Cohos Evamy, Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden, Mole White Associates, and Office for Urbanism have adopted a new name for their recent merger, and the Canadian architecture, engineering, interior design, planning and urban design mega-firm will now be known collectively as DIALOG.
“We believe the most effective way to design and plan for our increasingly complex world is to use a highly collaborative approach, one that brings unique perspectives together, bridges traditional boundaries, and engages clients and their communities. Today we’re putting a name to this shared vision,” said firm managing principal Tom Sutherland.
When asked about moving beyond the original names, firm chair, Doug McConnell observed that, “We’re looking to the future. Our new name speaks to a vital national professional practice built upon a multidisciplinary approach committed to collaborative design”.
The name DIALOG conveys the firm’s collaborative approach founded upon engagement of clients and communities by multidisciplinary teams of architects, engineers, interior designers, planners, and graphic artists in an interactive planning and design process. Calgary managing principal, Rob Adamson, underscored the fit of the new name, “Dialogue is the language of collaboration. It’s central to how we work and increasingly important to the world in general. We all need to work together to find the best solutions to the issues at hand.” Toronto principal Jennifer Keesmaat indicated that, “the creation of DIALOG presents an endless range of new opportunities for truly creative collaboration amongst diverse yet like-minded professionals. We’re very enthusiastic about the creative potential.”
“There’s a lot of change afoot in how we’re building our communities,” noted Vancouver principal Joost Bakker. “On the one hand there’s a desire for greater open public engagement while on the other, a shift to a more concentrated and intense building process be it with Design-Build or P3 initiatives. As DIALOG we are able to seamlessly span and integrate this breadth.”
DIALOG has a track record of award-winning design excellence. Founded by the merged firms of Cohos Evamy + Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden + Mole White Associates + Office for Urbanism, DIALOG will be working from studios in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.