Catching Up With...

Where are you now and what are you up to?
I live and work in Yellowknife. I am principal of Guy Architects Ltd which I founded in 1990 and run with my wife Constantina. The mission of the firm was to establish excellence in the field of architecture through innovation and exemplary Client service. I have been involved with the Rotary Club of Yellowknife and am its past President as well as a Board Member of Old Town Community Association whose objective is to keep Yellowknife’s historic centre economically vibrant and appealing to visitors and locals alike. I have three wonderful daughters who are now either working or attending university in the south.

Some of the other activities/roles I have had:

1. Chair of the Yellowknife United Way
2. Founder and President for Homes for the Homeless 
3. Founder and President of Summit Circle Developments for the development of Yellowknife Condominiums.
4. Founder and President of APQAK Renewable Energy for the implementation of Hydro-electric power in Canada’s Arctic
5. Founder and First President of the Northwest Territories Association of Architects
6. Board Member of the Committee of Canadian Architectural Councils  
7. Board Member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada

What led you to study at BCS?
My mother found the school when I was in Grade 6. I did not know much about it at the time of my acceptance other than it was a boarding school. 

How did your time at BCS prepare you for what you are pursuing now?
I was in the science stream taking accelerated Chemistry and Physics with Art Campbell and David Dutton respectively. Though I was not the strongest student, I really established a great exposure to these subjects. This understanding made it possible for me to ace these courses in CEGEP which brought my average way up to meet the acceptance requirement of Architecture school, in which only one in 25 applicants were accepted. Additionally, my involvement with Agora; the Debating Club (Brian McFarlane) and Track (Jim Parker) gave me a well-rounded extra-curricular regime which has respectively helped me in the many public presentations I have made during my career and kept me fit for life. I still run and am hoping to attend the 55 plus games in Kamloops this summer.

What are your fondest memories from your time at BCS?
I loved my life at Williams House, playing guitar with Allard Keeley, discovering what freshly grown tomatoes tasted like from Mr. Campbell’s garden, and the antics during our on-the-road track meets with Paul Tinari, John Molson and the rest of the team led by Jim Parker. The tunnels were well used for track workouts back then. The workouts were painfully good and introduced me to my love of endorphins. The campus was also stunning, a very spectacular place with very special people. I remember Robert Bedard playing tennis on the gravel court by Grier House, he was poetry in motion. I remember when I bought my first tennis racket in Montreal which had Mr. Bedard’s endorsement on it, little did I know, this gentleman would be my French teacher.

What’s something you wish you could tell your BCS self?/ What advice do you have for our current BCS students?
As a teenager, I was going through enormous changes and growth and certainly did not understand the full continuum of life. I would tell myself to be more accepting of myself and others as future experiences provide opportunities for self-understanding and fulfilment.  To current students I would say, get involved with as many extra-curricular activities as possible, they will provide the ornamentation for your future life. Also, if you are inclined toward the sciences, take an art course, I remember my art course with Mr. Morgan, it provides a wonderful counterpoint for creative thinking in whatever field you may pursue.

 

Photos

1. We have an annual family one to two-week boating trip on Great Slave Lake. A photo of my family and me. (main photo)

2. I build a 2.5 km ice track on Great Slave Lake every winter. A photo of a friend and me on the track. 

3. Guy Architects also has Structural Engineering. We donated Architectural/Engineering services to the True North Rotary Club for the design and construction of a pedestrian suspension bridge to the Back Bay Cemetery.  I am in the safety vest inspecting work.

4. A photo of my days in Williams House, I am top right.

5. The nearly-completed Rotary Bridge (missing the guard railing).

6. The Sahara Greenhouse concept. I  developed this project with Dr. Paul Tinari, BCS'76, whom I met in F-Dorm Glass House in 1970.