my career as an intern and really enjoyed them,” he says. “I didn’t necessarily think at the time that churches would become be an area of specialty for me, but that’s sort of what happened. At the firm I was working at just prior to launching my practice, we were retained for a large church project that I ended up running from start to finish.” That project led to several other referrals and new contacts, including two church projects that Frank was able to use to launch his own practice. “It can be daunting to start a new firm and then have to figure out where your clients are going to come from, but I’m really thankful for the way that I was able to launch with a couple of fairly significant projects already lined up. From there, I was able to develop relationships with other groups and clients, and church projects continued to arrive.” To this day, Frank Hilbich Architect still does a lot of church projects – Frank says the percentage varies, but on average he estimates at least half of the firm’s work is church-related. In the Edmonton area, he says “we’re kind of known for that.” Additionally, the firm often works on other types of spaces that fall under the category of “assembly occupancy” – things like schools, community centres, and restaurants. “We like working through the kinds of design issues that come up with those types of projects,” he says, “and there’s often an opportunity for a bit of architectural expression with form and space that make them interesting.” Frank and several others at the firm are also persons of Christian faith. Frank believes that’s helpful because it gives them “another level of connection” to those projects. MAY 2025
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