healthcare projects. They have worked across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean, but their focus has always been their home, i.e. Hamilton and the surrounding area. According to Bill, clients within that region choose TCA because of their reputation for quality: “The people that choose us are the people who share our values,” he says. “They understand the value of quality architecture.” “We believe that we contribute a higher level of quality than other firms might,” he adds. “The clients that seek us out are looking for that added value. They believe, as we believe, that better architecture can have a better impact on people’s lives.” Also, according to Kyle and Stevan, clients are also drawn to TCA by their ability to problemsolve: “Our clients also tend to be seeking creative solutions to challenging problems,” Kyle says. “We’re good at solving problems that other firms can’t or don’t want to. I can actually think of quite a few cases where the client started with somebody else, but they ran into a problem, and we ended up taking it across the finish line.” “We’re not widget-makers,” Stevan adds. “We’re not just technicians banging out drawings. We really take a lot of pride in bringing a lot of brainpower to our architecture. We like to put a fair bit of thought into what we do. I think that’s usually why clients seek us out.” Bill also partly credits TCA’s ability to solve their client’s problems to the fact that, in addition to their architectural practice, they are also smallscale developers. He believes that undertaking site and building developments projects has given them a deeper understanding of project financial performance realities and “what actually works.” “We all recognized early on that to solve the problems our clients have, we have to have a deep understanding of they think and what they need,” he explains. “So we gained a really deep understanding of the business of development. We learned about the big picture when it comes to approvals, to marketing, et cetera. We now bring all that to the table too.” JULY 2022
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