ROCKSIDE CAMPBELL DESIGN
We all have a choice. We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations. Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail. That is up to you and me.” (Greta Thunberg, 2019)
As a signatory to Architects Declare, Rockside is committed to strengthening our working practices to create buildings that have a more positive impact on our world.
Rockside designs have always aimed to incorporate environmental considerations through considered siting, energy efficiency, and material selection. Going forward, we are looking to work collaboratively with clients who share our interest in creating adaptable, comfortable spaces that are energy efficient, resilient, and built sustainably, maximizing adaptive reuse and the use of non-toxic low embodied or sequestered carbon building materials.
Our appreciation of repurposed and weathered materials, vernacular architecture, and the natural environment has tempered and informed our predilection for modern spatial design and detailing. Our designs reflect and integrate ongoing and intensified research in advanced building science and best sustainability practices. We are a member of Passive House Canada and the International Passive House Association.
Rockside’s studio and workshop are housed in a reclaimed timber-frame barn structure which we disassembled and reconstructed for our property. Rockside’s in-house climate actions include ground and air source heat pumps, electric vehicles, a 10Kw solar array installation, and a native tree planting and rewilding program. Rockside supports 350.org, Avaaz, Bullfrog Power’s clean renewable energy, the David Suzuki Foundation, and an electric vehicle incentive program as part of efforts to eliminate emissions.
Our work is characterized by a strong technical and environmental ethos that contractors complement for its thoroughness, high degree of detail, and ongoing collaborative approach. Rockside’s portfolio’s varied scale, scope, and style of work underscores the value we place on addressing different site conditions and recognizing each client’s unique criteria. With each project, there is a story. Rockside’s projects have been featured in Dwell, Azure’s DesignLines, The Globe and Mail, and Sweden’s Nya Rum.
A focus on sustainable building, site specific design, and positive collaborations with clients and contractors are fundamental to our approach of ‘responsive architecture’.
JIM CAMPBELL
Jim Campbell started Rockside Campbell Design in 1998 after 15 years of being immersed in both the academic and physical aspects of building design and construction. Jim’s Master of Architecture degree focused on architecture shaped by its regional context. His graduate work, which included studies in Kathmandu and a school year in Finland through a Government of Finland International Scholarship, was awarded the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Student Gold Medal.
suzanne wesetvik
Suzanne has been with Rockside since inception, working alongside Jim on numerous early projects, often hands-on. Suzanne currently oversees administration.
ERIC SIMARD
Eric joined Rockside in 2014. He has since helped complete several significant projects, including “Numinous” and “Patronus,” while also helping to shape the company’s visual identity through various print media and in exhibitions. Eric continues to draw inspiration from formative experiences gained while working in architecture and urban design in Toronto, New York, and London, England, as well as from a period of study centred in Rome. Prior to joining Rockside, Eric was immersed in the M.Arch. program at the University of Waterloo, where he completed a Bachelor of Architectural Studies. Eric’s lifelong fascination with the built environment and its artifacts is occasionally channeled into an ongoing practice of sketching and photography.
Andrew WInters
Andrew joined Rockside in 2011 as a recurring co-op student, returning full time in January 2019. He holds a Master of Architecture and Bachelor of Architectural Studies from the University of Waterloo. At Rockside he has garnered experience working on numerous projects of all scales and at all stages of design and construction. Outside of work he translates his passion for excellence in craft to the physical world through various construction projects, most notably stone walls, outhouses, food carts, and items of furniture from upcycled and otherwise junk materials, amongst others.
DARCY Dougherty
Darcy has been with Rockside since January 2019. She holds an Advanced Diploma in Architectural Technology from Fanshawe College. While at Fanshawe, she was involved in the early stages of Canada’s first deep energy retrofit of a student residence townhouse complex. Prior to joining Rockside, Darcy worked at design build firms in Barrie and Grand Bend as a co-op student on projects ranging from custom single-family homes and cottages to car dealerships and office buildings.
luna, billy, stella, & Ally
Rockside’s resident waste management team, Ally and Billy have been part of the Rockside view for longer than we can remember; Luna and Stella joined this year and have vastly increased team spirit. They love leftovers and being pet behind their horns.
MR. BISCUIT
Mr. Biscuit is a favourite subcontractor responsible for security and pest control.
BEa feisty campbell
Bea joined the Rockside team in 2016 and has been an integral part of the office ever since. Bea looks after reception and HR and has recently taken up kung fu.