Design Connect : April - June 2022

VOLUME 05 ISSUE 03 APRIL - JUNE 2022

DESIGN CONNECT PROMOTING GOOD TASTE

SALONE DIARIES 2022

Form...Function...Emotion

Station B by Lemay Architecture and Design Repentigny Theater by Les Architectes FABG Villa M: Triptyque Architecture

Design Connect|April - June 2022

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Design Connect|April - June 2022

NOTHING REQUIRES THE ARCHITECT’S CARE MORE THAN THE DUE PROPORTIONS OF BUILDINGS VITRUVIUS

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he pandemic brought most of the important events in the realm of everything to a grinding halt. Key architecture and design events too were not spared either. So, it’s no when the 60th edition of ‘Salone Del Mobile’ an event which shapes the future of architecture and design globally, returned, people were overjoyed. Design connoisseurs and enthusiasts made a beeline to Rho Fiera to check out the most recent innovations and product offerings. From

theme-based installations to big brands Salone Del Mobile yet again transformed the city of Milan into a focal point of design.

Kartell to Zanotta, Elica to Aran Cucine, From EgoItaliano to well-known Indian players like Jaipur Rugs the fair was a medley of the very best. Salone has always been more than just an event. From esoteric elements of design to unleashing the creativity of form, function and desire it never fails to impress and the 60th edition was no less. To sum it up in few words of Maria Porro, President of Salone Del Mobile, Salone is not just a fair, it is a community, one which shares the culture of beauty and good design.

With the diminishing effects of the pandemic offices too are resuming in the offline mode so its no wonder new office spaces are coming up. However, after almost two years of working from home design strategies to ensure good health and well-being of employees are being actively sought in the new workspaces. Station B, Boundelle’s new headquarters in Brossard designed by Lemay is one example to go by, it brings all employees together under one roof, and is an excellent example of how a carefully thought-out and human-centered workplace design strategies can create stimulating and healthy environments for employees.

Healthy environments to a good degree also depend on the symbiosis our living spaces and buildings have with nature. Globally architects and designers are trying to turn this into a reality. Designed by French-Brazilian Triptyque Architecture, with architectural design and art direction of the spaces signed by Philippe Starck, Villa M is one such project. It aims to create a new pact between cities, nature, and health. Its architecture stands out with its living building, whose geometry is formed by metallic structure beams, conceived to house medicinal herbal plants, fruit trees, and medium to large sized perennial species.

Editor Vikas Bhadra vikasbhadra@designconnect.biz Designer Maheswar Gauda

The attempt to find a symbiosis with nature has given impetus to use of local materials too.

Likewise, it has reinvigorated age old techniques of dwelling and doing business especially in Asia. In India the idea of neeche dukaan, upar makaan (shop below, house above) has always been a successful model for creating neighbourhoods because it brings together the 5Cs- connectivity, convenience, comfort, community and commerce. Miles away in Vietnam a similar trend seems to have caught up. ‘The Cuckoo House’ located in an urban renewal zone by a river in Da Nang, Vietnam, this residential construction uses the ground floor as a small cafe formed by rectangular brick walls, while the upper floor serves as the living space of a nuclear family, which is combined by three different blocks on a square plane.

This and more in this issue of Design Connect. Happy Reading!

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On the cover : Gebruder Thonet Vienna Stall at Salone Del Mobile 2022, Photo Courtesy : Andrea Mariani Design Connect|April - June 2022

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TH S SSUE 06

Station B : Bonduelle’s new workplace promotes physical health and wellness

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Repentigny Theatre: Transforming the experience of living together and creating new public spaces

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Salone Diaries 2022 Form…Function…Emotion

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Snapshots Salone 2022

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Villa M: A mixed-use complex located in Boulevard Pasteur designed by Triptyque Architecture

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The Cuckoo House Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,

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Flexible, intuitive and relaxing : le Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie continues its collaboration with Taktik Design through the development of two flexible classrooms

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Art Deco and mid-century touches and reclaimed materials: The 12th Street

by New York based BAAO

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Îlot Balmoral – A beacon of vibrancy which captures and incorporates the vibrancy of Montreal with elan

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Station B: Bonduelle’s New Headquarters by Lemay Architecture and Design

Station B: Bonduelle’s New HQ in Brossard Project Designed By : Lemay Architecture and Design Photo Courtesy: Claude-Simon Langlois

The new workplace designed by Lemay promotes physical health and wellness by focusing on the employee and customer experience.

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Station B: Bonduelle’s New Headquarters by Lemay Architecture and Design

Since 2019, Lemay has been working with Bonduelle on the relocation of their head office, accompanying them on a major step forward for their workplace strategy.

Lemay’s designers brought the vision of Bonduelle’s teams to life: The new headquarters is a place where different work styles are accommodated, and employees can increase their performance by breaking down silos and creating synergies between previously geographically dispersed teams.

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Station B: Bonduelle’s New Headquarters by Lemay Architecture and Design

Station B: Bonduelle’s New Headquarters by Lemay Architecture and Design

The space, suitable for different working styles, features biophilic design elements such as natural materials, an abundance of plants, and an optimized ventilation system.

The design of this project is centered on the people and the needs they express.

Named for its proximity to the REM, Station B reflects a company whose identity is grounded in plant life.

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Station B: Bonduelle’s New Headquarters by Lemay Architecture and Design

Inspired by the metaphor of the tree and the interconnected system it represents, Station B finds its roots in the first-floor cafeteria, a gathering place that naturally hums with activity and interactions between colleagues.

This focal point extends through the trunk of a wide and generous staircase crowned by lush vegetation, and into the branched and private workspaces that occupy each floor’s periphery of the windows, reminiscent of greenhouses with glass partitions.

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As part of the company’s relocation, Bonduelle’s teams had the opportunity to participate in the development of a new approach to workplace strategies.

Led by Sandra Neill, “Bonduelle’s new business-focused workspace is an inclusive work environment with a variety of locations, offering employees the opportunity to choose the best type of space - individual or collaborative - to fit their personal needs and preferences. This innovative workplace promotes physical health and wellness by focusing on the employee and customer experience, and by encouraging active movement throughout the day.”

Station B: Bonduelle’s New Headquarters by Lemay Architecture and Design

Through a series of creative and participatory workshops, the interior design team developed a concept adapted to new market realities and the company’s ambitions.

Founded in 1853, with the objective of inspiring a transition to plant-based products, until now, Bonduelle corporate employees were spread out across several offices, including in Montreal, StDenis, and St-Césaire. Station B now brings all employees together under one roof, and is an excellent example of how a carefully thought-out and human-centered workplace design strategies can create stimulating and healthy environments for employees.

Connect Online@www.lemay.com

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REPENTIGNY THEATER: EXPANDING THE HORIZON

The Repentigny Cultural Space represents the shared values of the entire population to transform the experience of living together in the suburbs by creating a new public space.

Repentigny Theatre by Les architectes FABG

Project Designed By: Les architectes FABG Photo Courtesy: Steve Montpetit

The new Repentigny Theatre is the result of an architectural competition aimed at offering patrons a variable configuration room with 350 seats for various cultural activities, while also providing a prominent space for classical music. The project completes a civic ensemble called Repentigny Cultural Space, conceived and developed at the heart of the municipality.

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To appreciate the Repentigny Cultural Space at its true value, a terrace-observatory was conceived to provide visitors with a panoramic view encompassing a local cemetery, the Purification church, the St-Lawrence river, Lebel Island, thematic gardens, the forecourt, and the Diane-

Dufresne Art Centre. The space provides citizens with an opportunity to see their surrounding environment, consisting mainly of single-family residences, in a different light. It also provides an opportunity to strengthen the feeling of belonging to a territory and a community.

The intent was for the public spaces of the new Repentigny Theatre to energize the forecourt connecting it to the Diane-Dufresne Art Centre. The terrace-observatory, the staircase-bleacher, the largely windowed hall, and the positioning of the entrance surmounted by a marquee have been designed to maximize interactions within an outdoor space that extends the interior.

The Repentigny Cultural Space is an ambitious and unique project, incorporating emerging values shared by the entire population to transform the experience of living together in the suburbs by creating a new public spaces.

The goal was for the Repentigny Theatre to be much less introverted than an urban venue, with its public spaces opening onto the exterior, the forecourt, and the gardens. The terrace is topped by a roof made of cross-laminated wood panels which, when illuminated at night, marks the space’s identity on the scale of this new urban park, as does the theatre marquee on the scale of the sidewalk it overlooks.

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Repentigny Theatre by Les architectes FABG

The objective is to promote the holding of cultural mediation activities and socio-cultural events in an informal setting that complements the programing and contributes to the continuous animation of the place.

Repentigny Theatre by Les architectes FABG

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The 2.4m x 12m x 220mm thick panels are suspended under steel beams supported by 300mm diameter HSS, finished with prefabricated tapered ends of the Cast Connex type. This deliberately expressive structure with its asymmetrical diagonals is intended as a lighter and airy counterpoint to the massive structure of the portico of the Diane-Dufresne Art Centre, which is reflected in its basin along the Allée de la Création.

Wood is also present on the ceiling of the room’s foyer, which is a large, double-volume space opening onto the outside and featuring a stepped staircase to facilitate informal occupation and the holding of complementary activities.

To address the variety of activities and occupations, the walls were lined with a device of vertical MDF slats of 19mm x 75 mm, spaced by 38mm and arranged in front of absorbent panels of rock wool, 50 mm thick and concealed by a black geotextile fabric.

This device, called an acoustic resonator, has been successfully used in multifunctional venues such as Mont-Laurier, and it offers

the advantage of keeping the acoustics of the room alive, while canceling the risks of unwanted floating echo or excess reverberation for amplified shows.

The exterior layout provides citizens with a multifunctional civic space that can be easily transformed. The open space was maintained without planning constraints, energized by the diagonals in the paving that continue inside the entrance hall, and framed by fevers that provide the necessary shade to minimize the heat island effect and offer citizens a pleasant environment in all seasons.

Connect Online@www.arch-fabg.com

Repentigny Theatre by Les architectes FABG

The room can be accessed both from the parterre and from the balcony, depending on the varied activities that can be conducted in cabaret or banquet format, in addition to the conventional configuration of the armchairs on the telescopic bleachers.

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Salone Diaries 2022

Salone Diaries 2022

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Salone Diaries 2022

Photo Courtesy: Alessandro Russotti

Salone Del Mobile 2022

2,715 exhibiting brands, 600 young designers and 262,608 attendees from 173 countries. Salone Del Mobile 2022 witnessed a splendid attendance in terms of global visitors turning Milan into the design capital of the world.

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There is something about sunsets on a Sunday, I find myself staring at an abyss of emotions. 5th June 2022 was one such Sunday. Waiting at the Mumbai International Airport for my Emirates flight to Dubai and to Malpensa thereafter, I was a sole witness to the numerous thoughts that were colliding with each other in my head.

A part of me was feeling like an escapist trying to move away from reality. The sane self knew this was not the case. It found solace in the fact that rationality at times, is all about surviving with contradictory ideas in your head.

Salone Diaries 2022

A flight stationed at the Mumbai Airport

Stepping out of the Malpensa Airport

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Almost 14 hours later as I stepped out of Malpensa Airport, I found myself reembracing the aura of sensitivity and creativity; one which turns Milan into the design capital of the world with Salone Del Mobile at its center.

Salone Diaries 2022

Photo Courtesy : Alessandro Russotti

La Scatola Magica (The Magic Box)

The arrival of Salone could be seen in billboards, buses, trams and trains. If Supersalone in 2021 was akin to a pilot episode in the backdrop of the pandemic, Salone 2022 was a clear indication of a blockbuster waiting to unveil itself.

Having landed up in Milan two days before Salone actually began, there was much to do. In this much to do list was also a visit to the Palazzo Reale to experience La Scatola Magica (The Magic Box), the very next day. The Magic Box was designed to communicate the founding values of Salone del Mobile.Milano. 11 institutional values that have always made up its DNA were communicated using

11 masterpieces by 11 leading Italian filmmakers.

Each filmmaker put their own personal spin on a word from the Manifesto, turning it into a film d’auteur.

As the Magic Box unveiled and the keywords (read values) started appearing on the screen. Emotion and system were the two keywords which my mind chose to focus on for reasons best known to me. Minutes later I sought the sanctuary of a bar overlooking the Duomo Cathedral. It was time to make some notes, revisit the ’Rho Fierra’ plan I had made for the two forthcoming days and forget the difficult questions which kept popping up.

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Salone Diaries 2022

The view from the balcony of Hotel Hilton Milan

hoto Courtesy - Andrea Mariani

Hours later I was back in Hotel Hilton Milan watching the sun set (and in Milan it happens pretty late by Indian standards). As the day turned into night and my thoughts made every attempt to overwhelm me, two stars kept shining in the empty sky as if trying to communicate. The usual cacophony from the adjoining buildings of the busy street below had died down, it was time to retire for the day. Next day was going to be busy.

Maria Porro, President, Salone Del Mobile

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The special meeting for media professionals with Salone the next day began on a sober note. It steered towards the collective ability of the stakeholders of Salone, the architecture and design community as well as the media to come together and celebrate good design after a Covid-19 induced hiatus.

Maria Porro, President, Salone Del Mobile who graced the occasion along with Marva Griffin, Founder of Salone Satellite said “At Salone we introduce the global audience to a plethora of products which will define his/her home. Last two years a digital revolution has defined our lives, much of the work was executed on zoom calls. Today as we emerge from the WFH scenario,

Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella which was Salone’s central installation was an attempt to showcase how we can find a different way of building and creating products in conjunction with nature, without continuing to consume raw materials, but by triggering virtuous ecological behaviours. By working with nature, how we can rebuild a new, fundamental, and vital friendship with it.

Design with Nature by Mario Cucinella

Salone’s attempt to bring humankind closer to nature was also reflected in the 23rd edition of SaloneSatellite which occupied three pavilions. SaloneSatellite centered around “Designing for our future selves with a particular focus on sustainability”. The event witnessed the participation of 600 promising young design talents from 48 different countries, five of which – Cyprus, Congo, Cuba, Nigeria and Qatar – were SaloneSatellite ‘new entries’.

SaloneSatellite

Workstations are aligned with windows, allowing ample daylight into the overall space.

Photo Courtesy Ludovica Mangini

Photo Courtesy Ludovica Mangini

One of these new entries Nigeria made a mark in the SaloneSatellite Awards 2022. Nigerian designer Lani Adeoye won the first prize for ‘RemX’, a refined prototype walker.

The second prize was awarded to Studio Gilles Werbrouck (from the Belgium is Design collective), for the project ‘Lamp’. designed using VHS Tapes. Serbian designer Djurdja Garčević (from Young Balkan Designers) won the third prize with her project ‘Meenghe’ which recycled tire shavings to create a family of urban furniture pieces which were ergonomic as well.

Titans : Dorja Benussi(Croatia),Stefano Carta Vascconcellos(Italy) and SaloneSatellite Winners with Marva Griffin, Yuri Himuro(Japan) Founder of Salone Satellite Design Connect|April - June 2022

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Salone Diaries 2022

The last two years deliberated upon the interaction we as species have with nature and its intrinsic relationship with design. It made us wonder, going forward what can and cannot be done. Salone 2022 too was looking for answers which reflected in the design activities, installations, seminars and the carefully selected themes of the event.

Photo Courtesy -Ludovica Mangini

the objects that bring people together like a table or a beautiful chair we sit on, are helping us feel confident in gathering together again. The furniture per say is not just an object it has its own story to narrate, likewise all the companies who participate in Salone invest and come together to narrate and communicate the finer aspects of craftsmanship. In business terms, it may well be referred to as value addition. Coming back to Salone the fair, I like to believe it’s not a fair, it’s more than an event, it’s a shared culture. A community which shares the culture of beauty and good design, and I think that’s really important at this moment.”

Oasi by Stefano Boeri for Aran Cucine

The nature element was visible in the kitchens too, in EuroCucina 2022. Oasi by Stefano Boeri for Aran Cucine attempted to define the idea of man-tree coexistence through a domestic furnishing item.

Presented in the new wall-mounted version, Oasi defines a simple single dining table-cooking block that houses all the essential elements of a traditional kitchen.

A fundamental characteristic of this kitchen is the opportunity to grow trees or plants, ornamental or aromatic, mnemonic and symbolic presences that are also functional, around which members can gather and grow like a family.

Salone Diaries 2022

Photo Courtesy - Diego Ravier

SaloneSatellite has always held my attention for the sheer freshness of ideas it brings into play. After interacting with some interesting young designers which included two Indian designers Sashi Malik and Farzin Adenwala, I was ready to move on to check out the next pavilion.

Unlike EuroCuchina FTK ‒ Technology For the Kitchen focussed on smart, efficient and functional solutions designed to optimize the cooking experience whilst responding to the demands for multifunctionality, integration and looks. LHOV, conceived and designed by Fabrizio Crisà, a new category of electrical appliances by Elica which integrates hob, hood and oven, Signature Kitchen Suite which epitomized flexibility in terms of space and versatility of use were some of the key products to watch out for.

Kitchens and appliances reminded me of the special lunch arranged by organizers of Salone. Besides, I was hungry too, so off I went to the cafeteria. Apart from the good food, this was also a chance to interact with fellow media personalities from India and around the world and meet old friends.

After a hearty meal it was time to get back to the fair, the stalls at Salone are always a highlight so is the presentation. There were quite a few across different pavilions which were truly awesome, ones which remain etched in my mind are Kartell and Zanotta.

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Elica LHOV, conceived and designed by Fabrizio Crisà

As the attendees made their way into the Kartell stall, an exposition of its best products and crisp write ups vied for attention, inside the stall, the products were segregated on different podiums.

Besides the Kartell stall stood Zanotta which sported a total checkered look. Inside the stall, the product presentation was a clever amalgamation of the real and the virtual as if trying to denote the transition we are going through from online to offline.

The exhibits of Workspace 3.0 denoted a similar attitude, a real time attitude wherein

Kartell at Salone Del Mobile 2022

Salone Diaries 2022

LaCividina at Workplace 3.0

workspaces have become a hybrid element. As an impact of the pandemic, homes became an extension of the office spaces and as normalcy resumes, in office spaces, the comfort of home is being desired. This was one of the key challenges different companies in Workplace 3.0 tried to address.

} The Zanotta Stall at Salone Del Mobile 2022 Design Connect|April - June 2022

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Salone Diaries 2022

Zucchetti at International Bathroom Exhibition 2022

Arrivederci 18 al 23 aprile 2023

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In Pavilions 22-24 brands like Maison Valentina, Antonio Lupi, Dornbracht, Kohler, Devon&Devon, and Victoria & Albert Baths made a mark.

Spread across 17,140 m2 with 186 exhibitors the International Bathroom Exhibition 2022 was a concoction of the very best of international production: right from furniture and accessories to shower cubicles, sanitaryware to radiators, and taps and fittings to bathtubs. Delicate shades continued to be in vogue this edition, along with white, and new colours like Jaipur Red and Curry yellow, biscuit and terracotta. Material wise new ceramic and synthetic materials reigned supreme, along with polychrome marble and wood and customisation turned out to be the key winning strategy for all bathroom companies.

As I looked towards the Duomo di Milano yet again, I wondered if my life would be the same again. Apart from my mom, I was missing the love and reconciliation which I so desired. Love and reconciliation which will allow me to be the architect of my own happiness and design a life inundated with pleasure, contentment and satisfaction. May I get that soon…Tathastu! (So be it)

Palazzo Reale

Connect Online@www.salonemilano.it/en

By the time I stepped out of Pavilion 22-24, visitors were heading back to Rho Fieramilano. I too started heading towards the exit gates leading to the subway. At the exit my eyes fell on the posters which announced Arrivederci 18 al 23 aprile 2023 (See You 18th to 23rd April 2023).

A promise was made that the eclectic tale of architecture and design will continue next year from 18th to 23rd April 2023 at Rho Fiera Milano.

Minutes later, I was looking for some divine intervention. Staring at the Duomo, I was reflecting on the difficult questions which had been bothering me and trying to seek answers for the same. My gaze turned to two shining stars in the sky just like the ones I had seen earlier. Many people across the world have a tendency to believe that when your loved ones pass away they turn into stars and keep a watch on you from time to time. At that moment I wanted to believe that.

Duomo di Milano

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Salone Diaries 2022

Everytime I came to Milan, I ensured I called my mom and gave her a glimpse of the city via a video call but this year it was just not possible. Her journey into the afterlife had begun on 12th of March 2022 and like we say in India, after death, the soul is reborn. But the mortal in me continues to miss the mortal in which her soul was enveloped in. It was for this very reason ‘emotion’ and ‘system’ were the two keywords my mind chose to ponder on at Palazzo Reale while watching ‘The Magic Box’, for these were also the keywords which mattered in this relationship. Keywords which kept my life in order.

PHOTO FEATURE

SNAPSHOTS SALONE 2022

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A look at some of the stalls at Salone Del Mobile 2022.

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Villa M by Triptyque

A SLICE OF AMAZON IN PARIS

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Villa M is a mixed-use complex located in Boulevard Pasteur, in the Parisian borough of Montparnasse.

Project Designed By: Triptyque Architecture Photo Courtesy: Michael Denancé, Press distribution and Yann Monel

Design Connect|April - June 2022

Villa M by Triptyque

Designed by French-Brazilian Triptyque Architecture, with architectural design and art direction of the spaces signed by Philippe Starck, Villa M aims to create a new pact between cities, nature, and health.

Its architecture stands out with its living building, whose geometry is formed by metallic structure beams, conceived to house medicinal herbal plants, fruit trees, and medium to large sized perennial species.

Designed as an exoskeleton, the building has a minimalist, light look, composed by prefabricated pieces as in a building game.

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Villa M by Triptyque

“The edifice itself is the support for this vertical garden, which will grow and occupy the entire façade, turning the building into a vertical, medicinal forest, and becoming the main architecture,” explains Olivier Raffaelli, Triptyque partner and architect designer of Villa M. In addition to the reintegration of nature to the city through architecture, the livingbuilding contributes with sustainability, since it collaborates with the thermal comfort and, therefore, with the building’s energetic efficiency.

“We have explored all of the available surfaces to potentialize the greenery and to avoid energy and carbon waste,” explains Gui Sibaud, Triptyque partner and architect designer of Villa M. The environmental responsibility is also present in the basic and organic material choices, proposing a low-tech architecture.

Villa M’s design is intended for the architecture to bring nature back to the city, with the main goal to provide citizens with a new urbane experience with the advent of a “nature-city”.

“Breathing, sunbathing, and connecting to nature are vital needs that the urban lifestyle is no longer able to guarantee,” states partner Olivier Rafaëlli. “To resist the urban expansion – unsustainable by nature - the city must provide this experience in addition to stimulating the correlation between external and internal spaces in built areas.”

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The building’s 8,000 m² occupation program also bring an innovative proposal: being a dedicated space for those who chose to help save lives – but open to everyone.

The mixed-use complex holds a hotel, restaurant, bar, conference area, a check-up area, a co-working space, and a showroom for start-ups in the world of health to promote mixing, exchanges, and mutual aid between the different specialties and the different generations of health professionals.

The hotel is designed as an enveloping and relaxing cocoon, with breathtaking views of the City of Light. Its 67 rooms and 6 suites have been designed as green spaces. Some of them have a balcony or terrace to admire the Montparnasse and Invalides districts.

And, above all, nestled at the corner of the seventh floor, there is the Pasteur Suite: an exceptional suite with large bay windows, a double green terrace, and a living room open to the capital.

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Villa M by Triptyque

Villa M: A Paris Society Hotel

“The traveler must feel at home, in calm, soft, and maternal rooms, pleasant to live in, so that the human being is always at the heart of the Villa M concept.”- Philippe Starck, Architectural Design and Artistic Director of the Villa M spaces. In these spaces, guests will find noble and durable materials, organic colors, warm contemporary furniture, the play of mirrors, and eco-responsible products.

It also features the essentials of a high-end hotel - a boxing and fitness club, and yoga rooms - but also 20 open offices and co-working spaces.

Good Living, Good Eating

Villa M by Triptyque

A unique and timeless place for families and young people to lunch, dine, meet, and mingle around a generous and accessible menu. Upon entering, the visitor is plunged into a place of life, energy, and benevolence: an Agora made of wood and concrete, vegetation, a friendly welcome, an open kitchen, all surrounded by a luxuriant terrace with trees. The décor evokes the playful and erudite spirit of the French Riviera, where one forgets time, and where we feel good.

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A suspended oasis is composed of fruit trees and plants, with large wooden armchairs, Canadian gardeners, wicker lamps, and garlands guinguettes installed. One comes there to have a drink during the day and late into the night. Paris is a feast. ”The Villa M restaurant has a cultured and joyful spirit, in tune with the times.”

- Laurent de Gourcuff, founder of Paris Society.

A Health Oriented Building

The vast and luminous restaurant is highlighted by wood, leather, shelves of books, knick-knacks, mismatched furniture that seems to have a history, large armchairs, wide benches covered with cushions, and ludic surprises. A plural and joyful universe, and a signature of the Paris Society places.

Connect Online@www. triptyque.com/en/

The Restaurant

On the large outdoor terrace, under the shade of the fig trees in summer, five times a week, at nightfall, Villa M becomes one of the most festive places on the Left Bank, with a careful 100% live music program and cocktail menu. In spring, weekends incorporate the sign of conviviality! Villa M puts brunch in the spotlight to treat late risers, families, friends, from the neighborhood and the whole of Paris, in a relaxed and warm atmosphere. The menu features varied brunch specials - pastries, eggs of all kinds, burgers or salads, pancakes - and a kids menu for the youngest. Special mention to the floor dedicated to children with an animator and games!

The RoofTop

On the top floor, the RoofTop, with its incredible view of the Eiffel Tower, the Dôme des Invalides, and the roofs of Paris, remains an unparalleled experience.

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Villa M by Triptyque

“Villa M is a model to imagine the city of the future. It is the new Parisian edifice.”

- Guillaume Sibaud, Triptyque Architecture, Architect designer of Villa M. The health crisis has intensified, and accelerated healthcare challenges already known and geographic and urbanistic issues have started to figure as health issues as well.

On the other hand, healthcare has exceeded the hospital walls, spreading around the city and creating a more open relationship between citizens and health professionals. Designed before the Covid-19 pandemic, Villa M’s groundbreaking program catalyzes the idea of opening healthcare to the city, and the city to healthcare.

PHOTO FEATURE

THE CUCKOO HOUSE HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM,

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Project Designed By : Tropical Space Photo Courtesy: Oki Hiroyuki

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Located in an urban renewal zone by a river in Da Nang, Vietnam, this residential construction uses the ground floor as a small cafe formed by rectangular brick walls, while the upper floor serves as the living space of a nuclear family, which is combined by three different blocks on a square plane.

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The balconies are expanded as a part of the interior space. Therefore, these areas transform into common zones between the interior and exterior, helping to promote more activities and to alter wind speed passing through the areas.

Outside of the house, the garden spaces are the kids’ favourite areas, and alternate with other functional spaces such as the dining room, the bedroom, and the living room.

Functional areas were created both inside and outside of the house in order to intertwine with each other. The more we interact and feel nature directly, the greater the opportunities for fostering the ability to share and respect nature.

The indoor courtyard and the outside garden on the ground floor are separated and shaped by shadows cast by the walls. Awakening each morning to the smell of roasted coffee in the air, complemented by a peaceful choice of music, presents an interesting start to the day.

Connect Online@www.tropicalspaceil.com Design Connect|April - June 2022

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le Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie by Taktik Design

FLEXIBLE, INTUITIVE AND RELAXING 38 Design Connect|April - June 2022

le Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie by Taktik Design

Convinced that design plays a role in the process of learning, le Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie continues its collaboration with Taktik Design through the development of two flexible classrooms, with the aim of creating a ground-breaking approach to pedagogy.

Photo Courtesy: Maxime Brouillet Project Designed By: Taktik Design

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le Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie by Taktik Design

For most of us who have grown up in the 80s, for that matter even in the 90s classrooms were structured in a typical way. In a way it was akin to one size fits all. To think of a classroom to offer the comforts of a home was completely out of question.

But in contemporary times rules of the game have changed. The focus is on creating a flexible classroom which offers an experience that adapts itself to different rhythms of learning, according to each student’s needs.

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These layouts provide multiple configurations for learning, studying, and collaborating. Whether students are alone at their workstations, or in a group around a large table, in the middle of the classroom, or in a work room, seated on stools, or on regular chairs, relaxing on a couch, or gathered in small groups on island benches, they have a plethora of choices. Intuitive, these reimagined settings invite the student to take their place in the learning environment according to what serves them best. By allowing for independent development, the design plays an active role in their educational growth.

le Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie by Taktik Design

The challenge that exists in this evolving approach to pedagogy is being able to offer a flexible environment that doesn’t compromise its intuitive structure.

The project was conceived in the spirit of coworking wherein the learning environment is adaptable and inspiring.

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Several strategies were put in place: the furniture around the rooms is fixed, while the units in the center are movable; the design favours a convergence towards the whiteboard, where the teacher can quickly illustrate his or her point; the mats create subspaces, which naturally delineate the zones and improve the acoustics in the room. Additionally, placing tables at differing heights creates a dynamic effect for the various environments. le Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie by Taktik Design

For the girl’s college, toned-down colours contribute to an aesthetic in the space that suggests a feeling of circularity, nature, and softness. Delicate hand-painted floral murals complete the flower-themed signage of the small, closed rooms. The two classrooms adopt a common language in terms of their respective layouts, yet each has its own ambiance.

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These unique spaces possess the particularity of becoming the living room of the dormitory for foreign students in the evenings. In order to make them feel at home, a residential aesthetic was applied.

The use of the spaces as classrooms during the day, and recreational areas in the evening, as well as the addition of comfortable sofas, carpets, and plants, helps the residents, who have come to learn, study, eat, and have fun, to appropriate the environment.

Connect Online@www.taktikdesign.com

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le Pensionnat du Saint-Nom-de-Marie by Taktik Design

The design optimizes square footage, while offering spaces that promote wellness and a collaborative environment thanks to their convivial and playful installations.

The felt, soundproof panels on the sturdy furniture are custom made, and certain chairs, remnants of the old classroom, were also restored.

12th Street Townhouse by Barker Associates Architecture Office

The 12th Street Townhouse designed by New York based Barker Associates Architecture Office is a precise and creative interpretation of the client’s needs.

Photo Courtesy: Francis Dzikowski/OTTO Project Designed By: Barker Associates Architecture Office

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12th Street Townhouse by Barker Associates Architecture Office

ART DECO, MID-CENTURY TOUCHES AND RECLAIMED MATERIALS Design Connect|April - June 2022

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The clients for this wood frame townhouse renovation and extension wanted a house full of saturated color, pattern, texture, and light, with Art Deco and mid-century touches and reclaimed materials. The house was completely reclad in western red cedar, with new windows, cornice, and entry overhang. The cedar was left in its natural state to weather over time.

12th Street Townhouse by Barker Associates Architecture Office

Garden level entry through a turquoise door leads to a vestibule lined with yellow and black cement tiles, replicating the Art Deco pattern used by Ernest Hemingway in his Key West, Florida home.

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The dining room, located at the front of the house, is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Rainforest Foliage, providing a dramatic backdrop to the gold-painted elements in the original marble mantel, as well as the white oak pendant and chairs upholstered in mustard-colored wool. Exposed beams provide texture along the ceiling plane in the original portion of the house, and white oak flooring runs throughout.

12th Street Townhouse by Barker Associates Architecture Office

The kitchen backsplash is tiled in Cle tile terracotta in Ancestral Iron, providing a dark foil to the clients’ Jadeite glass collection and the white macauba stone counters. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A flat screen TV with a well organised seating area composed of sofa sets and seats making the living room an ideal space for a family get together. The dinning space acquires a cosy corner in this set up.

The powder room features a turquoise porcelain sink reclaimed from another project. The walls are clad in Cole and Son Nautilus wallpaper and terracotta-colored cement tiles. The living room features a full wall of glass looking out to the rear yard and is painted in “Beautiful in my Eyes,” a subtly blush color by Benjamin Moore.

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A landscape painting by Laurence Sisson hangs over the mid-century modern furniture, which includes an oak slat bench that functions as a coffee table.

The second floor serves as the primary suite. In the bedroom, a wall painted in Benjamin Moore’s North Sea serves as a vibrant headboard. The bathroom features zellige tiles in two colors, and stone surfaces in white macauba. A skylight funnels light through the top floor down to the bathtub.

The vanity is constructed of a reclaimed dresser.

12th Street Townhouse by Barker Associates Architecture Office

On the top floor, a vaulted child’s bedroom provides space for a canopy bed in the shape of a house. A wall of Popham cement tiles in the bathroom, in a sunshine pattern, meets a clerestory window, drawing light through a skylit shaft. Terracotta colored tiles line the floor. A terrace off the hall is brightened by a red wall and cedar fencing.

Connect Online@www.baaostudio.com

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Îlot Balmoral by Provencher_Roy

ÎLOT BALMORAL – A BEACON OF VIBRANCY

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Îlot Balmoral is a highly dynamic structure rising up from the urban fabric which captures and incorporates the vibrancy of the district.

Photo Courtesy : Stéphane Brügger Project Designed By: Provencher_Roy

The Îlot Balmoral, a 13-storey mixed-use office building commissioned by the Société d’Habitation de Montréal (SHDM), rises as a testimony to Montréal’s creative economy. One of the final major developmental pieces of the ‘Quartier des Spectacles’ in downtown Montréal, the impressive structure sits adjacent to Place des Festivals, and is the new home of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and UQAC’s École des arts numériques, de l’animation et du design (NAD School).

“We proposed four visions of what an office building specifically designed for a cultural economy could look like, and Îlot Balmoral was selected to echo the very vibrant, dynamic nature of the district,” explains Architect Claude Provencher, Founding Partner at Provencher_Roy. “The Quartier des Spectacles is a cultural centre of activity that is now almost complete in its revitalization and transformation of the urban fabric surrounding Place des Arts.”

An architectural symbol of creativity on the surface Îlot Balmoral is a highly dynamic structure rising up from the urban fabric. The almost perfect cube is very clean and slick, and is wrapped in exterior glass that was carefully selected for its white frit pattern and translucent panels.

Îlot Balmoral by Provencher_Roy

The smooth and seamless exterior positions the façade as a potential giant screen against which projections of Quartier des Spectacles initiatives can be presented.

Subtle and dynamic tonality provides a sense of mass and substance to the structure, and the glass façade provides an enormous infusion of light into the building. The frit pattern also serves to control thermal heat gain inside of the building, which meets the firm’s LEED Gold sustainability objectives.

The exterior façade’s infusion of light dynamically highlights a large internal atrium, carved diagonally through the centre of the building to create two volumes.

The firm oriented the cut based on the site’s previously existing pedestrian flow, moving diagonally between the Place des Arts Metro station and Place des Festivals.

To delineate the cut, and to make the building’s mark on the skyline, a bright red external fold contrasts against the clean glass exterior. The colour was chosen as an echo of the cultural branding materials of the Quartier des Spectacles, and serves to distinguish Îlot Balmoral from the functions of more traditional office towers in the district.

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Îlot Balmoral by Provencher_Roy

Anchoring The Creative Economy

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As a nod to Îlot Balmoral’s importance to Montreal’s creative scene, the National Film Board of Canada signed on as the building’s core tenant. Celebrating 50 years of film excellence, the Canadian institution was looking to modernize and transform their facilities, and the move included the reinstallation of the iconic NFB logo in the new lobby, which is a symbol of Canadian design history.

Îlot Balmoral by Provencher_Roy

“The NFB signing was proof of concept for us that architecture can redeploy and reprogram how neighbourhoods are defined, not only on a visual or physical level, but also in its role as a centre of cohabitation,” says Provencher. “Several other cultural organizations have since signed leases, and Îlot Balmoral is becoming the creative hub that we envisioned.”

Without requiring any significant changes to the architecture, Provencher_Roy redesigned four floors of Îlot Balmoral for the NFB in order to accommodate their technical requirements, including editing rooms and the hosting of state-of-the-art equipment. They also built a brightly lit white staircase leading up to the NFB offices, located directly under the red canopy of the building’s main entrance.

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A Beacon of Vibrancy Provencher_Roy’s inclusive design strategy embraces the vibrancy of the district by drawing in pedestrian flow across the diagonal cut of the building’s sunlit lobby. The atrium establishes the lobby’s unique identity, ascending skyward to the building’s glass ceiling amidst a bright material palette of white and light gray walls, and exposed concrete floors. The palette was chosen to reflect and enhance the energy and dynamism of the lobby, anointed with additional features including exposed columns and a signature brass deck.

Above the lobby level, the open atrium is framed by brightly lit offices. Pedestrian bridges on every level connect the building’s two volumes, crossing the atrium and providing spectacular views of the surrounding cityscape, with a backdrop of Montreal’s landmark Mont Royal. The northeastern volume floats one storey higher than the southwestern volume, and the latter hosts a rooftop greenspace with breathtaking city views that is designed for outdoor events.

“It was a particularly interesting experience, driven by our client’s eagerness to achieve something spectacular,” summarizes Claude Provencher. “Beyond the functionality of the individual spaces of the built environment, we believe that Îlot Balmoral captures and incorporates the vibrancy of the district.”

Connect Online@www.provencherroy.ca/en/

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IT IS THE TASK OF THE ARCHITECT TO GIVE LIFE A GENTLER STRUCTURE ALVAR AALTO

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ARCHITECTURE IS A CODE, ITS A PURE CODE, DERIVED FROM THE DIMENSIONS OF NATURE : SANTIAGO CALATRAVA

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