Heather Dubbeldam

Heather Dubbeldam, OAA, FRAIC, LEED AP, WELL AP is a Canadian architect based in Toronto. She received the 2016 Prix de Rome in Architecture for her research on sustainable housing.[1] In 2003, Dubbeldam founded Dubbeldam Architecture + Design a midsized multidisciplinary firm.[2] Prior to starting her own firm, she worked for Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg (KPMB), where she gained her architectural license.[3] Beyond architectural practice, Dubbeldam contributes to the architectural community as a volunteer on various boards. These boards include: Building Equality in Architecture Toronto (BEAT), Twenty + Change, and the Design Industry Advisory Committee. Her volunteering also includes affiliations with multiple architectural schools as a critic and advisory council member.[4]

History

Career

After completing her studies at Carleton University’s School of Architecture, Dubbeldam spent seven years at KPMB before establishing her multidisciplinary studio in Toronto.[3] Her early work for the Gladstone Hotel project in 2005 was the first to gain notice in the press. For the hotel she designed a room in her individual style alongside 15 other artists and designers responsible for their own spaces respectively.[5] In 2008, her firm received the Ontario Association of Architects Best Emerging Practice award.[6]

Dubbeldam's most awarded residential projects include the Through House, Contrast House, and Skygarden House. Additionally, she has designed larger award winning commercial buildings such as the headquarters for Azure and Slack.[3] Sustainability has remained a consistent focus throughout her projects/career and her firm actively engages in ongoing research focused on sustainable building practices.[6] This focus on sustainability played a role in her 2016 Prix de Rome win. With the $50,000 prize, she furthered her research on energy-efficient housing in Germany and Scandinavia, contributing to the advancement of passivhaus, net-zero energy homes, and regenerative design.[7] This recognition as one of “Canada's oldest and most prestigious architectural prizes” provided support for Dubbeldam's work, bringing importance to sustainability discourse and fostering progress within the profession.[8][9]

Recently, Dubbeldam's firm has earned over 60 awards that acknowledge their pursuit of sustainable design.[3]

Notable projects

Skygarden (Toronto, 2015)

One of Dubbeldam's most awarded projects is Skygarden, completed in Toronto in 2015. This architectural work integrates sustainable features while maintaining a clean aesthetic.[10] The project garnered praise for Dubbeldam's intentional design approach, which blended sustainability with contemporary style, a rare occurrence during a time when eco-friendly products often compromised visual appeal.[11]

Project awards

Through House (Toronto)

The Through House is an architectural work by Dubbeldam Architecture + Design to renovate a 128 year old house in a crowded downtown neighbourhood.[12] Renovation projects like this attempt to retrofit and adapt older buildings to meet modern Eco-friendly standards, as a strategy is greatly reduces the carbon footprint of a project as compared to the development of a new building.[13] The projects design language focuses on the repeated use of materials on the exterior and interior of the home, maintaining the intention of the design as blending these experiences together.[14]

Project Awards
  • Canadian Green Building Award
  • Ontario Association of Architects Award - Design Excellence
  • Ontario Association of Architects Award - People's Choice
  • Azure Az Award - Award of Merit
  • Azure Az Award - People's Choice
  • Ceramics of Italy Competition - Honorable Mention
  • Re-Thinking the Future Awards - Residential Interior
  • CID Awards - Winner Residential Tile Design

Azure Office (Toronto)

Originally an early 20th century transformer factory, Dubbeldam Architecture + Design reworked the building into the new Azure head office. At 5,600 square feet over two levels the office is of a relatively modest scale, hosting a open plan office for 26 workstations alongside meeting rooms and offices.[15] The renovation of the factory building into the Azure headquarters earned the firm the Architecture Masterprize for Office Design.[16] The award committee describes the project as follows:

Throughout, the factory’s original industrial quality has been preserved and accentuated with bold colours and furniture, instilling an authenticity to the space while imbuing it with a creative and vibrant energy. Boasting double height windows, a split-level mezzanine layout, and an abundance of natural light, it is an ideal setting for the creative enterprise it now houses.[16]

References
  1. RAIC (July 20, 2016). "Dubbeldam Architecture + Design awarded prestigious Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture for research in sustainable housing" (PDF). The Next Green Innovation in Sustainable Design. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  2. "Studio". Dubbeldam Inc. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  3. Jen, Leslie (2021). Canadian Architecture: Evolving a Cultural Identity. Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing. pp. 76–81.
  4. "Heather Dubbeldam". BEAT. 2019-10-08. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  5. MacKeen, Erin (Fall 2005). "Making Room at the Gladstone Hotel" (PDF). 401 Richmond: 1.
  6. Sheppard, Lola (2009). Twenty + Change: Emerging Canadian Design Practices 02. Riverside Architectural Press.
  7. officebureau (2016-07-21). "Dubbeldam Architecture + Design Awarded the Prix de Rome". Azure Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  8. Moore, Shannon (2016-07-20). "Canada Council for the Arts announces architecture prize winners". Canadian Architect. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  9. "How designer Heather Dubbeldam plans to change Canada's conversation about sustainable housing". The Globe and Mail. 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  10. "An Eco-Friendly Home Doesn't Have to Look Like a Spaceship". Architectural Digest. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  11. "StackPath". www.oaa.on.ca. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  12. Future, Rethinking The (2016-02-17). "Through House | Dubbeldam Architecture + Design". RTF | Rethinking The Future. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  13. Peters, Terri (September 2016). "Architectural Interventions For Social Sustainability: The Renovation Of Modern Housing". Conference: Sustainable Built Environment: 1–6 – via ResearchGate.
  14. "Through House / Dubbeldam Architecture + Design". ArchDaily. 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  15. "Azure Office | Dubbeldam Architecture + Design". ArchiDiaries. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  16. "Azure Office". architectureprize.com. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
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