Team

“Any building will shelter one from the elements, but only a work of architecture will shelter the soul.”

A lifelong architect and educator, Paul has always been passionately dedicated to the design of the built environment. From his early years attending school and practicing architecture in New York City to working on design projects around the globe, Paul has built a career rich with experience. Now, he finds joy developing his practice in Ottawa, Canada, and serving clients across North America.

Through his teaching roles at a wide range of professional architecture schools in the US and abroad, Paul repeatedly encountered praise for Carleton’s school of architecture, and sought out and won a faculty position. Paul is now a full Professor with tenure at Carleton’s Azrieli School of Architecture and Urbanism in Ottawa.

Every day at the firm, Paul works to ensure that design excellence never takes a back seat to project management and logistics. Revisiting the finer details, iteration after iteration, leads to final products that go far beyond good or satisfactory. Instead, they become extraordinary, singular works.

The creation of soulful architecture requires a sincere bond between all the collaborators, and it helps that Paul is an exceptional listener. Starting from scratch with each client they work with, Paul and his team are in constant pursuit of the perfect marriage between the people they work with and the spaces they live in. Paul’s clients understand this, and he is proud that every client for whom he has completed work over the last twenty years has become a good friend.

Always generous in sharing his knowledge, Paul can be found volunteering his expertise at public meetings on topics of progressive urban renewal and sustainability, and occasionally appearing on CBC Radio as a guest commentator.

Operating a busy practice alongside his role at the university doesn’t yield much free time, but thinking about how to create delightful architecture alongside his clients and the students he mentors is always what he wants to be doing. That said, he won’t say no to a long hike in the woods with his dog, Jethro, or flopping on a couch with a great book.

—

Master of Architecture, Columbia University
Member, American Institute of Architects
Member, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
Member, Ontario Association of Architects
Professionally-licensed in New York, Virginia and Ontario

“We spend our lives experiencing architecture that shapes cities and speaks to our cultural values.”

Having worked with Paul since 2001, Chris relishes every opportunity to influence the urban landscape and see his designs become a reality.

As a member of the Kariouk Architects team, Chris is involved in every step of every project and is in constant collaboration with his colleagues and clients on the design. Aside from design, what Chris loves best is figuring out how to take the design to reality through incredibly careful detailing, and planning how to build the project in the most cost efficient way possible. Solving the technical challenges to be found along the way makes the journey all the more enjoyable.

“It’s always amazing to look at the rendering of our design compared to the built reality and see very little difference,” he says.

In detailing, he finds joy in bringing dissimilar materials together in a clean, considered way without the use of crutches like trim, whose only purpose is to conceal the lack of thought and effort required to join the dissimilar materials. Detailing also requires finding solutions to a myriad of technical, building code, building envelope, cost, aesthetic, and other challenges as well, which the finished product embodies.

Ultimately, Chris agrees with author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s statement, “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

—

Master of Architecture, Carleton University
Professional licensure Ontario
Member, Ontario Association of Architects

“Architecture is meant to improve our quality of life, frame the world around us and stimulate our senses in unexpected ways.”

Art is a wholehearted devotion for Adam. He communicates best with a pen in his hand, sketching ideas as quickly as he speaks — often faster. (He is humble about this gift, but Paul is always pointing out how Adam can draw like a wizard.) He also utilizes technology in much the same fashion and has an uncanny ability to produce spatial images that exactly capture the essence of a verbal discussion, creating something tangible from just an idea.

Adam thrives on being an instrumental part of Kariouk Architects and is passionate not only about the work that the team produces, but all the individuals to whom he dedicates his architectural gifts.

When Adam isn’t deep in technical drawings or on site visits, you’ll find him tapping into his creativity as the designated candid photographer for his friends and family or cuddling with his two beloved cats at home.

—

Master of Architecture, Carleton University
Professional Internship, Ontario
Member, Ontario Associates of Architects

“The only way to be indispensable is to be different.” – Seth Godin

Jennifer helps Kariouk Architects articulate their work’s unique power to improve lives. She is inspired by the studio’s innovative problem solving approach that transforms constraints into strikingly human-friendly spaces. There are many ways that buildings can overcome the barriers to quality of life that conventional buildings reinforce, and she is honoured to promote them.

To the trained eye, architecture can speak without words. But for most people — even highly educated and thoughtful ones — it helps to verbalise how a design can meet practical requirements and communicate using space and materiality. Part of Jennifer’s role is to use her writing skills to overcome this gap.

Over the last 20 years, Jennifer has contributed to the success of dozens of brands, and has a special passion for small innovative companies, startups, and nonprofits. For her, marketing lies at the intersection of several fascinating worlds: business, art, and the social sciences (because you’re researching your customers and measuring outcomes, right?). It’s a combination that, like architecture, can manifest ideas that change how we understand ourselves and open up new possibilities.

—

MiniMBA in Brand Management
MiniMBA in Marketing
Master’s Certificate in Project Management
B.A. (Hon.), English, Carleton University

“There is a pleasure in the victory and wonder of being simple.” – Lina Bo Bardi

John moved from his home country of Brazil in 2018 to pursue his architectural studies in Canada, where he completed an undergraduate degree at Carleton University. Although he is the youngest member of the office, he plays an instrumental role in every office project, whether developing digital and physical models, construction detailing, site research, or communicating with clients and contractors. We often choose John to present the work of the office in important settings such as the Venice Biennale. Alongside his continuing role at Kariouk Architects, he is completing his Master’s degree in architecture at the University of Toronto.

—

Master of Architecture Candidate, University of Toronto
Student Associate, Ontario Association of Architects
Bachelor of Architectural Studies in Urbanism, Carleton University