Twenty years before Vancouver’s Expo 86, young architects were helping develop a new style of modern architecture based on the West Coast lifestyle and materials. The medium-sized city of Vancouver had not yet found its place on the world stage, but its potential was apparent to those with an eye for design.

Vancouver, informed by its setting and lifted by its ability to attract talent and innovation, side-stepped the uniformity adopted in many other urban areas. DA Architects + Planners (formerly Downs/Archambault & Partners) was a key contributor to this innovative approach.

Former employees tell stories of weekly design charettes, in collaboration with the City of Vancouver's head of planning. Using small blocks of wood for buildings, and strips of paper for streets, the architects agonized over building placement and what a slight movement in the radius of a street would mean to other aspects of the development. As Vancouver grew and developed, the firm developed along with it, master planning the transition of old neighbourhoods to new.

Projects included the Expo lands at the edge of False Creek, the Roundhouse Neighbourhood, and Concord Pacific Place. Vancouver, the modern city, was coming to life, and the team members at DA were among the city's key visionaries. The spirit of innovation continues to guide us in the creation of friendly, shared spaces – the placemaking approach that we apply to community design and to building world-class projects in Vancouver.