Sustainable

When a condo was approved that was going to destroy our backyard privacy and serenity, in the Dufferin Grove area, we shuddered!
Lucky for us we found Paul Dowsett of sustainable.to, who in turn assigned Nicholas Discenza to be our Jr. Architect.
Sustainable.to is a very professional company to work with, who are easy to communicate with in that they are fast, efficiently, respectful and well organized, polite and respectful, and the icing on the cake is that they are fun to work with . The office is made up of the a very cohesive group of positive talent and the energy is contagious, and its easy to see where this positive energy comes from, straight from the top. Paul provides great enthusiasm, and leadership to his staff yet lets them be creative. He has carefully chosen a group of impressive young professionals. This is an outfit that listens to the customer’s wishes. They delivered a design I requested and envisioned, and even better! When I spoke with Nicholas as to the 3 Aesthetic principles he did his research and came up with the design for our car port using the ancient Japanese technique of charring wood, called Shou-sugi-ban, whose finish is a rich dark silvery textured charcoal finish on cedar, which acts as both a preservative and “reduces flammability”.
It was such a pleasure to deal with this group that we have hired them again to design and modernize our newly purchased Victorian home in the west end of Toronto. Thanks Paul, Nicholas and the entire team at sustainable.to.

We were very pleased with the architectural services Paul and his team provided. Paul and his team are very easy to work with and kept us very informed on design and sustainability potential throughout the project. Paul and Nicholas are very knowledgable, polite, and prompt. Paul's team did a great job of designing a modern home in an old neighbourhood and working within the limitations of a small lot yet incorporating all aspects (and more) that we were looking for. It was truly a pleasure working with them and we would recommend SustainableTO to anyone! Thanks Matt and Katlin

Paul Dowsett (and Nicholas Discenza)took on the small project of designing a contemporary yet traditional garage to go with our Victorian semi-detached home. In addition, we wanted to put a green roof (garden) on the top, to visually expand our small yard. The result is just what we wanted - the garage bridges the gap between modern and traditional and is a wonderful addition. The roof garden was designed to step back from the edge to avoid overpowering the garage and it gives me great pleasure to see it surrounded by its stainless steel edging. The garage looks as if it has always been there, but then you realize that it is quietly contemporary. It has a sensibility about it which makes it outstanding without standing out. Both Paul and Nicholas were easy to work with - friendly, good listeners, dependable and they have a wonderful design sense.

I was recommended to Paul and his team by a previous client of his who raved about the work he did. I too can not say enough about the professionalism and creativity that Paul and his team at Sustainable TO bring to a project. Paul listened patiently to my plans - and then proceeded to make several ingenious suggestions that never would have crossed my mind. The final result is that I now have plans for an absolutely unique, contemporary space that takes into account my clientele, my branding and the neighbourhood. I am a thoroughly satisfied customer who would recommend Paul to anyone who has a business (or home!) project. Thank you Sustainable T.O. Team!

Thank you to Paul and his team at Sustainable.TO. Our project involved the conversion of a small 3-bedroom semi in The Beaches, to re-invent the existing space and add another 2 bedrooms. This was no small feat, considering challenges posed by a complex roof-line, limited yard space and our primary design goal of minimizing the impacts to the symmetry of the entire building. Sustainable was able to address all of these challenges and design a home that will meet our needs for many years to come. In a neighbourhood where growing families and 3-bedroom semis are the norm, Sustainable's design should serve as a template for future development.

After interviewing several architects Sustainable.TO proved to best understand the needs and requirements of our historical home renovation. We supplied Sustainable basic design ideas, pictures, and overall goals. Within a few short meetings architectural concepts formed. To our pleasure the designs were quickly finalized and Sustainable took care of the rest - they handled all the permit applications, coordinated with construction contractors, all the while keeping the project moving forward. My wife and I were very pleased with Paul and his team and would recommend Sustainable.TO to anyone looking for quality design and attention to details for their architectural project.

Paul and his team were our leads on renovating our 1950's George Boake designed home, which had replaced a century farmhouse on the same property. Right from the get go, Paul's enthusiasm for the use of the old in the creation of the new was contagious. Alex from Sustainable had several ideas regarding wall removal and installation of exterior huge bifold doors that totally transformed the place. The more mundane but necessary heating changes, electrical options, crazy difficult insulation and roofing problems etc were met with professional direction. When we ran into challenges with contractors and other trades, Sustainable was always there to help. We are delighted with the end result.

We were very happy with the architectural services Paul and Donald provided us with. These two gentlemen had excellent communication skills, they were reliable, they met our time deadlines, they were very pleasant to deal with and they genuinely cared about our renovation being a success.

These two architects were knowledgeable, experienced, innovative, creative and more than capable of solving all of the challenges we presented them with.

We are thrilled with the final product and we are relieved that sustainable was able to include all the details we asked for and meet our budget requests at the same time. We have had a number of people comment on how nice the design is and and on how well our new house fits in with the other homes in the neighbourhood.

Paul and Donald have a remarkable talent which allows them to give houses a 'wow factor' by way of roof lines, windows and a charmful curb appeal.

Thanks very much Paul and Donald. Jamie and Lisa

‘Sustainable’ characterizes the relationship that architect Paul Dowsett and his team develop with their clients. To this Client's delight, they adopt responsibility for a project from concept through execution, working effectively with the contractor and trades, sourcing specialized expertise where required, and co-ordinating those picky ‘missing pieces’ that make the difference between ‘good’ and ‘amazing’. Paul makes sure you get what you’re looking for. His creative approach marries design with function and execution, a surprisingly rare attribute among his peers. Beyond that, Paul and his team are simply a real pleasure to work with. They are professional and down-to-earth, and they bring thoughtful, solution-oriented confidence to what can sometimes be a challenging experience for a home-owner doing renovations.

Maura Lendon President, Aurah Advisory Services Inc.

We had a small, energy-inefficient room that was falling off our 1930s North Toronto home. Our son, Donald, works as an architectural technologist with Paul Dowsett, and we decided to give Paul - and thus our son - the chance to come up a design for a light-filled, energy-efficient larger room. Right from the beginning, we were extremely impressed with Paul's professionalism and friendliness, and this continued throughout the entire job. Every workman who crossed our doorstep was pleasant ,hard-working, and respectful. We have ended up with a really lovely room completed in the short space of time it was promised. We couldn't possibly be happier, and our son Donald has put his stamp on the childhhod home in which he grew up!