VanPlex Plexperts · BC Multiplex Architect
Hearth Architectural
Featured on VanPlex Plexperts — the curated directory of BC multiplex architects.
AIBC-registered architecture studio, Hearth Architectural Inc.
Architect of record on 300+ homes, now building the missing middle.
Hearth Architectural is a Vancouver firm led by Joe Muego, an AIBC-registered architect with a Master of Architecture from UBC. Hearth has been architect of record on over 300 house projects and now runs a portfolio of small-scale multi-unit work — townhouse conversions, triplexes, and multiple-conversion dwellings with infill.
300+
House projects as architect of record
10–15
Active home projects per year
AIBC
Registered architect (Joe Muego, principal)
M.Arch
UBC, special recognition in building structures
Meet Hearth Architectural
Hearth Architectural Inc. is a Vancouver architecture firm led by principal Joe Muego, an architect registered with the Architectural Institute of British Columbia (AIBC). Muego holds a BA in western architectural history and earned his Master of Architecture from UBC, where he received special recognition in building structures.
The firm works across residential and commercial projects — from house renovations and new custom homes to mid-sized multi-family and mixed-use buildings. In recent years Hearth has been the architect of record on more than 300 house projects, and it carries 10 to 15 active home projects in a typical year. About a quarter of the practice is single-family residential, which has been part of Hearth since it started.
Hearth has built up a set of missing-middle projects, most of them in development. Examples include a Ladner single-family house being converted into six townhouse units, a North Vancouver house being turned into a triplex, a Courtenay house being converted into 24 rental units, and North Delta land being subdivided into duplexes and lots with suites.
One documented Vancouver project converts a single-family character house into a four-unit multiple-conversion dwelling plus two infill dwelling units — six homes from one existing character house. Muego also sits on municipal committees outside his practice.
Credentials
Why work with Hearth
01
Heavy house-project volume
Hearth has been architect of record on more than 300 house projects. For a small multiplex owner, that means the firm has already moved hundreds of residential drawings through City of Vancouver permitting.
02
Existing character house as the core of a conversion
One of Hearth’s Vancouver projects keeps a single-family character house and converts it into a four-unit multiple-conversion dwelling, then adds two infill units — six homes on one lot. That retain-and-add approach fits owners with character-protected houses.
03
Multiple-conversion dwelling experience
Multiple-conversion dwellings (MCDs) are a less-used Vancouver pathway than new-build multiplex but can produce more units from existing heritage stock. Hearth’s current portfolio includes that pathway.
04
Work across several municipalities
Hearth’s missing-middle projects span Vancouver, North Vancouver, Delta, and Courtenay, so the firm has dealt with more than one set of local rules for small multi-unit housing.
Built work
Vancouver character house → 4-unit MCD + 2 infill
Vancouver
Single-family character home converted into a four-unit multiple-conversion dwelling, plus two infill dwelling units on the same lot.
Ladner house → 6 townhouses
Ladner (Delta)
Single-family house being converted into six townhouse units.
North Vancouver house → triplex
North Vancouver
Single-family house being converted into a triplex.
City of North Vancouver house → 4 townhouses
City of North Vancouver
Single-family house being converted into four townhouse units.
Courtenay house → 24 rental units
Courtenay
Single-family house being converted into a 24-unit rental building.
Frequently asked questions
Who would I work with at Hearth on a multiplex?
Does Hearth do conversions of existing houses, or only new builds?
What areas does Hearth work in?
Call Hearth at 604-266-4677 or email [email protected] to talk through your lot.
Reach out directly — no VanPlex middle layer.
Other architects
Bryn Davidson
Built Vancouver's first laneway house in 2010 and its first net-zero laneway in 2012. Lanefab now designs and builds ~10 small-multi-unit projects a year.
Cornerstone Architecture
Vancouver studio founded in 1983 that designed The Heights — an 85-unit Passive House building in Hastings-Sunrise that was the largest in Canada when it went up.
Daniel Clarke
Vancouver architect who works only on Passive House and net-zero homes and multiplexes, with about 24 years of residential experience in Western Canada.
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