Two local architects are being honoured as Northerners of the Year by Up Here magazine for their stylish buildings that have improved the image of the North, says editor Jake Kennedy.

Those architects are Jack Kobayashi and Antonio (Tony) Zedda, the founders of Kobayashi and Zedda Architecture (KZA) Ltd.

'We chose them because we thought that they are doing something very important and unique that is benefiting all Yukon and all of the North,' Kennedy said in an interview Monday from Yellowknife, the magazine's base.

The architects, said Kennedy, are developing a northern architectural aesthetic that is very modern.

'I think if you look at some of the projects that they are doing, you can see that they are really going to have an impact into the future.'

Kennedy pointed out that many of the first places visitors see when they come to the Yukon are buildings designed by KZA. They include the visitors information centre, the Canada Games Centre and the Tr'ondek Hwech'in Cultural Centre in Dawson City.

'They're going to be right in the foreground of a lot of people,' he said, referring to the buildings.

'Even their residential developments, because they are so different, are almost going to become tourist destinations. I can see people, when they come to Whitehorse, really stopping and noticing their residential developments.'

Those residential developments were not only designed by KZA but also developed by the firm, meaning the architects purchased the land, hired the contractors and own the buildings.

'That really says something about what they are doing. They stand up for what they are doing,' added Kennedy.

The architects themselves were a bit taken aback by the award, Zedda told the Star Tuesday.

'We're certainty honoured but pretty surprised as well.'

While Zedda believes in the work they are doing, he did not expect to be honoured as a Northerner of the Year for developing residential housing and designing buildings.

However, a deeper look at what KZA builds and why they build it reveals a quality that sets the architects apart, and helped prompt the magazine to grant them the award.

Zedda believes strongly that a more vibrant downtown Whitehorse begins with more people living and working there. Due to limited development space in the downtown core, that means increasing housing density for new residential developments.

'I think our goal has always been to create a more vibrant downtown Whitehorse, and we feel the way to do that is by creating the option for people to live downtown.'

To that end, the firm has created, built and sold residential condominiums, including the New Cambodia and the Latitude 60 Loft Condos on Fourth Avenue.

'The key to a good urban environment is to have a mixture of people living and working there.'

Higher population density also cuts back on the financial and environmental cost of transportation and municipal services like garbage collection, policing, snow clearing and firefighting.

'They're all made a little bit easier when you have people living together, even more so in Whitehorse because of the northern climate.'

'It's what we think is the right thing to do here,' said Zedda.

Besides design elements like being geometric in shape, KZA buildings often feature a unique use of external supports. The buildings also share KZA's emphasis on using natural light and being built to suit the geography of the North.

'We like having fun as well with different things,' he added

They also want to mix things up a bit and add something new to the architectural landscape of the North, particularly downtown Whitehorse.

'It's an opportunity to use material and make a building or a faÁade more interesting. We want to do interesting things because this place deserves it. It's a spectacular place and the people are spectacular.

'We're trying to reflect that in our work.'

Future projects for the firm include a larger-scale development project in Takhini North, a project Zedda said may push the envelope for sustainable development.

That project may include innovative street lights, rain water collection and less roadway.

'That project is just beginning and we don't know where it is going to go yet.'

The firm is also working on the new Mt. Sima ski lodge, the new Tantalus School in Carmacks and a housing development on Hanson Street.

KZA also recently won the prestigious Canada Council Professional Prix de Rome award which includes $50,000 to travel the world and study architecture.

Zedda told the Star last June that he and partner Jack Kobayashi (who is currently in Japan) will travel the circumpolar regions of the North, including Nunavut, Greenland, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway and northern Russia.�

KZA will be on the cover of the November/December issue of Up Here magazine, which has a circulation of around 30,000.

It's read by about 100,000 people, according to Kennedy, and should be on newsstands now.