GLENMORRIS COHEN, international architect and designer for UrbanQuest Incorporated, is the quintessence of ‘Urban’. An award-winning architect from South Africa, Glenmorris graduated with many honours from the prestigious University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He had a recognized and respected architectural firm in South Africa, as well as being the Architect for the South African Air Force. After immigrating to Canada in 1986, he quickly became the lead designer for the firm Moffat Kinoshita and was responsible for the design of many prize winning buildings (including Mills Memorial Library at McMaster University, McMaster Art Gallery, Sheraton Parkway Hotel and St. Mary’s Catholic High School to name a few). He is internationally known as an outstanding library and art gallery designer. Glenmorris takes his creative use of space and light from this discipline and relays it into each of his spectacularly designed homes and developments; his attention to detail, maximization of space and his exemplary architectural skills position him in a league of his own. As well, he is a black belt in karate, a yoga devotee, loves music, art, design….as well as his wonderful and very interesting children. As much as he loves the city and the urban form, he also truly appreciates the Great Canadian North and has therefore become a True Canadian. When up north, he looks up at the sky and stars and daydreams….about buildings and the urban form!
VIVIENNE GRACE ZINER was born to search, to strive, to seek. She has lived and worked in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, the Far East, Africa, the Caribbean, Mexico – and Canada. Vivienne has had a myriad of fascinating careers. She was the Advertising and Merchandising Coordinator for The American Railroad Corporation (AMTRAK) in Washington, D.C. when she was 24, she was in the travel and leisure businesses globally; was one of Canada’s first female music managers, managing such groups as Triumph, Natalie Cole, The Raes, Martha Reeve and the Mandellas, The Good Brothers, Chilliwack etc.) Viv worked international public relations and marketing, specializing in real estate and had her own publicity and public relations firm.
NICOLE WINDREM holds a Bachelor of Interior Design from Humber College Polytechnic Institute and is the Administrative and Design Assistant at the UrbanQuest office. Nicole was recently also the youngest person in Ontario to earn a Certified Sustainable Building Advisor accreditation through the Canada Green Building Council. She marvels in the pursuit of the endless multitude to which design extends itself in our every day – whether it is societal issues, human behavior, global impacts, environmental sensitivities – and beyond. As a true urban-soul and lover of the city of Toronto, she is actively engaged in the process of UrbanQuest’s ongoing projects.