Below is a list of architects and designers (in alphabetical order) who have experience designing at least one completed SDU in Hamilton on elsewhere. You can also design the SDU yourself, as several of the earliest SDUs currently under construction. As a property owner, you can submit the plans to the building department yourself without a stamp or BCIN number but you do need to ensure that the design meets the Ontario Building Code.
Dencity – Rachel Cohen-Murison, OAA (Oakville)
Dencity is a laneway house planning company, providing site analysis services to let you know about your property’s laneway house viability. First initiated in Toronto, our online costing and planning platform gives homeowners the tools to quickly apply by-laws to their unique property, while also visualizing a potential laneway house. We offer in-person site analysis and reports for properties in Toronto and Hamilton to confirm viability and provide you with an understanding of your planning options. Reach out to us at contact@dencity.build, or check out our website at www.dencity.build.
Harrison Architect – Chris Harrison, OAA (Dundas)
harrisonarchitecture is a smaller, client focussed architecture and landscape design studio located in the town of Dundas, near Hamilton Ontario Canada. While not all of our projects include a landscape component, most of our work is intimately connected to the site and grounded in its location; urban, rural or often somewhere in between. It may be an expansive rural setting or a postage stamp sized garden or rooftop, a storefront or a former industrial building; we believe there are opportunities to explore in every situation and set of needs. Our design tools range from basic hand made models to photo realistic 3-D imagery using Revit software. And many, many hand drawn sketches. But surely one of our most effective tools is communication. When coupled with thoughtful, stimulating conversations with our clients about their needs and their vision, drawings and models become very insightful and effective design tools at every stage of the project. With a collective experience of over 50 years, we are skilled, knowledgeable, dedicated and above all passionate about design and the possibilities it offers for your project. We would love to sit down and find out more about your project vision.
Legal Second Suites – Ken Bekendam (can also offer design-build)
Ken began as a young investor in 2010. He and his partners own and manage 74 rental units, spread across 31 properties consisting of single family homes, student rentals, second suites, duplexes, triplexes, 4 plexes, larger multi-unit buildings and most recently a church conversion. Now a full-time investor, he manages the real estate portfolio and is responsible for new purchases and renovations and helps hundreds of other investors with their portfolios through rental property renovations and multi-family conversions. Ken owns a development company called King Homes Inc and a design/build renovation company called Wyse Construction Group. On average, his firm completes 150 conversion projects a year. Ken is in the trenches daily working on and managing all types of conversion projects.
Invizij Architects – Emma Cubitt (OAA) & team (Hamilton)
Invizij Architects Inc. is a full service architectural practice based in Hamilton serving clients throughout southern Ontario. At Invizij Architects, imaginative design emerges from a grounded, hands-on approach to meeting real-world challenges. We are Canadian leaders in Passive House design and create sustainable buildings and communities that people love.
Emma wrote her thesis on laneway housing in Hamilton in 2008 which, after a decade of promoting the idea, has become the new SDU bylaw in Hamilton. They designed the first new SDU to receive a permit under the new bylaw and have designed other SDUs for Hamilton, which are awaiting approvals. She is also the organizer for the active facebook group Hamilton Laneway Suites & Secondary Dwelling Units.
Invizij have developed a feasibility study package for those interested in looking at building an SDU on their lot in Hamilton. For a fee of $1,500 you will receive a site visit, analysis of your lot, existing buildings, and neighbouring lots, a potential massing of an SDU following the bylaw, and costing/ timing info. Due to the demand for feasibility studies and SDU designs, we are narrowing our focus to homeowners seeking affordable housing solutions with their SDU.
Manco Design – Julia Mancini (can also do design-build)
Our design team at Manco Architectural Design is BCIN certified, insured and committed to providing exceptional value, service and innovation to our clients. We understand that each project is unique and tailor our services to meet the needs of each client. Our team brings a wide-range of expertise and experience to any project including renovations, additions, interior and exterior design and custom designed homes.
SMPL Design Studio – Joel Tanner & team (Hamilton)
Passion, sophistication and streamlined design are at the forefront of our modern homes. SMPL creates stunning architectural designs for a wide range of clientele throughout Ontario and other parts of Canada. Our experience spans more than a decade with over 600 projects ranging in scale and complexity. From new homes and cottages to additions and renovations, our team is here to ensure that each project is unique and specific to our client’s particular modern design style.
Toms + McNally Design – Graham McNally (OAA) & Philip Toms (OAA) & team (Hamilton)
At Toms + McNally Design we collaborate with our clients to creatively respond to their project and its unique characteristics. We see problems as opportunities. We combine context, space, and a respect of materiality and environment to create enduring architecture. Designers of Hamilton’s first new laneway house in 2018, located on Aberdeen Ave.
White Willow Design – Daniel Ott & team (Hamilton)
White Willow Design offers a uniquely specialized service. White Willow focuses exclusively on all of the things that fit in this important phase in order to set homeowners — and their contractors — up for a successful build. With a solid background in home construction, we offer that essential (but often absent) understanding of what’s needed from design to make the build happen properly. We offer BCIN-accredited architectural drawings, ready for permit and/or construction, interior design, interior decorating city planning, and construction consultation services.
We function as an independent service, developing and preparing all that’s needed for any home building contractor or renovator to step in and begin construction. We partner with many different renovators and builders, and can be sure to find one that meets your needs.
Secondary Dwelling Units in Hamilton 