Behind the Build: Marianne McKenna, Shirley Blumberg, Bruce Kuwabara - KPMB The Founders

For the first time ever, Bruce Kuwabara, Marianne McKenna, and Shirley Blumberg sit down together to share the story of founding KPMB and shaping it into one of Canada’s most influential architectural practices. Established in 1987, KPMB has earned more than 400 awards, including 18 Governor General Medals in Architecture, and completed over 31 million square feet of projects spanning education, health, culture, civic, workplace, hospitality, recreation, and mixed-use development with a team of 132.

What emerges in this rare conversation is a portrait of a studio built on shared values, entrepreneurial grit, and the conviction that every project must count. From the watershed win of the Kitchener City Hall competition to a generation-defining wave of Toronto’s cultural institutions, their model rejects silos—teams move fluidly, ideas are tested rigorously, and design integrity carries through from concept to detail. The aim has always been clear: architecture that elevates daily life, strengthens community, and endures.

They speak openly about collaboration as leadership, embracing constraints as creative catalysts, and embedding sustainability through KPMB Lab’s focus on low-carbon design and social impact. The discussion also looks forward: major renewals and commissions that engage history and place—from concert halls to academic hubs and museums—and the careful transfer of stewardship to the next generation while protecting the studio’s culture and standards.

Woven throughout are formative stories—childhoods marked by making, migration, and resilience; mentors who demanded rigor; and the decision to found a practice where excellence and empathy hold equal weight. It’s an inside view of how KPMB continues to evolve without losing its center: rigorous, humane, context-first architecture led by people who still love the craft—and the challenge—every day.

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