Privacy Policy

Look, We Get It

Nobody actually enjoys reading privacy policies. But here's the deal - we're a small architectural firm in Vancouver, not some faceless corporation. When you reach out to us about designing your dream home or renovating that century-old commercial space, yeah, we're gonna need some info from you. This policy breaks down what we collect, why we need it, and what we do with it.

We've been doing this for years, and honestly, protecting your privacy isn't just about following Canadian laws (though we totally do that). It's about trust. You're letting us into your vision, sometimes your budget, and we don't take that lightly.

What Information We Actually Collect

Stuff You Give Us Directly

When you fill out a contact form, shoot us an email, or call our office, we're collecting basics like your name, email, phone number, and whatever details you share about your project. Sometimes that includes site addresses, rough budget ranges, timeline expectations - the practical stuff we need to figure out if we're a good fit for each other.

Website Interaction Data

Our website picks up standard tech stuff - your IP address, browser type, which pages you visited, how long you stuck around. Nothing creepy, just the usual analytics that help us understand if people actually find our portfolio page or if it's buried somewhere they'll never see it.

Project-Related Information

Once we're working together, we'll obviously have more detailed info - architectural plans, site surveys, photos of existing structures, meeting notes, correspondence about design decisions. That's the nature of collaborative design work, and it's all kept confidential.

What We Do With Your Info

We're not selling your data to advertisers or anything sketchy like that. Here's the actual rundown:

Getting back to you when you reach out - seems obvious, but that's the main thing
Understanding your project needs and putting together proposals that actually make sense for what you're trying to accomplish
Managing active projects - coordinating with contractors, engineers, keeping you updated on progress
Sending project updates, invoices, and yeah, occasional newsletters if you opted in (and you can opt out anytime, we won't be offended)
Improving our website based on how people use it - like if everyone's bouncing from our services page in five seconds, we probably need to rewrite it
Meeting legal requirements - there are Canadian regulations around architectural work, permits, documentation

Who Else Sees Your Information

We're pretty protective of client information, but there are some situations where we need to share certain details:

Project Collaborators: If you hire us for a full build, we'll need to share relevant info with structural engineers, contractors, permit offices - basically the team that brings your design to life. They're all bound by professional confidentiality standards too.

Service Providers: We use cloud storage for project files, email services, accounting software. These companies process data on our behalf but don't get to use it for their own purposes. We're talking about established providers with proper security measures.

Legal Requirements: If there's a court order or legal obligation, we might have to disclose information. Hasn't happened yet in our years of practice, but legally we gotta mention it.

With Your Permission: Sometimes past clients are cool with us showing their projects in our portfolio (with address details removed). We always ask first and get explicit consent.

Cookies & Tracking Stuff

Yeah, our website uses cookies. Not the chocolate chip kind, unfortunately. These are small data files that help the site function properly and let us see how people interact with it. Most of it's through Google Analytics - tracking page views, session duration, that sort of thing.

You can block cookies through your browser settings if you want. The site'll still work, though some features might be a bit wonky. We're not doing any sophisticated ad tracking or retargeting - we're an architectural firm, not a marketing company.

Your Rights (The Important Bit)

Under Canadian privacy law, particularly PIPEDA, you've got solid rights when it comes to your personal information:

Access Your Data

You can ask us what information we have about you. We'll provide it in a reasonable timeframe.

Correct Mistakes

If we've got something wrong, let us know and we'll fix it. Happens sometimes with phone numbers or email addresses.

Delete Your Info

Want us to erase your data? We can do that, unless we're legally required to keep it (like for completed project records).

Opt Out

Don't wanna receive newsletters or updates? No problem. Every email has an unsubscribe link, or just tell us.

How We Protect Your Data

We're not cybersecurity experts, but we take reasonable precautions. Our systems use encrypted connections (that's the https thing in your browser). Project files are stored on secure cloud servers with access controls. Our team's trained on confidentiality practices - it's part of professional architectural ethics anyway.

Physical documents get locked up in our office. When we're done with old project files that need disposal, we shred them properly. It's common sense stuff, but it matters.

That said, no system's 100% bulletproof. We do our best to protect your information, but if there's ever a security breach affecting client data, we'll notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.

How Long We Keep Your Information

For active projects, obviously we keep everything throughout the engagement and for several years after completion. That's partly legal requirement (architectural records have retention periods) and partly practical - clients sometimes come back years later with questions or for additional work.

If you contacted us but we never ended up working together, we'll typically keep that initial inquiry info for about a year, then clear it out. Unless you specifically ask us to delete it sooner, which we can do.

Children's Privacy

Our services aren't directed at anyone under 18. We don't knowingly collect information from kids. If you're a parent and think your child somehow provided us with personal information, reach out and we'll delete it immediately.

Changes To This Policy

We might update this privacy policy occasionally - maybe laws change, or we add new services, whatever. If there are significant changes, we'll post a notice on our website and update the date at the top. For major changes affecting how we handle your data, we'll probably send an email to active clients.

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