EP 3 · 2021-04-12 · 1:11:07
Going Fully Virtual in Architecture: How TEAL Architects Shut Their Studio, Saved Tens of Thousands, and Built a Better Team | Tom Emodi
Tom Emodi of TEAL Architects on going fully virtual mid-pandemic, designing pleasure into modest-income housing on a tight budget, and why Atlantic Canada's insurance industry is the real barrier to mass timber.
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Tom Emodi, FRAIC, LEED AP
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record. Or skip straight to the moments that matter, as clips.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:04TEAL Architects: Origin and Firm Profile — Tom traces TEAL's founding circa 2010-11 after leaving a 3,500-person firm post-merger. He describes the small-firm philosophy (8-10 people max), the co-op student mandate from his Dalhousie professor days, and the Atlantic Architect of the Year 2016 win.4:20Notable Projects: Aquatic Centre and Mass Timber Experiments — Deep dive into the East Hants Aquatic Centre (mechanical complexity, value-engineered skylights, nail-laminated wood roof deck built by local carpenters saving ~3 weeks). Also covers the CMHC-funded modular wood housing experiment — the cost/time optimisation trade-off between factory modules and competitive on-site trade bidding.14:00Going Fully Virtual: The Pandemic Studio Shutdown — COVID hits March 2020; lease ends July 2020. TEAL puts the studio in storage and saves tens of thousands per year. Tom describes strategies: daily 9:30am all-hands (efficiency vs effectiveness distinction), per-project chat rooms, breakout video rooms for collaborative mark-up. Counter-intuitive outcome: team spirit and productivity improved. Limits: loss of the physical display wall for drawing reviews and the materials-sample library. Future plan: shared meeting-room-only space for hybrid model.42:25Designing Pleasure into Modest-Income Housing — Tom argues design is undervalued in Atlantic Canada vs Europe/Australia. Detailed principles: approach-to-door experience, corridor windows for light and view (a battle won with a repeat client), view-line from entry through to a window in every room, acoustic bedroom separation in 2-bed units, maximising storage in tight footprints, pocket/sliding doors to reclaim swing space, and the 'one jewel' memorable design motif on modest-budget buildings. Reveals one client pipeline: two buildings per year for 3-4 years ahead.1:05:00Mass Timber Barriers and Wrap-Up — Tom identifies the structural tipping point at ~4-5 storeys where wood framing becomes uneconomical, and names financing and insurance industry bias — not material performance — as the primary barrier to wood construction in Nova Scotia. Expresses optimism that data will eventually shift insurer attitudes.
// THE INTRO
Episode 3 of the Atlantic Construction Podcast features Tom Emodi, founder and principal of TEAL Architects (Halifax), a 10-person firm he built after leaving a 3,500-person international firm. The conversation unfolds in three acts: (1) TEAL's firm biography — aquatic-centre design, nail-laminated wood roof decks built by local young carpenters, and the Atlantic Architect of the Year 2016 win; (2) a detailed debrief on shutting their downtown studio in July 2020, putting everything in a 12×24 storage unit, and running a fully virtual seven-home-office practice — with the counter-intuitive finding that team spirit and productivity both improved; (3) a substantive discussion of the design challenges in modest-income housing, covering corridor-lighting battles with developers, view-line principles, bedroom separation for acoustic privacy, and why financing/insurance bias — not material cost or climate — is the true barrier to mass timber construction past four storeys in Nova Scotia.
// THE LESSONS
See all 14 lessons ▸When a large firm acquires a smaller one, the culture gap scales with the size ratio — the acquirer's protocols displace the smaller entity's identity almost entirely.
“the bigger the purchaser and the smaller the purchasee, the bigger the disconnect between the two cultures”
Combining 3D prefabricated modules with on-site trade competition for finishing work is the hybrid sweet spot for minimising both construction time and cost.
“we were trying to find that optimum line where we could save enough on time but also save enough on the competitive bidding”
Nail-laminated wood panels can be fabricated on-site with small local crews, require no adhesive, and can save weeks on programme versus conventional framing.
“they built a jig… we saved somewhere in the realm of about three weeks we think in just getting the roof together”
Going fully virtual can improve team spirit and productivity — but only if you replace spontaneous social interactions with structured daily all-hands calls.
“it's been the reverse interestingly… team spirit has become better which is something completely different than what I was expecting”
Distinguish effectiveness (qualitative, relational, team-wide context) from efficiency (task throughput) — optimising for efficiency alone degrades long-run performance.
“you can be really efficient but you're not effective and effectiveness includes all those qualitative things about team building, team spirit”
In small firms (under ~10 people), daily all-hands calls replace the physical studio's ambient information flow — giving everyone, including junior staff, full context on legal, insurance, and project matters.
“everyone gets involved more than we had before… people know about our legal contract issues if there are any”
Remote work productivity gains are unevenly distributed — employees with family responsibilities or long commutes benefit most; those living alone may lose the social dimension that work once provided.
“she can manipulate her workouts around her training schedule… her efficiency has incredibly bettered now”
Hire people who are already good but haven't reached their potential, then make every door open for them to grow — the goal is to train them well enough to own the firm, not just leave.
“train them so they can own your company… that's the hope — we find this team that will basically end up owning the firm”
Prioritise mission-critical items first in daily stand-ups so anyone with a hard blocker gets resolution immediately, then continue to important-but-not-urgent topics for those who can stay.
“the first thing we ask is who's got a mission critical thing that has to be solved right this day”
In modest-income housing, lit corridors with end-of-hall windows reduce perceived claustrophobia and increase rental demand — the cost of the lost rentable square footage is offset by occupancy lift.
“part of your profitability is that everybody who comes through this door will want to rent an apartment — it doesn't feel closed in the hallways”
Organise apartment layouts so every room — including bedrooms — has a view line straight to a window; this makes tiny rooms feel larger without adding square footage.
“when you enter your bedroom you should be able to open that door and be online to a view outside — it makes every room feel bigger”
In two-bedroom units, separating bedrooms across the living area rather than grouping them adjacently resolves acoustic and privacy conflicts for families with teenagers.
“one where the bedrooms are separated by the main gathering room… if a couple has teenage children they can be on different sides”
The primary barrier to mass timber construction above four storeys in Atlantic Canada is not material performance or climate — it is financing and insurance industry bias against wood structures.
“the financial and the insurance industry do not fund or insure wood structures in the same way as they fund and ensure concrete and steel”
Wood construction past four storeys requires so much structural framing at the lower floors that conventional light-frame wood becomes uneconomical in the current Nova Scotia market.
“the bottom two stories have so much wood in them in order to support the other stories that you might as well be building in another material”
// CLIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Story · 2:03
“after i spent some time in toronto working with a quite a large firm”
Framework · 9:34
“so if you build three-dimensional finished modules in factories which is what kent homes does”
Story · 11:11
“the other part of that wood passion we expressed in the roof deck at the east hands aquatic center”
Story · 16:34
“everybody worked from home so in the beginning it was very odd”
Framework · 19:45
“how do you make those discussions not efficient”
Framework · 32:04
“there's that whole other distinction that i make between effectiveness and efficiency but also urgent and important”
Hot take · 40:57
“never train them well enough so that they can leave your company but treat them well enough so that they won't”
Hot take · 44:43
“architects in north america and certainly in canada are working in a cultural context in which design is really not valued”
Hot take · 47:57
“the architectural education program to become a professional architect is about a nine year journey”
Framework · 49:45
“the idea has to be simple enough and strong enough to withstand all this”
Story · 53:14
“we put windows into the hallways on every level to get light and view into every home”
Framework · 54:58
“it's a human thing humans move to the light”
Framework · 1:05:24
“what we learned at a six story wood frame building is that by the time you get the structural systems working”
Hot take · 1:07:48
“number two the financial and the insurance industry do not fund or insure wood structures in the same way”
All 14 lessons from this episode, on one page.
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// FEATURED BUSINESSES
// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
✓ VERIFIED
The primary barrier to mass timber construction above four storeys in Atlantic Canada is financing and insurance industry bias against wood structures, not material performance or climate.
Multiple independent industry sources corroborate this: Climate Smart Buildings Alliance Mass Timber Insurance Action Plan, SFU Renewable Cities project, and Canadian Wood Council insurance guidelines all confirm that elevated insurance rates (cited as 6-10x higher than concrete/steel) and limited i…
SOURCE ▸✓ VERIFIED
Nail-laminated wood panels can be fabricated on-site by small local crews, require no adhesive, and saved approximately three weeks on the East Hants Aquatic Centre programme.
Bird Construction's project page confirms NLT (Nail-Laminated Timber) panels were manufactured and installed by their self-perform team at the natatorium. The 1,500 sq metre NLT roof is documented. The 'no adhesive' characteristic is inherent to NLT construction (panels are nailed, not glued — unlik…
SOURCE ▸// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
TEAL Architects+Planners ▸Tom Emodi, FRAIC, LEED APMJMA Architecture & DesignEast Hants Aquatic CentreBryony HouseBird Construction Inc. ▸
// PROJECTS NAMED
East Hants Aquatic CentreGeorge Street Bar (St. John's)Bryony House
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · IgKj20yudYw