florian maurer architecture   art paintings bio awards contact        
   

this page is a recap of my career, not an active arcitect's website. i have retired from practising and live in Italy. this page shows highlights of my work between the early 1980's and 2022. the firms in which i produced these works as partner or sole proprietor are named under the images. hover over images for larger photos!

my last firm, f2a architecture ltd., is now managed by my former partner and successor Austin Hawkins, architect aibc. i maintain contact with him as mentor and to brainstorm when needed. visit his website at www.f2a.ca for more details on the works we completed together!

   
 
 
 
 
     
     
     
                 
  Fast + Epp home office, 2021  
Vancouver, BC, Canada  

a structural engineers home office and testing lab.
a lot of advanced tech went into this building,
like the electrocromic glass that keeps the heat
gain down at the almost fully glazed west face.
but the design also wants to honour the spirit
of classical modern architecture by offering
visual calm in an awfully busy place.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      photos: Michael Elkan f2a architecture ltd. www.f2a.ca  
     
  Malinka addition, 2019  
Naramata, BC, Canada  

the new owners of the Maurer House wanted a place to display their art collection. it floats on steel posts on a bedrock slab, low enough not to obstruct the views of lake and mountain from the existing living area. The staircase's glazing rests on slots in the bedrock slab.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      photos: Katie Huisman f2a architecture ltd. www.f2a.ca  
     
  Alton Cliff House, 2022  
Lake Country, BC, Canada  
this one floats above a rock face overhanging Okanaga Lake. To avoid the mess and cost of clumsy concrete work in such a difficult place the house was put on a platform over steel posts. A stairway leads from an opening in the entry plaza down onto the rock and to the lakeshore. the colour of rusty steel cladding speaks to the arid Okanagan landsape.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  photos: Florian Maurer f2a architecture ltd. www.f2a.ca  
                   
  Castello di Drena - a fictituous project  
Drena/TN, Italy, 2018  

when part of the fortification wall around this castle collapsed i couldn't resist thinking about how to use the event to turn the castle from little more than a ruin into an attractive public venue. we believe that the lightness and transparence of sparingly used glass and steel could bring to light the strength of the ancient stone masonry. unfortunately this view was not shared by the local decision makers.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      photos and modelling: Florian Maurer f2a architecture ltd. www.f2a.ca  
       
  school centre in the Yangri valley, Nepal  
for Himalayan Life, since 2016  
for Himalayan Life's school project in Yangri we wanted to demonstrate a seismically safer way to build than dry stone masonry. we started with wood framing and adapted it . himalayan pine is locally available on the NE slopes of the mountains, and a micro hydro plant offered energy to work the material. the campus was completed in 2019, but during the catastrophic monsoon flood of 2021 much of it was destroyed. it is now being rebuilt on a more stable site.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  photos: Himalayan Life   Florian Maurer volunteer work  
           
Askew's Uptown supermarket, 2015  
Salmon Arm, BC, Canada  
this supermarket was part of a master plan for a mixed use development set in typical north american steet commercial. it was to show a return to urbanity, using buildings to define spaces, not make them islands in a sea of parking. the building defined a street wall along the curved access road. parking is inside the development, as part of a large new civic plaza.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
      photo:Florian Maurer Allen + Maurer Architects Ltd.  
            (now Landform Architects Ltd.)  
  Sloan Berkes house, 2015  
Naramata, BC, Canada  

to gain views and southern exposure the building was placed an top of the hill, with garage and interior access buried into the hillside to the north. The building was named Fred, Wilma and Pebbles: Fred is the glass living area, Wilma with the bedrooms is tucked under a green roof, Pebbles is the underground garage.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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photo:Martin Knowles     photos:Florian Maurer Allen + Maurer Architects Ltd.  
         
  Summerland RCMP Detachment, 2013    
Summerland, BC, Canada  

site and program allowed to configure the building rigorously for best energy performance in this latitude: open to the south, closed east, west and north. fixed sun shades on the south shade prevent heat gain during summer but allow the flat winder sun to provide welcome passive heating. The closed sides are clad in rusty steel (Corten).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
photo:Florian Maurer   Allen + Maurer Architects Ltd.  
      KMBR Architects + Planners  
         
  municipal park pavillion, 2011  
Oliver, BC, Canada  

the small pavilion sits in the civic park of a small city in BC's Okanagan. it's there for markets, concerts, or just to meet, enjoy the park or have a picnic. The sculptures were cut from rusty steel plate by the Swiss craftsman who built the structure for us.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    photos:Florian Maurer Allen + Maurer Architects Ltd.  
 

Naramata, BC, 2007-2015

     
 

a few design-built houses

   

with Allen + Maurer Architects Ltd. we also had a small construction management company to buid our designs directly for our clients. This allowed us to use details, materials and techniques not familiar to local contractors. details could be fine tuned and changed, quality control was possible without the often adverserial and costly process laid out in standard construction contract scenarios.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
J.Cockrall studio   Nichols house   Whittow house Nesbitt house  
         
Richmond Christian School, 2008  
Richmond, BC, Canada  

this k-12 private school was, at the time, unusual because of a daylit gymnasium. the large north facing glazing runs parallel to the main playing field and so avoids giving an advantage to one of the teams. Slatted ceiling and wall elements achieve were used to achieve good acoustic performance.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    photos:Florian Maurer Allen + Maurer Architects Ltd.  
         
aid work in Romania, 2001 - 2021  
Craiova, Romania  

during my time in Italy i began working for the Swiss humanitarian organisation Ethos Open Hands in Romania. This work relationship lasted 20 years and realized social housing, clinical and care facilities, a large kindergarten and the 4000 m2 k-12 private school shown here.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
    photos:Florian Maurer Allen + Maurer Architects Ltd.  
       
Maurer House, 2003  
Naramata, BC, Canada  
for our own house in a country residential setting we wanted to create privacy by building around a sheltered inner space, so we could look at nice things, not the neighbour's junk or cars on the street! all traffic space was outside, all interior space was usable. a 10 kilowatt photovoltaic system with ground source heating and high quality low-E glazing helped achieve an Energuide rating of 94.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    photos:Florian Maurer Florian Maurer Architect  
         
  kindergarten Feldgatterweg, 2004                  
  Lana/BZ, Italy  
  together with my Italian friend Dr. Arch. Heinrich Zoeschg i designed this kindergarten
in the South Tyrolian community of Lana/BZ. The animated form was a direct consequence of the difficult site configuration, but could be used to create points that allowed the children to perhaps imagine the prow, tackle and sails of
a pirate ship.
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
  photos:Florian Maurer Florian Maurer Architect  
    Dr. Arch. Heinrich Zoeschg  
Yukon Energy Corporation offices, 1999    
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada    
in the Yukon Territory this design introduced energy saving features new at the time, such as groundwater cooling, an important consideration in a location where the midsummer sun shines practically all day and the flat angle penetrates deep into the rooms.    
   
   
Maurer Kobayashi Architects Ltd.  
(now Kobayashi Zedda Architects Ltd.)  
   
   
   
photo:Kobayashi Zedda Architects Ltd.  
       
photo:Florian Maurer        
  Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre, 1998  
Dawson City, Yukon, Canada  

designing a First Nation's cultural centre along the historic design guidelines of Dawson City was of course unacceptable. so we were happy to be allowed to place it on top of the dyke fronting the Yukon river, separated from the city centre by Front Street. a dialogue of cultures, rather than a clash could happen, and the building could face the a river with great significance for the Tr'ondek Hwech'in people

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
photo:Florian Maurer   photo:Florian Maurer Florian Maurer Architect Ltd.  
      (now Kobayashi Zedda Architects Ltd.)  
  Le Box, 1993  
Whitehorse, Yukon  

in Whitehorse we bought a 1950's Public Works Canada house, took off the roof and added a storey. we built it with our hands, and it has been called "Le Box" by the locals. it served us well while living in Whitehorse.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
before   after, front side after, garden side  
         
 

early competitions, early 1980's

 
-found rummaging in old boxes!  

with our design for the Canada/British Columbia pavilion for the 2006 Torino winter olympics we wanted to portray Canada as a producer of refined products and culture, not as the carriers of waters and hewers of wood the ultimately chosen log house seemed to suggest. we also wanted to showcase BC Forst Nation heritage and suggest to make it a permanent legacy building, not just the temporary solution it finally was.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
refuse incineration plant Canada pavilion 2006 winter olympics   multi family housing development  
Augsburg, Germany   Torino, Italy   Lana, Italy  
 

Maurer homestead 1977-1991

 

Telegraph Creek, BC

 

this is where my wife and I started as young immigrants from Germany: in the wilderness of the north-western corner of BC. the stereotype of the log cabin in the bush was just too powerful to resist, even for a young architect nurtured in classic modern tradition! after just a couple of years in the log cabin however we saw the light and built something a lot more comfortable and practical.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
a parkade entrance sculpture the log cabin a more refined second one  
Merano, Italy        
         
         
         
         
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