Blue Sky Architecture & Planning

Blue Sky Architecture is an award-winning architectural practice recognized for continuing the tradition of west coast modern architecture with an organic approach, innovative and sensitive use of wood, and deep respect for the environmental context.

Blue Sky Design was first established on Hornby Island in 1975. Early works incorporated regionalist principles of the Pacific Northwest, rooting designs in the ecology and topography of British Columbia, which formed the foundation of the practice. Kim Smith joined the practice in 1987, and Blue Sky Architecture was established in 1992, with Helliwell and Smith as partners.

The practice is currently based in West Vancouver, British Columbia, which has allowed the firm to maintain close proximity to the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Southern Gulf Islands, as well as the resort town of Whistler. The firm’s body of work comprises primarily of residential projects located throughout Canada and the United States, and also includes multi-family housing developments and local public buildings.

Kim Smith and Bo Helliwell are both Fellows of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and are 2013 recipients of the Architect of the Year Awards, presented by Wood Works, a program of the Canada Wood Council. A second monograph of their work, “Blue Sky Living: The Architecture of Helliwell + Smith” was published in 2013.