About Us - Grimspire Forge Architecture

How We Got Here

Look, I'll be straight with you - I didn't grow up dreaming of fancy glass towers or pristine minimalist villas. My dad was a millwright, and I spent half my childhood wandering through old factories and warehouses while he worked on machinery older than both of us combined.

There's something about those spaces that stuck with me. The way light cuts through steel beams. The honest wear of brick that's been standing for a century. The stories embedded in every rivet and rust pattern.

When I finished my degree at U of T back in 2011, most firms were chasing the next shiny thing. But I kept thinking about all those incredible industrial bones being torn down across Toronto and beyond. So in 2015, I started Grimspire Forge with a simple idea: what if we stopped erasing our industrial past and started building on top of it instead?

What Drives Us

We're not your typical architecture firm, and that's kind of the point. Yeah, we do the technical stuff - structural analysis, building codes, all that jazz. But what really gets us out of bed is finding ways to make old industrial spaces work for modern life without gutting their soul.

You know those projects where they keep one brick wall and call it "heritage preservation"? That's not us. We dig deeper. We want to understand how a building was used, what made it important, and how we can honor that while creating something people actually want to live or work in today.

Sometimes that means convincing a developer that exposed steel trusses are cooler than drywall. Sometimes it's helping a city see that an old warehouse district could become their most vibrant neighborhood. And yeah, sometimes it means fighting for buildings that everyone else has written off.

The Team

We've grown from just me and a drafting table to a crew of 14 architects, designers, and planners who all share this weird obsession with industrial spaces. We've got folks who came from big corporate firms because they were tired of cookie-cutter projects. We've got recent grads who want to learn restoration the right way. And we've got a couple of engineers who are absolute wizards at figuring out if a 100-year-old structure can support modern occupancy.

What ties us together? We all believe that the best new architecture respects what came before. That sustainability isn't just about solar panels - it's about not tearing down perfectly good buildings. And that cities lose something important when they erase their industrial heritage.

Our Approach

Listen First, Design Second

Before we sketch a single line, we spend time understanding the building, the neighborhood, and the people who'll actually use the space. Sometimes the building tells us what it wants to be.

Honesty in Materials

We don't hide what a building is made of. If it's brick and steel, we celebrate that. If there's concrete with a patina of age, we work with it. Authenticity beats fake finish every time.

Function Meets Soul

A building has to work - proper HVAC, modern accessibility, all that essential stuff. But it also needs character. We balance both, never sacrificing one for the other.

Long-Term Thinking

We design for the next 50 years, not the next 5. That means flexible spaces, durable materials, and systems that can be upgraded without ripping everything out.

Where We're Headed

Ten years in, we're just getting started. Toronto's full of incredible industrial buildings that deserve a second act, and we're seeing more cities across Canada recognize the value of adaptive reuse. The climate crisis makes our work more relevant than ever - the greenest building is the one that's already built.

We're working on projects from Halifax to Vancouver now, helping communities reimagine their industrial districts. Each one's different, but they all share that same potential - spaces with good bones, waiting for someone to see what they could become.

See What We've Built

Want to Work Together?

Got an old factory, warehouse, or industrial building that needs some love? Or maybe you're planning something new but want it to have that authentic industrial feel? Let's talk. We're always up for a good challenge, especially if it involves saving a building that others have given up on.

Get In Touch

The Story Behind the Forge