Saskatchewan Polytechnic alum and owner of Skyline Designs Jared Pylatuik’s conversation with an architect sparked an interest that led to a successful career in building design

May 2024

Jared Pylatuik’s chance encounter with an architect on a job site subconsciously set him on a new career path. “I never really had a sense of what I wanted to do coming out of high school. My dad was a carpenter so I worked with him for a year,” says Pylatuik. “Then one day, I watched an architect present plans and drawings on site, and that opened my eyes to career paths I didn’t know existed.”  

After hearing about Sask Polytech’s Architectural Technologies diploma through a friend, Pylatuik signed up for a tour at the Moose Jaw campus, then registered for the program. “I went into the program without any expectations,” explains Pylatuik. “At Stantec, during my second work term, things started to click. It was a bigger firm, and I was able to put my drafting and design skills to work right away.” After graduating from the Architectural Technologies program in 2013, Pylatuik secured a job with Stantec and worked on a variety of commercial projects including a car dealership, the Vancouver airport, and a hospital in Qatar.

Pylatiuk started Skyline Designs while working part-time with Stantec. “I was dabbling in home designs on the side for friends and family. It started growing. I enjoyed graphic design so just for fun I created a logo, applied for a proper business license and started a bit of advertising. I began to pick up a few external projects. It just kept gaining momentum,” says Pylatuik. “In 2020 I left Stantec and rolled the business out full-time. Stantec was just a really great team of people to work with and I learned a lot while working there.”

Skyline Designs has flourished into a successful business and continues to grow rapidly. “We are designing everything from new homes, cabins, farmhouses, renovations, additions and tenant fixups. We do drafting, project designs, 3-D renderings and visuals, and more,” says Pylatuik. 80 percent of the company’s projects focus is on residential – single family homes, in-fills and multi-family units. The remaining 20 percent is in light commercial including tenant fitups and smaller new builds. Pylatuik says, “In 2020 we put forward 80 project designs. Last year we produced 144 project plans. We just hired a third person, who is also an alum of the Architectural Technologies program, and we recently moved into a larger office space at River Landing in Saskatoon. This year we are already at 67 projects.”

Skyline Designs has been involved in several notable local projects including show homes, the Night Market YXE, a passive greenhouse project, and an upcoming lottery show home. “A unique project for us is an older hotel we are currently working on. It’s a fun project as we need to maintain the heritage while giving it a refresh,” says Pylatuik. “Our bread and butter is residential design, and we educate first-time home builders through the design and construction process.”

Skyline Designs has earned praise from industry insiders and experts. The company has been featured in Saskatoon Home Magazine, and was nominated for two awards at the 2024 Housing Excellence Awards. Three Skyline Designs homes were showcased in the 2023 Parade of Homes. “Overall, Skyline Designs has found a niche market right in the middle between a conventional drafting company, and an architectural firm.”

Looking to the future, Pylatuik says, “We are a team of three employees including myself. We are almost busy enough to add a fourth person. In time I could see having five or six people where we could specialize our skills sets. Someone focused on interior, another on construction detailing and one on project management,” says Pylatuik. For now the company plans to push further into commercial designs.

Reflecting on his journey, from uncertain high school student in Delisle, to successful business owner employing several people, Pylatuik sees Sask Polytech as a turning point. “The program opens a lot of doors including careers like project management, drafting, construction administration and more. The co-op placements really help you find your niche.” Pylatuik says. “Owning my own business was a long-term dream. I just didn’t think it would be this successful, this fast.”