

Patkau Architects official website

Patkau , ArchDaily

Patkau Architects on Architizer

Patkau Achitects archives , Dezeen

References

{{Authority control Architecture firms of Canada Companies based in Vancouver