Thomas Garvey specializes in product development and design for extreme and minimal environments. Interest in small-scale living spaces came from his work indoors on the space station in New York, and his doctoral research on housing and urban density at the University of Tokyo. For nearly a decade, documenting images and data about how historical minimalist design philosophies can still be seen in a range of contemporary lifestyle designs, living environments, and products that bring meaning to everyday experiences.

He became involved in hospital ward design after joining the Global University Project for Healthcare Architecture (GUPHA). The international organization looks at how design education can help address the increasingly complex changes that are taking place in hospitals around the world due to expanding and aging populations.

Thomas Garvey and his team have received numerous awards and their prototypes have been exhibited at conferences and exhibitions around the world, bridging the design and medical fields. He has also been involved in a range of design education curriculum development projects, both within the University and in collaboration with external organisations. Most recently, he was invited to contribute in the field of housing and shelter as an expert at the 2014 ICSID Interdesign Mumbai. Sponsored by the Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Mumbai, this work led to a pilot project in Canada to integrate design thinking into design and business collaborations.

Thomas Garvey holds a BA in Industrial Design from Carleton University, an MA in Communication Design from Pratt Institute in New York (funded by the Canada Good Design Fellowship from Industry, Trade and Commerce Canada), and a PhD in Architectural Planning from the University of Tokyo (by Japanese Ministry of Education (Monbusho) Research Fellowship Funding). He also received funding from the Michael Kalil Foundation.