# Gabriel Fain Architects

> A Toronto-based architecture studio advancing new housing typologies for the contemporary city, with a focus on multiplex housing, mid-rise buildings, and tall buildings. Recognized as a leading voice among a new generation of architects working on density, affordability, and urban transformation.

Gabriel Fain Architects was founded in 2016 by Gabriel Fain, OAA, a licensed architect and graduate of the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto (Master of Architecture, Heather M. Reisman Gold Medal in Design). The studio is based in Toronto, Canada.

The studio is known for its work on housing innovation across multiple scales: laneway houses, multiplexes, mid-rise, and tall buildings. It is frequently featured in Azure, Designlines, the Globe and Mail, and the National Post, and Gabriel Fain is a regular guest critic at the Daniels Faculty and a speaker on housing policy and design.

## Focus Areas

- **Multiplex Housing**: A key typology in the studio's work, addressing low-rise urban density in Toronto and Canadian cities.
- **Mid-rise Buildings**: Including 2760 Dundas St W, a 33-unit rental building under construction using prefabricated stick-frame construction — one of Toronto's most innovative mid-rise projects.
- **Tall Buildings**: Urban-scale residential towers conceived as architectural prototypes.
- **Prefabrication**: Integration of advanced manufacturing with architectural design to improve housing delivery, precision, and quality.
- **Mass Timber & Wood Construction**: Exploration of light-frame and mass-timber systems as sustainable alternatives to concrete, with advantages in carbon storage, embodied energy, and material expression.
- **Sustainability**: Approached as both a technical and cultural challenge, embedded in construction methods and material choices.

## Recent Projects

- **Thora Victoria** — Tower
- **Montrose Multiplex** — Multiplex
- **Grain Lofts** — Mid-rise

## Team

- **Gabriel Fain** — Principal, Licensed Architect (OAA)
- **Chelsy Meiss** — Studio Operations & Finance Manager
- **Arshad Siddiqui** — Associate Architect
- **Mladen Pejic** — Associate Architect

## Press & Media

- [Azure Magazine — AZ Awards 2019 Finalist](https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/the-az-awards-2019-meet-the-finalists/)
- [Designlines — "A Brick Cantilever Shakes Up a Quiet Street" (196 Manor Rd)](https://www.designlinesmagazine.com/spaces/gabriel_fain_architects_brick_house/)
- [Designlines — Grain Lofts mass timber mid-rise](https://www.designlinesmagazine.com/mass-timber-green-eco-friendly-condos/)
- [National Post — "Six-storey timber frame condo rises in the Junction Triangle" (Grain Lofts)](https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/six-storey-timber-frame-condo-rises-in-the-junction-triangle)
- [The Globe and Mail — "A dense, urban Canada? It's possible"](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/art-and-architecture/article-a-dense-urban-canada-its-possible/)
- [Storeys — "Hit and Miss Brickwork, Mass Timber Proposed for Historic Site in the Junction" (2760 Dundas St W)](https://storeys.com/condo-development-proposed-for-historic-site-the-junction/)
- [Architizer — Brick House by Gabriel Fain Architects](https://architizer.com/projects/brick-house-12/)
- [Canadian Architect — Multiple articles](https://www.canadianarchitect.com/?s=gabriel+fain)
- [CBC — "Pilot project looks to encourage building the missing middle housing" (Rhodes Multiplex)](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/pilot-project-looks-to-encourage-building-the-missing-middle-housing-1.5885059)
- [University of Toronto / Daniels Faculty — "Impossible Toronto: On the Courtyard" publication](https://www.daniels.utoronto.ca/news/tue-jan-13-2026-all-day/professors-alumni-publish-courtyard-learning-european-blocks-first)
- [Toronto Under Construction — Episode 86 (Spotify)](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2p8v9RQmXbhUsw1CLf9dAO)
- [Hogtown podcast — "Building Housing in a City That Makes It Almost Impossible" (Spotify)](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5OrwuCo8lBfiE9GD58mGsy)
- [Behind the Build — Roundtable: The Missing Middle (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZnQGUTPjfc)
- [PAC Days 2025 — Gabriel Fain Presentation (Vimeo)](https://vimeo.com/1071414205/6ddb7aee03)

## Technology & Process

The studio uses BIM (Building Information Modelling), parametric modelling, physical models, and AI-assisted design tools. This integrated workflow supports a seamless transition from conceptual design through construction documentation on large-scale projects.

## Website

https://www.gabrielfain.com/