The Architecture
Foundation of
British Columbia
The Architecture Foundation of British Columbia (AFBC) works to advance the value and impact of architecture and design across the province. Through advocacy, education, community engagement, and the celebration of design excellence, we bring people together to champion a more thoughtful, inclusive, and inspiring built environment.
Advocacy
We aim to be leading discussions about architecture and design within the field and with the public — with policymakers, with communities, with anyone shaping how BC gets built.
Our IDEA committee advocates for us as people and the Advocacy & Practice Committee advocates for us as professionals.
Awareness
Through the Design Calendar, our series of Architectural Walking Tours, and our new blog Field Reports, we provide direct ways to see, walk through, and understand our west coast built environment.
In 2021, we adopted the Awards program from the AIBC. On alternating years, we host Design Excellence Awards and the Architectural Recognition Awards to celebrate projects & people of distinction.
Education
From Architects in Schools to our scholarship programs, we open a path into the profession for people who might never have considered it.
New this year, we will be offering lectures and workshops that count towards your core-learning units (most of our events can be self reported if not strictly listed as a core LU).
Community
Although not explicitly listed in our mandate, we recognize that we can’t have successful advocacy, education or awareness without a strong design community base.
We plan a variety of events to bring creatives together, including participating annually in Design Victoria, Design Vancouver Festival and the Interior Design show.
We push for good design to matter in public decisions, we open the profession up to people who'd otherwise never get near it, & we convince the public that they have a reason to look up.
Meet the Board
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Karl Gustavson
PRESIDENT
Architect AIBC, Karl Gustavson Architect Inc. -
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Kim Barnsley
BOARD MEMBER
Architect AIBC, dys architecture -
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Michelle Fenton
BOARD MEMBER
Architect AIBC, Khôra Architecture + Interiors -
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Scott Kemp
BOARD MEMBER
Architect AIBC, Scott M. Kemp Architect -
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Cal Meiklejohn
BOARD MEMBER
Architect AIBC, MAD Studio -
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Jeff McLellan
BOARD MEMBER
BFL Canada -
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Mark Woytiuk
BOARD MEMBER
Architect AIBC, Carscadden Stokes McDonald Architects -
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Shora Paravesh
BOARD MEMBER
Architect AIBC, Noble Architecture -
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Kelsey Wilkinson
BOARD MEMBER
Intern Architect AIBC, Leckie Studio Architecture + Design -
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Madsen Canitz
BOARD MEMBER
Intern Architect AIBC, office of mcfarlane biggar architects + designers -
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Ann McLean
Architect AIBC, City of Surrey
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Megan Chalmers
BOARD LIASON, IDEA Committee Chair
Architect AIBC, HDR -
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Thaisa Way
BOARD LIASON TO UBC SALA
Our History
In 1999, a group of senior BC architects gathered at the Architectural Institute of British Columbia with a simple question: how do you recognize and encourage excellence in a profession most people never think about? Their answer became the Architecture Foundation of British Columbia — incorporated in January 2001, registered as a public foundation that March.
Twenty-five years later, that founding instinct hasn't changed. AFBC funds the scholarships, runs the awards, and builds the programs that connect the public with the people designing the buildings around them.
