RAIC Gold Medal Winner: Brigitte Shim and A. Howard Sutcliffe RAIC Gold Medal Winner: Brigitte Shim and A. Howard Sutcliffe "By their relentless pursuit of excellence, Brigitte Shim and Howard Sutcliffe have produced a significant body of exceptional design works covering architecture, landscape, interior, furniture and hardware." By Brigitte Shim and A. Howard Sutcliffe. Photo by Cida de Aragon Architects Brigitte Shim and A. Howard Sutcliffe, the founding partners of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, are designers of some of the finest architecture in Canada. Universally respected by architects, academics and students as well as the general public, their work opens people’s eyes to the beauty of architecture and landscape; to materiality and craft; and to light and spirituality. And at the same time, their work serves as a counterpoint to much of what is happening in both the world and in architecture today. In an increasingly frenetic and digital world that promotes instant gratification, Shim and Sutcliffe focus on slow experimentation through hand sketching and drawing, testing by building physical models at all scales, and the study of context and culture to “unlock” and “shape” their projects. Although they refine the local through the lens of the global, most of their studio’s preoccupations stem from their love of Canada and its varied seasonal landscapes.