About Heather Manning

Heather relocated to the Okanagan in 2021 bringing a wealth of life experiences as well as project experiences from collaboration with several Architecture and Design firms in Ontario.  Even before she could pronounce the word architect, Heather was intuitively expressing her spacial and design skills.  Her father was city planner in Vancouver also passionate about people and design, and she grew up listening to him talk about the value of good planning and the impact it had on society. Her Mom was a teacher, ever supportive in her education and setting the stage for life-long learning.

The desire to understand clients and their needs is what drives Heather’s design process. Whether they be residential families or commercial organizations and their teams, her intention is to develop design solutions that support them in all aspects of their day to day lives.  This skill has made her a key contributor on large scale complex projects that require an integrative approach with multiple teams in the manufacturing, education, healthcare, and tech sectors.

With a foundation of studies in the Environmental Sciences, Heather is a self professed science nerd. And, YES there IS a science to design!  She considers the physics of energy efficiency, sound and acoustics, the chemistry of the materials and finishes and their affect on human health, the body’s need for natural light to support circadian rhythm, the vibration of colour and how it affects mood, the biology of biomimicry and how we can borrow from nature’s designs to create biophilic environments that support human wellness. How we feel in our interior spaces matters and these are all contributing factors.

Altruism and a love of nature has Heather strive to find the balance between the human impact of architecture and design on our ecological systems.  She deeply understands the responsibility that designers have in positively impacting a client’s health and wellbeing, and on shaping the world around us. Her goal is to create regenerative spaces that after experiencing them have people feeling better when they leave them compared to when they arrived.

Further professional development to become a WELL AP as well as Biophilic Design Certification provide Heather with a unique offering grounded in both science and spirituality.  This knowledge creates a tailored design process that clients can enjoy, as well as robust design outcomes that meet her client’s specific needs.  This can range from designing for neurodiversity or for universal / adaptive design.

Just as no two people are the same, no two projects are the same and Heather prides herself in creating a unique experience for her clients from pre-programming & planning, concept design, floor plans, elevations, 3D renderings and furniture procurement while also providing construction drawing packages and project management services while collaborating with builders, architects, and other professional consultants.