How It Started
Back in 2011, three architects walked out of their respective corporate jobs on the same rainy Vancouver morning. Complete coincidence, really. We'd been grabbing coffee at the same spot for months without realizing we all shared the same frustration – too much talk about sustainability, not enough actual doing.
The name? Yeah, it's a mouthful. "Zirelven" came from Marcus's old D&D character (don't ask), "Forge" because we wanted to build things that'd last, and "Quint" was Sarah's grandmother's maiden name. Our first office was literally above a blacksmith's workshop on East Hastings. The irony wasn't lost on us.
What started as late-night sketches over cheap beer has grown into something we're genuinely proud of. We've made mistakes, learned from them, and kept pushing forward.
The Journey So Far
2011 - The Beginning
Three restless architects, one shared vision. Founded our practice with a focus on actually walking the talk when it comes to sustainable design.
2013 - First Big Break
Landed the Granville Street mixed-use project. Spent countless nights figuring out how to integrate green roofs with heritage facades. Lost sleep, gained experience.
2016 - Growing Pains
Moved to our current Georgia Street office. Hired our first junior architects. Realized management is harder than design (who knew?).
2019 - Recognition
Won our first RAIC award for the Eastside Community Centre. That one still makes us smile – we'd almost given up on getting the solar orientation right.
2022 - Expansion
Brought on board five more talented folks. Started our heritage restoration division because someone needs to save Vancouver's architectural soul.
2025 - Today
Still learning, still building, still caring way too much about thermal bridging. We're 28 people strong now, working on projects we couldn't have dreamed of back in that cramped first office.
Marcus Chen
Co-Founder, Principal Architect
Marcus is the detail guy – the one who'll notice if a window is off by two millimeters. Trained at UBC and spent five years at a big corporate firm before realizing he was designing bank branches in his sleep (not in a good way).
He's obsessed with how buildings interact with natural light and has this uncanny ability to visualize sun paths without software. Outside work, he's probably hiking the North Shore or tinkering with his vintage motorcycle collection.
Sarah Nakamura
Co-Founder, Design Director
Sarah's the visionary who somehow makes sustainability look effortless. Studied at McGill, worked in Toronto for a bit, then came back west because she missed the mountains (and real sushi, let's be honest).
She's got this gift for seeing potential where others see problems. That weird triangular lot? Perfect for a passive house. That old warehouse? Future community hub. When she's not sketching, she's probably at a city council meeting fighting for better urban density policies.
David Kowalski
Co-Founder, Technical Director
David's the one who makes sure our ambitious designs actually stand up. Structural engineering background from Waterloo, plus a master's in sustainable building systems that he actually uses (unlike most people's master's degrees).
He's saved us from countless "that looks cool but defies physics" moments. Also runs our in-house sustainability consulting because he genuinely enjoys reading building code updates. Yeah, we don't get it either, but we're grateful.
