About

My Journey

We all hope for a fulfilling career that suites our aptitudes, our personalities and our aspirations.

During my two years in engineering, I was excited to discover that I could visualize objects and plans in three dimensions. But, engineering became more about the math and less about visual creativity.

So, I switched to get a science degree in organic chemistry; the spatial arrangement of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and other elements and, in physics; how things work.

So enough engineering and science, I wanted to be visually creative. I was going to have to wait a year to get into the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design’s Environmental Design Program but ended up being accepted into the Technical University of Nova Scotia’s School of Architecture. I had found where I belong and what I would be doing; bringing engineering and science together creating buildings.

The late 1960’s and 1970’s era was about “back to the land”, “self sufficiency”, “the oil crisis”, and the “environmental movement”. Bringing these aspirations into my work terms in architectural offices made me aware that I wanted to promote these. For me, this meant working for every day folks helping them design and build their homes. Thus my graduating thesis, Self-Built Homes. This is what I have done for the last forty eight years.

Nova Scotia has a long history of Cooperatives where folks share their skills and their labour. This includes the building of their homes. Recognizing this, the Nova Scotia government created the Coop Housing Program which promoted this through safety training, framing manuals and workshops. In the 1960’s and 70’s, nearly half the homes built had a significant proportion self built. Many qualified for mortgages from the province through this program. It was at a lower rate than they could get from the banks and the mortgage companies. Thus, my first two years where spent helping these folks design and build their homes. This approach allowed the design process to carry on to the site where decisions can be refined and evolved .

As housing became more energy efficient and complex, I realized that there was a limit to self building. So I became a we with the crew becoming the core and backbone of the process. This allowed clients to participate as they saw fit and do what they were able to do. It also allowed design decisions to be brought on site and refined as we got a better feel for the site-home relationships.