Husband-and-wife duo Scott & Scott Architects wins 2016 RAIC Young Architect Award

For architects David Scott and Susan Scott, home is where their hearts are indeed. As the founders of the Vancouver-based Scott & Scott Architects, the husband-and-wife duo recently won the 2016 RAIC Young Architect Award, which recognizes architects 40 years old or younger for notable excellence in design, as well as in leadership and service to the architecture profession. RAIC established the award as a way to encourage other young architects to work toward licensure and always aim to create high-quality designs.

Scott & Scott Architects will be presented with the award during the RAIC Festival of Architecture in Nanaimo, BC from June 8 to 11.

David and Susan Scott have seen their architectural careers intertwine over the past 19 years, from both earning their M.Arch degrees at Dalhousie University in 2000, to the architecture registration process, to starting their own discipline. From 2000 to 2012, they worked separately at prominent architecture firms around Vancouver before starting their own studio in 2012. These days, they run their practice in a street-level studio and workshop that is built within their family home.

Fusing work and non-work life into one environment could be overwhelming and even hindering for some, but it's evident that the Scotts thrive in it. Working in their own residential home lets them be around their two daughters, therefore allowing their discipline to become "a meaningful and inseparable part of [their] daily life,” they stated.

In designing, the Scotts share an interest in the process of construction and their projects are mostly located around their home province of British Columbia. They launched their studio with an award-winning remote snowboard cabin on Vancouver Island, which they built with friends using locally felled lumber. Since then, they have also designed cabins in Whistler and Lac le Jeune.

Their portfolio also consists of houses in Bowen Island, Tofino, Squamish and North Vancouver; Vancouver restaurants like Kin Kao, Torafuku, and Bestie; and a barn on Pender Island. On top of that, they design furniture, lighting fixtures, and architectural hardware for their buildings.

The Scotts are also involved in architectural education. Susan is an intern mentor with the Architectural Institute of British Columbia while David has taught at the University of British Columbia, the University of Calgary, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

“The work is fresh, unique and direct,” stated the five-member jury. “The quality of light and proportion contributes to the designs. The detailing of the projects, in particular, displays considerable craft and warmth.”

The jury included: Brian MacKay-Lyons, 2015 RAIC Gold Medalist, Halifax; David Clusiau, Senior Principle at NORR, Toronto; Ranjit Dhar, Past President of the RAIC and independent consultant, Toronto; Monica Adair,, 2015 recipient of the RAIC Young Architect Award, Saint John; and François Cardinal, 2015 recipient of the President’s Award for Media in Architecture, and a journalist at La Presse, Montreal.