From French-fry sketches to modular futures, Synthesis Design’s Curtis Krahn unpacks 30 years of home design—complex sites, Revit, resilience, and sourcing—plus how building science, extremes, and teamwork shape tomorrow’s homes.
Listen to “Ep 77: Evolution of Home Design” on Spreaker.
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Production: Rami Films
About the Speaker
CURTIS D. KRAHN B.E.S., M. ARCHITECTURE FOUNDER / PRINCIPAL, Synthesis Design
As the founding principal of Synthesis Design, Curt’s role has evolved over the years from designer to visionary and mentor.
In the early years Curt was building the design team that would continue to move Synthesis Design forward by not only design relevant homes, but by remaining influential.
A driving force for the studio has always been the quest for a “better way to build” through prefabrication and factory-built solutions.
For the past 10 years his focus has been creating and developing innovative housing typologies to help house more people, more affordably, all while remaining in the communities they have grown up in.
With the team firmly in place, each designer and staff member work together, always seeking to “combining elements to create a unified whole”: A SYNTHESIS.
As founder, Curt’s role is to look to the future, continuing the quest to mentor his team of creative designers and staff to take Synthesis Design to heights far beyond even his vision.
Listen and like for your chance to win a gas BBQ compliments of our Podcast Partner FortisBC.
Here's the Full Transcript of this Episode
Episode 75: Skilled to Build-The Education Equation
Ep 77 Evolution of Home Design
0:00:03
(Mike)
Hey everybody, welcome back to Measure Twice, Cut Once. My name is Mike, and I’m the guy who knows almost enough to be dangerous.
0:00:09
(Jennifer-Lee)
And I’m Jennifer Lee, and I’m here to keep Mike from picking up some tools, literally.
0:00:14
(Mike)
Here at Measure Twice, Cut Once, we’re talking high performance building, designer trends, breaking down housing regulations, high performance building solutions, everything and anything to do with the homes we live in.
0:00:26
(Jennifer-Lee)
Today’s guest is Curtis Krahn of Synthesis Design. Curtis has been working in the design industry for over 30 years. So, I can’t wait to dig in and get his perspective on all things design. So, let’s get to it. Join us for Measure Twice, Cut Once.
0:00:42
(Mike)
Got once, because twice is just too much work. Really excited to welcome you to the show, Curtis. We’ve known each other for several years now and absolutely love the type of work that you do. We’re going to learn a bunch more about what makes your company and you very, very special today. And I thought maybe we could start for those of you who haven’t had the privilege to get to know you, could you tell me a little about yourself? How did you get into this industry?
0:01:06
(Mike)
And you’ve been doing this for what, 30 years now?
0:01:08
(Curtis)
Yeah, thanks, Mike. I’m excited to be here. It has been over 30 years, which just also coincidentally is exactly half of my life. But I am the principal of a little boutique firm that I like to call Synthesis Design. We’re a residential design firm on the North Shore. We’ve done work really all over the world, but we are a local firm and primarily on the North Shore.
0:01:28
(Curtis)
So, 30 years I’ve been doing that. That’s not where it started, though. Can I tell you where it all started? Where it happened?
0:01:32
(Mike)
Yeah, do it.
0:01:33
(Curtis)
So, I was a kid, probably eight years old. My dad worked for A &W head office. So, every Sunday afternoon, he would dutifully take us to A &W for Teen burger, French fries and frosty root beer.
0:01:45
(Jennifer-Lee)
Oh, you’re making me hungry.
0:01:46
(Curtis)
I know me too. Much to my mom’s chagrin, though, I was much more occupied with playing and building with my French fries than actually eating them. And when you think of it, a French fry is actually it’s the perfect building block. A shoestring, in particular, if you cut it. The section is a perfect square so it’s very stackable. They come in different lengths so you can build different floor systems and wall systems and some of them are actually a little bit curved too so you can get curved walls, and you can actually get some modern roof form.
0:02:13
(Curtis)
So ever since I was a kid, eight years old, I was preoccupied with how things go together and designing things, how to build things. So, while my mom said I shouldn’t play with my food, it was a lot of fun. And really, that was probably the start for me to really think about what I wanted to do. Now, unfortunately, I’m much more preoccupied with eating the fries than playing with them. But that was the start. So, from there, I had my interest in architecture and design, and it just took off from there.
0:02:41
(Jennifer-Lee)
I never thought about French fries being compared to building materials, but it makes so much sense.
0:02:46
(Curtis)
Jennifer, next time you go, and you have those fries, think about that. See, you know, let your imagination run away and see what you can build.
0:02:52
(Mike)
But that explains why in your office you have two deep fryers.
0:02:55
(Curtis)
We do, yes.
0:02:56
(Jennifer-Lee)
Do you really?
0:02:56
(Curtis)
Yes. We just got our third though. Not as many smokers as you, but we’d have to.
0:03:01
(Jennifer-Lee)
Why weren’t you deep frying anything at the party I was at?
0:03:04
(Mike)
Because we smoked meat.
0:03:05
(Curtis)
There was too much smoked meat.
0:03:07
(Jennifer-Lee)
But you do have to, I have to say your office is really neat. It has a beautiful view of Vancouver and the best rooftop.
0:03:14
(Speaker 9)
Yeah.
0:03:15
(Mike)
So, the reason I wanted to first start to connect with you and get to know you is because we worked on a project together with our friends at Twin Lions. And that was that really complex project on the North Shore. And the thing that really impressed me was that when you’re like, it’s one thing to design a home. a brand-new home on flat ground. It’s another to renovate a home almost down to the studs, to the ground, in such a complex environment. And I think that was one of the reasons I liked you in the first place is because you would take on those complex tasks.
0:03:44
(Mike)
How did you build up to doing those really complex projects? Because you don’t just start going, well, let’s do the impossible. What led to you being able to do all those things? Is it the team of people or was it the process? How did you figure this out?
0:03:55
(Curtis)
It’s a combination of a whole bunch of things. We need to feel inspired all the time. My guys and my girls need to feel inspired to do creative things. It was geography. We were on the North Shore. I grew up on the North Shore.
0:04:08
(Curtis)
We started our business on the North Shore. It’s a complicated spot. I mean, there are creeks, there are rivers, there’s waterfront, there’s slopes. So, very early on, we’re very fortunate to design projects on steep slope sites, waterfront sites, you know, spanning rivers. So, for us, it was a bit of a baptism of fire. We needed to learn how to deal with those complex sites.
0:04:29
(Curtis)
So ever since then, we’ve, we specialize in it, we love it. You know, it gets us really excited to work on a project where you have such a great setting. You know, for us, often we’ll look at a project, if it’s a renovation or addition, even if it’s a new house, we often have very, very dramatic, beautiful sites, and we want to make sure we don’t screw it up. You know, when you’re given something, such a great opportunity to build on, you know, difficult, but very dramatic and beautiful sites, you want to make sure that you, first of all, understand the site. And that has to also coincide with the client’s needs and wants. Bylaws, you know, start to finish.
0:05:04
(Curtis)
So that’s how it started being on the North Shore. And we now have a reputation for doing complicated sites. The more complicated the better. And my guys are so smart. I mean, the bylaws are tough and they’re complicated. Highest building faces, datum determination points, how you calculate things on a slope.
0:05:19
(Curtis)
Bylaws typically aren’t designed or written for complicated sites. So just the process of getting started and doing the shaping and citing really sets the client off and sets us off with a roadmap to decide what has to happen down the road.
0:05:34
(Jennifer-Lee)
Well, it’s even more important now because, you know, we just had that big flood. And so that’s things that you have to put into consideration when you’re building in the North Shore. So how do you work with a client without being like, okay, these are things we got to think about now in the future when we put your house up?
0:05:49
(Curtis)
Yeah, consultants, Jennifer, you know, years ago, when we started 30 years ago, we were generalists. We did everything. You know, we had structural engineers working with us. But other than that, we pretty much took care of everything else. Now, with building science being so sophisticated, bylaws being sophisticated, like you said on a complicated project, it’s very common for us to work with 10 different consultants, geotechnical engineers, structural engineers, energy advisors, mechanical. So, all of that really has helped us because now we actually have people that know what they’re doing, taking care of those types of things.
0:06:23
(Curtis)
So, it’s a whole team of people. And often very early on, we’re dealing with the geotech and with the structural for exactly those reasons. We want to get to the design. I mean, the design is the fun stuff for us, but since we’re the primary consultant, we have to coordinate and broker all of those things. So, it makes it easier for us on one hand, because we’re not having to worry about that, but now we’re coordinating everything. This weekend with that atmospheric river, I got up on Saturday and they were talking about an atmospheric river and I’m looking outside going, it’s just a storm, it’s a rainstorm, but it was unbelievable.
0:06:54
(Curtis)
And me and a lot of my staff were texting and phoning all week, and we have projects all over the North Shore. Some on panorama on very, very steep slope sites. And panorama in particular, there were four houses that were evacuated where the water was just coming right into the house. We were three doors down. You know, we were three doors down. Luckily, our sites were fine, but yeah, we were very concerned, you know, but luckily everything is still standing and everything and nothing got affected.
0:07:19
(Curtis)
And that is because we have the right people, the right team in place.
0:07:23
(Mike)
Well, one thing we’ve learned over, what, nine seasons now is that successful projects are never an accident. Unsuccessful projects are usually the results of an accident. And the other thing we’ve learned is that, you know, when I first joined this industry and came into this industry, I thought it was like, okay, you guys sit with a whiteboard, come up with a bunch of great ideas. Obviously, that’s not the case. And one of the things that hallmarks of success for any design firm is the process by which they do it, right?
0:07:49
(Mike)
Nothing is an accident. So can you talk a little about the process that you’ve created in order to, number one, create these beautiful spaces, but two, and this is most important, to scale some of the challenges that you just illustrated, working in complex environments, trying to make the impossible happen for people.
0:08:05
(Curtis)
Okay, so we are purely a design firm, but we are involved in the construction industry every day, obviously. Obviously, everything we design, or most things we design, get built. So, we have to have, and we do have great relationships with contractors and builders on the North Shore and the lower mainland. A lot of them are Haven members. Because the whole process of getting a client, them finding the right team is absolutely critical. You need a good builder, they need a good designer, interior designer, and then all of that revolves around the client.
0:08:37
(Curtis)
But then there’s a whole bunch of other things to consider, the bylaws. You know, the site, if it’s a renovation addition, there are certain things we need to take care of and understand and assess before we can move forward. If it’s a custom home, it’s a little bit different, but now we’re analyzing the site, making sure again that the science and the art both meet. from their budgets. People are very consumed by budgets. Things are expensive.
0:09:00
(Curtis)
So, we also need to make sure that the wishlist works with the budget. And if it doesn’t, how we can actually massage all those. So, we’ll go through the design process. The builder, the contractor, is involved early with pricing. Like to get everybody signed up quickly. Once that’s done, we go through the permitting process.
0:09:18
(Curtis)
Contractor gets more involved. We always tell the clients we’re the most important consultant they have. up until the first day in construction. After that, the contractor has to take that number one spot. We take a bit of a background spot, but we never go away. So, we’re all working together from start to finish.
0:09:34
(Jennifer-Lee)
Yeah. And you kind of just mentioned all the different things that you do in there, but things have probably changed since you started the company. 30 years ago. And a big thing is like hand drafting to 3D modeling.
0:09:45
(Curtis)
How has that changed to help you actually create a beautiful designs a little bit easier? You know, that’s such a great question. And I think to myself, 30 years in business, sometimes it feels like 30 years. Sometimes it feels like, you know, a year or two. And for me to start the company today, the way I did 30 years ago, I wouldn’t last a week. There’s just no way.
0:10:06
(Curtis)
But it’s funny how, you know, the process has changed quite dramatically, but the result is the same. So back in the day, yeah, you’re too young to understand this, but Mike, you’ll, you’ll know this. We had drafting boards, and we had the, these, these big boards that had these foot pedals and all these adjustments. And we had these things called parallel rules, which helped us draw straight lines that went up and down and triangles. So, we did everything by hand and everything in 2D. So, our clients were different back then as well.
0:10:32
(Curtis)
We were trying to sell designs based on. Elevations, which are really quite abstract. They’re just this two -dimensional version of what a three -dimensional building is. Floor plans, which are very abstract. So, it was harder for us to sell the design, but I think people trusted us a little bit more back then. We were sort of like doctors back in the day, 30 years ago, where people trust the doctors all the time, and now everybody’s an internet doctor.
0:10:55
(Curtis)
So, as it advanced, we started using the draft, I think was our first computer program where it allowed us to draw squares and maybe a circle, but it limited how we designed because there were the limitations of the software. Well, come full circle now. I mean, now we’re everybody’s using AutoCAD, so it’s a very sophisticated program. We use Revit. So, Revit is a 3D modeling tool. Not only do we design in Revit, but we also present in Revit.
0:11:20
(Curtis)
You know, back in the day, we would explain things. This is how I think the space is going to look. Now we don’t have to do any of that, which is actually great because now people can I mean, we’re virtually building their buildings before they’re getting built and they can see any angle. We give them the 3D model. So, they can take it home, they can go through the space.
0:11:37
(Jennifer-Lee)
It’s like a video game. So now it’s really, really simple for them to understand. Yeah. And that probably really helps with the budget conversation, because like you were saying, budget is hard, especially this last year has been very tough for many people.
And so, when people can actually see why you’re doing what you do, you’re not just like spending money for the sake of money.
0:11:56
(Curtis)
It’s probably an easier conversation. It is. And again, once they see exactly what it is, it’s easier for them to like or not like, and for us to make the modifications. And then, now again, getting back to all the consultants we work with, we love working with Revit and working with consultants that also use Revit, because we do what’s called clash models. So we’ll give our model to the contractor, he’ll put that plug that into his system, and they’ll get quantity takeoffs for the amount of screws and nails and two by fours, give that to the structural engineer, he can do the structural within our model to make see if, you know, see if a beam sticking out of the roof or see if something’s not working.
0:12:30
(Mike)
Mechanical, we’re not quite there yet, but for the mechanical contractors to be able to build all their systems in there. It is an absolute game changer because everything is getting figured out before we get to the site. So interesting. You’re talking about some of the changes in your methodology, right? So, before computers, you would draw it and then you would fax it to me. There’s something else that’s changed as well.
0:12:55
(Mike)
30 years ago, when you first started out, I didn’t have access to YouTube to see how to do a lot of this stuff. And more importantly, some of the folks on the television have created maybe unrealistic expectations about the entire construction process.
0:13:11
(Curtis)
How has that specifically changed your ability to do what you do?
0:13:18
(Mike)
Like, has it been an impact? You mean the HDTV and then some of the… We didn’t want to call anyone out by name. But yeah, the reality is, is that, you know, as you talked about, like everybody’s an expert. right? So, if you’re a doctor, someone’s come and done their own research.
0:13:33
(Mike)
If you’re a builder, someone’s done their own research.
0:13:35
(Curtis)
And as a designer, someone’s got their own ideas as well based on what they’ve seen in Pinterest. How do you scale that by going, whoa, whoa, whoa, that’s wrong. This is what the right path forward is. Yeah, we’re part psychologists and we have to try to understand what people want and it’s good and bad. The fact that everybody has so much access to unlimited information. Sometimes it’s bad because clients will go down a rabbit hole and they’ll go down a path that maybe doesn’t make the most sense and we’ll have to try to talk them out of it or try to explain why that may not be the right thing to do.
0:14:08
(Curtis)
Having said that, they come to us pretty sophisticated. We get clients coming to us, here’s my 3D model. They’re building their own models and they’re understanding a lot more what they want. Again, it comes down to being aligned with the client and really trying to understand what the client’s bringing to the table. And if they’re bringing something to the table that we feel helps them and nurtures them, great, it’s easier. If it’s not, then it just means a little bit more time on our end to explain and go through the process.
0:14:35
(Curtis)
But overall, it’s great that we have access to so much information. We’re learning a lot. You know, it’s a very inclusive industry now. So, we learn from, we like to put, you know, if we’ve designed a cool detail, or a cool building, of course, it goes on social media.
0:14:48
(Jennifer-Lee)
So, we love to do that. We love to see other people’s work as well. So, I think it really has helped the industry in general. Yeah, I think it’s great to have more knowledge, because then people understand when sitting down to talk to you. Because I come from a home building family. And sometimes it’s like, you’re talking to people, they’re like, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it’s easier to create the picture.
0:15:07
(Jennifer-Lee)
It’s kind of like, you know, a slippery slope though. It’s like WebMD.
0:15:11
(Curtis0)
You shouldn’t Google your diagnosis, or you shouldn’t Google maybe what you think it is.
0:15:17
(Mike)
It’s kind of one of those things. It’s like, use it as knowledge, but maybe not try to DIY your home on YouTube. Yes, exactly. Well, we live in a world where we are all experts in our own minds, but the reality is, is when you’re hiring an expert, when you’re paying for your 30 years of knowledge, sometimes it’s important to let the experts do their job.
0:15:40
(Jennifer-Lee)
And as you mentioned, the right expert will balance what they think they know with what you know, and somewhere in the middle is a path forward. Before we talk about that path forward and where the industry is going, though, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take just a couple of minutes to thank our amazing sponsors. So, we’ll be back in a couple of minutes and we’re going to continue this conversation about where the industry is headed and your vision for that time as well.
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0:16:19
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(Mike)
Welcome back. So, before our break, we did a little bit of a deep dive into your history, but also the history of design. Now we’re going to turn our heads the other way and we’re going to try to look forward, which is a lot harder to do because it’s as much a prediction as it is insight based on your knowledge.
0:17:55
(Mike)
And we’re going to look through the lens of building science, because that has come an immensely long way, even about the six years I’ve been in this industry. Thinking about the advancements in building science, thinking about all the things that you’re seeing right now, Two questions.
One, where do you see all of this going? Like think ahead another 30 years and what does that look like? And two, how do these things impact the role of design and even the process of how you create these designs?
0:18:36
(Curtis)
Yeah, it’s changed a lot. You’re absolutely right. I mean, you mentioned, Mike, in six years, it’s changed.
You know, you’ve seen the changes, and we’ve seen the changes over the years. So dramatically, I mean, again, back in the day, 30 years ago, we were designing houses and the wall system was a it was a two by four with a half inch plywood on the outside, some building paper, R12 insulation and six nothing was even three mile poly back in the day and half inch drywall. And that was it. Now. Our buildings are so complex, they’re so much more energy efficient, and they’re continuing to work in that direction. So, I mean, it’s more sustainable, it’s more environmental, so all of those things are great.
0:19:11
(Curtis)
It’s complicated, though. You know, a lot of people, a lot of consultants are involved. Construction costs has gone up, obviously, dramatically, partially due to that. But in the long term, everything is going to have a positive impact. What I’m really excited about in the future is really what I was hoping to do 30 years ago.
0:19:30
(Curtis)
I mean, I named the company Synthesis Design, and the definition of synthesis is the combining of elements to create a unified whole. I want to do a modular company. I want to do a modular design company. So, we were building things in factories, prefabricating, and 30 years later, we’re getting there, you know, 30 years later. So, what I’m really excited about in the future, we need to be building our houses much more the way we buy our cars. I mean, if you buy a car, you get to pick the color of the car, but you’re not picking the shape of the headlights or what the fender looks like.
0:20:04
(Curtis)
Somebody’s figured that out, but you’ve got choices and then you can choose which car you want to buy and pick the features. That’s one of the reasons that we designed ModCube, which is our pre-designed laneway, and that’s, you know, we figured that, you know, we’ve been doing this for long enough, we know exactly what people want. So, we designed these little mod cubes, which are not even that little, two bedroom, two level, two bathroom, a thousand square feet, created some certain models that could be built in a factory. much more ergonomically correct, less waste, less impact on the site. So, we started to do that. We’re still struggling.
0:20:42
(Curtis)
We’re still not quite there yet.
0:20:44
(Jennifer-Lee)
We just want to be able to build it in the factory, have a helicopter come, drop it down on the foundation, and be done with it, rather than take about a year, sometimes six months or a year, to be impacting on sites. Prefabrication, the building in the factory, this is really where I think the industry is going in the future.
0:21:01
(Speaker 8)
And I’m excited to see that propagate more.
0:21:06
(Speaker 7)
It’s kind of like the French fries going back there.
0:21:08
(Jennifer-Lee)
It’s fast food, but fast food. Well, there you go. Exactly. But built correctly. Another thing I want to know, because we’ve just had the atmospheric river, and obviously it’s no surprise that, you know, our winters are getting more rainy.
0:21:23
(Curtis)
Our summers are getting extremely hot. Do you think we could improve on anything in our design in the future? Like when it comes to this stuff, or do you feel like we’ve kind of got it already like in the bag? No, I think we always can. I mean, you talk about passive housing and again, you know, net zero energy efficient houses, where we put a window has some impact, you know, how thick the walls are again, again, the more we can save on energy with our homes. I think that’s a that’s a big, that’s a big energy draw.
0:21:54
(Curtis)
The more we can minimize that, I think the better off the environment is going to be. I mean, we’ve got a growing population. I mean, some of the trends for the amount of people on this planet over the next 20 years is really quite staggering. You know, we’ve got to figure that out. And that is obviously climate change has a huge impact on that.
0:22:10
(Jennifer-Lee)
We are we’re dealing with the extremes now. And, you know, the atmospheric river that, you know, we haven’t seen for a long time, we’ll probably see it again.
0:22:20
(Mike)
Yeah, we need to now over design, if you will, certain aspects to make sure that we’re accounting for those extremes which we hadn’t in the past.
0:22:29
(Curtis)
Yeah, because, you know, unfortunately, on the news, like you were saying, building on hills and stuff, there were some houses that were washed away. And it’s like going back to like, how do we create a sustainable house, but also have the proper foundation. So, when something like that happens, the house will stay put. Yeah, we we talk about being earthquake proof, right? No such thing. You know, if the big ones coming, you know, they’re all going to come down.
0:22:51
(Curtis)
But we do whatever we can, structural engineers do whatever they can to increase the seismic structure of the house. But, you know, to what extent? You know, we don’t know if the atmospheric river was, you know, 50 percent more water than what does that mean for the design? So again, it’s, you know, we really rely on our consultants, and they have very, very tough jobs to figure out how to build houses without having, you know, 14-inch-thick concrete walls.
0:23:18
(Mike)
Nobody wants that. So, I think it can definitely get better. I think technology will help them as well. Interesting. We’re talking about sustainability and climate change. I’m very curious.
0:23:31
(Mike)
The decisions we make in our day-to-day lives have an impact on our environment, whether we walk or whether we drive, whether we take transit or whether we come in by ourselves. But also, I would imagine the decisions we make as far as what components go into the homes we’re building also has an impact. Now we talk in the food world about the 100 -mile diet, and I’m curious your thoughts on this. Are we at a point where we can pretty much source everything from the home locally. Because here’s where I’m going with this. So, we’re working on a home recently where they had gone with these very high -end, high -performance windows to make the home more energy efficient, but they brought them in in a container from Europe.
0:24:15
(Curtis)
So, there’s obviously a cost of transportation. So how do we balance all of that with the desire to, A, support local businesses, which we should all be trying to do in all of our communities, and B, the impact of supporting that local business, bringing those windows from, say, Aldergrove versus Europe? How do we balance all of that moving forward? Yeah, you know, it’s a tough one. And of course, we want to build, and we want to design local as much as possible. I use the Sunshine Coast as an example.
0:24:43
(Curtis)
We do a lot of work up the Sunshine Coast and talk about the 50-mile house or the 100-mile house. And we’ve done many projects up there where the wood for the stairs is sourced, you know, 20 miles away. Contractor will cut the trees down; he’ll mill the wood. We have the contractors that are all local. We have the, you know, the soffit that’s also milled up there. So, the gravel is milled from there.
0:25:05
(Curtis)
So, the more we can do that, obviously the better. But then we get again into now the building science plays into it. Well, how can that guy locally put that window together and have a sealed unit and make sure that we’re a step code four? That has to happen somewhere else. A lot of the local window suppliers are getting their glazing or their units from Europe and then here and assembling. So at least some of them are being assembled here.
0:25:27
(Curtis)
But now that we’re getting more and more sophisticated, I think there’s still a tape. I’m not sure, but you know, working on a passive house, there’s a tape that we can only get in Germany. So, we’re now getting that tape to make sure that the building is sealed.
0:25:39
(Jennifer-Lee)
Maybe they’ve solved that problem, but I think they do need to solve those problems because the more we can do locally, the better. I don’t think I think it’s OK to be sourcing from from other countries. But again, if we can do it in a more sustainable way to get a better product, then I think that’s the that’s the tipping point of the happy medium. I think it’s about sourcing quality, too, because when it comes to like hard finishes, like sinks and things like that, I know right now there’s popular online sites where people purchase from because it’s cheaper, but then they get them in their homes. And, you know, a few months later, they’re like, oh, it’s cracking or it’s so it’s kind of that fine balance of like trying to find good quality stuff. that’s possibly local and putting it in so it lasts longer.
0:26:21
(Curtis)
Because I know, like I said, this year has been tough for so many people. So, it’s like, it’s easier to go get something that’s cheaper. But in the long run, if it’s cracking and stuff, it’s not going to work for you. Yeah, exactly. And again, that’s when you need a good team that can help you advise, should I buy this thing?
0:26:37
(Mike)
from another country that maybe isn’t CSA approved? Or is that when that sink does crack or there’s a fitting that we need and then you can’t source it, well now you’re throwing that out and we’re increasing the landfill. So again, it’s a very good point and that’s where you need to have a really good team in place to help guide you. This is an interesting conversation because it has meaning for all of us, but also specifically for you as well, because you used to design projects for around the world, and now you’re basically working in your backyard again as well.
0:27:11
(Curtis)
When you’re doing work in other countries, it’s obviously going to be different. Different building codes, different climates, is there anything you learn working in some of those other countries that in terms of process or materials or anything else where you’re taking some of that learning and incorporating into what we’re doing here? So essentially, you’re shaping our future here using information from outside of our sphere of influence. Yeah, it’s always fun to do projects in other places, other countries. I think one thing that makes you appreciate is what a great place we live in, for sure. But we were involved, we were very lucky to be involved in a big project in Russia.
0:27:47
(Curtis)
It was a 550-house subdivision, wood frame subdivision. They were looking for a North American style development. And for us being a local firm, and this was back in 2005, where, yeah, computers were doing pretty well back then, but really the communication back and forth wasn’t that easy. And we were working in a regime that was recently not that open with information. So, for us, what we learned on a project like that is we went back and forth to Moscow many times. We had to be there quite often to see the progress on the projects.
0:28:23
(Curtis)
And what we learned from that was how detailed we needed to be. But even local, even though we were halfway across the world, we needed to make sure that they had Russians, they needed local people that were framers. They’d never done this before. So, they brought Canadians in. The CMHC was involved in the project. Our client was amazing.
0:28:39
(Curtis)
And so, they were teaching the locals how to build there. There was one situation where we went there in December and I was in one of the show homes and they were, it was like a the backyard, there’s a bit of snow. And this one guy’s building trusses back there. I’m looking around going, what’s he doing? And he’s building trees, got a little drawing.
0:28:58
(Curtis)
And then he’s putting the little gusset plates on. And I asked the construction manager, what are the guys doing? Oh, they’re building trusses. Well, that’s not how a manufactured truss works. There has certain guidelines. You can’t just start nailing boards together.
0:29:10
(Curtis)
So those were systems that they were really trying to figure out. And honestly, when they were building, The homes, too, they were not that great. The framing was not that great. And the construction manager, who was Canadian, said, well, we’re going to teach them. We’re going to make sure that we teach them how to do it. Three months later, we went back.
0:29:28
(Curtis)
We were absolutely shocked at how well they were building houses. From what I gathered there was there was two two guys on the framing crew, and one guy had two hands on a four-foot level all day, and they were constantly making sure everything was perfect. So, they went from not understanding the system to knowing what they had to do, and then they were building houses that were equally as good if not better than ours so. What we’ve learned there is if you have a good plan in place, and if you have a good team locally, then you can make it happen. And now since COVID, one of the great things about COVID, you don’t hear that that often, but now municipalities are much more open to you know, getting drawings electronically. You know, we can send so much information back and forth so often so quickly that we can now be virtually on site.
0:30:17
(Curtis)
We’re doing a house in Carmel, California right now. There was, again, climate change. There was the fire that ripped through there about three or four years ago. Beautiful, beautiful valley in Carmel. And so, we’re designing and building a house there now. I don’t need to go there every couple of weeks.
0:30:31
(Curtis)
You know, there’s so much information electronically that allows us to be able to know what’s going on. So, It works a lot better now.
0:30:38
(Jennifer-Lee)
We can actually design it. We can work with all the consultants electronically, through phone calls, through video conferences. So, it really opens up and expands our ability to work in other places but still keeps the local market.
0:30:52
(Curtis)
You’ve had so much worldly experience. And was there any technology that you’ve seen around the world that you’re like, oh, I wish we’d come to Canada? Because sometimes we’re a little bit behind. Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, even, you know, the Scandinavians, I’ve never actually worked in Scandinavia, but we studied it quite a bit of art in architecture.
0:31:11
(Curtis)
And they always seem to be so much further ahead than we are. Some of the things that we learned in Russia and working in China, when we did the project in Russia, we not only did design the homes, but we did the interior design as well. And there was a We designed a 10-home street of dreams, they called it. So, Linda, my wife, was a partner in the firm. She headed up all the interior design and all the furniture, everything was designed and built in China. So, we would go to Shanghai, she’d sketch up a table and some chairs, and we’d come in the next day and there would be a mock-up there.
0:31:45
(Curtis)
So that’s not necessarily the technology, but we were just amazed at how quickly things could get done. Things seem to be so painfully slow here. It’s the P word here. So, for there, everything happened very, very quickly. Everyone was excited about what they were doing. And obviously, unfortunately, there were some issues with labor, as we know.
0:32:08
(Curtis)
The conditions weren’t always that great. But again, our client, our developer in Russia, was such that if we went into a place in Shanghai, that was a furniture building factory, but the conditions weren’t that great. There wasn’t great ventilation for the spray booth. We could actually tell the client, say, we’d love to work with this firm. They need better ventilation.
0:32:31
(Jennifer-Lee)
We need them to upgrade their factory. No problem. So, we were really fortunate that we could play a little bit of an impact to help some of these factories build. safer. So, I realize that’s not technological, but man, I was sure impressed how quickly things can get built if you’re very, very efficient.
0:32:48
(Curtis)
But you still learn things that you would love to see here. And that’s all kind of what I was getting at. It’s like we can learn from so many people around the world. Not one person has it all figured out.
0:32:58
(Mike)
And that’s why it’s neat to travel and then be like, oh, I wish this would happen here. Yeah, you’re absolutely right. Yeah, I mean, you’re right, different countries do things better than than others. And now again, with this, all this access to information, we can learn from from all of those. And we really try to whenever we work on a project. Well, I think working in other areas is valuable, because those of us who work in the industry here, It’s frustrating, right?
0:33:22
(Mike)
Things move slowly. It’s not cheap to do. But like you said, there’s tremendous oversight for things like seismic. We’ve incorporated flooding. We’ve incorporated the fact that the temperature of our planet is changing for whatever reason. And so, when you’ve had a chance to be outside of our little bubble, you recognize that it is not a bad place to be as far as living.
0:33:43
(Mike)
We know that. It’s a good place to do business. It’s not as fast as we want. But there are some reasons for that. And there’s some legislation on board to embed some of these plans electronically to make it faster as well. So, we are getting there.
0:33:58
(Mike)
And what I’ve really enjoyed about our conversation today is, well, it’s always great to see you, let’s be honest. But what I’ve loved is, for lack of a better term, I want to say a history lesson of the last 30 years of our industry and what you’ve seen change, but also very exciting. Based on your perspective, what you think our future is going to be like as well.
0:34:18
(Curtis)
And talking about the value of working locally, talking about some of the insights you’ve gotten around the world as well. And it’s very clear that, you know, the most thing we can hope for is 30 more years of success for you as well.
0:34:31
(Jennifer-Lee)
And just really appreciate this conversation. I really appreciate you coming in.
0:34:35
(Speaker 6)
I mean, we’ve, we’ve talked quite a bit, and we’ve never talked this deeply about your past and I’ve really enjoyed learning about you.
0:34:41
(Curtis)
French fries. It’s all about the French fries.
0:34:42
(Jennifer-Lee)
All about the French fries.
0:34:43
(Speaker 5)
And speaking of that, I want to be invited to another party at your office, but this time use the deep fryer.
0:34:49
(Mike)
You know what?
0:34:49
(Curtis)
We’re going to do that.
0:34:50
(Jennifer-Lee)
We’re going to build things out of French fries.
0:34:52
(Curtis)
Oh, there we go. We’ll have a contest. Does this mean, does this mean, we’re going to get sponsored in season 10. Oh, there we go. Before we go, I know you’ve told us so many great things, but can you give our audience one more little tip before you go? Yeah, I think you know, for all of your viewers that are contemplating building a new home or a renovation, Alignment, you know, we talk a lot about alignment.
0:35:20
(Curtis)
That’s something that we talk to our clients about, and your viewers should know that too. You want to make sure that you’re in line with the team. The team is so important. It’s 100 % important. So, we talk about the owner being in the middle, and then we have a triangle on the outside. We have the designer, we’ve got the contractor, and then we’ve got the interior designer.
0:35:37
(Curtis)
Those three form the cornerstone between the client and the whole process. So do a little bit of research. Don’t do too much. There’s way too much information out there but do a little bit of research and then call up Synthesis Design. Call up a design firm that you know or an interior designer or a contractor. Really can happen in both directions.
0:35:57
(Curtis)
And that used to be that people would call us first 90 % of the time, and then we’d refer a contractor. And then 10 % of the time would be a referral from a contractor. It’s probably 50 -50 now. And again, that works out really well because we have such great relationships. Find out who that is, do a little bit of an interview, and just make sure they’re listening. We talk a lot about listening to our clients.
0:36:20
(Curtis)
Part of our mission statement is for us to take our client’s vision, their vision, and bring it to reality.
0:36:26
(Jennifer-Lee)
So, for you to listen to the client, and then also hear what they have to say, they can be two separate things they shouldn’t be.
0:36:34
(Mike)
Once you get that one piece in place, then you can get recommendations from the designer to a contractor, contractor to an interior designer. It can really happen in any direction. If they do that and they feel comfortable with the team that they’re going to be working with, it should go very smoothly. Great advice. Absolutely. And you know, it’s been a great conversation and a lot of great insight.
0:36:57
(Mike)
But before we go, I have to do one more thing and has less to do with our conversation, more to do with our amazing viewers. One of them, one of you watching, is going to win something really cool. If you like and share this episode, tell your family, tell your friends. You have a chance to win a beautiful Napoleon Prestige P500 stainless steel natural gas barbecue.
0:37:23
(Jennifer-Lee)
You want it, don’t you? Valued at $1 ,600. Compliments of our awesome podcast partners, our friends at FortisBC. Details are available at www.havan.ca/measuretwicecutonce. And for notes and links to everything mentioned on today’s episode, including resources shared by Curtis, go to www.havan.ca/measure twice cut once. Thank you to Trail Appliances, FortisBC, BC Housing, Raimi Films, J -Pod Creations and AI Technology and Design. It takes a team to build a home. It also takes a team to build a podcast. Thank you so much for joining us and see you next time.
