Where It All Started

Look, we're not gonna feed you some polished corporate story. Ember Crestal started in a cramped shared office space on Queen West back in 2014, fueled by way too much coffee and this stubborn belief that buildings could actually give back more than they take.

Our founder, Marcus Chen, spent years working at big-name firms, designing glass towers that honestly made him feel... empty. Beautiful? Sure. But sustainable? Not even close. So he quit. Just walked out one Tuesday afternoon and decided to do things differently.

What Drives Us

Every building we design has to answer one question: will this matter in 50 years? Not just stand, but actually matter. We're talking energy-positive, community-enhancing, legacy-building work.

How We Work

Forget stuffy client meetings. We grab lunch with you, walk your property at dawn, sketch on napkins. Architecture shouldn't feel transactional - it's collaborative storytelling in three dimensions.

The Team Reality

We're a crew of 14 now - architects, designers, sustainability nerds, and one project manager who somehow keeps us on schedule. Half of us have kids, three are obsessed with rock climbing, and we've all got strong opinions about Toronto's bike lanes.

What binds us? We genuinely care about making buildings that don't screw over the next generation. Sounds dramatic, but it's true. We've turned down projects that didn't align with that vision, even when it hurt financially.

Our Philosophy (Without the BS)

We believe contemporary design doesn't mean cold minimalism. It means honest materials, smart engineering, and spaces that actually feel good to inhabit. Natural light isn't a luxury - it's non-negotiable.

Sustainability isn't a marketing angle for us. It's literally embedded in our process from sketch one. Solar orientation, passive cooling, reclaimed materials, local sourcing - that's just Tuesday for us.

Recognition & Real Talk

Yeah, we've won some awards - Ontario Association of Architects' Sustainable Design Award in 2019, a couple of Azure Magazine features. They're nice, don't get us wrong. But honestly? The best validation is getting a text from a client two years later saying their heating bills dropped by 60% or their kid loves doing homework in that window nook we designed.

We've also screwed up. A commercial project in 2017 where we underestimated winter wind patterns - had to retrofit additional shielding. Expensive lesson. But we owned it, fixed it, and now wind modeling is part of our standard analysis for every project.

89

Projects Completed

14

Team Members

11

Years Running

Looking Forward

Climate change isn't coming - it's here. Buildings account for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, and that's unacceptable. We're experimenting with mass timber construction, pushing for net-zero standards on everything we touch, and honestly just trying to prove that responsible architecture can be financially viable.

Toronto's growing fast, and we wanna be part of shaping that growth intelligently. More density? Absolutely. But done right - with green space, natural ventilation, community integration. Not just stacking boxes.

Wanna Work Together?

We're always up for a conversation. Whether you've got a napkin sketch or a fully formed vision, let's grab coffee and talk it through.

Get In Touch