BCBEC FOUNDATION AWARDS PROFILE
O
f her many characteristics, 
cosmopolitan is just one 
description for Alejandra 
Loaiza Granda. She was 
born in Ecuador and raised 
in Brazil, Columbia, Peru 
and Venezuela. More importantly – at 
least for this story – her last five years have 
been in Vancouver, where we contacted 
her for this story:
BCBEC Elements: Alejandra, one of the 
many reasons for this profile is your 
recent award from BCBEC. Please 
describe what that was about.
Alejandra Loazia Granda: I recently 
received BCBEC’s Education Foundation 
Award in Building Science – an annual 
prize that supports full-time graduate 
and undergraduate students with high 
academic performance and excellence in 
building science studies. I think one of 
the reasons for my receiving this award is 
my passion for architecture and my keen 
interest in sustainability and building 
science. I was presented with the award 
after graduating at a formal ceremony 
led by the British Columbia Institute of 
Technology (BCIT) Foundation – held at 
Willingdon Church – the same location as 
my grad ceremony.
BE: Were you pleased to be  
the recipient?
ALG: The award was amazing and very 
generous. I didn’t apply for it – that’s 
something the BCIT Foundation does 
for you. I was happy just to have been 
nominated and very pleased when I found 
out that I won. It’s satisfying because 
you’re receiving recognition for putting in 
the effort.
BE: You’re specializing in building 
science; can you define that?
ALG: Building science is the study of how 
buildings function as integrated systems, 
analyzing the interaction between mate-
rials, environmental conditions (such as 
air, heat and moisture) and occupants 
to optimize comfort, durability and 
energy efficiency. The philosophy behind 
this science is to treat a building as an 
interconnected system, where changes in 
one area affect many others – for example, 
how the insulation used in a building can 
affect ventilation. I think I was always 
drawn to building science because of the 
way building science looks at human 
beings – the occupants are the real reason 
architecture exists in the first place.
BE: What company are you  
currently with?
ALG: I’m working as an architectural 
designer at DIALOG’s Vancouver 
Studio on Alexander Street. Working at 
DIALOG – known for its progressive 
approach to architecture – has only rein-
forced my career choice and is clearly the 
right fit for my design passions. DIALOG 
has an extensive portfolio of commercial 
projects and a large presence in the resi-
dential sector, which is where I’ve focused 
much of my work.
BCBEC  
FOUNDATION 
AWARDS PROFILE: 
Alejandra Loaiza Granda
By James Peters
BE: What are you busy with right now?
ALG: I'm working on construction 
drawings for a 191-unit, 19-storey, 
100-per-cent affordable housing building 
in Vancouver, which I'm really excited 
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
OTHER AWARDS 
ALEJANDRA LOAIZA 
GRANDA HAS WON:
•	Exhibitor at Women in Architecture 
“Making Space” Conference, 2026.
•	Winner of the “Rising Urbanists” 
Council for Canadian Urbanism  
2025 Competition.
•	Valedictorian for the School of 
Construction and the Environment 
(Spring Convocation Ceremony,  
BCIT 2024).
•	BCIT Architecture Academic Award 
(BCIT 2024). 
•	BCBEC Education Foundation 
Graduating Achievement Award  
(BCIT 2024).
SPRING/SUMMER 2026 19

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