Barry Cosgrave

Barry Cosgrave is a principal in the number TEN Victoria office. The projects that stand out over time are those that develop special relationships between the people involved. Barry strives to understand the client’s requirements and more importantly the project’s on-going legacy and long-term impacts. He is a registered architect, who has been working in Victoria since 1988. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Master of Architecture from the University of Manitoba.

Barry seeks out qualified people to be part of the team and build the project’s goals into substance, that all voices are heard, and the original vision is kept in the forefront. The results of this approach are projects that consistently provide thoughtful and creative responses to our client’s programs and long-term goals.

MRAIC, Architect AIBC, AAA, SAA, MAA, LEED AP

My father’s early career was in the armed forces, so when I was young, we lived in Ottawa, Kingston, Winnipeg, and Calgary. When he left the armed forces, we moved to Regina for Grades 4 to 12. There, I was lucky enough to cross path with local architects including a classmate’s father who was Canadian architect Clifford Wiens and my backlane neighbour who was a University of Manitoba architecture graduate. In addition, where I went to high school, across the street was the University of Saskatchewan’s fine arts building. The artist, Joe Fafard was a professor and was pioneering his clay cows and clay prairie people figures. I was always passionate about fine arts and I was interested in an artistic related career. So, architecture definitely interested me. In 1976, I moved to Winnipeg to start my educational journey at the University of Manitoba. I did my Bachelor of Environmental Studies, took a year to work for an architect, and then completed my Master of Architecture. During my Masters, I was a summer student at Number TEN and joined them after graduation in 1984.

In summer of 1986, I went to Expo 86 in Vancouver and was inspired to live on the West Coast. I moved to Victoria in 1988 and worked here for a couple of years for a local architectural firm. In 1990, Number TEN had some projects in Vancouver and asked me to join them. So my young family moved over to Vancouver. But the partner that came out west had a property in Victoria and wanted to build a house. We just had our second child, so Victoria made more sense because we had family here, so we moved back to Victoria in 1992.

I have a special needs son, so I know the importance of the social well-being of a community. In my journey with my son, I became a Cub and Scout leader. We were living in Esquimalt and our troop camping trips were my children’s and the other kids’ major summer vacations. From that experience, life long friendships have evolved. I consider community involvement is vital. I have been on the YMCA-YWCA of Vancouver Island board for the past 7 years. The YMCA-YWCA of Vancouver Island have a 135 year history in our community focusing on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. That’s providing not just the Y services but support for single parents, transitional housing, and camps for kids. It’s all about giving back and helping the next generation.