About

Salal Architecture* is architectural design firm headed by Dan Parke architect. We work out of our design studio on Bowen Island, and our projects can be found on Bowen, the North Shore, Vancouver, Whistler/Squamish, the BC interior, and the Sunshine Coast. Salal Architecture has been registered with the Architectural Institute of BC since 2001.
*Salal, if you don't already know, is an indigenous plant found commonly in coastal forests

 We work on a wide variety of projects and at a wide range of scale--from single family houses, to commercial and healthcare facilities, to large master planning projects. On larger projects, and when necessary, we team up with other consultants. 

And the follow up question would be--what don't we do? We do not work on dozens of projects at the same time. We take on a small number or projects and Dan has direct involvement in them, from design through to completion. We do not do only one building type. We enjoy working on a range of projects, and find that ideas from even a small renovation can inform a large project. And sorry, but we do not do 30,000 sq ft houses that look like Tudor mansions. 

 We approach every project with fresh eyes and avoid imposing a preconceived design solution or aesthetic. The design evolves through an ongoing dialogue with our clients, the building users, as well as with the contractor and suppliers. We try out many options before narrowing things down to an optimal design solution--and this comes through analysis as well as intuition.  Our leanings are definitely towards a contemporary regionalist approach to design--with buildings that are fine tuned to specific sites and to the local climate, as well as to locally available materials.

Buildings require a tremendous amount of resources to build and operate--we strive to use these resources as effectively as possible. We have been doing sustainable buildings for decades, and are well versed in passive and active solar design, rainwater collection, healthy materials, healthy indoor air quality, etc. Dan has been LEED accredited since 2004, and has experience with LEED, Builtgreen, Living Buildings, WELL and other standards, as well as the BC Energy Step Code.