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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A longtime Yellowknife architect has been appointed the NWT regional director for the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC).

Wayne Guy, owner of 18-year-old Yellowknife architectural firm Guy Architects, was elected to the post earlier this summer.

Wayne Guy, of Guy Architects, has been appointed the NWT regional director for the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

The NWT has eight registered members.

He will also represent Alberta, which boasts several hundred RAIC members, but his main focus will be showcasing the work of NWT architects.

"It's a program aimed at making sure that when a new building is showcased, the architect of the building is identified,... said Guy.

"Every building in Canada has an architect behind it. It's important to develop public consciousness that design is a willful act, an act that significantly improves the quality of our day-to-day experience."

Singling out the architect will also help differentiate one designer from another, particularly in the NWT, added Guy.

"Usually, the public hasn't been aware of which firms are in the North and the differences between their work," he said.

"I think certain achievements lend themselves to certain clients."

Guy drew an analogy to painting.

"It's more important that you know a Picasso from ... another type of painter. Not a lesser painter, but stylistically different,... he said.

As regional director, Guy will also promote a RAIC initiative to completely eliminate the carbon imprint left by construction by the year 2030.

"Here we have the most dramatic climate change, ... he said. "This really forces us to rethink technologies to their best end when it comes to the design and construction of buildings."

Nadji Architects owner Kayhan Nadji, a fellow architect, said Guy is the right candidate for the job, citing Guy's role in forming the NWT Association of Architects, a regional advocacy group for architects, in 2001.

"He worked really hard to put things together,... said Nadji. "He showed his leadership there and his capacity to handle responsibility."