Architecture Building Culture (ABC) is an award-winning design focused practice that sees its fundamental role as one of reflecting, supporting, uplifting and, in many cases, transforming the cultural context of its clients. To that end, we are committed to a collaborative and integrative process that considers the story of a building, its occupants and their activities as one and integral to the community it represents.
We believe that collaboration is an essential driver of [good] design. Different points of view and expertise enrich a project’s depth, performance, and cultural relevance. Collaboration broadens the intellectual knowledge base available to a project team and ensures a streamlined development and distribution of that knowledge throughout the entire process. To facilitate this commitment, ABC has forged alliances with industry thought leaders throughout the world in order to bring coordinated expertise to our planning and design work.
ABC was founded in 2008 and has offices in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia. ABC offers a full range of professional services and is currently licensed to practice in Washington, Oregon, California, British Columbia, and New Zealand. ABC’s expertise encompasses a wide array of building types including cultural, civic, mixed-use/commercial, educational, multi and single-family housing, and hospitality.
Current work includes various projects in Canada, the United States, and the South Pacific. These include the new Black Cultural Center on the campus of the University of Oregon; multiple multi-family residential projects in Portland, OR; a series of modular single-family residences in Los Angeles, CA; a new villa for a resort in Fiji; a commercial adaptive reuse of an existing warehouse building in downtown Vancouver, BC; and a number of single family residences.
The work of ABC and its principals, Brian Cavanaugh and Mark Ritchie, has won numerous design awards and been published throughout the world. Most recently, ABC was awarded a 2017 AIA Small Project Award, which is a national award given by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), as well as a 2016 Citation Award from the AIA Northwest and Pacific Region for Laura’s Place. In 2015 ABC was awarded a Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Award in Architecture (Merit Level) for the Vomo Island Spa. In 2014, ABC received the AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Emerging Firm of the Year Award. In 2013, ABC was ranked as one of the top 50 design firms in the U.S. by ARCHITECT Magazine (The ARCHITECT 50).
