Invizij evolved from its predecessor firm, Garwood-Jones & Hanham Architects, with Ross Hanham and Grace Wang as founding partners. Instead of naming the firm with their last names, Ross and Grace decided on the name INVIZIJ (envisage). The idea was to keep the individual architect’s ego in check and to foster a common goal of design excellence for the firm.

Even though Invizij retained the staff and studio space of Garwood-Jones & Hanham, it seemed that we spent the whole year explaining to people who we used to be and how to say our new name…

Some notable projects started with the predecessor firm were completed in 2012, including Westmount Recreation Centre and Dundas Valley School of Art Renovations.

Economy wasn’t great and work was hard to get. We did many small renovations projects, including McMaster University Medical Centre (MUMC) Eating Disorder Unit, Gift Store and Retail Pharmacy. We started working on some of the projects that have become recognizable buildings – Binbrook Library Feasibility Study, Harvey Woods Lofts.