As 2014 comes to a close, we would like to thank the people we have had the privilege of working with over the last year:

• the supportive, energetic ownership team of Bad Tattoo Brewery for ‘giving back to the street’ and for the terrific pizza;
• the project team for the Okanagan Nation Alliance Sockeye Fish Hatchery for creating a facility that will make a positive environmental contribution for decades to come;
• to Evan Phillips Contracting for building a bit of magic while rehabilitating an historic home;
• to the team at John David Contracting for creating a very well-built house on a difficult ‘billy goat’ site during a seemingly unending heat wave;
• and to the our clients on Pineview who have given us the opportunity to create beautiful spaces in extraordinary landscapes.

Having had a few days away from the insistence of the computer and the cell phone, the words of the Japanese architect Tadeo Ando (who, by my recollection, is the only architect to be awarded all four major architectural prizes), seem more important than ever:

‘Since the genesis of architecture, its fate has been that it cannot be constituted by functionality alone […] In our contemporary culture, where all of us are subjected to intense exterior stimulation, especially by the electronic environment, the role of architecture as a spiritual shelter is crucial.’

We wish all of our clients, contractors, suppliers and consultants the very best for 2015.