Claire Kurtin

Growing up in Toronto with a mother who was an architect and a grandmother who was a heritage activist, Claire Kurtin learned from an early age that good buildings last.

Claire’s commitment to adaptable and enduring architecture has often led her to work with cultural and institutional partners: clients focused on making long-term contributions to their communities.

Currently, Claire is the project architect for the theatre component of the Werklund Centre Transformation (formerly Arts Commons) in Calgary. Throughout construction documentation and contract administration, she has been an integral leader of KPMB’s efforts to modernize and expand the performing arts centre, which is the largest in Western Canada.

With a passion for adaptive reuse and the revitalization of existing buildings, Claire is also the project architect for the Suncor Energy Centre redevelopment in Calgary. Scheduled for completion in early 2027, the extensive renovation and addition reframes the space between two 1980s office towers as a communal amenity for workers and the wider downtown.

Both a big-picture thinker and a detail-oriented problem solver, Claire delivers projects from concept design through construction. She particularly enjoys the latter stages of a project, where collaboration and nimble problem solving are required to preserve the integrity of a design and turn it from an idea into reality.

In 2025, Claire led KPMB’s competition team for the design of a new visitor centre in Banff National Park. She has also contributed to Robertson Hall at Princeton University and a residential tower at Brookfield Place in Toronto.

Before joining KPMB, Claire previously worked at Lebel & Bouliane and Giannone Petricone Associates on a variety of adaptive reuse and renovation projects, including the acclaimed Royal Hotel in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

Claire holds a Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC). She uses this knowledge to create spaces that are inclusive and welcoming for everyone.

She earned a Bachelor of Architectural Studies from the University of Waterloo and a Master of Architecture from the University of Toronto.