Nicholas VariasArchitect, urbanist, inventor, building code official, artist, writer.Nicholas was born in Arad, Transylvania, Romania, in 1948. He has graduated from "Ion Mincu" University of Architecture and Urban Planning, Bucharest, Romania, in 1972, on top of hs class. After two years of working in Bucharest, and two years in Israel and Greece, Nicholas arrived in Montreal in 1976. From 1976 till 1993, he was employed by several architectural firms in Montreal, Toronto and London, Ontario, including Allan Levine Architects, Inducon, M.M. Dillon, Breivik Scorgie Wasylko Architects, and architects Tillmann Ruth Mocellin.Between 1993 and 2010, Nicholas' s architectural practice has successfully completed projects for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Public Works & Government Services Canada, Department of National Defense, ProFac Facilities Management and private individuals and corporations."Cite Vitae" in Cairo, has been an exquisite multi-purpose project, for which Nicholas has visited Egypt in 1998.In 2002 & 2003, in Barrie, Ontario, Nicholas' s firm was involved in several downtown revitalization projects, the emergency shelter for the homeless, and has designed the "Am Shalom" Synagogue.In 1996, Nicholas has won the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's FlexHousing Design Competition; A model unit of his design was built at the Canadian Centre for Housing Technology in Ottawa, for which he had been the design architect. A "Story of Love and Success", created by Nicholas, and published by CMHC, gives an insight into Nicholas's vision for his Flexhouse(TM).Then, over ten years of research and design efforts have resulted in Flexsola(TM), which is the environmental upgrade of Nicholas' Flexhouse(TM) design. Flexsola(TM), is based on Nicholas Varias' patent CA 2843797 for an innovative modular building system. It has received the 2017 Toronto Construction Association' s Innovative Product Award.Nicholas is currently working on a hexagonal modular building system, for which he has recently applied for a Canadian patent (application nr. 3,145,653).During forty years of working as an architect in Ontario, Nicholas has gained extensive knowledge and experience with the Ontario Building Code, and since 2002, has also worked as plans examiner and building inspector in the towns of Essa, Innisfil, Oro-Medonte, and Oakville, where he continues to be employed full time.In 2013, in order to express his passion for the natural environment, and to make his views known to the world, Nicholas has self-published "Brainstorming for a Beautiful Planet". This book includes many of his ideas, such as Honeycomb Villages, Trains over Highways, Islands Rescue, and Space Habitat. In 2022, Nicholas has self-published the 2nd edition of this book, which contains his arguments for a reset of architecture and urban planning, and for extra-terrestrial habitation.Nicholas is currently promoting Elevated Urbanism, a disruptive concept which could save natural areas and farmland, facilitates development in the desert, reclaim under-utilized, dilapidated, or contaminated areas, enable development over disaster areas, and create urban communities over water or flood-prone areas.Nicholas enjoys sketching and painting (Sketches of Oakville, TRIPTICO), he is a passionate chess player and nature lover, and likes the arts, jazz and classical music. In addition to English, Nicholas also speaks French, Romanian and Hungarian. Read More Read Less