We're not your typical studio
Born from frost, driven by passion, shaped by the mountains we call home
Born from frost, driven by passion, shaped by the mountains we call home
Back in 2011, I was sitting in a downtown Vancouver office designing cookie-cutter condos and honestly? I was miserable. Every project felt the same - glass boxes that ignored our incredible climate, our landscape, everything that makes BC... well, BC.
My partner Elena felt it too. She'd grown up in northern Norway and kept saying "we're doing this all wrong" every time we'd spec another HVAC system that fought against winter instead of working with it.
So we quit. Packed up, moved to Whistler, and started Frostval Quinthyros in a tiny studio apartment that doubled as our office. The name? Frostval's from the old Nordic valleys, Quinthyros we just made up because it sounded cool and architectural (yeah, we're not above a little pretension).
Left corporate architecture, established our studio in Whistler. First project was renovating our own space - learned a ton about what NOT to do with heating systems in mountain climates. Still have the photos of Elena trying to fix frozen pipes at 2am.
The Pemberton Residence put us on the map. Family wanted a home that'd handle -30C winters without costing a fortune to heat. We integrated passive solar, triple-pane everything, and this thermal mass wall that everyone thought was crazy. Their first winter heating bill was 60% less than their old place. Word spread fast after that.
Brought on Marcus (he'd been bugging us for a job for two years) and Yuki, who'd just moved from Hokkaido and had experience with snow loads we could only dream about. Also got our first real office space - one with a conference room that wasn't our kitchen table.
Got our LEED accreditation and started consulting on cold-climate sustainable builds across BC. Turns out there weren't many firms specializing in this stuff. Who knew? (Well, we hoped, but still.)
Started working on historic buildings - preserving their character while making them livable for modern winters. The old lodge project nearly broke us (and our budget) but man, when we finished that one, we knew we'd found something special.
We're a team of twelve now, working on projects from Yukon to Vancouver Island. Still in Whistler, still obsessed with making buildings that work WITH winter instead of against it. And yeah, we still get excited about insulation techniques - our friends think we're weird.
Co-founder & Principal Architect
Former corporate drone turned mountain architect. Spends way too much time nerding out over thermal bridging. Can't ski to save his life despite living in Whistler for 13 years.
Co-founder & Design Director
Grew up in Tromso, knows cold like nobody's business. Has strong opinions about window placement and will absolutely tell you why yours is wrong. Makes the best krumkake at our holiday party.
Senior Structural Consultant
Hokkaido export, snow load genius. Once calculated roof loads while backcountry skiing. We're still not sure if that's dedication or madness.
Project Manager
Keeps us on schedule and under budget (well, tries to). Former contractor who switched sides. Knows every supplier in a 200km radius on a first-name basis.
Interior Space Specialist
Makes the insides as good as the outsides. Has this uncanny ability to know exactly what clients want even when they don't. Also maintains our office plants somehow.
We're pretty obsessed with proving that sustainable doesn't mean uncomfortable, and cold-climate doesn't mean expensive to heat. Every project is a chance to push that a bit further.
The best part? Our clients become friends. They invite us back to see how their buildings perform after a few winters. They send us photos when it hits -25C and their house is still cozy. That stuff never gets old.
We're not trying to win awards (though we won't say no if they happen). We're just trying to design buildings that make sense for where they are, that don't cost the earth to run, and that people actually want to live and work in when there's three feet of snow outside.
Let's work together