Catching up with… ft3

St. Boniface

I reached out to ft3 Architecture Landscape Interior Design about doing a follow-up to a column I wrote in September 2023. As she did back then, marketing co-ordinator Rebecca Henderson asked what I wanted to hear about.

My reply was thus: “Recent projects… current projects… anything else new and exciting?”

1) I understand that earlier (in 2025) ft3 Architecture Landscape Interior Design celebrated a major milestone. Please expand on the 50th anniversary for me and our readers.

While ft3’s official anniversary date is July 1, we celebrated this milestone in May, within the atrium of the Brodie Centre, on the Health Sciences Centre campus of the University of Manitoba. Celebrating at this location was significant to us as the firm helped plan and design the atrium in the mid-1990s.

Clients and partner firms celebrated with us as well, including the original founder, Rudy Friesen, and one of the firm’s later and significant partners, Brian Tokar. Rudy started the firm on July 1, 1975, under the name Rudy P. Friesen, Architect. From there, the firm’s name has undergone different iterations to reflect leadership. Of course, now we’re ft3, which commemorates Rudy and Brian, while communicating our disciplines: architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design.

Guests were welcomed with a custom cocktail (a Studio 75) while being serenaded by the Luminous string quartet playing covers of popular pop and rock songs from the last 50 years. These elements played into our theme of reflecting on the firm’s history and its impact on the built environment. We showcased ft3 projects from across Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario that illustrate our wide range of experience, but also our expertise within health and wellness, multi-family housing, and corporate office environments.

Our staff were all in attendance to help celebrate the occasion. Our staff share a passion and drive to reach higher and dig deeper to exceed expectations and create a better world for all those who live in it.

In addition to the party, we showcased a few key legacy projects from the firm’s portfolio on social media, starting in 1975. It was such a delight to comb through the archives and discover the breadth of work the firm has completed in the City of Winnipeg (and across Manitoba).

I never knew that ft3 was the designer behind the Fort Rouge Leisure Centre conversion and the iconic graphic font covering the southwest corner of the building. I think everyone can recall the signage when driving either north or south along Osborne, as it feels like time travel. The font is very ’70s-coded, and I love that it hasn’t been updated since.

Another project was Union Centre. This project departed from the glass-metal-concrete trend that permeated buildings throughout downtown Winnipeg in the early ’90s and took direction from the local context of Broadway. The building draws people closer with a curved brick facade that creates an arterial entrance to downtown, encouraging exploration.

What’s fascinating about researching the firm’s history and work since its inception is recognizing common themes in the planning and design process from the past five decades, such as community, local context, and sustainability. These themes continue to drive ft3, informing our design process and the concepts we put forward to clients.

Overall, we want to keep this momentum and excitement going and look forward to the next 50 years and what projects and people we will be commemorating and celebrating.

2) Any other new developments you’d like to share with us?

The new emergency department at St. Boniface Hospital recently opened, which we helped plan and design. It was an incredibly exciting and complex project to be a part of, and we’re happy to hear that staff approve of the renovations and enjoy operating within the new space.

Another project that we’ve been working on is the new Portage Regional Health Centre (which replaced the Portage District General Hospital). It’s one of the largest construction projects in Canada. However, it’s also one of the most critical for our province in providing equitable healthcare within Manitoba.

We have many other projects in the pipeline, but unfortunately, I cannot divulge any details yet. Your readers will have to stay tuned…