Lecture Series: Arancha González Bernardo & Michael Fohring

Starting a practice is intimidating, and running it successfully is hard. This “lecture” walks through select projects completed since the studio’s inception in 2018, using them to reflect upon the critical lessons learned along the way, from identity building, to dealing with contractors and clients, to structuring your day and workflow. In doing so, we hope to look beyond the work and shed some light on the aspects of running a practice that are often hidden from view, and offer some candid insights – and perhaps some entertaining stories – about what it takes to go out on your own.

Arancha (Aránzazu) González Bernardo
B.Sc.Arch, M.Arch

Born and raised in the Asturias region of Spain, Arancha grew up playing and helping out in her family’s busy fabric and clothing shops. She carried forward a strong relationship with composition and materials as well as a creative pragmatism in designing spaces that are jointly functional, welcoming, and resonant. 

Arancha studied architecture at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura in La Coruña, and has worked with award-winning design firms in Spain, Austria, Montréal, and Toronto, collaborating on projects across Europe and North America. In addition to leading Odami, she also teaches at the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Interior Design.

Michael Fohring
B.Sc.Arch, M.Arch

Michael grew up in Ontario, Canada, in a family of carpenters, mechanics, and general tinkerers. Prior to studying architecture, he worked on construction sites and developed a deep interest in craft, assemblage, and making, driven by a desire to uncover more efficient and compelling approaches to design and fabrication.

Michael studied architecture at McGill University in Montréal, where, upon graduation, he was named to the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Honour Roll. He was also awarded the American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Medal and the RAIC Student Medal. Since 2017, he has taught as a Sessional Lecturer at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Interior Design.

Odami is an award-winning architecture and design studio that aims to converge the pragmatic and the expressive, the subtle and the striking, the familiar and the unexpected.

From our offices in Toronto, Canada, we specialize in the full-service design of commercial spaces, residential architecture, and purposeful furniture, objects, and other material forms.

Led by Arancha González Bernardo, a Spanish architect, and Michael Fohring, a Canadian designer, the practice represents a merging of design values and histories, a process deepened by the contemporary multiculturalism of the city in which we live and work. In embracing difference and purposely working between modes, per- spectives, and dichotomies, we’re in search of a fertile meeting ground — a space of conference and connection that gives rise to inventive outcomes.

Architecturally, we strive to create environ- ments that are atmospheric, confident, and strongly informed by their sense of place, collaborating closely with our clients to achieve their particular ambitions and goals. We work to uncover evocative forms that are distinctly soulful and simultaneously functional, thoughtfully engaging with materiality to build depth and character.

Across scales, we invoke simple gestures to achieve nuance and presence, summoning diverse approaches into conversation so that something uniquely contemporary may emerge.

Instagram: @odami.team (external link)