Kariouk Architects

How lucky we were to find Paul and his team: professionals who are nice, smart and honest, with a sense of humour and love of animals—what more could one ask for when embarking on the design and birthing of a precious project?Paul was thoroughly invested in our plan to build the perfect little cottage on a modest budget. We worked together through many concepts and iterations, using drawings as well as models to develop what turned out to be a unique solution to our list of “must-haves”- especially a loft for our daughter. Chris Davis, one of the firm’s greatest assets, brought a welcome pragmatism to the table by helping to channel ideas into viable options with his easy, personable way. Building projects are rarely problem free and ours was no exception. Paul skillfully guided us over some challenging hurdles. We did not end up with the cottage we had envisioned, but with a superior jewel that speaks to the imagination, effort and energy of Paul and his team.

We retained Kariouk Architects to work with us to renovate our 100-year old home. While our initial thoughts were to build an addition, Paul and Chris encouraged us to first consider how we used the existing space. Through a series of conversations with them we decided that a reconfiguration of the existing footprint would be a better option to achieve our goals. With their collaborative approach we arrived at a plan to expand the usable space and add modern design elements while respecting the traditional characteristics of the house. The contractor they used- GPL Construction- was excellent. They were skilled, communicative, and completed the work according to our limited budget and timeline. We are very happy with our decision to use Kariouk Architects and would do so again if the opportunity presents.

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.

We are a professional Project Management firm that builds custom homes in Ottawa. We had the pleasure of working with Kariouk Architects and enjoyed the experience immensely.From the very beginning we were impressed with their high level of professionalism, knowledge, creativity, attention to detail and the level of pride they have in their work.Kariouk Architects’ cooperation, availability and communication made the building process from zoning/permit drawings to completion a fluid exercise for our team.Paul is a kind and intelligent architect, his innovative and unique architectural designs are impressive to say the least. Chris is an amazing problem solver with a unique set of design ideas. Their entire team has a broad sense of knowledge, experience, excellent communication skills and customer service to offer their clientele. They are honest, hardworking, supportive, and consistently on time.If you are looking for an architect to design your dream home, we would highly recommend Kariouk Architects.

After hearing about Paul from my cousin, we chose Paul Kariouk and his team to conceive, design and project manage the creation of our Chelsea House in the Trees. My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire design and selection process working closely as a team with Paul and Chris. They were professional and knowledgeable, conscious of our budget, needs and tastes as well as our timeline. The perfect marriage between design and function was evident from the moment we moved in to now, 12 years later and has helped retain the timeless beauty of our home. There isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t gaze out the large industrial windows and tell ourselves how lucky we are to live here and how fortunate we were in making the right choice when we decided to collaborate with Paul. We highly recommend Kariouk Architects to anyone looking to create their dream home. Hélène and Charles

I first worked with Paul and crew when we wanted to knock down our small 1920s home and rebuild a few years ago. I'm from New Zealand and trained as a builder there and we wanted a house with a modern kiwi aesthetic. Lots of natural light, underfloor heat, concrete floors, and materials I was familiar with so I could do all the construction from footings to finish. We had a small city lot and a limited budget, yet Paul came up with a striking design that we really liked and suited our family. He and his team (Chris and Adam) were great to work with. They listened and were always helpful, even stood up to a bit of kiwi banter too! They were so good to work with, I’ve done another project with them where I was the builder.We love living in our house, and continue to get heaps of compliments on it from friends, neighbours, and everyone walking by!‘Kiwi’ Mike Leach

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

We have completed two homes with Kariouk Architects, one in the Cayman Islands and the other in Caledon, Ontario. Our family first hired Kariouk to design a new home for us on Grand Cayman Island, which was not a beach home but rather a year-round canal-front home that is for full-time use by us and our three young children. They hit it out of the park, so we had them design our second home in Caledon.Building in Cayman is somewhat complicated even for a standard run-of-the-mill house, but we expected to multiply this by factors to successfully build a bespoke masterpiece that comes with the designs Chris and Paul come up with. Nearly everything needed to be shipped in, from the structure, to the complicated roof design, to the finishes. Further to that, usually decisions are made on the spot in person during the construction phase, but here not only did they have to perfectly time the shipment of materials from various overseas locations but also had to make construction decisions at a distance of almost 2,000 km away. All of this went off without a hitch. It speaks to Chris, Paul, and Adam going above and beyond in the projects they choose to participate in.Here we are now, about 2 months away from occupancy permit in our second Kariouk-designed home, and it's during this COVID pandemic. Yet again, they still managed to hit it out of the park but with even more challenges such as managing pandemic restrictions. Previous to this, they managed the nuance of building in the Caribbean from a distance and accomplished it without a hitch, and now they are somehow managing the final most complicated stage of design during a world wide pandemic.They've provided us with equally, stunningly rich design for both our homes while maintaining our family design requirements and space needs. A real testament to the architects’ design skill and their commitment to originality. Given the amount of time we've worked together in these two projects, we've become friends through the process and even occasionally play some strategy games online together. That's special.

We've had the opportunity to work with Paul and Chris on two projects, and we wholeheartedly give our two thumbs up for them!The first was a modernization project to update the exterior of our condo corporation dating from the 80s, that transformed the rather dowdy exterior into a smart, contemporary and fabulous looking one. The whole experience of working on this extensive project with the Kariouk team was a great experience. From the initial consultations with the stakeholders, to the completion of the wonderful transformation, we were impressed with their professionalism and their ability to work with the different groups of people involved and all the challenges that this presents.Responding to questions and concerns with sure handed competence, using excellent visual back-up, working together as a team with the engineers, the board and owners, they managed to get all of the stakeholders on board and itching to set sail.The second project was to follow a few years after our Condo modernization. We hired Paul and Chris for a more modest, but equally impressive interior transformation of our condo. We added a washroom and renovated the other, and reconfigured the top floor where the bedrooms are situated. Again, Kariouk, together with their excellent contractor, worked their magic, making what at first seemed unlikely into reality...with style!Paul's generous spirit and creative energy made the experience a satisfying and collaborative one. Most of the pressure and stress was lifted away from us, as he was able to help us focus and to choose the various components that can often be overwhelming in these projects.We love our home now...Inside and out!Marwan and Gilbert