In the ever-evolving landscape of urban design, Design And Architecture Studio (DAAS) stands out as a Calgary firm that builds community as much as it builds structures. Whether tackling large urban designs or small installations, the principals bring a balance between the science of architecture and the art of design to create buildings that complement their surroundings, evoke a feeling of physical and emotional well-being in users and contribute to an elevated streetscape in the community.
“We try to analyze the locale, the setting of the building, the influencing factors before we even start planning it. It’s important to understand the roots, that human memory, what the site offers, how it was regarded, what the surroundings were like,” says Tomasz Sztuk, architect and partner in DAAS. “We try to make buildings that are rooted in the community.”
“It’s important to understand the roots, that human memory, what the site offers, how it was regarded, what the surroundings were like,” says Tomasz.
That focus on community and passion for architecture is what brought founders Raphael Neurohr and Tomasz Sztuk together 20 years ago. Sztuk, a principal at a large firm, brought Neurohr onto the team in 2006 and they worked together for five years before Sztuk set out on his own. Neurohr followed suit a few years later. In 2018, they reconnected at a Miami conference and started talking about what they could accomplish by joining forces to start a company. After months of visioning, they decided to partner up and launched DAAS in 2019.
Raphael Neurohr (L) and Tomasz Sztuk (R)
From the start, DAAS incorporated an integrated design approach, bringing together the gamut of design disciplines, from engineers to landscape designers to interior consultants, to deliver a project from concept to execution and completion. The founders have grown the firm organically to ensure they are adding like-minded professionals to complement their collaborative, creative style, all the while attracting clients who appreciate their vision, even if they don’t always entirely understand it. The final design is molded from the formal and informal back-and-forth with clients, empowering DAAS to deliver something fresh and often different than what clients expected while perfectly embodying the essence of the building concept. DAAS Co-founders, Raphael Neurohr (L) and Tomasz Sztuk (R) “It’s important to understand the roots, that human memory, what the site offers, how it was regarded, what the surroundings were like,” says Tomasz.
“It’s always a dialog. Our clients inspire us as much as we hope to inspire them. When you have openminded clients there is a natural dialog driven by curiosity” says Raphael Neurohr, architect and partner in DAAS. “We want to give people more than what they ask for. Some people see it, some people don’t see it, but I think everyone can feel that our buildings enrich the communities that they are located in.”
Their style of urban architecture just feels “right” whether that is a result of the cohesion with structures around it, the materials used to help it blend with the area or the way the design guides people through the space. DAAS walks a fine line between contemporary design on one side and respect for the history of the area on the other. The architects spend a lot of time identifying the essence of a place and putting it into a form that resonates with the people who use it; a museum has a very different spatial experience than would a spa or a retail space. They speak of buildings as if they are living entities, describing how their new building “dances around” the historic building on a site or how one design element “talks to the other,” but it’s an “unfinished conversation” as the design continually changes.
“It’s funny. We don’t have a particular style like many other architects. All our buildings are unique, which is a style in itself. People just know it’s our building,” says Neurohr.
The architects feel that trying to replicate a particular style tends to stifl e creativity and limit the design, so they don’t do it. Instead, they consider the appropriate expression to a particular building in a particular place given the surrounding community and they build the design on that.
Sztuk and Neurohr are inspired by and incorporate European design elements and styles into their projects, informed by their childhoods spent in Poland and Austria respectively. They are particularly drawn to the strong urban renewal happening in Europe in cities like Copenhagen, a place with signifi cant fl agship buildings along with the building blocks of a strong city: refi ned urban spaces, a strong pedestrian, bike and vehicular networks and a well-connected friendly feel that comes from unexaggerated scale. Closer to home, the architects fi nd inspiration in an unlikely place: Winnipeg. From the walkability and urban quality of the town to the beautifully designed 1920s skyscrapers and stunning City Hall, Winnipeg has a big city feel that the DAAS architects are compelled to pay homage to in their own designs.
History and memory of a space are key components of their design brand and DAAS focuses on authenticity and feeling over current design trends. To tap into what the design should be, they dig into what the client is missing and wants to develop to achieve their long-term vision of what this new building could be in the community. The founders are equal parts pragmatist and visionary, delivering good planning and principles that are embedded with soul and meaning. The Design And Architecture Studio enjoys a style all its own.
“Obviously, we are very interested in architecture and contemporary architecture especially, but at the same time, we are not trying to emulate something or build a monument to ourselves before we serve the clients,” says Sztuk. “We are trying to be out of the box thinkers while still being within the box. What this means in architecture is we have the same materiality, we have the same methodologies, we have the same construction methods, we have the same contractors, we have the same clients. But we are always trying to bring something fresh, something new, something unexpected, generous and joyful.”
At their core, Tomasz Sztuk, Raphael Neurohr and their team of fourteen professionals at DAAS are pragmatists, but also dreamers, designers and poets working within a confi ned budget and rigid rules of architecture and construction. Their love for architecture and for Calgary shines through as they continue to unlock the city’s personality and potential with every new building they design.
With its wide range of commercial, residential and multi-family projects in Western Canada over the past 6 years, DAAS is proving that their brand of unique urban architectural design can capture the soul of a city while bringing excitement and inspiration to every project.
“…we are always trying to bring something fresh, something new, something unexpected, generous and joyful.” says Sztuk.
