Michael Green

Building with meaning 🌿 Architect @mgarchitecture , adventurer, storyteller and father, Michael Green @michaelg.bc shares how design can connect us to nature, community and the things that truly matter.⁠ ⁠ Read the full #Self_Other conversation and discover how architecture can serve people and the planet. Link in bio!⁠ ⁠ #BeforeLifeHappens

Heading home to Salt Spring is always the most incredible experience. Our mountains, our ocean, our beaches. All gratitude. We are so fortunate.

@iamnataliaanja @nataliaanjaportraits Amazing photos of Baker on our electric 1959 Series II Land Rover by Natalia!

I designed it for someone else’s family. Then I became one of them. At the time, we thought we understood what families needed. Space. Function. Flow. We knew how to design something that felt calm, supportive. What we couldn’t understand was what it feels like to live inside it. It’s 3am. My son is on steroids and screaming. Not crying—screaming. I’m walking slow circles through the corridor because it’s pouring rain outside. Back and forth. Back and forth. He wants prawns. Cooked. Now. Earlier that day, I asked our nurse clinician: how do we parent through this? She said, simply: you do whatever it takes to survive in the moment. So I went to the kitchen. Exhausted. To cook prawns. At 3am. Another mother was already there. Also awake. Also in it. She was making Kraft Dinner. My son saw it and everything escalated. He wanted that. I didn’t have it. Panic. Dread for what was to come next… But She heard. She understood. And without hesitation, she handed him a full bowl. No questions. No explanation. Just care. And just like that, the screaming stopped. His body settled. The room softened. That’s what this place is. Not just a building. An environment that holds people in their most fragile moments and meets them with care that feels instinctive, not instructed. We couldn’t have designed that moment. No design brief teaches you this: when a child is sick, the whole family is held inside it. You don’t understand that from the outside. You understand it by living there. Now, I’m leading the interiors for Willow House. It’s the most personal work of my career. And it may not be built. $20M has been committed federally. Private donors have stepped forward. What remains is $40M from the Province of British Columbia. In the meantime, 500 families each year are turned away. If you’ve never lived this, it’s hard to imagine. Arriving in a new city. Your child beside you. Everything unknown. You don’t need more decisions. You need somewhere to land. Willow House is that place.

Lake Louise. End of season ice.

We are proud to welcome Michael Green to Big & Lit Canadian Design Award as a member of our Advisory Board and Jury. @michaelg.bc @mgarchitecture An internationally acclaimed architect, author, and Principal of MGA | Michael Green Architecture, Michael has redefined the global conversation around wood architecture and sustainable design. His pioneering work in tall timber buildings has influenced architects, policymakers, and students around the world. As we move forward with 2026 theme, Bridges & Lights, his vision, leadership, and commitment to environmental innovation strengthen our mission to inspire the next generation of designers. Please join us in welcoming Michael Green to the Big & Lit community. #BigAndLit #BridgesAndLights #ArchitectureAward #SustainableDesign #DesignLeadership

Fun to give a talk today in the Grand Palais. What a venue! @mgarchitecture

Family❤️

Venice the way Venice should be seen. #orukayak

Mt Maxwell hike with my little Baker. Mount Rainier visible from 265km away. Seattle would be right under her and it’s so clear we still see her. Always exceptional when Rainier is clear.