ABOUT GOWER DESIGN GROUP INC. - INTERNATIONAL DESIGNS & SERVICE

Since 1990, John Gower has offered custom residential design services - both creating new homes and remodeling existing houses, initially to clients located throughout southern British Columbia. Ten years ago he launched the bcmountainhomes.com site to offer his design expertise and extensive collection of unique home plans to an international clientele looking for modestly sized, comfortable homes, beautifully and simply designed.
The Gower Design Group is based in Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada, and has worked with clients from the Pacific Northwest to New England, from the Northwest Territories to Mexico, as well as in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. By using telephone, e-mail, fax, and courier services, clients everywhere receive a high level of personal attention and quick turnarounds, and have the opportunity to participate fully in the evolution of their home design.
Projects have varied in size from tiny cabins of less than 500 square feet to custom homes of 3500 square feet and more, although most are in the 1,500 to 2,400 square foot range. Regardless of the scale of the project, the focus remains on the clients- their needs, their budgets and their dreams - and on striving to integrate the homes into their surroundings with grace and environmental sensitivity.
To find out which of the services offered by the Gower Design Group can help you create the home and the lifestyle you want, please explore our custom home design section or take some time to wander through our plan catalogue. Or peruse some of the thoughtful articles in our library.

JOHN GOWER, Owner and Designer

"I see many people today looking for a different kind of home. Unlike the increasingly large and homogeneous houses of the 1980's and '90's, the home they want is modest in size, but generous in its capacity to embrace and nurture life. It is constructed with care, using quality materials to have enduring value and appeal. It is comfortable, practical, and economical to build. It is welcoming and friendly to the street. It uses resources and energy wisely. And its architecture is timeless, to fit gracefully and respectfully in any neighborhood. "I believe that such smaller houses- where comfort, practicality and beauty co-exist in harmony- represent an idea whose time has truly come. They're better for the environment, and they enhance the quality of life- both for our communities and for those who live in them. I am glad to help make this option available to everyone."

John has been steeped in architecture and design for much of his 50 years. As a boy, he spent many hours at his father's architectural practice, watching draftsmen draw up sketches and plans of houses, schools, and public buildings. In the mid-1980's, John studied at Carleton University's School of Architecture in Ottawa, Canada. His academic background also includes studies in land-use planning, environmental law, urban geography, and philosophy.
As well as being schooled in architectural theory, John has experience in the practicalities of building new homes and renovating older houses. Through this construction experience, he has gained the ability to dovetail the spatial and aesthetic ideas of architecture with the sensibilities and cost-consciousness of the job-site. His approach to design reflects that builder's know-how, a quality appreciated by owners and contractors alike.
In addition to the aesthetic concepts of a designer and the practical considerations of a builder, John incorporates a soulful approach to his work. Deeply connected to the land, his creative roots are in nature and in a critical appreciation of the architecture around us.
It's an approach that brings together the best of all elements- head, heart and soul. And it shows in the relationships he builds with clients. John pays attention to what his clients want and transforms those wishes into solid, thoughtful architectural concepts, well-detailed drawings, and homes of enduring beauty and comfort.