Graham McGarva Architect AIBC, AIA, AAA, OAA, LEED® AP Principal

Graham McGarva is a founding partner of VIA Architecture (VIA), an award winning firm he started in 1984 dedicated to creating ‘connective communities’. Raised in the UK, Graham graduated from Cambridge University, before hitch hiking across Canada to land in ’s neighbourhood. Living there for over 30 years, he has become a leader in the shaping of walkable urban communities. These include ‘hands-on’ planning for complex highly scrutinized projects, from Vancouver’s Concord Pacific Place, to the “Model Sustainable Community” of South East False Creek and LEED Platinum 2010 Olympic Village, and transitioning neighbourhoods such as Vancouver’s Broadway and Commercial Hub, International Village/Roger’s Arena and Downtown Waterfront Hub.

Graham has been instrumental in the shaping of livable, transit-oriented communities. His integrated land use practice, complemented by over 25 years of transit station and alignment design for high capacity rail, bus and ferry systems has led him to work on transportation systems around the world, from Metro Vancouver’s Expo, Millennium, Evergreen and Canada SkyTrain Lines, to Seattle, Malaysia, China and Russia.

Working to integrate mobility choices with community plans, Graham pays attention to complementary infrastructure design, transit-supportive land use strategies, and creative development planning to build sustainable transit-oriented developments. He has been immersed in major development projects within evolving urban environments, leading the design and construction of several million square feet of residential, commercial and community/recreational uses.

Graham’s collaborative approach often brings public and private sectors together in building innovative urban amenities; notably the Roundhouse Community Centre, , and most recently, the integration of Plaza 88 with New Westminster SkyTrain Station, an ambitious four tower mixed-use TOD wrapped around a SkyTrain station and includes the tallest building in New Westminster.

Graham has been a regular presenter for Simon Fraser University’s City Program, and has taught at the University of and British Columbia Institute of Technology. He is President of the Downtown Vancouver Association, and has served on Boards such as the Urbanarium, Architectural Foundation of BC, and his local Neighbourhood Associations.

Through VIA’s Vancouver and Seattle offices, Graham has worked across Canada and in the United States, Russia, the Middle East, and Asia.