BCBEC FOUNDATION AWARDS PROFILE
about. The building, called Xápayay 
(or Place of Cedars), is a landmark 
initiative led by the Aboriginal Land 
Trust in collaboration with the Lu’ma 
Native Housing Society. It’s the second 
Indigenous-owned and operated rental 
housing project in Canada, prioritizing 
Indigenous peoples.
BE: Can you tell us a little about your 
early life and where you were schooled 
as an architect?
ALG: We moved around a lot in South 
America, primarily because of my father’s 
job. That’s how I learned English, by 
relocating and being enrolled in interna-
tional schools. But it was in Ecuador that 
I studied architecture and graduated as an 
architect. I relocated to Vancouver soon 
after and wanted to do additional learning 
to enhance my architectural knowledge of 
Canada’s construction processes.
BE: Where did you decide to advance 
your studies?
ALG: My school and program of choice 
was the BCIT’s Architectural and 
Building Technology program.
BE: What are some of the biggest differ-
ences in architectural qualifications in 
Ecuador compared to Canada?
ALG: Design and architecture in Ecuador 
have progressed in lockstep with today’s 
expectations, but it’s less complicated 
than Canada and other northern locations 
because of the weather. Ecuador is so 
consistently warm you don’t have to create 
building envelopes with the same degree 
of insulation and building complexity. 
Things become much more important 
to manage when the temperature drops 
below zero.
After arriving in Canada, I was intrigued 
by the widespread design and archi-
tectural methods used to manage the 
weather. It’s estimated that building 
heating accounts for roughly 10 per 
cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emis-
sions. I’m an environmentalist at heart, 
and I think I’ve learned much from my 
experiences in the “northern” techniques. 
I found it really interesting to learn how 
buildings can preserve energy and how 
every climate seems to have its own 
unique features and challenges. Here in 
Vancouver, we're famous because it rains 
a lot – and the rain goes sideways! That 
means good building design in this city 
has to accommodate not only the precipi-
tation, but the way it strikes and enters 
the building. To put that into context: 
you design here with more than one 
moisture barrier!
BE: Did you find it difficult to relocate 
to Canada and the west coast?
ALG: Relocating to Canada when 
COVID appeared wasn’t great timing, 
and at first I was on my own, but my 
sister joined me soon after, which made 
living here much easier for me, for 
multiple reasons. We’ve always supported 
each other and we’re great company. 
As everyone knows, living and renting 
in Vancouver is expensive, so we lived 
together for a long time. I moved out 
recently with my partner, but my sister 
and I still see each other regularly!
BE: Where do you think your passion 
for architecture comes from? Can you 
pin it down?
ALG: For many non-architects, architec-
ture usually implies structure, building 
design and physical enclosures – not so 
much the space within. But architecture 
is really about space management. I was 
always curious about the function of 
space – how it’s being used, formed and 
configured. Especially how people feel 
about and interact in spaces. At the end of 
the day, I think my love for architecture is 
simple: it’s about how I can make people's 
lives better.   
20  BCBEC ELEMENTS  A BCBEC PUBLICATION

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