KARIOUK ARCHITECTS

Paul is amazing and we are lucky that he was our architect, and now our friend. It was serendipity that brought my husband and I together with Paul; we live in Manhattan and found him in by searching for leading architects in Ottawa, which is close to our place in cottage country in the province of Quebec (see the "cross laminated timber (CLT) cottage") on Paul's website). From day one we just all understood each other. His design sensibility is incredible, and he personally took us through various design iterations before we settled on our chosen one. Given our back and forth life between NYC and Canada, Paul was always available, day and night, for us to ask questions, propose new innovations, and deal with inevitabilities that come up after construction started. He found us an amazing GC and Paul stayed with the project to the very end to make sure everything was perfect. The consummate psychologist, Paul's honesty, candor and creativity led us to a very happy place. We love our CLT summer home and are so pleased with the material due to it's sustainability, it's amazing R factor (perfect temps in heat and cold because the house is so well sealed) and it's design. I can't speak highly enough of Paul and his team and for the vision that created our forever summer home.

When I approached Kariouk Architects about creating a home for me in the Niagara area, I thought it was a long shot given they were in Ottawa. It turns out that was not a challenge at all and, further, I found out really fast, as they got me to think beyond “starter home” thinking, that Kariouk Architects thrive on challenges. There were many issues that they had to deal with as we moved from design to construction, such as dealing with local zoning bylaws and the fact that Bower House (their own playful name for the design we developed) didn’t exactly fit into those local codes (or match much else in my area. But every architectural and construction issue was handled extremely professionally and with a great attitude. The guys of this office are as smart as they are sincere, and they are just nice guys, which all counts for a lot when you’re building a home and making such a big personal and emotional investment.

Working with Kariouk Architects has been a wonderful delight. The specification of our HPL on the m.o.r.e Cottage project resulted in a dynamic aesthetic that is simultaneously soothing (the setting) and exciting (the color). We applaud Paul and his Team for their innovative use of HPL and their dedication to the creative process.