Henriquez Partners Architects
Henriquez Partners Architects is dedicated to working closely with clients to create buildings that are both culturally and environmentally sustainable. They have become an iconic firm in Canada, working on projects like the Woodwards Development, and the soon-to-be Telus Gardens in Vancouver.
HPA came to us with a unique challenge: how to establish a voice and channel for the growing publications and article writing side of their organization while maintaining a industry leading corporate presence on and offline. Managing partner, Gregory Henriquez, has a passion for sustainable neighbourhoods and growth, both from a social and ecological standpoint, which he believes are interconnected (we agree).
Not Just Buildings
The challenge was to bridge the gap between a standard architect’s portfolio and a forward-thinking thought-leadership site. It was important to HPA that their website challenged and informed the visitor.
We worked closely with Gregory and his communications team to develop the navigation system you see on the website. It essentially brings together two websites, Henriquez Partners, and Archimemo. It allows the visitor to choose their path and brings together the content so that it can be cross pollinated easily. Archimemo articles can be connected to development projects and vice-versa, and the user is offered an exploratory navigation of images, hints and surprises.
Branding thru to Website
Briteweb also had the pleasure of advising the branding process with HPA’s internal design team, led by Joel Shane. The website would be the first major exposure for the new brand, so it was critical that the visual language of the site matched that of the new brand. This website maintains a rigid grid throughout, even while appearing elastic as the browser size or device changes. We imagined bricks in a wall and how they worked together to build structure. The logo, with the contemporary stacked letters, followed this thought as well.
Under the Hood
This site not only looks pretty, but features highly customized administration tools, making it easy to create and manage new content. Video and galleries are a snap to embed without resizing images or touching code of any kind. We integrated Google Street View into the projects section, so that visitors could interact with the developments directly, and navigate around the buildings for an up-close look. Every section of the site features Social Media integration, making it easy to share with friends.
The whole site runs on the WordPress framework, and every piece of content you see on the website is manageable by the HPA team, through the industry-leading WordPress Admin panel. We provided training and a comprehensive manual so the HPA team felt empowered to create amazing content.
Process
Briteweb managed all aspects of the project, from inception to launch. We led content strategy, web design and iterations, development, training and deployment, as well as advised closely on the re-branding process.
