- Story by Angela Cowan Photography by Lia Crowe

From a very young age, architecture was one of Duane Ensing乌鸦传媒檚 passions, but he took a meandering path through visual arts, sculpture and landscape design before integrating house design into his professional life, joining Villamar Design six years ago and launching the design department.

乌鸦传媒淎s a kid, I used to draw houses and build homes with Lego,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淎nd I乌鸦传媒檝e always been interested in the arts. I painted, explored creative expression and played music as a kid, and my mom was an artist and creator.乌鸦传媒�

Duane, who moved to Victoria from Vancouver with his family in 1985, achieved an honours degree in visual arts at UVic, focusing on drawing, photography and sculpture, before entering into a career as a landscape designer.

乌鸦传媒淚 did landscape design for a very long time, and I knew some of the people who worked [at Villamar],乌鸦传媒� he says.

When Villimar offered him a job, he decided to make the change.

乌鸦传媒淚 started with project management, and when working there, I thought, you know, we need a design firm here.乌鸦传媒�

Duane quickly helped establish an in-house design department, which grew rapidly into a small team of talented people and gave Duane the space to flex his creative muscles in a new way.

乌鸦传媒淓verything I do is art,乌鸦传媒� he says. 乌鸦传媒淢y landscapes are sculptures; [I乌鸦传媒檓] designing it in a way that has interest and colour and texture. You乌鸦传媒檙e creating something new. It乌鸦传媒檚 similar with house design. They乌鸦传媒檙e these sculptural pieces with form and function and level changes.乌鸦传媒�

Having that artistic background has perhaps given him the ability to have a slightly off-centre perspective as well, and see challenges in a different light.

乌鸦传媒淚 feel as an artist or a creative person, I like to leave my mind open to the possibilities of doing something, even exploring things that I don乌鸦传媒檛 even know whether we can do it, but saying, let乌鸦传媒檚 explore the possibility.乌鸦传媒�

He adds, 乌鸦传媒淲hat my hope and dream is with every custom home is to have something that really meets your needs乌鸦传媒攚hile having a few extra cool things you could do乌鸦传媒攖urning your home into a place that乌鸦传媒檚 an extension of your personality.

The 7 Sins

Envy:

Whose shoes would you like to walk in?

Leonardo da Vinci and Will Smith. Leonardo da Vinci because he was intelligent and quite skilled. He was multi-faceted: a painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect and engineer乌鸦传媒攁nd really just seemed like the problem solver of all problem solvers. And Will Smith because he乌鸦传媒檚 a pretty down-to-earth soul, but also very accomplished in several fields, and still a family man. He cares about people and from what I see and read, in front of all his adventures, he still maintains a fairly balanced life. Two very successful people with ambition, creativity, balance and adventure.

Gluttony:

What is the food you could eat over and over again?

I乌鸦传媒檓 a sugar addict, followed by big salty cravings. Given the choice though, I乌鸦传媒檇 probably make home-made pizza my 乌鸦传媒渞eturn-to乌鸦传媒� food. I find pizza so inventive and creative in taste (for both salty and sweet). Favourite pizza so far: onion, garlic, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, cayenne, bell peppers, potato and chicken. Potato, you say? Umm, oh yeah.

Greed:

You乌鸦传媒檙e given $1 million that you have to spend selfishly. What would you spend it on?

Small condos in multiple places like Greece, Italy, Norway, Peru and Kathmandu. Each of these places would give me a base from which to explore the surrounding areas. Hiking, mountain biking, city life and beaches乌鸦传媒�

Wrath:

Pet peeves?

Poor spelling. I have this thing that really sets me off and makes me question everything about you when I see misspelled words. And don乌鸦传媒檛 even think about getting me going with the left lane drivers. Ugh. I乌鸦传媒檓 feeling a serious blood boil coming on.

Sloth:

Where would you spend a long time doing nothing?

The first thought going through my head was Bora Bora. Do they even have any land there or just cabins that float over the water? And who cares about WiFi; give me some books and a relaxing seat or bed. I can feel the relaxation starting right now! Next best spot to do nothing is overlooking the ocean at Ucluelet or Tofino.

Pride:

What is the one thing you乌鸦传媒檙e secretly proud of?

Having multiple simultaneous career paths. Having completed a BFA in visual arts, I乌鸦传媒檓 happy to say I have had a couple fun and creative pastimes (jobs?) creating art and developing interior and exterior spaces for some pretty fine folks.

Lust:

What makes your heart beat faster?

Stairs and mountain biking. Not necessarily in that order. There乌鸦传媒檚 a lot of things that make a home and a landscape better and stairs are a super important factor. I like to think outside the box and I have a growing portfolio and collection of 乌鸦传媒渟tair porn乌鸦传媒� that continues to inspire new ways to connect spaces in a cool or more interesting way. And with mountain biking, I乌鸦传媒檒l simply say that most of the trips and vacations I take involve biking乌鸦传媒攁nd where we go means I乌鸦传媒檓 exploring new trails and finding new adventures. Who wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 want that?

You can find

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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