D’Arcy Jones Architecture (DJA) is a Vancouver firm known for thoughtful, efficient and modern design, in both renovations and new buildings. It is practice with nine-person studio and was founded in 2005 by D’Arcy Jones, MRAIC. A graduate of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Jones previously worked on his own from 2000 to 2005. Largely residential, the firm’s projects include housing, commercial spaces, art galleries, renovations, and interiors. So far, DJA has ongoing and completed projects in British Columbia, Ontario, Washington, California, and Switzerland.
The yearly award recognizes the principals of an emerging architectural practice that has consistently produced distinguished architecture — based on criteria including quality of built work, service to clients, innovations in practice, and public recognition.
At a time when nearly 1,000 demolition permits are issued annually in Vancouver, DJA embraces the adaptive re-use of older buildings as an opportunity for architectural innovation and recycling. For example, the studio brought new life, light, and views to a 1940’s Vancouver bungalow by lifting it about eight feet, turning the basement into the main living space and the former living area into a bedroom level. (Waddell - Kunigk Renovation, 2011)
The firm has won numerous awards, including a 2016 Vancouver Urban Design Award, two Canadian Architect Awards of Merit and the inaugural Arthur Erickson Memorial Award. In 2014, Jones won the Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement from the Canada Council for the Arts, which recognizes outstanding creative talent and potential in architectural design early in a career.
