"Architecture is known as the father of all design disciplines," says Heather Dubbeldam, quoting a credo she takes both literally and figuratively. Dubbeldam is a fourth generation architect and her family lineage in the profession traces back to her great-grandfather in Holland. Though she started out in one of Canada's top international firms, Dubbeldam struck out on her own, founding Dubbeldam Design Architects [DDA] and now practices architecture out of Urban Space's 401 Richmond building, where she also designed their day-care space.

Two years ago, DDA was honoured with the Ontario Association of Architects' Best Emerging Practice Award.  DDA currently employs six full-time staff and juggles an average of twelve projects at a time.  Dubbeldam herself has achieved all this before the age of forty.

A  graduate from Carleton University (class of 1994), Dubbeldam cut her teeth training for six years at KPMB Architects. Dubbeldam left KPMB to pursue her creative passions of commercial and art photography, as well as furniture design.  Within a year, she was back working as an architect ad hoc for friends and colleagues.  As she recalls, "you can take the girl out of architecture but you can't take the architecture out of the girl� it's in the blood."  Rather than return to a large shop, she opted for the "ultimate creative freedom" of running her own firm.

As a young woman working in an industry that has, until recently, been dominated by men, Dubbeldam has had to earn the respect of a diverse group of engineers and builders.  During her time at KPMB, Dubbeldam assisted on the Munk Centre for International Studies' build. Between fending off catcalls on the construction site, and learning to negotiate her trade, she put in place her own people management strategy.

Dubbeldam believes that women have a different way of dealing with confrontation than men. "I took a completely different approach," she recalls. "The plumber really knows his business, he really knows how to run those pipes and water flow and all the different valves, so I'm going to rely on the plumber's expertise. If there's any issues, we'll sort them out together -- it's more of a collaborative process."

Dubbeldam and DDA also have a personal and professional commitment to sustainable systems in design as a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited architect. For Dubbeldam, "Green isn't an add-on, it's part of the conversation from the get-go."  According to Dubbeldam, sustainability in architecture needs to be addressed on three levels: energy consumption and waste; human comfort; and choice of materials. The firm's aesthetics and core values are, says Dubbeldam, attractive and there's no shortage of business.

"It's a hot topic � people are interested in talking about green first, they want to do the right thing."  Many of Dubbeldam's clients are young, and she's quick to point out that "although the upfront costs of going green can be pricy, if you're planning on staying in the house your own for forty years, the savings in the long term are immense � up to 50%."

Although sustainable systems are part of every DDA project in some way, there is one project that will blaze the trail. A Bridle Path residential project, currently on temporary hold, was designed to sustain the 13,000 square foot home completely off the grid. The owner had achieved this in L.A. and was keen to exploit sustainable architectural principles in Toronto. Dubbeldam says the plan "incorporates every possible passive and active sustainable system available," including geothermal heating and cooling, an entire roof covered in photovoltaic panels, green roofs, a heat sink in the pool, rainwater harvesting for irrigation, fibre optic collectors on the roof where the cables go down through the house and amplify basement fixtures, as well as a bio wall (or 'living wall') that connects to the ventilation system and provides fresh air from the plants.  

There are no templates at DDA and the firm designs everything from scratch. The creative part of designing a home is Dubbeldam's favourite part. "It's figuring out where all the rooms go, how they relate to each other that really excites me," she says.  Sometimes figuring that out means getting to know the client intimately. "You're working in every little detail of their life -- where they put their socks and underwear, where they put their toothbrush, everything is designed into the space," says Dubbeldam.

Another core value that differentiates Dubbeldam from many of her peers is her dogged commitment to mentorship. She describes her firm as a "teaching practice." Each of the four full-time architects she employs is currently interning for their OAA certification. Dubbeldam also mentors an additional eight apprenticing architects, and volunteers with Twenty and Change, a forum that focuses awareness on emerging designers and architects.

Community work plays a significant role in Dubbeldam's life.  She is the Vice-Chair of the Toronto Society of Architects and serves on the board of the DIAC, the Design Industry Advisory Committee, an advocacy group that lobbies all levels of government to bring design into the mix at the outset of any planning project.  With so much on the go, including being the mom of two kids, Dubbeldam is ambitious.  She's quick to point out that she'd like to see the practice expand overseas and into the public realm. "Doesn't everyone want that?" she beams.

Heidi McKenzie is a freelance arts journalist, arts consultant and potter living in Parkdale.