Gow Hastings Architects

Gow Hastings Architects is a Toronto based design firm founded in 2002 by partners Valerie Gow and Philip Hastings. Specializing in academic and institutional projects, our work grows out of a passion for the public realm, and a desire to create work that is both purposeful and playful. Comprised of nine professionals of diverse backgrounds, with qualifications in both architecture and interior design, our firm unites a multicultural perspective and comprehensive design services with agility and creativity throughout all aspects of design and construction. Our creative process is rooted in inquiry, collaboration, and a constant search for imaginative resolutions to familiar problems. We aim to translate the unique personality and ideals of the institution into physical form, while enhancing functionality and addressing the broader physical context. Our approach to design celebrates clarity of form and proportion, clean lines, refreshing materiality, and imaginative use of colour and light. We consider our projects meaningful when each detail has purpose and integrity, when the overall impression reflects the spirit of the institution, and engages the soul of the individual user. The result should stimulate an optimistic spirit and an awareness of the surrounding context, ensuring spaces that please and sustain over time.