B+H Boosts Vancouver Studio Design Leadership
We’re expanding our senior leadership team and advancing our delivery of people-first, value-driven design solutions in Western Canada
B+H welcomes Warren Schmidt, a seasoned architect with a diverse portfolio of work throughout Western Canada.
Warren is recognized widely for his commercial, residential, and institutional work with a portfolio of projects spanning diverse scales and complexities. He has led projects across typologies, with a focus on sustainable, high-performance buildings and Passive House design.
“B+H has a legacy of thoughtful and impactful design, and I’m excited to join the team”, says Warren.
“With a global, interdisciplinary team, I’m looking forward to leveraging our firm’s talents and expertise to respond to the challenges facing communities across the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada,”
Warren joins B+H from Kasian, where he most recently served as Principal. Prior to that, Warren was a Principal at Ryder Architecture. Notably, he led the development of two Passive House mixed-use projects for a not-for-profit housing provider that were designed for the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™. Warren also created the conceptual design for the University of British Columbia’s new Varsity Athletics and Recreation Centre and developed several high-density mixed-use projects in Vancouver’s rapidly changing Broadway corridor.
Core to his approach, Warren is a problem solver and mentor to the next generation of design leaders. He is the former head of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Syllabus program, where he was instrumental in certifying aspiring professional architects. Warren has also served on the British Columbia Institute of Technology curriculum advisory.
“Warren brings an incredible passion and thoughtfulness to his work,” says Adele Rankin, Managing Principal of the B+H’s Vancouver Studio and the Global Lead of CHIL Interior Design.
“Our Vancouver studio is focused on uncovering new opportunities for growth and innovation and ushering in a new era of design excellence through an integrated and transdisciplinary global practice. I expect that Warren will accelerate our cross-studio collaboration in core sectors including healthcare, commercial, corporate interior design, and education.”
Warren’s appointment arrives at an exciting time for the Vancouver studio, which is responding to Vancouver’s housing demands, championing environmental sustainability, and creating vibrant communities. Warren will work closely with Adele and the architecture and interior design teams to deliver design solutions across markets. Active projects for the studio include the mixed-use residential development of Willingdon Rose and Little Mountain, and phase one of the Burnaby Hospital redevelopment. With several major architecture and corporate interior projects recently completed and others under design, development or construction, the Vancouver studio continues to bolster its legacy of design excellence.
The Vancouver studio recently saw through the construction of two leading commercial mixed-use developments in central Vancouver; 402 Dunsmuir and 601 West Hastings. 402 Dunsmuir was named 2022’s Best Office Development by NAIOP Vancouver Commercial Real Estate Awards of Excellence (CREA2022) and was a Gold Winner of APR’s 2023 Urban Design and Architecture Design Awards. 402 Dunsmuir is a 150,000 sq ft, 10-storey, Class A office tower that aligns with the city’s ambitions of attracting North America’s top tech and entrepreneurial talent. 601 West Hastings is a new 25-storey office tower adjacent to the largest transportation hub in downtown Vancouver. B+H redesigned the entirety of this downtown Vancouver corner into a beloved community plaza with a tower that creates a strong streetscape presence and an iconic silhouette along the skyline.
402 Dunsmuir, Vancouver
601 West Hastings, Vancouver