Leckie Studio Architecture + Design, a Vancouver-based firm, is the recipient of the RAIC Emerging Architectural Practice Award for 2021.
Founded in 2015, Leckie Studio is a 20-person practice, led by principal architect and founder Michael Leckie.
The studio is understood as a vehicle for creative speculation — expanding the boundaries of traditional architecture practice through research, client commissions, and self-initiated projects that combine practice with creative entrepreneurship. Rooted in a rigorous architectural methodology, the work of Leckie Studio spans a range of scales and typology – including buildings, installations, product design, and environmental design.
The studio’s current portfolio is intentionally diversified in both typology and scale across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Leckie Studio’s design philosophy is deeply rooted in mindfulness practice and an essentialist approach to life and work.
A selective sample of their architectural work includes:
- UBC Arts Student Centre, Vancouver (photo above)
- Camera House, Pemberton
- Ridge House, Portland, OR
- Full House, Vancouver.
“In a short time, Leckie Studio Architecture + Design has produced a diverse collection of exquisite projects which demonstrate their extraordinary commitment to regionalism and their skillful understanding of materials, all evidenced by the enthusiastic support of their clients. Their work demonstrates careful attention to craft, materiality, and the specificity of place. The various projects enter an elegant dialogue with nature, and the use of wood contributes to this integration,” said the jury.
The RAIC Emerging Architectural Practice Award was established to recognize an emerging architectural practice that has consistently produced distinguished architecture.
The award recognizes the achievements of the practice for the quality of their built work, service to their clients, innovations in practice, and public recognition. Eligible firms need to be practicing and licensed in Canada, and they can be no more than 10-years-old. This is to celebrate exciting new voices entering the architectural landscape of Canada.
