Blackwell

What Blackwell does

Blackwell Structural Engineers is a Toronto-headquartered structural engineering consulting firm founded in 1987, serving architects, developers, government agencies, institutions, and private clients across Canada and selectively in the United States. The firm delivers full-scope structural services spanning schematic design, design development, contract documentation, shop drawings, contract administration, feasibility studies, peer reviews, and site visits, using timber, steel, concrete, masonry, and tensile/fabric structural systems. It operates from offices in Toronto, Waterloo, Halifax, Windsor, and Victoria, with a staff of 51–100 that includes licensed P.Eng. principals and BIM technologists.

Blackwell's commercial differentiation rests on three specialty practices: mass timber design (CLT, DLT, NLT, GLT) including the first mass timber project to clear Toronto approvals and the longest manufactured CLT panels in Canada; fabric and tensile structures using SolidWorks-based 3D modeling with PVC, PTFE, ETFE, and HDPE fabrics; and heritage building rehabilitation, materially deepened by the June 2024 acquisition of Ojdrovic Engineering, which brought Parliament Hill West/East Block, Supreme Court of Canada, and Province House into the portfolio. Sustainability is positioned through an SE2050 Program commitment, embodied carbon analysis using BIM and Environmental Product Declarations, and BubbleDeck concrete-volume reductions of up to 35%.

The firm operates as a project-based professional services business with no published pricing; fees are negotiated per scope. Revenue derives from architectural firm partnerships (the dominant referral channel), direct developer and institutional engagements, and government procurement for heritage work. Marketing is largely portfolio- and award-driven, with consistent recognition across Wood Design & Building Awards, RAIC Governor General's Medals, OAA Design Excellence Awards, CISC steel awards, and the Holcim Foundation. Brooke Guzar, appointed inaugural CEO in March 2023, leads the firm.

Name

Blackwell

Legal name

Blackwell Structural Engineers

Website

https://blackwell.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Blackwell Structural Engineers is a Toronto-headquartered structural engineering consulting firm, founded 1987, serving architects, developers, institutions, and government clients across Canada with specialty practices in mass timber, heritage rehabilitation, and tensile structures.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Structural Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Engineering Services (541330)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

Keywords

• Structural engineering consulting
• Heritage building rehabilitation
• Mass timber design
• Tensile fabric structures
• Sustainable building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Structural Engineering Consulting: Professional consulting services covering schematic design, design development, contract documentation, shop drawings, contract administration, and site visits. Also includes feasibility studies, peer reviews, and development of projects using new building technologies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Blackwell provides comprehensive structural engineering consulting services to architects, developers, building owners, and government clients. The firm designs structural systems in timber, steel, concrete, and masonry for educational, commercial, residential, heritage, recreational, and cultural building projects across Canada. Services span schematic design, design development, contract documentation, shop drawings, contract administration, feasibility studies, peer reviews, and adoption of new building technologies.

Product overview

Blackwell Structural Engineers is a structural engineering consulting firm offering a unified platform of professional services rather than a modular software product. The core offering is comprehensive structural engineering consulting, supported by specialized service lines including education facilities, sports and recreation buildings, heritage conservation, custom homes, fabric structures, mass timber buildings, multi-unit residential, cultural facilities, commercial buildings, bridge design, and sustainability services. The company operates from offices in Toronto, Waterloo, Halifax, Windsor, and Victoria, serving projects across Canada and internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Structural Engineering Services Comprehensive structural engineering consulting covering all project phases including schematic design, design development, contract documentation, shop drawings, contract administration, site visits, feasibility studies, peer reviews, and development of projects using new building technologies.
• Mass Timber Design

Quantifiable outcome

• First mass timber project to clear Toronto city approvals process
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ojdrovic EngineeringcoreOthers · 3 June 2024Blackwell acquired Ojdrovic Engineering in June 2024. Ojdrovic Engineering was founded by Nebojsa Ojdrovic in 1999 and had grown into a trusted industry leader in structural rehabilitation and retrofit of heritage buildings, with notable projects including West and East Block Rehabilitation Projects on Parliament Hill, Royal St. George's College Addition, Province House rehabilitation, and Supreme Court of Canada Building. Ojdrovic's staff joined Blackwell's Toronto office and collaborations on new projects are underway.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Arup is a global engineering consultancy with deep structural, sustainability, and specialty services. It is a broad incumbent whose mass timber, tensile structures, and embodied carbon practices directly overlap Blackwell's specialty offerings on international-scale projects.
• WSP Global: WSP Global is one of the world's largest engineering consultancies with a substantial Canadian structural and building services practice. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same institutional, government, and developer-led project pipeline.
• Thornton Tomasetti: Thornton Tomasetti is a global engineering consultancy with strong structural engineering, mass timber, and resilience practices. It is a broad incumbent competing for complex institutional and heritage projects at the upper end of the market.

Direct peers

• WalterFedy: WalterFedy is a mid-sized Canadian integrated design firm providing structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering. It is a direct peer in size, Canadian regional footprint (Ontario), and institutional/commercial project mix.
• RJC Engineers (Read Jones Christoffersen): RJC is one of Canada's largest dedicated structural engineering consultancies, with a comparable mix of new-build, heritage, and mass timber work across institutional, commercial, and residential sectors. It is the most direct Canadian structural engineering peer to Blackwell in terms of service line, client type, and geographic spread.
• Entuitive: Entuitive is a Toronto-based structural engineering firm with strong credentials in complex building projects, restoration, and sustainable design. It is a direct peer given similar size, market, and overlapping expertise in heritage and innovative structural systems.
• Stephenson Engineering: Stephenson Engineering is a Toronto-based structural engineering firm with comparable institutional, commercial, and heritage portfolios. It is a direct peer operating in the same metropolitan market and competing for similar architectural-firm-led project work.
• Glotman Simpson: Glotman Simpson is a Vancouver-based structural engineering firm focused on high-rise residential, commercial, and institutional buildings. It competes for similar institutional and developer clients in Western Canada and shares the mid-size Canadian structural consulting profile.
• Jablonsky, Ast and Partners: Jablonsky, Ast and Partners is a Toronto-based structural engineering firm with a long-standing practice in institutional, commercial, and heritage buildings. It is a direct peer in size, geography, and service mix to Blackwell.
• Dialog: Dialog is a Canadian integrated design practice combining architecture, engineering (including structural), and planning. It is a direct peer for institutional and commercial project work and offers a broader one-stop alternative to Blackwell's structural-only model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/blackwellengineers
• Facebookfacebook.com/blackwellengineers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackwell

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blackwell