About Us - Frozen Quintara Architecture

Our Story

Look, we didn't start this firm because we thought Arctic architecture would be easy. We started it because someone had to figure out how buildings can actually work with extreme cold instead of constantly fighting against it. After spending years working on projects that ignored local climate realities, we got pretty fed up with cookie-cutter designs being dropped into environments they weren't meant for.

Based out of Vancouver since 2015, we've been pushing the boundaries of what's possible in cold climate design. Our approach isn't about forcing modern aesthetics onto landscapes that deserve better - it's about listening to what the environment's telling us and responding with structures that make sense. We've worked everywhere from Yukon communities to northern BC, and each project's taught us something new about respecting the freeze.

Meet the Team

The folks who actually make this work

Sarah Chen

Principal Architect & Founder

Sarah spent five winters in Whitehorse before realizing traditional architecture education hadn't prepared her for what cold really means. She founded Frozen Quintara after completing a research project on indigenous building techniques in northern Canada. These days, she's obsessed with thermal bridging solutions and can talk your ear off about vapor barriers. She's also weirdly competitive about energy modeling results.

Marcus Thornberg

Senior Designer, Cold Climate Specialist

Marcus grew up in Inuvik and brings a perspective most architecture firms can't buy - he actually lived what we're trying to design for. He's our go-to for understanding how people really use spaces when it's minus forty outside. Before joining us, he worked with several northern communities on housing projects that actually survived their first winter (which is apparently harder than it sounds).

Dr. Elena Kowalski

Sustainability Director

Elena's got a PhD in environmental science and zero patience for greenwashing. She keeps us honest about what "sustainable" actually means in practice, not just on paper. Her background in permafrost research means she's constantly warning us about things we didn't even know we should worry about. She's usually right, which is both helpful and slightly annoying.

James Okalik

Project Manager & Community Liaison

James bridges the gap between architectural theory and on-the-ground reality. He's worked construction in some of Canada's most remote locations, so he knows exactly which "brilliant designs" are gonna make builders want to quit. His project management style is basically: if it can't be built in a blizzard with frozen fingers, it's not going in the plans.

Aisha Patel

Interior Design Lead

Aisha specializes in making interior spaces feel warm without cranking the heating bill through the roof. She's particularly good at figuring out how natural light works when you've got limited daylight for half the year. She came to us from a firm in Oslo and brought a whole toolkit of Scandinavian design principles that we've adapted for North American contexts. She's also probably the reason our office actually looks decent.

What Drives Us

Respect for Place

Every site's got its own personality, especially in extreme climates. We're not about dropping identical designs everywhere - we actually pay attention to wind patterns, sun angles, permafrost conditions, and local building traditions. It takes longer, but the results actually last.

Real Sustainability

Anyone can slap some solar panels on a roof and call it green. We're more interested in buildings that use less energy in the first place through smart design. Passive heating, proper insulation, strategic window placement - the unglamorous stuff that actually matters.

Community Focus

Buildings are for people, not portfolios. We spend a lot of time listening to what communities actually need versus what we think looks cool. Sometimes that means checking our egos at the door, but it always means better outcomes.

Continuous Learning

Cold climate design keeps evolving, and we're constantly learning from both cutting-edge research and traditional knowledge. Every project teaches us something new about what works and what definitely doesn't when temperatures drop.

Let's Talk About Your Project

Whether you're planning something in the far north or just dealing with a tough winter climate, we'd love to hear what you're working on.

Get In Touch