Boasting a multidisciplinary design team that works on institutional, cultural, and educational projects, Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Republic Architecture Inc. is dedicated to a collaborative approach to design with an enthusiasm and appreciation for all its impressive projects. Utilizing an exploratory process, the team embraces the shared goal of providing quality services for clients across Canada, including interior design, architecture, sustainability, space planning, commissioning, life-cycle costing, and more.
A firm believer in the strength of teamwork, Republic truly values the collaboration of diverse talents, passions, and viewpoints, using the principles of a cooperative workplace to the advantage of clients, projects, and team members.
Working from coast to coast and into the northernmost regions of North America, Republic’s projects have been adapted to fit a variety of cultural and environmental settings, and even in the most isolated communities, employees go above and beyond to provide clever architectural solutions.
“Republic Architecture has had a very different approach than some of our competitors or other firms in our region, partly because we’re servicing the entire country,” says Tricia Schilling, Principal Interior Designer. “We have projects in all parts of Canada, and we’ve developed the ability to be completely agile and flexible from day one to accommodate that, which is really setting us apart in the industry.”
As seen during the pandemic, the company’s agility has afforded its team members with flexibility and the chance to establish work-life balance. “We’re a very diverse team,” adds Schilling. “We have people from all parts of the world, and that’s part of the really broad approach we bring to the field of architecture and interior design. It’s one of the things that brings a different culture and perspective to how we do our business. It’s been a unique way to learn about different people and different ways of seeing things.”
Supporting an activity-based workspace means very few people have fixed desks, creating spaces to either collaborate or work in quiet, all within the same office building. “Being diverse matters a lot to us,” stresses founder and CEO Shane Solomon, but it’s not diversity for diversity’s sake. “We’ve taken a strategy of creating a firm that we hope attracts a broad group of candidates, and we’re lucky in the fact that we get all kinds of different applicants who have different pieces of education and different work experiences.”
This has led to a balance of representation from people from all walks of life all working within the firm, which has added to the richness of the work Republic does. “Clients can relate to people who can relate to them,” he says. “It’s important to have voices and representation in our firm that reflect the kind of clients we have, so that contributes to our success in a real way.”
Those employees include an “extraordinary” number of women in a primarily male-dominated field, he adds. While perhaps not an intentional choice, it’s simply become a part of how Republic’s culture has resonated with individuals who express interest in working there.
“Because of our flexibility, agility, and ability for people to have families and to balance work and home life, it has just been a really inviting way that women can balance all of those things in their lives,” says Schilling. “We have a fair number of women working here who have decided to not have a family, too, so it’s not just those who have a family that Republic is drawing, but we’re a very welcoming environment, and I think that’s resonating with people.”
In an effort to bring more women to the industry, Republic hosts workshops, drawing in groups of interested students to get to know them on a more casual basis, ensuring the company is supporting that learning environment and giving students an insight into what happens when they graduate.
Republic’s approach has also included embracing sustainability in its projects, using wood roof structures instead of the traditional metal roof, or an exposed wood deck that gives warmth and acoustic value to an office space, for instance. “We’re trying to explore all different aspects of architecture and product development, incorporating those and using them to their best value,” Schilling says. “That’s part of our sustainability strategy, as well as trying to make sure our clients are serviced the best way we can.”
This approach has resonated strongly with clients as well. “They’re pushing us to think outside the box,” adds Schilling. “We’re moving into a season where clients are more interested in net-zero buildings and reducing how much money they’re pouring into operating their buildings. It gives us a different perspective and starting point for how we approach a problem when it comes to an architecture project or interior design project,” she says.
This lens gives the company a different way of looking at things, learning new techniques, and finding the best approaches and services being offered in the industry, all to better help clients achieve their goals.
While some of Republic’s clients have very strict requirements the company must follow, others encourage an exploration of various ways to minimize a carbon footprint, whether that’s using building materials that don’t require additional finishes—a concrete floor or a wood ceiling—or sourcing furniture solutions that allow for easy movement and changes.
Embracing sustainability led to Republic’s receiving the 2025 Wood Design & Building Award in the WoodWorks Prairie Category for its work on the Manitoba Hydro Riel Construction Office Project in Dugald, Manitoba at Woodrise 2025, held this September in Vancouver, BC. “This utility company is taking their role of being good stewards very seriously, so it was close to our hearts in terms of who’s using that building and why they’re needing a building,” says Schilling. “It was a great partnership.”
A similarly successful partnership was the redevelopment of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) Fish Laboratory in Darthmouth, Nova Scotia. A $16 million undertaking, this project called for creativity, precision, and collaboration, “from working closely with Public Works and Government Services Canada, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Defence Research and Development Canada, and Natural Resources Canada, to preserving the building’s historical character while integrating state-of-the-art labs and a 94,500-litre ballast tank, making it a complex puzzle that pushed the limits of design and problem-solving,” describes the company. With sustainability at the core, this project achieved Three Green Globes Certification.
For a relatively young firm—Republic recently celebrated its 15-year anniversary complete with a party for clients and subcontractors—the company strives to build its niche in the industry while staying true to its own values and personal design process. “Republic has lots of runway in front of it,” says Solomon. “We figured out what our market niches are, and while there are always challenges whenever you’re working with a new client or a new project, focusing on the success of the project and our clients’ needs is one of the key reasons for our success so far.”
Solomon adds that the company is “quite privileged” in that it gets to work on a number of important projects, including the restoration of Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse, some of the preservation of the Manitoba Legislative Building, and currently the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC.
“The opportunity to work on some legacy projects is really exciting, and many of the projects we get to touch are those kinds of buildings,” he says. “It’s really a privilege, and each one comes with its own unique challenges and opportunities, which is great.”
Solomon also praises Republic’s “incredible” team of 65 people, citing the company as a “true startup. It was one person in a room. We’ve grown organically since then, and I think we have a real startup mentality,” he says. “We’re scrappy, but we don’t take anything for granted. We’ll come up with something, try it, test it, and then see if it’s working. If it’s working, we’ll lean harder into it; if it’s not working, we’ll walk away from it. And we don’t have a preconceived idea of how we’re going to execute on projects.”
Being recognized within the industry is validating for the company’s fresh approach. Along with its recent honour at Woodrise, Republic has also been recognized by the MASI Design Awards for a retail renovation, and by the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals for its work in heritage preservation.
Maintaining such a level of expertise means finding the right people to complement the firm’s ethos. Typically, candidates receive three separate interviews, with at least one of them a 360 interview with a group of four or five Republic employees of different backgrounds and different roles and education. At the end of the conversation, everyone has to weigh in to decide if the candidate is a good fit.
“Ultimately, we’re working in a collaborative environment, and these are people you work with every day,” Solomon says. “Can you see yourself or your clients working with this individual? Will they add to the success of projects and the richness of the firm? Those discussions have really contributed to our success.”
Indeed, with plenty of exciting projects on the horizon, one of Republic’s biggest challenges this year has been the sheer volume of work—a good problem to have. “We’re going through a period of growth right now, so some challenges will be finding candidates who are a great fit for our firm culturally, who we think will add to the success of our projects, and who want to be part of what we have going on.”
“We’ve been very successful in winning projects, but that also means that it’s a bit taxing on staff,” Schilling adds.
To help combat that, Republic has an on-staff fitness expert who works with employees to keep them fit and ensure they haven’t lost sight of all aspects of health. Republic continually works to help employees achieve their best work while offering flexibility and freedom as well.
By offering a completely hybrid office approach—with only meetings calling for everyone to be on-site—there are no rules in terms of how many days or how many hours employees must spend in the office in any given week.
“That’s been a very important aspect of why people choose Republic, but it’s also been how we’ve remained quite successful in terms of being able to manage some of our travel as well,” Solomon explains. “We’re trying to give people more autonomy, working when they want to, how they want to. I don’t think that necessarily happens in other parts of the industry. It’s quite unique to us,” he says.
“There are many wildly successful, large, multinational firms out there, but sometimes there are clients that are looking for something a little more personal, a little more boutique,” says Solomon. “Sometimes they want the key person at the table, and even though we do work all across the globe, we’re doing it primarily out of one office in Winnipeg. All of that knowledge is in one building.” And it all comes together to provide exceptional service to clients in a phenomenal place to work.
