In Canada, an increasing affordability gap fuels the housing crisis, with a shortage of 3.1 million homes across the country. By 2030, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) estimates that number will climb to 3.5 million.

Population growth, a shortage of skilled tradespeople, the rising cost of materials, a backlog of housing permit applications, and expensive carrying costs for developers all contribute to the lack of supply and affordability.

But the newly minted tech hub team at Archistar’s new office in Vancouver, British Columbia, which started on August 5, is incredibly passionate and determined to help unlock housing supply in Canada.

As an ASTTBC-certified building designer and code and zoning consultant for commercial and residential projects in British Columbia, Archistar’s Vancouver Shira Rosenberg understands the complexities of permitting. The Vancouver tech team lead has worked on more than 1,000 projects and spent countless hours checking and rechecking regulation and compliance details to help her clients pass the permitting process.

She joined Archistar in early August to manage the tech team reviewing submissions for eCheck in Canada, which has been eye-opening. “This technology is the most amazing thing I’ve seen,” she says. “It’s going to drastically change the building industry.”

Multiple Canadian cities—including Vancouver, Burlington, Surrey, Burnaby, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Cambridge—have been piloting or in production with Archistar’s eCheck AI-powered digital compliance platform.

Since City of Surrey submissions launched on August 25, the tech team has been extra busy. The team includes KwanChi Lai, an architectural designer who previously prepared building designs for permit approval and graduated from the NewSchool of Architecture & Design in San Diego, CA. Kristina Antonio, an architectural designer and Master of Architecture student at the University of British Columbia also joined the team.

Then there’s Mina Tahmasbi, an architect and urban designer with a Master of Urban Design degree from the University of British Columbia. Previously, she designed projects at Vancouver’s M Moser Associates architecture firm. And rounding out the team is Dora Sun, a recent Bachelor of Arts, Architecture Studies graduate from the University of Toronto.

Last year, Joe Philbrook, Archistar’s VP of Customer Success, and Mitchell Barker, Associate Director of Enterprise & Government, opened the Vancouver office. The veteran Archistar Vancouver members (if 11 months counts as “veteran”) are driving digital transformation and helping architects and cities across North America accelerate their permit-assessment process.

The Vancouver office sits in one of the coolest buildings in the Vancouver skyline, designed by Merrick Architecture and built by EllisDon for local developer Westbank. The 24-story commercial building was inspired by a Japanese Noguchi lamp, and each cube contains four stories with hydroponic living walls in between.

Stay tuned to learn about other Archistar offices and employees, including our headquarters in Sydney, Australia; new office in Culver City in Los Angeles County, California; and the soon-to-be-opened office in Austin, Texas.