Odami is an award-winning architecture and design studio that aims to converge the pragmatic and the expressive, the subtle and the striking, the familiar and the unexpected.
From our offices in Toronto, Canada, we specialize in the full-service design of commercial spaces, residential architecture, and purposeful furniture, objects, and other material forms.
Led by Arancha González Bernardo, a Spanish architect, and Michael Fohring, a Canadian designer, the practice represents a merging of design values and histories, a process deepened by the contemporary multiculturalism of the city in which we live and work. In embracing difference and purposely working between modes, perspectives, and dichotomies, we’re in search of a fertile meeting ground — a space of conference and connection that gives rise to inventive outcomes
Architecturally, we strive to create environments that are atmospheric, confident, and strongly informed by their sense of place, collaborating closely with our clients to achieve their particular ambitions and goals. We work to uncover evocative forms that are distinctly soulful and simultaneously functional, thoughtfully engaging with materiality to build depth and character.
Across scales, we invoke simple gestures to achieve nuance and presence, summoning diverse approaches into conversation so that something uniquely contemporary may emerge.
Odami’s founding principals met in 2012 while working together at an architecture firm in Austria. They relocated to Montréal and eventually settled in Toronto, where, in 2018, they launched Odami with their debut project, Sara. Since then, the studio has had the pleasure of collaborating with global giants like Aesop alongside celebrated local and Canadian brands, also bringing to life residential projects, furniture, and design objects to international acclaim.
ARANCHA (ARÁNZAZU) GONZÁLEZ BERNARDO
BCIN, ARIDO (INTERN), M.ARCH
Born and raised in Asturias, Spain, Arancha grew up playing and helping out in her family’s busy fabric and clothing shops. She carried forward a strong relationship with composition and materials as well as a creative pragmatism in designing spaces that are jointly functional, welcoming, and resonant.
Arancha studied architecture at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura in La Coruña, and has worked with award-winning design firms in Spain, Austria, Montréal, and Toronto, collaborating on projects across Europe and North America. In addition to leading Odami, she also teaches at the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Interior Design.
MICHAEL FOHRING
B.SC.ARCH, M.ARCH
Michael grew up in Ontario, Canada, in a family of carpenters, mechanics, and general tinkerers. Prior to studying architecture, he worked on construction sites and developed a deep interest in craft, assemblage, and making, driven by a desire to uncover more efficient and compelling approaches to design and fabrication.
Michael studied architecture at McGill University in Montréal, where, upon graduation, he was named to the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Honour Roll. He was also awarded the American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Medal and the RAIC Student Medal. Since 2017, he has taught as a Sessional Lecturer at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture and the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Interior Design.