About Us
Ha/f is a team of architects and building scientists who partner with designers, builders, and government organizations to reduce emissions in the built environment.
/Contact Ha/f
/Contact Ha/f
Kelly is a father, architect and educator. His holistic approach to the design of the built environment has been shaped by his experiences working across the world - first in the resource development sector, and later as MASS Design Group’s East African Director where he led the design and implementation of several of MASS’s projects, notably the Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture–winner of several international awards for sustainable design and construction. Working in these contexts brought about a profound sense of the scales of social and environmental impacts inherent to the built environment.
Kelly is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto, a Senior Fellow of Architecture 2030, a founding member of the Bio-based Materials Collective, a winner of the Canada Council’s Prix de Rome for Emerging Practitioners, and a member of the RAIC’s Committee on Regenerative Environments.
Juliette is an intern architect, lecturer, and researcher. She brings a lifecycle lens to projects, evaluating these from the perspectives of embodied carbon, operational performance, cost, reuse potential, toxicity, labour, and more. At Ha/f, she leads carbon and circularity studies for cities, developers, and design teams across Canada. Her belief in materially literate, regenerative design is grounded in both research and practice.
Juliette teaches life cycle assessment and circularity at the University of Waterloo, and has previously taught a climate and material-focused housing studio at Parsons School of Design. Her role as a mother deepens her commitment to designing healthier futures.
Ryan Bruer
OAA
Ryan is an architect and artist passionate about communal stories that connect people to materials and city-building. His work is informed by his art practice which explored printmaking through material circularity, local repair, and exchange in Hamilton. This context reveals the social and environmental impact and opportunity of building, a perspective Ryan brings to project design strategy.
Ryan oversees creative pursuits and research, specializing in thoughtful design and technical rigor. He has extensive experience with feasibility studies and residential design. As a co-founder of Ha/f, he has advanced life cycle assessment in architectural offices across Canada to drive immediate carbon reduction in residential construction. Ryan also leads the Ha/f Research Seminar at the University of Waterloo’s School of Architecture.
Rashmi Sirkar is an architectural designer and expert in circular construction. Her commitment to the social and environmental aspect of materials is informed by her experience as a textile designer and entrepreneur in India where she worked extensively with natural materials and craft communities across the country. In 20XX Rashmi co-founded Mana Organics, a women-led organization that collectivised small farmers to facilitate organic farming at scale.
Rashmi’s focus has shifted towards similar forms of collective action in the built environment. Her research into material re-use practices included working with Re:Purpose Savannah and ReHousing.ca - experiences that have shaped her commitment to re-use as a first option. Rashmi currently teaches at the University of Toronto, leading research seminars in both the architecture and landscape architecture departments.
Kelsey Saunders M.B.Sc, CPHD, LEED AP BD+C
Kelsey is a building science consultant with over a decade of experience and a lifelong passion for environmental stewardship. Her work focuses on reducing the climate impact of the built environment through research, education, and practice. With degrees in Architecture and Building Science, she is dedicated to bridging design excellence with technical performance and environmental responsibility.
Kelsey has supported dozens of high-profile projects in achieving ambitious low-carbon goals and led research on the lifecycle impacts of common enclosure systems. She has taught building science and sustainable design at the University of Toronto and co-taught a national low-carbon training program for engineers through the Climate Risk Institute.
A Certified Passive House Designer and LEED Accredited Professional, Kelsey serves on the board of the Ontario Building Envelope Council and is a co-founder of the Toronto BioBuild Collective.
Likhitha Varikuti M.Arch, LEED Green Associate
Likhitha is an architectural designer and recent graduate of the University of Waterloo. She is dedicated to tackling global challenges through adaptive reuse, climate-responsive architecture, and carbon reduction strategies.
Her master’s thesis, Descent to Water: Revitalization of Ashapura Stepwell, reimagines ancient Indian stepwells as catalysts for groundwater recharge and self-sustaining neighbourhoods—linking cultural memory with urgent environmental needs. This project reflects her broader commitment to using architecture as a tool to address climate change. At Ha/f, Likhitha contributes to life cycle assessments, climate resiliency strategies, and material reuse studies, advancing projects that prioritize carbon reduction and circularity. Driven by a desire to create meaningful impact, her work bridges technical rigor with environmental stewardship to advance sustainable futures.
- Share knowledge
- Demonstrate the effectiveness of new materials and designs
- Ensure the political resilience of new urban policies
Autodesk Foundation
OneClick LCA
The Atmospheric Fund
Acorn Sustainability Consulting
Airlit Studio
Carbon Wise
Local Works Studio
Project Restore