About Us - Celesthal Quindros Architecture

Our Toronto studio on King Street West

Our Story

It Started with a Simple Question

Why do so many buildings feel... empty? Not physically - but emotionally. That question kept me up at night back in 2011, and honestly, it still does sometimes.

I'd spent years working for big-name firms where everything was about the render, the award submission, the magazine spread. Don't get me wrong - those things matter. But somewhere between the initial sketches and the ribbon-cutting, we'd lost sight of the humans who'd actually live and work in these spaces.

Celesthal Quindros started in a cramped shared office space with just three of us and way too much coffee. Our first project? A small residential renovation that most established firms would've passed on. The clients wanted something contemporary but warm, sustainable but not preachy about it. They wanted a home, not a statement piece.

That project taught us everything. We learned that sustainable design isn't about checking boxes - it's about understanding how buildings breathe, how materials age, how light moves through a space at different times of day. We learned that our job isn't to impose our vision but to listen, really listen, and then translate those conversations into something tangible.

How We Actually Work

Forget the typical architecture firm playbook - we've kinda written our own over the years

We're Not Fans of the Pedestal

Some architects want you to feel lucky they're taking your project. Not us. You're hiring professionals, not doing us a favor. We show up on time, return emails (usually within a few hours), and explain things in actual English instead of architecture-speak. Revolutionary, right?

Sustainability Without the Sermon

Yeah, we care deeply about environmental impact. But we're not gonna lecture you about it. Instead, we'll show you how passive solar design cuts your heating bill, or how locally-sourced materials actually cost less than importing stuff from overseas. Turns out being responsible often just makes good sense.

Budgets Are Real Constraints

We've all seen those "budget-friendly" designs that somehow end up costing double. Here's our approach: tell us what you can actually spend, and we'll design within that. If something's gonna push the budget, we'll tell you upfront, not during construction when it's too late.

Collaboration Over Ego

Your contractor has been building for 20 years? We wanna hear their input. Your kid has strong opinions about their bedroom layout? Let's talk about it. Good ideas come from everywhere, and we've learned to check our egos at the door.

The Team

Meet the Humans Behind the Blueprints

We're a weird mix of perfectionists and pragmatists, dreamers and number-crunchers

Elena Celesthal

Founding Principal

Started drawing buildings at age 7, never really stopped. Spent way too long in academia before realizing the real learning happens on job sites at 6am. Coffee snob, weekend cyclist, and probably the only architect who actually enjoys dealing with building codes.

Random fact: Lived in a 200 sq ft apartment for two years to understand small-space design. Never again, but totally worth it.

Marcus Quindros

Design Director

Former structural engineer who switched sides because "designing things is way more fun than calculating load-bearing capacities." Still brings that engineering precision to every project, which saves everyone a lot of headaches down the line.

Random fact: Builds intricate ship models in his spare time. Yes, those skills absolutely translate to architectural detailing.

Sarah Chen

Senior Architect

Sustainability nerd who can tell you the embodied carbon of basically any building material. Makes green design look effortless. Hates greenwashing with a passion.

James Okonkwo

Urban Planning Lead

Thinks about cities the way most people think about chess - always three moves ahead. Former city planner who got tired of bureaucracy and joined us to actually make things happen.

Priya Malhotra

Interior Design Specialist

Believes that interiors shouldn't feel decorated - they should feel inevitable, like they've always been that way. Has an uncanny ability to know exactly what clients want before they do.

Thomas Berkshire

Heritage Restoration

Has more patience than the rest of us combined. Treats every heritage building like a historical document that needs careful interpretation. Somehow makes old and new play nice together.

Lisa Kowalski

Project Manager

The person who actually makes sure things happen on time and on budget. If you want something done, Lisa's your human. Scary organized. We're all a little intimidated by her color-coded spreadsheets.

David Park

Architectural Technologist

The detail guy. While we're sketching grand visions, David's figuring out how water actually drains off that roof. Saves our butts regularly. Secretly loves building codes.

What Keeps Us Going

Look, we're not gonna pretend every day is magical. Architecture is hard work - long hours, demanding clients, contractors who don't return calls, permit offices that seem designed to test your sanity.

But then you walk into a completed project and see a family cooking together in the kitchen you designed, or office workers actually chatting in that common space you fought to include, or sunlight hitting that one corner exactly the way you imagined it three years ago... and yeah, it's worth it.

We're not trying to save the world with every project. We're just trying to make it a bit better, one building at a time. Maybe that's enough.

12+

Years in Business

And we're still learning something new on every project

180+

Completed Projects

From tiny renovations to major commercial developments

89%

Repeat Clients

People keep coming back. We think that says something

Wanna Work With Us?

We're always up for interesting projects and good conversations. Whether you've got detailed plans or just a vague idea you've been sketching on napkins, let's talk.

Fair warning though - we're gonna ask you a lot of questions. How you actually live, what frustrates you about your current space, what you've always wanted but thought was impossible. We find that stuff matters way more than Pinterest boards.

Let's Start a Conversation