Synthesis Design is a North Vancouver-based design firm known for thoughtful residential work, including renovations, additions, custom homes, and interior design. See how they are helping us bring thermally modified Hem-Fir into architectural design.
Our design partner for the IDS Vancouver Central Wood Feature Bar.
Synthesis Design, founded in 1993, brings together a multidisciplinary team with experience across architecture, interiors, engineering, psychology, fine arts, CAD/BIM technologies, and project management.
The firm’s name reflects its design philosophy: bringing different elements together to create a unified whole. That idea is visible not only in the spaces Synthesis Design creates, but also in how the studio works. Projects are shaped through open dialogue, careful critique, problem-solving, and a strong connection between creative vision and the realities of building.
That balance of design exploration and constructability makes Synthesis Design a natural partner for the IDS Vancouver 2026 Central Bar pilot.
Esplanade Residence by Synthesis Design
From material sample to architectural experience.
For the 2026 Central Bar, Synthesis Design is leading the design concept and working with Western Forest Products to explore how thermally modified Hem-Fir can be expressed in a high-profile, public-facing installation.
The Central Bar will be a gathering place at IDS Vancouver, a space for hospitality, conversation, mini events, coffee service, music, and material discovery. Within that setting, Synthesis Design is helping shape how people will encounter the material. Thermally modified Hem-Fir will not be presented simply as a wood sample or surface finish. It will become part of an architectural experience, something visitors can move around, gather near, see at scale, and feel up close.
The design intent is to create a tactile, memorable space where visitors can experience the tone, grain, texture, and natural variation of thermally modified Hem-Fir. Through proportion, repetition, rhythm, depth, and detailing, Synthesis Design is exploring how a local wood product can contribute to warmth, atmosphere, and architectural expression.
“Synthesis Design is helping us move thermally modified Hem-Fir from product development into architectural experience. New materials build confidence when people can see them at scale, understand their character, and experience how they contribute to a space.”
– Ara Koh, Market Intelligence Manager, Western Forest Products
Local firm with a strong design record.
Synthesis Design also brings a strong local design reputation to the collaboration. Its residential work has been recognized through programs including Western Living’s Designers of the Year Awards, the HAVAN Awards, the Georgie Awards, and the CHBA National Awards for Housing Excellence.
Projects such as Kings Residence, Esplanade Residence, Westport Residence, and Bonnymuir Residence reflect a practice focused on livability, design quality, material sensitivity, and thoughtful execution. That experience is useful for a pilot focused on how a new local wood product can contribute to atmosphere, texture, rhythm, warmth, and architectural expression.
Westport Residence by Synthesis Design
Where design and buildability meet.
For the IDS Vancouver Central Bar pilot, Western is working closely with Curtis D. Krahn, Founder and Principal of Synthesis Design, along with Senior Design Managers Julie Lepper, Pedro Serrano and Brad Ingram. Together, they bring the kind of layered perspective the project calls for: architectural thinking, design sensitivity, technical understanding, and a practical interest in how ideas move from concept into built form.
Curtis’s work has long explored better ways to build, including prefabrication and factory-built solutions, while Pedro brings a background in visual arts, architecture, sustainable design, and 3D modelling. Brad adds further senior design experience to the team as the concept moves from design intent into a buildable installation. Julie brings an interior lens shaped by art history, textiles, and residential design, helping consider how material, texture, tone and detail influence the way people experience a space.
Giving local wood a public presence.
In the Central Bar, Synthesis Design is helping give Thermally Modified Hem-Fir a clear architectural presence, not simply applying it as a finish. Through proportion, repetition, depth, rhythm, and detailing, the installation will show how local coastal BC wood can move beyond conventional applications and become part of a more design-forward material language.
Bonnymuir residence by Synthesis Design
For Western, that perspective is an important part of the pilot. The project is not only about introducing a new product; it is about learning how architects and designers respond to the material, what questions emerge during design development, and what support may be needed to make future specification easier.
Through this collaboration, Synthesis Design is helping bring Western’s thermally modified Hem-Fir into the design conversation in a way that feels tangible, local, and architectural. It is a pilot rooted in material exploration, but also in something more human: how people experience wood in the spaces where they gather.
