About Us
The St. Lawrence Valley Society of Architects (SLVSA) is a local architectural society and regional chapter of the Ontario Architects Association. Our non-profit, volunteer-led organization facilitates dialogue between the public, our architects and the wider architectural community. The SLVSA works hard to raise the awareness, appreciation, and understanding of architecture within our community and beyond.
Membership is open to all and we are always looking for initiatives to support.
Recognition of Traditional lands
It is important that we acknowledge that Kingston (Katarokwi) sits on the (unceded) territories of the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. We are grateful to have the opportunity to build, create, and live on these lands. We welcome opportunities to learn from our indigenous colleagues, and acknowledge the healing, growth, and work that must continue in our journey towards truth and reconciliation
Annual Reports
Each year, the SLVSA produces an Annual Report to the OAA Council as a mechanism for reporting and sharing information and activities with the other Societies during the Annual Society Chairs Meeting.
The Annual Report contains details of recent Society activities, a report on the use and outcome of any previous year’s Special Project Funding, and a financial report.
Executive Team
Co-Chair since 2021
Lukas Bergmark
Lukas is a project architect at HDR’s Kingston office. Specializing in advanced envelope design, Lukas has worked on award winning projects across North America with teams at superkul, KPMB, and Arcop. His work focuses on delivering formative architectural concepts through the built detail. Lukas has a background in Art History and Critical Theory and previously worked in photography with Vanity Fair photographer Hannah Thomson and contemporary artist Noritoshi Hirakawa. In 2015, Lukas co-curated and launched the travelling exhibition ‘Living Lightly on the Earth: Building an Ark for Prince Edward Island, 1974-76’. The ongoing exhibit was most recently on view in Fredericton, NB as part of the Beaverbrook Gallery’s 2019 programming.
Co-Chair Since 2021
Chris Howard
Chris is a project architect with G architects and is leading their Kingston ON branch. His focus is in Public and Institutional architecture. Chris has worked in Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa and Kingston on a variety of building types, including sports complexes, women’s shelters, pedestrian bridges, libraries, university buildings, transitional housing and health care projects. Chris attended University of King’s College and Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS where he earned a B.Sc in Physics and Philosophy, and his M.Arch.
Secretary since 2022
Shawn Butler
Shawn Butler is an architect at Shoalts and Zaback Architects Ltd. in Kingston, ON. As part of the SZA team, he has contributed to a diverse range of projects, including public libraries, transportation infrastructure, and residential housing. He completed his Master’s in Architecture at Dalhousie University in 2015 and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Mount Allison University, where he studied English literature and large-format photography. His photographic work focuses on structural typologies and he has exhibited in British Columbia and Ontario. Shawn joined the SLVSA executive to meet other practitioners in the region and to enhance the public profile of local architecture.
Treasurer
Brian Hierlihy
Mr Hierlihy is a retired member of the Ontario Association of Architects and served on its TaskForce on Computer Graphics, Practice Ethics Project, Practice Committee, Heritage Conservation Roundtable, and Ottawa and Kingston chapter executives. As a RAIC member, he was a Computers in Architecture Committee Director, and represented the RAIC and the Committee of Canadian Architectural Councils on the National Advisory Board of the National Master Specification.
He is a member of the Association For Preservation Technology and served on its Board and the APT Bulletin peer review. He served on the CAHP Board and as Government Liaison Committee Chair. He served as a Director of the Ontario Association of Heritage Professionals, and on the Algonquin College (Perth) advisory committees for masonry and carpentry/joinery, and the proposed Bachelor of Built Heritage (aka Historic Technology) program.
He was a founding director of the Centretown Citizens (Ottawa) Corporation and the Student Design Clinic (SDC). His 40-year SDC service included teaching conservation and existing condition documentation. He served as a Director for the Eastern Valley Heritage Foundation and its Spencerville Mill Restoration Committee Chair. For the Strutt Foundation, he directed the Strutt House conservation, lectures, workshops and seminars. The House was Canada’s sesquicentennial ‘Modern Movement’; pavilion. He current work includes counsel to architects, engineers, and associations regarding historic construction and heritage conservation.
SLVSA is a Local Society of the Ontario Association of Architects committed to the promotion of architecture in the St. Lawrence Valley region.
Founded in 1889, the Ontario Association of Architects is a self-regulating organization governed by the Architects Act, which is a statute of the Government of Ontario. The Association is dedicated to promoting and increasing the knowledge, skill and proficiency of its members, and administering the Architects Act, to serve and protect the public interest.
