Shelter

We are now in the building stages of our project and have had a fabulous experience working with Shelter. Mark understood our needs & executed the perfect design for our home given the challenging landscape he had to work with. Mark is incredibly talented, and the work has been carried out in a very professional & efficient manner. Thanks Mark!

We chose to hire Mark after researching several Architects experienced with working in the Sea to Sky corridor. Not only did we share a similar design-style and philosophy, but we were also very impressed by his timely, thoughtful and detailed response to our initial inquiry. Mark was easy to collaborate with. We had very specific design ideas that we wanted to incorporate and he took the time to listen, consider and integrate those ideas or counter them with more creative or practical options. Mark always made himself available during the build of our home and worked well with our builder and trades. He was a pleasure to work with over the past year and would recommend him to anyone looking to build a unique contemporary home.

Loved working with Mark. His design has given us a beautiful new laneway home to retire in. All our wants and needs were taken into consideration and provided to the best of his ability. Mark has been very approachable throughout the project and has been willing to offer his professional advice regarding many questions throughout the project

We located a fantastic property in Squamish with incredible views that we wanted to integrate into the design of our house. My wife and I wanted to build a house that would take full advantage of the views, natural light and the landscape of the steep property, while at the same time having a very modern feel with unique features such as an entry bridge, floating deck and lightness of design. We shared our ideas with Mark Simone and quickly realised that he would be our designer for this project. While we shared very simliar tastes and styles, it was Mark's approach to the design process, his openness for new concepts and finding unique solutions that mae him our designer of choice. He excelled throughout the process, providing excellent renderings, which greatly assisted us in understanding the outcome of potential deisgn changes, and giving critical and supportive insights throughout the deisgn and, later, build process. His ability to communicate clearly with the builders to achieve the desired result was excellent. We were impressed with Mark's abilities, effort, knowledge and sense of humour thorughout the project and would not hesitate to work together with him again on future projects or to recommend him to persons seeking a highly competant and capable designer. Of course, we are not intending to move any time soon as we wish to continue to enjoy this wonderful design that we call home.

Mark Simone acted as designer for the construction of my home. This house is literally my dream home and the culmination of many years of planning and so there was much at stake for Mark. The goal was to create a very modern design that functioned conventionally but at the same time sustainably. Mark grasped that concept immediately and was able to incorporate many features and design elements that contributed to the sustainability of the house function. I gave Mark complete latitude in design concepts initially. He conceived a variety of great designs which were not quite my ideal. I shared some very specific ideas that I had with him and he immediately ‘got’ what I had been thinking about and went about improving upon those ideas for the final design. This to say that Mark has great ideas but is not at all inflexible and very receptive to input from his client. I found Mark to be hands on / or hands off as needed and he was involved in the project to the end. I would strongly recommend Mark’s architectural services. Sincerely, Dr. Tom Honey

Our work with Mark Simone began with a lengthy, incisive discussion to determine what we were looking for in a remodeled mountain home. At each of the subsequent planning meetings, it became clear that Mark had developed a clear and correct impression of the sense of space we wanted. He provided us with detailed drawings and color renderings of our home in the mountains and produced expansive views of the mountains surrounding us from every sight line in every room. Mark started with a struggling, initial design of what was a 1980's weekend ski cabin, solving structural alignment problems and creating a contemporary, efficient full time house that made economical use the existing space. His choice of materials, fixtures and textures has given us a beautiful home we can enjoy each day. We are happy to give Mark our highest recommendation.

My partner and I chose Mark as our architect after extensively researching architects in the Sea to Sky corridor and Vancouver. It was his unique artistic approach to design and obvious passion for contemporary style that made him stand out from the rest initially, and upon selecting him for our project we were not disappointed! Mark is meticulous in his attention to detail, and bold with his choices in highlighting select design elements that define a space. The extensive use of 3-D renderings from start to finish in the process was invaluable, making the decision-making process infinitely easier and less stressful. He is open to the client’s ideas and approaches the project with a collaborative mind-set. The final design is incredibly contemporary with elements that will also allow it to remain timeless. We could not be more pleased with the final product. Vision and design savvy aside, Mark paid very careful attention to our rather limited budget, and worked with us to reduce the overall cost of the house in areas where we could. I believe many architects can create a stunning space with an unlimited budget, but the real challenge lies in creating such a space within tight budgetary constraints. Mark is acutely aware of the real costs associated with the various design elements and choices made, and, while allowing us “dream big”, did help us keep a realistic perspective on the total cost of the build. Mark’s technical expertise has become obvious at the later stages of the process, particularly in listening to conversations between Mark and our builder. His knowledge and understanding of the design from a builder’s point of view will undoubtedly translate into savings during construction. While my ability to fully appreciate the technical drawings is limited, our builder has expressed how impressed he is with Mark’s knowledge and attention to detail in the drawings. Working with Mark on the design of our house was an absolutely wonderful experience. I highly recommend Mark Simone for any project without reservation.

To whom it may concern: This is a letter of recommendation for Mark Simone / Shelter as an architect for any personal and creative project. Mark’s easy-going manner, his own creativity, and his exceptional 3D modelling skill are a fantastic combination for people who want to work at a measured pace and invest the time and the thinking to really create a dream home. We worked with Mark over a period of almost 3 years to create our own dream home which sits in the French countryside between Annecy and Geneva, Switzerland. We started wth a 300m2 farm house, built in 1900. It had a dominant position on the hill, wonderful views in all directions, southwest exposure, and beautiful stone wall construction. A great start but it the interior was basic and poorly conceived. The first thing Mark did was to build an full 3D model of the house, which was a major accomplishment given that none of the original sone walls were straight or even parallel with each other. With the completed model, we moved to the design phase. As new home owners we were excited to quickly come to a plan. Mark really encouraged us to slow down, to take time to live in the house through all 4 seasons, and to consider and reconsider all options. Mark was 100% right as our final design ended up very different (and much better) than our initial plan. We really appreciated Mark’s superb 3D modelling skills and the way that allowed us to visualize different options before deciding on one. But this technical skill was not what impressed us most. Mark’s easy-going nature, flexibility, and above all patience was what make the real difference for us -- he did not just ‚design‘ and tell us what to do – he insisted that we were really part of the process and we thank him for that. We appreciate the end product so much more for it as we walk around the house the WE designed. We also loved Mark’s flexibility and the way he guided the process. We were often keen to lock some decisions and move ahead but Mark would encourage us not to. He directed us to rather change gears and focus on different areas for a little bit of time, versus fine tuning one area. Once again – Mark was right. We quickly learned what Mark meant when he said that the design process was not linear – and that one decision in one area impacted a decision in another. Our intent was to have Mark help us with ONLY the major layout decisions and then to do the rest ourselves but we soon realized the value that he brough to the design process and we ended up working him for the full life of the project. That is a strong testament to value that we saw in his appoach and his skillset. We recommend Mark Simone/ Shelter without any hesitation. Mark Pataky & Steffi Adam 348 Route des Grands Pres 74350 Copponex France