Runeval Quinthor

Founder & Principal Architect

Our Story

Building with purpose, not just permits

Look, I'll be honest - I didn't start out wanting to be an architect. Growing up in a small logging town outside Prince George, I was more interested in how the forest worked than how buildings did. But spending summers helping my grandfather restore old barns changed everything.

There's something about touching timber that's been standing for a hundred years that makes you think differently about what we're putting up today. Will it last? Does it belong here? These questions stuck with me through architecture school at UBC and every project since.

After graduating, I spent three years working in Oslo - yeah, I know, bit of a departure from Vancouver. But that's where I really got it. The Norwegians don't mess around with nature. They work alongside it, respect it, let it breathe. When I came back to BC in 2015, I couldn't unsee it. Our incredible landscape deserved architecture that gave back more than it took.

Started the firm in 2016 with just me and a drafting table in a shared office space on Main Street. Now we're a team of eight, working on everything from heritage restorations in Gastown to off-grid cabins on the Sunshine Coast. What hasn't changed? We still ask those same questions my grandfather taught me.

Our Approach

We don't do cookie-cutter. Every site tells us something different - the way light moves, how wind flows, what's already growing there. We listen first, then we design.

What Drives Us

Creating spaces that'll still make sense fifty years from now. Architecture that doesn't fight the landscape or the climate, but works with both.

The Journey So Far

Eight years of learning, building, and occasionally getting it wrong

2012

First Steps in Oslo

Joined Snohetta's research team. Learned that passive house design isn't just theory - it actually works when you commit to it.

Return to Vancouver

Came back with fresh eyes and a head full of ideas. Spent a year consulting while figuring out what I really wanted to build.

2015

2016

Opened the Studio

Runeval Quinthor Architecture became official. First project was a 900 sq ft laneway house that taught me more about client relationships than four years of school.

First Big Break

Gastown heritage restoration project. Six months of working with heritage consultants, engineers, and the city. Nearly killed me but we got it done right.

2018

2020

Recognition & Growth

BC Sustainable Architecture Award for the Saltspring Island residence. Hired three more architects. Started turning down projects that didn't align with our values.

Expanded Services

Added interior space planning and sustainability consulting. Partnered with Indigenous consultants on a commercial project in Squamish. Learning never stops.

2022

2024

Today

Team of eight, portfolio of 40+ completed projects, and still asking those same questions. Some things shouldn't change.

The Team

We're a tight crew - four registered architects, two designers, an admin wizard who keeps us all on track, and our sustainability consultant who makes sure we're not just talking the talk.

Everyone here came from different backgrounds. We've got folks who worked in big corporate firms and hated it, recent grads who wanted to do things differently from day one, and a former carpenter who knows more about building science than most engineers I've met.

What brings us together? We all care way too much about details most people won't notice. The way a window frame sits. How rainwater moves across a roof. Whether the front door feels right when you reach for it. That stuff matters to us.

Let's Work Together