New Project - Fernie Elementary School

Berry Architecture has just started work on a new elementary school! We are so pleased to be working with School District No. 5 (Southeast Kootenay) on this new school in Fernie, BC. It is planned to have an opening population of approximately 265 students and will be located on a beautiful site in southeast Fernie. As part of the project start-up, we hosted a design charrette in Fernie with the SD No. 5 team and some of our project team—Isaac, Angela, and Noemie—on December 4th. A design charrette is a collaborative, hands-on workshop in which participants explore and share a broad diversity of design ideas for a new project. One of the tools we use is scaled blocks of key areas to assist the design committee with area relationships. A charrette is a great way for Berry Architecture to gain a clear understanding of the wants, needs, and priorities of the stakeholders at the heart of the new design.

Welcome New Team Member!

We are excited to announce another new addition to our team. Danielle Eaton joined us on December 2nd in the role of Client Relationship Manager. She comes to us with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. Her diverse background spans two decades of government, community development, and public relations experience. In her role, Danielle will be focused on creating opportunities that deliver added value to our clients throughout British Columbia, Alberta, and the Yukon. With a proven history of leading transformative initiatives and community-focused infrastructure development, she is well-positioned to support the success and sustainability of our clients’ projects. Welcome aboard, Danielle!

New Project - Comox Multi-family Housing

Berry Architecture is working on Phase 1 of a new multi-family housing project in Comox, BC. The four-storey buildings are surrounded by a greenway corridor to the south and west, single-family residences to the north, and Aspen Road to the east of the site. Phase 1 consists of 200 units, made up of 64 bachelor suites, 48 one-bedroom, and 88 two-bedroom units (of which 24 are adaptable units). There is underground parking under each building. Amenity spaces include a community building, community garden, and dog run. All buildings will meet BC Energy Code Step 4 requirements and obtain Net Zero standards. We are so pleased to be working with Highstreet Ventures on the project and to be providing much-needed housing for this community. We are currently working to submit Building Permit in January, 2025.

Here are some things we've been up to:

On November 21st, we had a Christmas party with the Kelowna team at the Mt. Boucherie Winery in West Kelowna. It was a fun night and a great opportunity to get to know our new team members in the Kelowna office.

The Red Deer team had their Christmas party on November 23rd at Hash Eatery in Red Deer, with the Cranbrook team joining us there. It was a great night—we enjoy getting to see everyone’s significant others as well as the team.

On November 30th, Berry Architecture attended the Festival of Wines at the Westerner in Red Deer. This is a fundraiser for the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation, and we purchased ten tickets to support this important cause. Our own Ray Rogers was the chairperson of the event this year and has been a hard-working volunteer for the Festival of Wines and Festival of Trees for many years.

This year, Berry Architecture staff will be supporting the Red Deer Food Bank, Cranbrook Food Bank, and Lake Country Food Bank with our Christmas/Holiday Season donations. The need is particularly great this year, and we are committed to supporting our local communities.

Did you know?

You can make your Christmas more environmentally friendly in lots of simple ways.

Try wrapping gifts in leftover craft paper, newspaper, cloth bags, wallpaper samples, etc. Give experiences instead of material items—tickets to a concert or event, children’s activities, museums/heritage sites, or vouchers for a massage, spa day, outdoor adventure, night out with babysitting—whatever your family members like. Homemade gifts such as baking/goodies, crafted items, and the like are also environmentally friendly. Consider making a donation to a family member’s favourite charity if you have people on your list who have everything they need.