Robert Claiborne

Robert is an award-winning architect with more than 25 years of international design experience. As a design leader, he guides the overall vision of the project. Robert’s commitment to architecture and to an authentic understanding of the unique needs of each project comes in part from his interest in art and literature and also to a deep engagement with the challenges and opportunities of our current time. He believes that as architecture engages site and the environment, program, context and client, each building has an opportunity to express a greater cultural meaning.

Robert puts great emphasis and focus on understanding and reshaping the many forces that influence each project and strives to find a unique and inspired response to these conditions. Engaged and committed, Robert works closely with clients and colleagues alike and fosters a strong dedicated team approach to his work.

Robert’s core interest is in civic, cultural spaces, urban spaces, and cities. He is a consistent voice for the confluence between architecture and the arts in the design of our communities. This commitment reinforces the role of creativity as a catalyst for building a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive community.

In addition, Robert is invested in a cross-disciplinary approach to theory and research that bridges the profession and academia. These interests have led to ongoing relationships with the University of Calgary and the Laboratory of Integrative Design. This research involves methods of fabrication as well as rethinking the construction processes to minimize waste.

Robert is a licensed architect in both Alberta and California. In 2002, he developed his own architectural practice in Montreal, Studio 451, where he focused on cultural projects and international competitions. From 1993 to 2002, he was design lead with Studio Libeskind in Berlin and Los Angeles where he was intimately involved with many international cultural, institutional, and master planning projects.

Robert earned his Master of Architecture degree from SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) in 1993 and his Bachelor of Architecture degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 1985 and a certificate from the Ecole d’arts Americaines in Fontainebleau, France.

He has taught architecture for many years at universities including the University of Calgary, McGill University, the University of Toronto, the University of Southern California and California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. He has lectured extensively, and his work has been exhibited both in Canada and internationally.