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Childcare Centre in Burnaby (which is currently pursuing Living Building Challenge certification). Bold forms predominate, whether the project is a residential high-rise (such as the Azura Twin Towers with its curved transpar- ent window walls) or one-off jobs (the rehabilitation of the iconic Robson Square Ice Rink). But HCMA is arguably best known for designing aquatic facilities – to the point where a handsome coffee table book, appropriately named POOLS: Aquatic Architecture, was published last year commemorating the company's profi- ciency in this sector. Designing pools was a favourite undertaking of Roger Hughes before Condon moved to B.C. But while Hughes was redefining the aquatic experience throughout Metro Vancouver, Condon was also succumbing to the allure of pool design in Saskatchewan, at the Regina office of IKOY Architects, one of his first employers. When asked to explain his intrigue with pools, Condon says, "By the time I graduated McGill, [the pool was] enter- ing its second generation of design – away from the closed-off, rectangular YCMA-style appearance and towards big, open architectural expressions. IKOY principals Ron Keenberg and Bob Ellard were innovators of that second generation, and as a novice I found the huge spaces they created to be tremen- dously exciting." The IKOY stint also gave Condon a keen appreciation for the business side of architecture. "Often in our profession there's a disconnect between the vision and the documents, but the people at IKOY had a methodical, rigorous skill in producing drawings," he explains. "They experimented with full-colour construction drawings, long before computers made the process easy." Condon moved to B.C. for work opportunities and the lifestyle. Fol- lowing a brief tenure at another archi- tectural firm he joined what was then Hughes Baldwin Architects in 1994, and three years later the inevitable happened: he was handed his first pool assignment, the Walnut Grove Aquatic Centre in Langley. Condon's determination to make his mark in this sector resulted in Walnut Grove becoming a textbook example of how dramatic form and utilitarian function can easily co-exist. For exam- ple, Walnut Grove's pool deck datum is set above downslope parking, aligned so that sightlines make the car space almost invisible and the pool appearing to users as a direct extension of a sur- rounding park. The facility also boasts what were at the time pioneering tech- niques of ventilation, humidity control and heat recovery. Condon became a partner at Roger Hughes + Partners Architects in 2000 in the wake of Walnut Grove garnering a host of awards, including the 2000 Lieutenant Governor of British Colum- bia Award for Architecture and the 2001 RAIC Award for Excellence in Contract Documentation. Condon looks a lot younger than his 47 years and appears to guests as qui- etly intense, but despite his interest in all things aquatic he stiffens noticeably when it's suggested that HCMA is a pool specialist. "It's something we do very well, but in the larger context there's an over-arching philosophy that developed from our pools and similar public proj- ects that focuses on community build- ing – which is our true passion," he says. Ironically, although HCMA was one of the early adopters of LEED and Con- don one of Canada's first LEED accred- ited professionals, Condon is frustrated by what he considers to be a growing amount of greenwashing in the design and development fields. "We have to get concrete answers to some critical ques- tions as we move forward with sustain- ability," he says. "For one thing, how do you define and measure social sustain- ability? How do you make it practical? How do we help [people in] communities take better care of themselves?" These are questions Condon has asked students during lectures he has delivered at the University of British Columbia. He could clearly talk for hours about overused and ill-defined terms in the green lexicon, but he summarizes his thoughts with the following observation: "Many architects believe we should only focus on form and not try to influence society. I disagree. We have a responsi- bility to do so, but in an informed way. We can't hang onto old beliefs that if we just build good buildings they'll take care of society's problems." 1 2 3 4 5 6 Photos: 1. West Vancouver Community Centre. 2. UniverCity Childcare Centre. 3. Hillcrest Community Centre. 4. Duchess Park Secondary School. 5. Whistler Public Library. 6. Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre. PHOTO: HUBERT KANG PHOTO: MARTIN TESSLER PHOTO: MARTIN TESSLER PHOTO: LUCAS FINLAY AUGUST 2014 /9 HCMA