Built for this Ground.
Every building begins with work that needs to be done.
Ground must be held or crossed. Summer sun needs shade. Existing trees, bedrock, water and wildfire shape where and how a building can stand. Rooms need to remain useful as lives change. Materials need to withstand the climate and be practical to maintain. In the BC Interior, these conditions are not constraints placed on architecture. They are where architecture begins.
Sanders Green is an architectural practice based in Penticton, working throughout the Okanagan Valley and rural British Columbia. We design homes, wineries, hospitality projects and civic buildings. The work is not defined by a particular style. It is connected by a way of working: understand the place, identify what matters, and develop an architectural response from the particular conditions of each project.
Every project begins with observation before drawing. We study the ground, climate, sun, vegetation, views, access, construction methods and the way a building will be used over time. These conditions do not point to a single answer, but they establish what the architecture has to respond to. We develop and test ideas through plans, sections, models, structure, environmental performance, construction and cost. The building takes shape through that process rather than being decided in advance.
This produces buildings that can be quite different from one another. One project may preserve a stand of ponderosa pines by carrying the house across a slope. Another may use structure rather than extensive excavation to make accessible living possible on uneven ground. Another may begin by making shade before making the view. The response changes because the land, people and problem change.
We try to disturb only what is necessary and to use the characteristics of a site rather than erase them. On difficult ground, structure may allow a building to bridge across a slope instead of reshaping it. Existing trees may determine where a house can sit. Bedrock, drainage, exposure and access can all become part of the architectural order. The aim is not to make the site simpler before building, but to let its existing conditions remain legible in the finished work.
Materials are approached in the same way. We favour materials that are durable, direct and suited to the work they need to do. Concrete holds ground and provides mass. Steel spans, shelters and weathers. Wood is used thoughtfully, often where people occupy the building most closely or where it can remain protected. Structure, materials and environmental performance are not separate from the architectural idea. They are some of the means through which it is developed and built.
Our process is collaborative and iterative. We make alternatives, evaluate them against one another, and work closely with clients, consultants and builders from the first studies through construction. Significant decisions should have reasons. They may come from the site, the way a room is used, the demands of structure or climate, or the realities of construction. The goal is not complexity for its own sake, but a building in which the major decisions support one another.
Across different scales and building types, the ambition is consistent: to make architecture that belongs to the land and communities it serves. Not by reproducing a regional style, but by responding carefully to climate, ground, construction and use. A building should become more convincing with time because it continues to do its work well.
A building belongs because it solves the work the landscape asks of it.
Sanders Green was founded in Penticton in 2021 by architects Warren Sanders and Will Green. Both principals remain involved throughout the life of a project, from the first conversations and design studies through documentation and construction. Their roles often overlap, allowing the work to be tested through two closely aligned but independent points of view. Together, their experience spans homes, wineries, workplaces, and other buildings serving communities throughout the BC Interior.
Warren Sanders, Architect AIBC
Warren Sanders is a founding principal of Sanders Green. He brings a deep understanding of construction, coordination and the practical demands of complex buildings, helping shape projects through a clear understanding of how they will be built, occupied and maintained over time. Whether working on a winery, a civic building or a home, he is interested in architecture that grows from the realities of its site, structure and use.
His experience across residential, commercial and hospitality projects reinforces the practice's belief that good architecture is not the result of a signature style, but of resolving practical problems with clarity and care. He works closely with clients, consultants and builders from the earliest stages of design, ensuring that technical decisions strengthen rather than compromise the architectural idea.
As a founding principal, Warren is involved throughout every phase of a project, from feasibility studies and concept design to detailing and construction administration. His collaborative approach and technical expertise help ensure that the buildings Sanders Green designs are not only thoughtful on paper, but durable and practical to build.
Will Green, Architect AIBC
Will is a founding principal of Sanders Green. His work is driven by an interest in the relationship between buildings, land and climate, and how architecture can emerge from the practical realities of construction rather than a predetermined aesthetic. He believes the strongest projects begin by understanding the work a place asks of a building; whether that means preserving a stand of trees, holding a hillside, making shade in a hot climate or creating spaces that remain useful throughout a lifetime.
That approach began during his graduate studies at Dalhousie University, where his thesis explored what an architecture rooted in the landscapes and communities of the Okanagan might look like. It continues to guide the practice today, shaping projects that respond to the particular conditions of rural British Columbia rather than a repeatable style.
Before co-founding Sanders Green, Will worked with MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, where he contributed to a number of nationally and internationally recognized projects. He is a registered architect in British Columbia and remains closely involved in every stage of the practice, from early conversations on site through construction.