ABOUT US

A Passion For Sustainable Building Design

It is this passion that led to the inception of GNAR Inc. a building design firm focused on bringing clients vision to life while also having a positive impact on the environment. The desire became reality in 2016 when the company was established in the mountain town of Whistler, BC. Ongoing education in areas such as Energy Efficiency, Energy Retrofits, Passive House Design, Net Zero, and Energy Positive Building Design has allowed the GNAR Inc. team to become experts in sustainable building design with a desire to see it become the building design standard in the Sea to Sky corridor and beyond.

Our Mission

To Have Every Renovation, Addition, and New Building Design Be a Sustainable One.

Meet The GNAR Team

Edgar Dearden

Founder & CEO
Sustainable Home Designer

Eddie founded GNAR Inc back in 2016, a civil engineer from Australia, Eddie is passionate about the environment and addressing the climate emergency through sustainable building design. In 2016 he switched to Structural Engineering before taking on studies in Architecture and Interior Design. He has extensive experience in steel design, BIM 3D modelling and is a registered Passive House designer. A master of all aspects of design and construction, Eddie oversees all projects undertaken at GNAR Inc and is very hands on and engaging with clients and builders to ensure the projects success. Eddie is also a mean barista and his passion for coffee is right up there with the environment.

GNARchetype – The Hero

Mark Kavanagh

Lead Sustainable Home Designer

Mark, who is our Lead Sustainable Home Designer, hails from Ireland. Having graduated with a Masters in Architecture from the University of Dublin in 2019, he decided to trade in his Gaelic speaking ways and his galoshes for ski boots and started living in the mountains. He found solace in the rainy spring and fall days and called Whistler home. He has since moved back to Ireland due to COVID but will be returning “home” soon. He has a passion for sustainable design practices, the environment and maintaining a low eco-footprint. Mark has the skills to pay the bills with a background of industry know how as well as hands on experience which makes him a builder’s dream designer.

GNARchetype – The Hero

Leona Slivova

Sustainable Home Designer
Energy Advisor

Leona is one of our Sustainable Home Designers with a Masters in Civil Engineering. Originally from the Czech Republic, now residing in Revelstoke, Leona has been with GNAR Inc since 2018. She is a Certified Passive House Consultant and a licensed Energy Advisor. Leona has 5 years work experience as a building designer and is a wizard on Archicad with over 6 years experience and can literally draft anything you can imagine. She is an avid biker and loves to spend time in the backcountry ski touring. Fun fact about Leona is that she has been winter camping since she was 11 years of age.

GNARchetype – The Explorer

Luke O’Neill

Sustainable Home Designer

Meet Luke, he is one of our Sustainable Home Designers that moved here from Ireland back in 2019. With a Masters degree from Ireland’s premier University of Architecture, Luke has the skills to pay the bills. He specializes in BIM 3D modeling, rendering, drafting and of course designing dream homes for our future clients. Luke believes that good architectural design has the ability to change the world.
“If you can improve just one person’s experience through placemaking and considerate design, they you’ve made the world a better place”. Like most people in Whistler, Luke came for a winter season and has been here ever since. You can say he has really taken to the Whistler lifestyle and on most days you can find him in the bike park or on the slopes.

GNARchetype – The Hero

Mitch Forster

Client Relations
Interior Designer

Mitch, who we fondly refer to as the Mother of GNAR, is our Client Relations Manager. Mitch moved to Whistler in 2004 from Australia and she is the heartbeat of the company hence her Mother title accolade. She works closely facilitating meetings, dialogue and anything project related, she is also on her way to becoming a fully certified Passive Home Designer and has a diploma from the Interior Design Institute with 4 years experience in the design world. She has just recently taken on the world of Interior Design with Jess, these two ladies can tackle any project,
big or small!

GNARchetype – The Explorer

Harriet Greenly

Lead Interior Designer

Harriet, our skilled In-House Lead Interior Designer, brings years of expertise in interior design and styling and is also quite the ninja in high-quality CAD rendering. Hailing from England, she holds a Diploma
of Higher Education in Environmental Studies and is a strong advocate for sustainability due to her global travels and witnessing the impact of climate change firsthand. Harriet is actively pursuing a Certified Kitchen & Bath Designer qualification with NKBA, seamlessly blending her design knowledge with a passion for a greener future. An enthusiastic hiker, she traded the UK’s flat lands for BC’s beauty, often found by the lake with her paddleboard or exploring scenic viewpoints.

GNARchetype – The Magician

Courtney Foxgord

Sales and Marketing

Courtney is the Sales and Marketing Manager at GNAR Inc. She has a BBA in Marketing and 15+ years of experience in social media, Project Management, content marketing, graphic design and sales. Her extensive sports background and I mean extensive, brought her to Whistler in 2004 and her passion for the environment and protecting winters only grew from there. Her love for sustainability has lead her to GNAR and she is excited to be apart of such a fun, dynamic team.

GNARchetype – The Jester

Mya

Office Manager

Mayonaka, which means midnight in Japanese, is the best office dogs a company could ask for. She is a Yorkiepoo and weights approximately 8 pounds and is 13 years old but as you can see, she doesn’t look a day over puppy. Up until recently, she was an unbelievable trail dog and is still always on the move. She loves to hang out in her backpack and when she is sleeping, she is dreaming of sustainable designs that can help make the world a better place for her as well as her humans.

GNARchetype – The Innocent