COMMON PRACTICE

RESEARCH

We are curious about ways to progress the design field and engage with broader concepts through both art and spatial research. Our network has a wide range of interests reflected in the ideas and innovations we explore inside and outside of the studio, making us an interdisciplinary practice from fields of health sciences to the study of memorials and monuments.

ARCHITECTURE

Using our diverse skillset, our team can provide community, commercial, and residential design services from planning through construction. We can serve as client representative, consultant and/or project manager to coordinate a design team of engineers and experts. Our process is collaborative and relies on relationship-building through straightforward communication during all stages of design, from concept to details to delivery.

DESIGN

Our role as placemakers and architects is to support and facilitate an equitable and just community-lead visioning and planning process through co-creation exercises, hands-on working meetings, informational outreach, and in-depth consulting. We prefer a down-to-earth and inclusive approach that puts community and home first.

MIKA YAMAGUCHI

Founder | Director | Hawai’i | District of Columbia

Mika is a registered architect with a passion for community-building and resilient design. Her diverse experience ranges from crafting street furniture with LA Mas in Los Angeles to co-leading a 757-unit multifamily development in Washington, DC with ZGF Architects, and contributing to projects across the Pacific and the United States. A collectivist at heart, she enjoys working alongside clients, stakeholders, and user groups through thoughtful and adaptive processes. With a passion for contextual and participatory design, Mika has over a decade of experience as a design partner with non-profit organizations. Her holistic approach and sensitivity to detail lead to creative architectural solutions that are both functional and elegant.

Beyond the studio, Mika is an advocate for equal access to quality housing, environmental justice, safe multi-modal transit systems, and vibrant public spaces - in cities, rural places, and on islands.

Mika holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Toronto John H. Daniels faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design and a Bachelors in Psychology from Queen’s University. She is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), and maintains an ILFI Living Futures Accreditation.

HANNAH LEYLAND

Leyland Architecture | Design Architect | British Columbia

Hannah holds a Master of Architecture from the University of British Columbia, a Bachelor of Science Degree (focusing on Quantitative and Population Health) from Simon Fraser University, and a diploma from the Design Discovery Program at Harvard University. While studying at UBC, Hannah completed two terms abroad in Japan and in Switzerland and was recognized for her vision in design by being awarded the HCMA Architecture & Design Scholarship.

Prior to joining Common Practice, Hannah worked with StudioHub and S.R. McEwen Architect on institutional design projects and with Loy Leyland Architect and Verdania Properties Ltd. on residential design and construction projects.
 
Hannah is passionate about collaborative user-focused design where the user of the space is engaged in the design process in order to ensure that their vision for the space can best be achieved. Hannah is a registered Architect with the Architectural Institute of British Columbia.