Whitefish Architecture

Name: Whitefish Architecture
Address: 40 King St. S. Unit 301, Waterloo, Ontario, N2J 1N8, Canada
Telephone: (519) 897-2724
Rating: 4.9

14 Reviews

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About Us

Whitefish Architecture provides modern ecological building design and integrated environmental site design in South Western Ontario. Our office is based in Kitchener-Waterloo. We are driven to do better, to reduce our impact on the planet, and provide you with space that is efficient, intelligent, and inspiring. We specialize in houses, low to mid rise multi-unit residential, and small to medium scale commercial projects such as retail, restaurants, facades and offices. We enjoy working with historic structures, and bring new function, light and life as well as vastly improved efficiency to many older homes and buildings. We can design to Passivhaus standard, or provide you with a healthy, incredibly efficient, budget conscious design to whatever level you desire. Areas of additional expertise include permaculture design, working with natural and experimental materials, tiny homes, accessory dwellings in urban areas, and sacred spaces. Our clients want to create spaces which are modern, beautiful, functional, and economical, while reducing energy usage and improving work and life environments. We strive for candor and objectivity, using advanced design thinking to solve your problems. We don’t preach, we listen and collaborate to help your space realize its full potential. We also help you do more with less, and rather than chasing McMansions, we encourage efficiency throughout our design process even if it means smaller fees for smaller builds. You can hire us for anything from minimal to full architectural services. You might want an exploration of opportunities, in the form of a feasibility study or sketch studies of a potential project. We also provide full traditional architectural services, involving schematic design, detailed design and specifications, permit and construction drawings, contractor selection, and contract administration and oversight. If your project fits our roster, we will meet with you to discuss your needs, and provide a fee proposal which is tailored to your project, budget, and timelines.

Awards

B. Arch, OAA LEED AP

18 Projects

Inspiration for a cottage exterior home remodel in Toronto

Business Details

Business Name

Whitefish Architecture

Phone Number

(519) 897-2724

Website

whitefisharchitecture.ca

Address

40 King St. S. Unit 301
Waterloo, Ontario N2J 1N8
Canada

Typical Job Cost

CAD $500,000 - 5,000,000

License Number

OAA

Followers

228 Followers

Socials

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Services Provided

Architectural Design

Building Design

Custom Homes

House Plans

Home Additions

Home Extensions

Sustainable Design

Energy-Efficient Homes

Floor Plans

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)

Green Building

Space Planning

Guesthouse Design & Construction

Universal Design

Multigenerational Homes

Building Science Consulting

Construction Drawings

Custom Home

Passive House Design

Passive Solar Design

Permits and Approvals

Severance and Variance

Site Planning

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Areas Served

Arthur

Baden

Bayfield

Beaver Valley

Brantford

Bridgeport

Burlington

Caledon

Cambridge

Collingwood

Creemore

Dundas

Durham

Elmira

Erin

Goderich

Grand Bend

Grey-Bruce

Guelph

Halton Hills

Hamilton

Hanover

Hawkesville

Huron

Kincardine

Kitchener

Lanark County

London

Markdale

Meaford

Midland

Milton

Mount Forest

New Hamburg

Orangeville

Owen Sound

Perth County

Port Dover

Sauble Beach

Simcoe

St. Thomas

Stratford

Walkerton

Wallenstein

Wasaga Beach

Waterloo

Woodstock

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Credentials

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Write a Review

14 Reviews for Whitefish Architecture

Newest first

4.9|14 reviews

Work Quality

5.0

Communication

4.0

Value

5.0

nmztk

We loved our house, but it didn't meet our needs anymore. We thought it probably *could*, but we were stumped as to how to make it work for us. Graham provided a clear eye, a refreshing perspective, and a wonderful, open design that now - seven years later - still fits us to a "T". He and his team really came through for us. We love our space even more, now.

December 21, 2022Last modified:December 21, 2022

Philip and Shirley Marsh

Graham at Whitefish Architecture planned the exterior upgrade of our 1960's mid-century modern home. This included revised cedar siding, conversion of a garage roof-top deck to a wrap-round roof overhang, revised fiberglass windows, all new doors, and concrete paths, patio, and planters. We are extremely happy with Graham's design work, his guidance and colour and design decisions, and his efforts to keep his design sympathetic to the original. We highly recommend Whitefish Architecture and will use them for future projects.

January 5, 2019

Anonymous Client

We hired Whiting to provide a long-term design blueprint for the mid-century exterior of our house. They were great to work with and helped us scope a 10 year plan so that we could upgrade elements individually (doors, windows, siding, insulation, hardscaping, landscaping) as they needed to be replaced, without looking "piecemeal". This means that our house, while changing elements each year always maintains a consistent and modern look. Graham was great at recommending products and installers that were high quality.

October 29, 2018

lisaattygalle

I first met Graham Whiting when we were house hunting and considering homes that would need additions so that we could be in the location we wanted. He walked us through how to budget and plan for an addition, and once we purchased a 2 bedroom, 3 storey century home with a confusing layout, Whiting Design turned it into our forever home. The team at Whiting understood our vision of old meets new, our desire to leverage existing elements where possible, and practical design for our growing family. They created a layout that we never would have imagined on our own. They made each space so usable - from converting our former dining room into a mudroom and powder room to reconfiguring our whole 2nd floor. The team's knowledge and creativity is impressive, and we trusted them completely. The whole process was seamless, including getting permits and liasing with our builder and vendors. Thank you to Graham and the Whiting team! We recommend Whiting Design to anyone doing a large scale project.

March 7, 2018

Melissa Fellin

Whiting Design's team was exceptional from start to finish! When we met with Graham, he used what he learned about our family's needs to provide us with creative ways to change our space. Some of the fine details made all of the difference in the world. The team was patient with our questions and let us take our time in going over designs. We were looking for a modern, open, energy efficient and natural lit space for our family that includes three young children. We were able to create a beautiful space that was also child-friendly. We were looking for a change to the outside of our house that would modernize it, but not make it seem out of place on our street of 1970-style homes. The team created a beautiful and modern design that stops people as they walk by our home. Whiting Design was with us every step of the way helping us to create the lay out to choosing the finishes for our kitchen. We recommend that anyone who is looking to do a major renovation to work with Whiting Design!

December 21, 2017

Comment from Whitefish Architecture:

Thank you Melissa and Mark! It was a pleasure working with you and we are super happy with the results. Enjoy your new space.

Al and Liz Hayes

When we made the decision to remain in our 60's era side-split, we knew we wanted to update it, enlarge the living space, add more storage, and bring it more in line with our own sense of style that appreciates the mid-century modern clean, crisp, uncluttered look. Obviously to help us reach all these goals we were going to need a unique architect. We knew Graham through professional contacts and after meeting with him and viewing his portfolio on line, we knew he was the obvious choice to bring our vision from dream to reality. Graham and his staff considered our wish list carefully and were quick to draw up plans that fulfilled our expectations. They helped us with the myriad decisions to be made beyond the mere design-exterior finishes , windows, flooring, storage space, and fireplace. We were particularly impressed with their dedication to sourcing sustainable materials and making our addition energy efficient. Our newly-renovated home is now perfectly inline with our style and is the oasis we always knew it could be.

October 5, 2017

Juile Wright

We've had an excellent experience with Whiting Design. Our home is an 1890s brick farmhouse on a lot that slopes down to the rear. We wanted to reorganize the space on the main floor and add an addition that would give us more space and better access to our beautiful yard and gardens. It was important to us to stay as close as possible the home's footprint. We began our design process not entirely sure when we'd be ready for construction and Whiting walked us through every step along the way. We felt like we could ask any question that came to mind. The time we spent planning our project with them made all the mid-construction decisions easy. The first phase of our reno is done and our home is everything we'd hoped it would be.

May 7, 2017Last modified:May 7, 2017

Comment from Whitefish Architecture:

Thank you, Julie and John! You were lovely people to work with and we are super happy with the results. You can see the pictures under "Elgin Addition and Renovation" (and we hope to have exterior photos posted soon!)

Chris Coulter

The Whiting Design team did an incredible job, from listening intently to our aspirations to turning those into a truly remarkable and inspired space. Our home has been completely transformed!

November 24, 2016

Comment from Whitefish Architecture:

Thank you, Chris and Maggie! So nice to hear. For those interested to see the transformation, check out the project "Norman" in our portfolio. Cheers.

Mary Vyas

Graham and his team are great to work with. They have a flexible and progressive sense of style, and a solid understanding of how to make a home safe and sustainable. They are able to connect their clients to other competent and talented professionals.

March 7, 2016

sudeglad

We worked with Whiting Design as they shepherded us through a large project starting with the renovation of "Lincoln" (as seen in their profile), involving a complicated severance process and the complete renovation of a century home as well as a new home on the severed lot for grandparents. We could not be happier with the designs of both homes. In both cases, Whiting Design was responsive to our ideas and thoughts aw well as innovative in their designs, going beyond anything we could have envisioned ourselves. Ecological sustainability was important to us and WD has considerable experience in this field. WD's expertise guided us in choosing finishes and in a thousand other decisions to create two homes which are sustainable and beautiful. The primary designer for both houses was Valerie Wright. Her vision, communication skills and ability to work with contractors was stellar. She has a firm, friendly approach that maintains both relationships and standards of quality very well. Graham Whiting's expertise in navigating the myriad requirements in a complex severance process--including environmental testing, noise by-laws and complications beyond anything any of us had envisioned-- made a difficult process not only do-able but successful. We have already recommended Whiting Design to others and will not hesitate to do so again.

August 13, 2015

Comment from Whitefish Architecture:

Thank you, Bev and Geoff! We can say without hesitation that it was a genuine pleasure working with you and your family, and that we are very proud of the results. Enjoy your new homes!

christopherborth

We were extremely happy with Whiting Design's work. I had a preconceived idea that an architect/designer would necessarily be an arrogant and expensive individual. Graham is very thoughtful, listens respectfully and learns what you are trying to achieve, and has wonderful ideas. Working with him was by far the most rewarding, least frustrating, and best value-for-money part of our renovation project. As a counter-example, my mother used to run a not-for-profit organization that recently bought and renovated an old building to be their office space. I recommended Graham to her and she was inclined toward hiring him, but in the end she was mandated to hire a specific other architect/designer by some of the funding bodies contributing to the work. This other individual lived up to the arrogant/expensive cliche. The cost was shocking and they were not all that satisfied with the design work or the process. In summary, I would recommend Graham very highly and we feel fortunate that we found him. Best of luck with the work you are doing.

October 22, 2014

kevinc70

We used Whiting Design to renovate our kitchen and bath. We had the worlds smallest main floor bath you could sit and wash your hands at the same time. We also had a "only one person in the kitchen" L shaped kitchen layout. We have a 100 year old house and wanted to improve the space, the energy use, maintain the old feel, be as green as possible and not put on an addition. My wife and I had spent hours in the Kitchen over the years trying to figure out how to accomplish this, even going to the extent of using masking tape and cardboard boxes to simulate objects. We were unable to figure it out. Graham came in and designed exactly what we wanted, our biggest stumbling block had been the large radiator - we now have a beautiful heated floor. It's been almost a year since our renovation was completed and we have zero complaints and always receive compliments. The highlights were his vision and knowledge of all the materials that were available. Our biggest challenge was trying to pick materials from all those presented. We were recently very thankful for his recommendation to use a Soy based spray insulation as a there has been a recent recall on another spray insulation that contained formaldehyde. Thanks! Graham

September 29, 2014

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14 Comments

Commented: Who was the General Contractor for this project? We're doing similar.Hi, we generally keep that information private on behalf of our clients. For a complete gut renovation of a floor area, where we are re-insulating, wiring, plumbing and redoing layout and all finishe...

February 17, 2018

Commented: Where did you get the bar pulls for the corner drawers?Hello Dave, The pulls were standard hardware (same as used elsewhere in the kitchen) but the contractor used a metal blade and cut the standoff posts on a 45 degree angle, being careful to leave some ...

March 20, 2017

Commented: Coffee tableThe coffee table is the iconic Noguchi coffee table by Isamu Noguchi, it is currently available through Herman Miller Collection dealers. Our local supplier is Prestige Business Interiors of Waterloo,...

July 31, 2016

Commented: Are the walls just painted behind the stove?Hi! Yes, in this case the client opted for a durable, scrub-able paint finish. If I remember correctly they wanted to try this, but were open to installing tile if it didn't work for long term durab...

January 25, 2016

Commented: Curious what color / finish of Paperstone?Hello. The Paperstone colour is "Chocolate", and it is finished with the oil based sealer recommended by the manufacturer. This counter is now 7 years old, and the owners are very happy wi...

April 1, 2015

Commented: Love the corner hardwareThe slides are conventional full extension slides, not custom. The drawers are custom fabricated.

March 31, 2015

Whitefish Architecture