Architectural design
Design and design development for homes and small commercial projects, shaped around how you live and work.
- Custom homes and renovations
- Additions and suite conversions
- Small commercial and tenant improvements
Thoughtfully designed spaces that feel like you.
Functional, beautiful spaces created for your needs.
You probably don’t remember the paint colour of a place you loved. You remember how it felt. We design homes, renovations and small commercial spaces around how you actually experience them — then we handle the drawings, permits and details to make them real.
No pressure and no preparation needed. We talk about your project, what you’d like it to feel like, and whether Thunderbird is the right fit.
27 yearsof architectural and project management experience
Alberta & B.C.commercial and residential projects, based in Calgary
CertifiedBiophilic Design Practitioner — design that keeps nature close
One guidefrom first conversation to building permit, and beyond
Remember a place where you felt completely at ease. A grandmother’s kitchen. A cabin by a lake. A corner of a café where the light came in just right.
You remember the warmth. The quiet. The sense that you could finally exhale.
That feeling is what we design for.
Meet Robin
The person behind Thunderbird
I’m Robin Kelly, founder of Thunderbird Designz & Construction Services. Over 27 years in commercial and residential architecture across Alberta and B.C., I kept noticing the same thing: a space can look beautiful and still not feel right to the person living in it.
So Thunderbird starts somewhere different. Not with “What style do you like?” but with you — how you live, what you notice, and what helps you settle. Then we turn those answers into daylight, layout, materials and drawings that a builder can actually build.
- Architectural TechnologistDesign, construction documents and permit packages grounded in how buildings go together.
- Project ManagerConsultants, contractors and timelines coordinated, with clear updates at every step.
- Biophilic Design PractitionerBiophilic design simply means bringing nature into a space on purpose — light, air, plants, natural materials and views.
- Calgary, serving Alberta & B.C.Local permit know-how, including City of Calgary applications and revisions.
Felt spaces
Designed for all of your senses
There’s an idea we love called Umwelt — each of us lives in our own perceived world. Two people can walk into the same room and have completely different experiences. The room didn’t change. The person experiencing it did. So we design for the person, through every sense. Choose one to explore.
Sight — light first
Natural light, views to the outdoors, and colours that calm or energize, chosen for you. We pay attention to where the light falls in the morning and in a Calgary winter afternoon, and we clear visual clutter so a room can breathe.
Design decision: window placement, lighting layers and dimmers, and a place for everything you actually use.
Sound — quiet where you rest
Quiet where you need to rest, and liveliness where you want to gather. A bedroom that hushes the street and a kitchen that carries conversation are both designed, not accidental.
Design decision: room layout, soft materials where they matter, and acoustic care in open plans.
Touch — materials you can feel
Warm wood, soft textiles, cool stone, and the feel of a handle in your hand. You touch your home hundreds of times a day, so we choose surfaces for how they feel, not only how they photograph.
Design decision: natural materials, rounded edges where hands land, and finishes sampled in your own light.
Smell — fresh air, natural materials
Fresh air and honest materials, and the absence of harsh chemical odours. A home should smell like itself: wood, linen, coffee, and the outdoors coming in.
Design decision: ventilation that works, low-odour materials, and storage that keeps a kitchen feeling fresh.
Taste — the kitchen and the table
Taste lives in the kitchen: the morning coffee ritual, the counter where prep happens together, and the table where people linger long after the plates are cleared.
Design decision: a kitchen designed around your rituals first, and a dining spot worth staying at.
Felt sense — how a space feels as a whole
Beyond any one sense is the felt sense: the whole-body impression you get the moment you step into a room, before you have words for it. Shoulders drop. Breathing slows. Or something feels off and you cannot quite say why. We listen for that quiet signal and design for it, so a space does not just look right — it feels right to be in.
Design decision: proportion, thresholds and flow shaped around the feeling you want when you first walk in, always tested against one question — can you settle here?
Where your body is in space
How a low ceiling can feel cozy to one person and heavy to another, and how easily you move from room to room.
Temperature and air
Warmth underfoot, a fresh breeze, and a room that holds its heat through a Calgary winter.
Balance and orientation
Knowing where the door is, where the light comes from, and where you are in relation to the outdoors.
Your inner sense
The quiet signal from your body that tells you whether you can relax here, or whether something feels off.
What makes you feel safe?
Underneath every sense is safety. Before we think a single thought, we are already asking whether we can settle in a space. That is why it is our first question to every client. There is no wrong answer, and you share only what you want to — but your answer tells us more than any style board ever could.
How we can help
Thoughtful in function. Meaningful to live in.
Every service comes with clear scope. You will know what is included, what it costs, and what happens next.
Building permit packages
We prepare the drawings and documentation your project needs for approval, submit the application, and handle revisions within the agreed scope.
- City of Calgary Landuse Bylaw Review
- Building Code Review
- Development and building permits
- Specialist consultants coordinated for you
Selections & renderings
Interior and exterior product selections, with renderings so you can see the space before anyone picks up a tool.
- Materials, finishes and fixtures
- Design visualization and renderings
- Interior design coordination
Construction documents
Specifications and documentation that give your contractor clarity, and give you a project that matches the design.
- Construction Document Package for contractor's construction ease
- Detailed drawing sets
- Clear scope, fewer surprises
Contractor selection & support
Help choosing the right contractor, and support through construction so you are never left alone with the complicated parts.
- Contractor selection guidance
- Contract Bid coordination and budget review
- Site questions answered
- Design intent protected on site
Project management & biophilic design
One steady guide for the whole project, with sustainability and connection to nature considered from the start.
- Project management, start to finish
- Energy-conscious design considerations
- Natural light, air and materials, by design
Portfolio
Spaces that feel like you
Seven completed projects lead the Commercial tab — the Nutrien Western Event Centre, Chief Crowfoot School, Notre Dame High School, the Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton, the Seton Seniors Complex, the Front Street Medical Center and the Johnson Cobbe Energy Centre at SAIT, from Robin’s time at Gibbs Gage Architects — and Inclusio for Accessible Housing Calgary, the Front Entry Renovation, the Back Deck Renovation, the Inexpensive Kitchen Renovation, the Closet to Mudroom Renovation, the Kitchen Renovation, the Main Floor Renovation, the Rear Deck Renovation, the Main Floor and Kitchen Redo, the Basement Development and the Basement and Main Floor Bathroom Renovations lead the Residential tab, shown in project photography. The other photographs here are inspiration imagery for the kinds of spaces Thunderbird creates. Each one starts with the person, not a style. Browse by tab — Residential for homes, Commercial for businesses and venues, and Biophilia for the spaces where nature leads: natural light, plants, warm wood and stone. Select any space to read more about it.
From first conversation to building permit, and beyond
A clear path, at a calm pace
Complex parts, explained in plain language. You always know the next step.
One
Discovery call
A free 20-minute conversation about your project, what you would like it to feel like, and whether we are the right fit.
Two
Listen & learn
We start with you. After our call, a gentle intake form helps us discover what is important to you: how you live, your senses, and what makes you feel safe. Take your time with it, and skip anything that does not apply.
Three
Design
Your answers become real decisions: daylight, layout, acoustics, materials, privacy and connection to nature.
Four
Drawings & permits
We prepare your permit package, submit it, and keep you updated on where your application stands.
Five
Build support
Contractor selection and support through construction, so the space that gets built is the one we designed together.
How we work
Relationships sit at the centre
Everything at Thunderbird is held up by a simple way of working: honest advice, clear scope, and doing what we say, when we say it.
Building Relationships
Our core value. Trust earned through respect, connection and every conversation.
Authenticity
Spaces, and words, that reflect who you truly are.
Reliability
Doing what we say, when we say it.
Integrity
Honest advice, realistic expectations, clear scope.
Collaboration
You, designers, consultants and trades as one project team.
Connection & stewardship
Connection to each other, to your space and to nature — with healthy, natural materials and energy-conscious choices.
Good questions
Straight answers, before you begin
Yes. If you need drawings and approvals rather than a full design journey, we prepare your permit package, submit the application and handle revisions within the agreed scope. You will know what is included, what it costs, and where things stand at every step.
Twenty minutes, by phone or video. We talk about your project, what you would like the space to feel like, and whether Thunderbird is the right fit. No pressure and no preparation needed — and if we are not the right fit, we will say so honestly.
It means designing with nature in mind on purpose: natural light, fresh air, views to the outdoors, plants, and materials like warm wood and stone. Robin is a certified Biophilic Design Practitioner, so those considerations are part of every project, not an add-on.
Thunderbird is based in Calgary and works on residential and small commercial projects across Alberta and B.C. Tell us where your project is in your enquiry and we will be straightforward about whether we can guide it well.
Both. We can coordinate with a contractor you have already chosen, or support you through contractor selection. Either way, you have guidance through construction rather than facing the complicated parts alone.
Let’s talk about your space
Start with a 20-minute conversation
Choose a time that suits you on Robin’s calendar, then tell us a little about your project and what you would like it to feel like. Your confirmation arrives by email straight away.
- First question, always
What makes you feel safe? There is no wrong answer, and you share only what you want to. - Calgary, Alberta
Serving homeowners and boutique commercial clients across Alberta & B.C. - A fit, honestly assessed
Thunderbird is a fit for clients ready to invest in a thoughtful, collaborative design process.
Book your free discovery call
20 minutes, by phone or video. Choose a day, then a time. Times are Calgary time.
Days with open times are shaded.
Pick a time. Times are Calgary time.
You’re booked.
Talk soon
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