About
We are architects, designers, and builders committed to redesigning the way people age at home.
History
FABhomes are thoughtfully designed, high performance, prefabricated housing units that help older individuals and those with special needs live independently and safely — with purpose, dignity, and grace. The idea for FABhome emerged out of Ph.D. research completed in 2016 by John Brown, one of the company’s founders. It was refined in his research lab at the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, and was awarded a City of Calgary Mayor’s Urban Design Award in Housing Innovation.
Further development of the integrated FABhome concept was undertaken by Housebrand; a residential design-build firm co-founded in 1997 by John and his two partners, Carina van Olm and Matthew North. Over its 23-year history, Housebrand has completed over 250 residential projects using a unique practice model that combined architectural design with construction management, real estate services, and furniture retailing. In 2003 Housebrand was recognized with an Award of Excellence in Innovation from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and, in 2009, was the first Canadian firm to receive a Rising Star Leadership Award from Residential Architect.
Housebrand projects
After transferring the intellectual property for the FABhome research project out of the University through Innovate Calgary, Housebrand completed the first working FABhome prototype in 2017, which then underwent a series of in-community user tests conducted by researchers at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine. Usability data from both test deployments were collected and analyzed by medical researchers with the results used to inform the design of the production version of the FABhome.
In 2019, Housebrand teamed up with Thin Air Labs, a Calgary-based innovation and investment company composed of experienced entrepreneurs, investors, designers, and community leaders to commercialize the project.
FABhome V3 prototype deployment
Founder Biographies
Carina Van Olm
Carina is the President of FABhome, leads the executive team, and is responsible for strategic growth and financial management.
Carina van Olm is a co-founder and President of Housebrand. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations and strategic growth of the Housebrand group of companies, which include an architecture firm, a construction company, and a furniture retail operation. Over its 23-year history, Carina grew the operations to a total of 21 employees with annual billings of $10,000,000. Prior to Housebrand, Carina was a successful small business entrepreneur; first as part of a fashion wholesale company responsible for distributing several European clothing lines into retail stores across Canada and then as co-owner of Business Appointments, a high-end design store located in Calgary.
John Brown
John leads the FABlab research team and is responsible for business development and concept design.
John Brown is a registered architect and Professor at the University of Calgary's School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape, where he currently serves as Dean. John is a founding partner of Housebrand, responsible for concept design and new client development. He is a recognized international expert in age-in community architectural design, having completed a PhD in this specialization in 2016 from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia. He is a co-author, with Matthew North, of the 2011 book, What's Wrong With This House? A Practical Guide to Finding a Well-Designed, Sustainable Home.
Matthew North
Matthew heads the FABstudio team and is responsible for project realization and fabrication.