November All Staff Retreat

On November 3-4, Berry Architecture held a retreat which gathered all our staff at our Red Deer location. The first day was made up of team-building activities and exercises to get us out of our comfort zones. We also had photographer Dwight Arthur of Photek Commercial Photography here taking some new marketing photos of our expanded and changing team! Afterwards, we had a Christmas party dinner at 53 on Ross restaurant. On Tuesday, we headed out to the Reynolds Museum in Wetaskiwin for more team activities in the museum, plus presentations which we had all worked on in small groups over the past few weeks. We were also able to get a new photo of the entire team (although it will be quickly outdated again as we gain more team members). It was a great couple of days as we were able to get to know each other better—both newbies and old-timers from the Alberta and BC locations.

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New Project: Flex Academy, Kelowna

We are currently working on a new two-storey educational building which will be connected to the existing Flex Academy K-12 school through a foyer link. The new building is comprised of classrooms, learning commons, village square, cafeteria, supporting offices, multi-purpose room, IT room, audio-visual room, washrooms, and ancillary/utility rooms. The primary purpose of the project is to define the school’s new role as a hub for hybrid education, delivering flexible, tech-enabled learning environments that facilitate diverse learning pathways and professional development. The design supports daily operations, occupant well-being, and the evolving needs of the users, ensuring that the facility functions as an adaptable and efficient environment for both students and staff. Anticipated completion date is May of 2028.

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Welcome Three New Team Members!

The Red Deer office gained three more staff members in October—Avery Grainger, Marie Caillier, and Saeed Adbollahi. Avery is our new Marketing Coordinator and will be in charge of marketing campaigns, event planning, client relationships, social media, and proposal assistance. She will be reaching out to many of our clients to introduce them to the exciting new directions underway at BAA. We are also pumped to have Intern Architect, Marie Caillier, joining us in Red Deer. Marie will be using her extensive building envelope and project management skills to enhance and support our design and production team. Saeed is another vital new addition—he is an Architectural Designer and Fine Artist (photography) who will bring a strong design-focused approach to all his work. We are excited to get to know all three team members better in the coming months. Welcome to the team!

Here are some things we’ve been up to:

A Passive House event, Passive House Pulse, was held in Kelowna on October 16th. Carlos and Suman attended on behalf of Berry Architecture. Carlos is a Certified Passive House Designer and Suman is experienced with Net Zero and BC Step Code 4 design. The event was a presentation showcasing recent case studies.

On October 21-22, Kirsten, Alvin, and Jherlyn attended the Bildex Alberta Conference in Calgary. This conference is a gathering of people in the building industry who are seeking to innovate design concepts, develop better buildings, and provide sustainable growth. Discussions revolved around sustainable and resilient building for the future, efficiency in design and energy, innovative technology in the industry, adaptability, and accessibility.

On November 15th, BAA was a Platinum Sponsor for the 34th Annual Innkeeper’s Gala held at the Eldorado Hotel in Kelowna. This event is in aid of the Kelowna General Hospital Foundation and Okanagan College. We believe in giving back to our communities and were pleased to benefit these two cornerstones of Kelowna. George and Laura, Carlos and Ileana, Suman and Chandrani, and Maryam and Edward all attended.

Berry Architecture was selected as a Central Alberta 2026 Consumer Choice Award Recipient in the category of Architecture Firm. Sarah and Avery attended the luncheon event in Red Deer to accept the award on November 18th. Thank you to the consumers and businesses who chose us for this award!

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Did you know?

A skyscraper in Central London was so reflective that its glare melted parts of cars parked on the street below?

20 Fenchurch Street, nicknamed the “Walkie Talkie” building or “Fry Scraper”, is one of a group of so-called “Death Ray” buildings. During the building's construction, it was discovered that for a period of up to two hours each day if the sun shines directly onto the building, it acts as a concave mirror and focuses light onto the streets to the south. Spot temperature readings at street-level of up to 117°C (243°F) were observed during the summer of 2013. The reflection of beams of light up to six times brighter than direct sunlight was shining onto the streets below, damaging parked vehicles, melting bike seats, and frying an egg. The problem has since been corrected with the installation of protective screening.

Source: Wikipedia