About Us - Silvarion Fort Architecture | Sustainable Heritage Design

Our Story

Started back in 2003, Silvarion Fort began as a two-person studio in a cramped Gastown office. We were young, ambitious, and frankly a bit naive about how hard it'd be to convince people that old buildings could be way cooler than new ones.

Fast forward twenty-plus years, and here we are - a team of 23 passionate folks who've learned that every brick, every beam, every worn floorboard tells a story worth keeping. We've worked on everything from century-old warehouses to brand-new LEED Platinum builds, always asking the same question: how can we make this better for the next hundred years?

Vancouver's been good to us. The city's got this incredible mix of heritage character and forward-thinking environmental standards, which is basically our sweet spot. We're not about tearing down and starting over - we're about finding what works, what's worth saving, and making it sing for generations to come.

Our Journey

Two decades of learning, growing, and making buildings better

2003 - The Beginning

Founded by Sarah Kwan and Marcus Delgado in a 400 sq ft office above a coffee shop. Our first project? Restoring a 1912 heritage home in Kitsilano. We spent more hours arguing with the city permit office than actually designing, but hey, that's how you learn.

2008 - Growing Pains

Hired our first full-time employees and moved to a proper studio on Granville. Won our first heritage restoration award for the Gastown Warehouse Project. Started realizing that sustainable design wasn't just a nice-to-have - it was gonna be everything.

2013 - Going Green

Completed our first LEED Platinum project - converting an old industrial building into mixed-use space. This changed everything for us. Suddenly we weren't just preserving old buildings, we were making them perform better than modern ones. Pretty wild.

2018 - Recognition

Named BC's Heritage Architecture Firm of the Year. Started teaching workshops on sustainable restoration techniques. Our team grew to 15 people, and we finally got that espresso machine everyone kept bugging us about.

2025 - Present Day

23 team members, over 200 completed projects, and we're still learning something new with every build. Currently working on some of the most exciting heritage adaptive reuse projects in Western Canada. The dream's alive and well.

Meet the Team

The folks who make it all happen

Sarah Kwan

Co-Founder & Principal Architect

Started this whole thing with a sketchbook and way too much coffee. Still obsessed with finding creative solutions to impossible problems. When she's not at the drafting table, you'll find her hiking the North Shore trails.

Marcus Delgado

Co-Founder & Heritage Specialist

The guy who can tell you the exact year a building was constructed just by looking at the brickwork. Seriously, it's kinda scary. His passion for historical preservation is contagious, and he's got stories for days about Vancouver's architectural history.

Elena Rodriguez

Lead Sustainability Consultant

Our LEED wizard who somehow makes energy modeling actually interesting. Joined us in 2015 and hasn't stopped pushing us to do better. She's the reason half our projects end up exceeding their sustainability goals.

James Chen

Senior Project Manager

The most organized human being you'll ever meet. Keeps our projects on track, on budget, and somehow manages to keep everyone smiling even when things get hectic. Former contractor, so he knows what's actually possible on-site.

Aisha Patel

Interior Design Lead

Joined us fresh out of grad school in 2019 and quickly became indispensable. Has this amazing ability to blend historical character with modern functionality. Her material selections always nail the vibe we're going for.

David Park

Technical Architect

Our go-to for complex structural challenges and building code mysteries. Been with us since 2011 and knows BC building codes like the back of his hand. Saved our butts more times than we can count with clever technical solutions.

Plus 17 more talented designers, technicians, and support staff who make the magic happen every single day

How We Work

Look, we're not gonna pretend we've got some magic formula. Every project's different, every client's got their own vision, and every building's got its own quirks.

What we do have is a process that's been refined through hundreds of projects. We listen more than we talk in those first meetings. We dig deep into site history, building performance data, and local context before we even think about putting pen to paper.

We're big believers in collaboration - not just within our team, but with contractors, engineers, heritage consultants, and especially our clients. Some of our best ideas have come from conversations in the field, not sitting at a desk.

And yeah, we use all the latest tech - BIM modeling, energy simulation software, the whole deal. But at the end of the day, good architecture still comes down to understanding people, respecting history, and caring about the long-term impact of what we build.

Want to Work With Us?

Whether you've got a heritage building that needs some love or you're dreaming up something brand new with sustainability at its core, we'd love to hear about it.

Get In Touch