VanPlex Plexperts · BC Multiplex Architect
Nick Bray
Featured on VanPlex Plexperts — the curated directory of BC multiplex architects.
Principal Architect, Nick Bray Architecture Ltd.
Certified Passive House homes and multiplexes in Vancouver.
AIBC-registered studio founded in 2017, with offices in Vancouver and Langford. Project types run from single-family Passive Houses to multiplexes, mid-rise apartments, and commercial buildings.
2017
Studio founded
~16
Team members
2
Offices (Vancouver, Langford)
~19%
Net-zero density bonus used on multiplexes
Meet Nick Bray
Nick Bray Architecture Ltd. is a Vancouver architecture studio that Nick Bray founded in 2017. Nick is registered with the AIBC and also holds UK credentials (ARB, RIBA) plus MRAIC. The firm has grown to a team of roughly 16, with offices in Vancouver and Langford near Victoria.
The studio focuses on low-energy, sustainable buildings and uses Passive House techniques where it can. Project types range from single-family Passive Houses to multiplexes, institutional and community buildings, mid-rise apartments, and commercial work across BC.
On larger homes and multiplexes the firm uses Vancouver’s net-zero / Passivhaus density bonus, which adds roughly 19% buildable area for zero-emissions buildings that meet the certification criteria. The studio is also working on a duplex aiming for Zero Carbon certification from the Living Future Institute.
Their best-known project is The Passive Narrow at 465 East 18th Avenue — a certified Passive House Classic completed in 2020 on a 25-foot lot in an East Van peat bog, which required an engineered shoring and piling system. The firm provides design services within the Project Mint Group and is a member of HAVAN (Homebuilders Association Vancouver).
Credentials
Recognition
CHBA National Awards — Best Detached Custom Home (The Passive Narrow)
HAVAN Awards — Best Custom Home (The Passive Narrow)
HAVAN Awards — Best High Performance Home (The Passive Narrow)
Georgie Awards — Finalist, Best Custom Home (The Passive Narrow)
Why work with Nick
01
Real Passive House delivery, not just claims
The firm delivered The Passive Narrow as a certified Passive House Classic on a difficult 25-foot peat-bog lot. That track record matters when a multiplex needs the same envelope quality to qualify for the density bonus.
02
The density bonus built into scope
Nick Bray uses Vancouver’s net-zero / Passivhaus density bonus on larger homes and multiplexes. The bonus adds about 19% buildable area for zero-emissions buildings, so the high-performance envelope helps pay for itself.
03
Project Mint integration
The studio provides design services within the Project Mint Group, so design coordinates with builder-side scheduling and pricing from the start, which cuts down on redesign loops.
Built work
The Passive Narrow
465 East 18th Avenue, Vancouver
Certified Passive House Classic on a 25-foot East Van lot. Built in a peat bog with a high water table, it needed an engineered shoring and piling system. Configured as a 3-bed home over a 2-bed garden suite, with flexibility to reconfigure as 4-bed over a 1-bed legal suite.
Frequently asked questions
Is Passive House overkill for a multiplex?
Do you handle the entire stamped permit set?
Have you actually certified a Passive House?
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.
You'll probably also need
Are you Nick Bray? Submit corrections