Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/354800
Reach For The Sky HCMA's passion for community-focused design is limitless by Robin Brunet P Psychologists say that early physical surroundings influence one's personal- ity. It follows, then, that surroundings would also influence how a person (if he or she later decides to be an architect) approaches design. Darryl Condon is a case in point. Although he resists being pigeonholed, the work of his firm in the education, civic, cultural, recreation and health- care sectors is visually striking. No matter the project, he, together with his partners Karen Marler, Stuart Roth- nie and Carl-Jan Rupp, and the 60 staff members at Hughes Condon Marler Architects ( HCMA) create a tremendous sense of space: structures that both inside and out seem to reach for the sky. In fact, HCMA's distinctive style of vaulted ceilings, abundant glazing, swooping arches and a clash of organic and industrial textures creates an out- right celebration of physical grandeur, along with a declaration of uniqueness. Condon and his colleagues may firmly adhere to the dictum that form follows function – but they also clearly love flaunting style. So where did Condon get his propen- sity for creating big spaces? Not surpris- ingly, from his childhood in the Prairies, where the sky is huge and the horizons limitless. "The world was a vast place for me growing up in Regina, and it defi- nitely shaped my views of architecture," he says. "There was also the tradition of the co-operative movement with people coming together to solve community problems in the Prairies; this too heav- ily influenced my approach to work." Moving to Montreal to study archi- tecture at McGill University added a distinctly urban esthetic to Condon's mindset, which blended nicely with those of his peers when he joined HCMA's predecessor, led by Roger Hughes, in the 1990s. "Roger Hughes regarded design much the same way I did and had created extremely func- tional facilities that also happened to be gorgeous to look at," says Condon. "If I had to summarize the intent of our company today, it would be to deliver designs that not only serve the clients' needs, but inspire them. Addition- ally, we want to help shape strong and healthy communities." HCMA's fingerprints are evident throughout B.C. and across Canada, including its collaborations on the Jas- per Place Branch Library in Edmonton, the recently completed UBC Pharma- ceutical Sciences Building in Vancouver (a triumph of radical Cartesian geome- try that is based on the pixilation of the canopy of two trees) and its UniverCity PHOTO: MARTIN TESSLER 8/ AUGUST 2014 HCMA