Architecture is the opportunity to contribute to the history of human civilization.

With over 20 years of experience informing my architectural expertise, I articulate creative and engaging spaces through built form. I specialize in translating visions into designs that focus on both the users’ needs and clients’ business objectives while being mindful of the impact the facility will have on the urban fabric.

I served as design lead for the aesthetic design guidelines for the Gordie Howe International Bridge and created the concept design for Yorkville Village. My other notable projects include 3080 Yonge Street mixed-use development in Toronto, the Scott Mission redevelopment, Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, the Edmonton Federal Building and the award-winning Lusail Tower in Doha. I’m a team leader and mentor for the next generation of architects. My calm demeanor and strong communication skills help me guide the design process for complex infrastructure projects, as well as a number of AFP pursuits.

My Sectors: Arts & Culture, Commercial Mixed-Use, Healthcare & Transportation.

My Services: Architecture, Lifescape, Master Planning & Urban Design, and Planning, Design & Conformance.

We asked, James Rice answered:

What got you interested in architecture?

“I’ve wanted to be an architect since I was six years old. I’d sit in the family room, drawing at the coffee table, creating floorplan sketches of houses. I loved finding solutions to how to put different rooms of a house together. How do you come into the home, move around the spaces and experience their relationship with each other? My mother consistently encouraged me to paint and draw. When I was a teenager, my father and my twin brother built the family house that my parents still live in — this gave me the knowledge and understanding of how a building is put together, sparking the flame to pursue architecture as a career.”

What have you achieved in your career that you’re particularly proud of?

“I would say the Lusail Tower in Doha, which won an Arabian Property Award recently. We took a strong reference of a local element that has history and relevance to Qatar and turned it into a building that is architecturally expressive of that idea. Mentoring younger architects is important, either through the OAA program, students at school, or in the office itself.”