RAW Design is a fast-growing and award-winning architecture studio based in Toronto. Since forming almost 20 years ago, they have played a key role in creating some of the city’s finest new buildings, and their efforts have been recognized with a long list of industry accolades – starting with the 2009 Ontario Association of Architects award for ‘Best Emerging Practice’. Today, they are a medium-sized studio with a staff of about 45, with experience doing a wide range of projects in a variety of typologies. The studio was first founded in 2007 by Roland Rom Colthoff, a veteran of the design industry, who had previously almost a decade as a principal with another established firm. When he formed RAW, his vision was to create a collaborative, nonhierarchical studio where everyone “was on the same level,” and where “everyone had a voice.” The studio has grown a lot in the years since, but they have always held to that founding vision. Adrienne Hossfeld, an architect at RAW Design, joined in 2016, after previously working at a few other architectural offices throughout the city. She recalls being drawn to RAW by the culture Roland established, as well as the unique look of their work: “I saw some of their residential buildings throughout the city, and I really liked how they looked,” she says. “They didn’t follow the typical condo model at the time. They were a little bit more edgy and contextual and playful. That’s what drew to me to apply here. Jonathan Sabeniano, architectural project manager, joined a couple years later, in 2018. For him, the draw was the trust that RAW placed in their younger team members: “Our collaborative structure means that everyone has the chance to contribute meaningfully, SEPTEMBER 2025
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTYzNTg=