May/June 2010
City to city A bold Montreal office Toronto’s hippest schools Maison et Objet in Paris Frankfurt’s textile trends
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May/June 2010
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COVER — 21 Reception area of Palm + Havas’s Montreal office, designed by Champigny Raymond Studio. Photo by Martin Clairmont
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Contents
DEPARTMENTS
FEATURES INSIDE — 8 NINE LIVES — 21 In a floorplan shaped like a number nine, Champigny Raymond Studio has created an office – for Montreal-based PR firm Palm + Havas – that is intensely alive. By Rhys Phillips LA VIE EN ROSE — 29 At Maison et Objet’s now! design a vivre, one could hardly help but think pink. By Erin Donnelly
WHAT’S UP — 11 SHOW BIZ — 15 Textile messages
Notes from Heimtextil 2010. By Michael Totzke
WHO’S WHO — 43 LAST WORD — 46 Heavens to Mergatroid
CLASS ACT — 34 Top marks to Gow Hastings Architects for a plethora of Toronto school projects. By John Bentley Mays
Vancouver designers Laura McKibbon and Kurt Dexel were just being neighbourly when they created this new lighting line. By Erin Donnelly
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May/June 2010 VOL.47 NO.3
Publisher
Martin Spreer Editor
Michael Totzke Managing Editor
Erin Donnelly Associate Editors
Janet Collins, David Lasker, Rhys Phillips, Leslie C. Smith Contributing Writer
John Bentley Mays Art Direction/Design
Ellie Robinson, Lisa Zambri Advertising Sales
416-510-6766 Circulation Manager
Beata Olechnowicz 416-442-5600, ext. 3543 Reader Services
Liz Callaghan Production
Jessica Jubb 416-510-5194 Senior Publisher
Tom Arkell Vice President of Canadian Publishing
Alex Papanou President of Business Information Group
Bruce Creighton Head Office
12 Concorde Place, Suite 800 Toronto, ON M3C 4J2 Telephone 416-442-5600 Facsimile 416-510-5140 Canadian Interiors magazine is published by BIG Magazines LP, a division of Glacier BIG Holdings Company Ltd. Tel: 416-442-5600, Fax: 416-510-6875 e-mail: info@canadianinteriors.com website: www.canadianinteriors.com Canadian Interiors publishes seven issues, plus a source guide, per year. Printed in Canada. The content of this publication is the property of Canadian Interiors and cannot be reproduced without permission from the publisher. Subscription rates Canada $36.95 per year; plastic wrapped $39.95 per year (plus taxes) U.S.A. $69.95 US per year, Overseas $95.00 US per year. Back issues Back copies are available for $10 for delivery in Canada, $15 US for delivery in U.S.A. and $20 overseas. Please send payment to Canadian Interiors, 12 Concorde Place, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M3C 4J2 or order online www.canadianinteriors.com For subscription and back issues inquiries please call 416-442-5600 ext.3543, e-mail: circulation@canadianinteriors.com, or go to our website at: www.canadianinteriors.com Newsstands For information on Canadian Interiors on 足newsstands in Canada, call 905-619-6565 Canadian Interiors is indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index by Micromedia ProQuest Company, Toronto (www.micromedia.com) and National Archive Publishing Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan (www.napubco.com).
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Inside
City to city In this issue, we touch down in four great design cities. First up is Frankfurt, where the Messe Frankfurt fairground hosts such shows as Ambiente and Light + Building. I visited in January to take in Heimtextil, the largest international fair for home and contract textiles (“Textile messages,” page 15). In Montreal, associate editor Rhys Phillips toured the new digs of PR firm Palm + Havas (“Nine lives,” page 21). Though located in a historic building, it is anything but same-old-same-old. In fact, the open, interactive space has all the hallmarks of the modern office. One design show we never miss is Maison & Objet, held twice a year at Paris-Nord Villepinte Convention and Exhibition Centre. Managing editor Erin Donnelly travelled to Paris in January to find that a fellow Canadian – prolific Karim Rashid, he of the trademark pink – was definitely having a moment (“La vie en rose,” page 29). In Toronto, contributing writer John Bentley Mays profiled Gow Hastings Architects, a young firm that has cornered the market on interiors for Toronto-area colleges that are anything but academic (“Class act,” page 34). “Our personality comes out in our projects, which are playful, light-hearted,” says partner Philip Hastings. “We like to have a bit of fun in our projects.” Three other design cities make an appearance in our What’s Up section (page 11). We anticipate our annual June trip to Chicago to cover NeoCon; swing by New York to take in Cooper-Hewitt’s Why Design Now? exhibit; and zoom up to Vancouver to check out Teknion’s revamped showroom. Though it’s not in the issue, we also give a shout out to Halifax, where, on April 23, the Interior Designers of Canada announced a restructuring of its organization – moving the IDC from a seven-member organization of provincial associations to an association representing nearly 3,000 individual designers from coast to coast. “A strengthened IDC means the interior design community has a cohesive voice,” says newly elected president David Hanson, “which will benefit the profession in terms of advocacy and promotion, both nationally and internationally.” c I
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MAY/JUNE First page (1 item)
New at NeoCon Let us now praise Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. It’s big (spanning two entire city blocks on the bank of the Chicago River, it comprises 4,000,000 square feet of floor space). It’s beautiful (completed in 1931 in the Art Deco style, its posh features include bronze framed display windows and terrazzo flooring in a pattern of squares and stripes bordered by chevrons). And it’s buzzing (offering 30 major shows and more than 330 conferences, seminars and special events, it welcomes 3,000,000 visitors annually). The Mart’s signature show is NeoCon, the National Exposition of Contract Furnishings, held every June. Now in its 42nd year, NeoCon is North America’s largest design exposition and conference for commercial interiors. It provides nearly 40,000 architecture and design professionals with a host of seminars and association forums, top-notch keynote speakers, innovative exhibits, building and design resources and materials, and innovative exhibits. The biggest draw, of course, is the introduction of cutting-edge product – from more than 700 showrooms and exhibitors. Following is a trio of promising products debuting at NeoCon 2010. From Allsteel comes Seek, an elegant and ergonomic multipur-
pose chair. What sets Seek apart is the storage options it presents: it can be stacked, nested, or combined stacked/ nested; and the towers of stored chairs resulting are secure, completely mobile and pleasingly sculptural in appearance, stowing away as needed while requiring minimum space. The steel frame is available in a silver or black finish; the polymer seat and back are available in eight colours (a mesh back is a further option). With more and more office space being dedicated to collaborative areas, Teknion was inspired to design a line of modular lounge seating and tables that provides increased flexibility, reconfigurability, and access to power and communications. Cleverly named dna, it was created by Denmark‘s Acer Design in conjunction with Teknion’s in-house design team. Humanscale’s M8 is a rugged, high-capacity monitor arm that balances style and serious performance. It accommodates the widest range of
[6 images: 2 products with 2 shots each; 1 product with a single image, plus – to jazz it up a bit – the Merchandise Mart building where NeoCon takes place. If you need to cut shots, let them be Seek2 and dna2.]
monitors available today – from eight to 20 pounds – and, with an innovative crossbar assembly, supports dual-monitor configurations up to 40 pounds. What’s more, the M8 offers 11.5 inches of dynamic height adjustment and up to 22 inches of depth adjustment, as well as an integrated cablemanagement system that organizes wires and hides unsightly cable clutter.
NeoCon 2010 runs at the Merchandise Mart from June 14 to 16.
Clockwise from top Teknion’s dna line of modular lounge seating and tables; Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, home to NeoCon from its inception; Allsteel’s Seek chair, which can be stacked, nested, or combined stacked/nested; Humanscale’s M8 monitor arm.
May/June 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 11
Popping up like mushrooms “Last summer, we dragged a log from an Okanagan walnut tree back to our studio where it sat in a corner waiting for a purpose to present itself. Six months later, to our surprise, a beautiful cluster of slender cream-coloured mushrooms began to emerge from the side of the log.” So recalls Toby Barratt of Propellor Design, the Vancouver-based firm whose work is typically informed by nature. Intrigued by the resilience and tenacity of mushrooms, the Propellor gang began to investigate how they grow and propagate. “We learned that in the world’s forests, just below the surface of the ground, the largest organisms on the globe thrive on the forest’s debris, turning waste into nutrients and soil,“ says Barratt. “Trillions of kilometres of
Design now New York’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, recently opened the fourth exhibition in its National Design Triennial series (inaugurated in 2000). Exploring the work of designers addressing human and environmental problems across many fields of design – from architecture and product design to graphics and new media – Why Design Now? is the first of the series to be global in reach. The title is an apt one, as the exhibition examines why design thinking is an essential tool for solving some of today’s most urgent problems; what draws creative thinkers, makers and problem solvers to
this crucial field of discovery; and why business leaders, policy makers, consumers and citizens should embrace design values. Key developments across design disciplines are presented through the work of more than 125 projects, organized into eight themes: energy, mobility, community, materials, prosperity, health, communication and simplicity. Why Design Now? runs at the Cooper-Hewitt through Jan. 9, 2011.
Clockwise from top Botanical garden in Medellín, Columbia, by Plan B Arquitectura; Gripp glasses by Sweden’s Karinelvy Design; Kraftplex recyclable cellulose fibres from Germany’s Well Ausstellungssystem; adaptive eyeglasses developed by U.K. physicist Joshua Silver.
networked filaments known as mycelia act as channels for the multi-directional transmission of nutrients and information between plants and trees.” This immense and delicate network creates what renowned mycologist Paul Stamets calls “the earth’s biological Internet.” The result of Propellor’s research is its new Mycologic light. “Its form is abstracted from the branching characteristics of a mycelial network, which occurs everywhere in nature as well as in the built and digital environments,” says Barratt. “Ultimately it implies life, growth and, by extension, information,” Each Mycologic light is unique, handcrafted from solid black walnut (finished with a coat of pure linseed oil and beeswax), and lit with energyefficient, long-lasting LEDs. The standard version of Mycologic has a 48-inch diameter; but the light can be scaled up, hung in groups, or otherwise customized to suit individual projects. “When we first conceived of Mycologic it had no lighting element – it was going to be a sculptural piece that hung from the ceiling,” says Propellor’s Toby Barratt. “As we got deeper into the prototyping we began to experiment with holes, and naturally the next step was to add LEDs.”
Says Teknion’s Frank Delfino, “We completely redesigned the space to show how our latest products have have been designed to address the workplace trends of today – and tomorrow.”
Vancouver’s revamped Teknion “Open for business” could well be the motto of Teknion’s revamped Vancouver showroom. To brighten up and create a sense of openness within the 4,000-square-foot space, the in-house team removed barriers to natural light (including window screens along two walls); restricted panel heights to 51 inches or less; specified lighter finishes on the furniture and materials; and used energyefficient lighting (controlled by daylight sensors). Since District and the Leverage panel system are popular with B.C. architects and designers, “we are showcasing these products, particularly District,” says Frank Delfino, Teknion’s president of
world markets. “District is the perfect furniture collection to address new workplace trends – it is elegant, functional and makes efficient use of smaller spaces.” Other products on view include the Marketplace worktable, W/R/S Wall Rail System, Expansion Desking line, reconfigurable Altos architectural wall, and Optos full-height seamless wall. Teknion’s broad seating collection (from Fitz and Contessa to Synapse and t-3) is well represented. Neatly illustrating Teknion’s commitment to environmental issues, feature walls rescued from a trade show – which are water-jet cut from panels made of recycled white plastic bottles – are used for divisional purposes. Incorporated into several Teknion showrooms, such feature walls reinforce the company’s corporate design standards. For a glimse at Teknion Vancouver’s opening event, see Who’s Who (page 43).
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Show Biz
The first morning of my first visit to Heimtextil – Frankfurt’s International Trade Fair for Home and Contract Textiles, held each January – panic set in. Stretched out before me were 10 multi-level halls full of the latest fabrics for windows, walls, floors, furniture and decoration, along with bedroom, bathroom and table textiles. Exhibitors topped 2,500, from 60 countries – India, Germany and China leading the pack with close to 400 exhibitors from each. Where to begin? Lucky for me, some survival instinct kicked in and I found my way to the Trend Forum, a show within the show that brought everything into focus. In March 2009, six designers from six different countries had come together to identify four textile trends, with a clear emphasis on the future. The Trend Forum comprised four imaginative exhibits, one for each trend, using products from Heimtextil exhibitors – draped on walls, clipped to suspended netting, tacked to tables – all neatly labelled (textile, company, hall, stand). After spending an hour or so jotting down notes, I was off on my own personal textile treasure hunt. The next day, rinse and repeat. The four trends, in a nutshell: Futurustic (note the spelling) – irregular structures like those in nature, simple styles, raw materials; Hypernature – natural fabrics like soy and bamboo, hybrid materials, shadow effects; Temptation – a worn-out look for modern finishes, combination of old and new, digital imaging; and Intuition – strong colours and pictoral design, graphic elements, patterns from different cultures. In the following pages, you’ll get a taste of mein Heimtextil. I’ve tried to provide a representative sample of everything I saw. And felt, of course. Heimtextil’s motto could be “Do touch.”
Textile messages Notes from Heimtextil 2010. —By Michael Totzke
Heimtextil trends (clockwise from top): Futurustic, Temptation, Intuition, Hypernature.
MAY/JUNE 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 15
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1–NYA NORDISKA Founded in 1964, German textile company Nya Nordiska – known for innovative high-end fabrics – has subsidiaries in Paris, London, Tokyo and Como, Italy. Its 2010 collection includes (clockwise from left) Amarillo, featuring loosely scattered and finely woven colour stripes, with a satin gloss over a delicate base of organza; Batou, a light, transparent weave with a plain graphic pattern and a Venetian blind effect; Bambala, 100 per cent linen, with handmade cut linen ribbons – printed with gold or silver pigments – arranged within squares into opulent roses; Tamboro, a 100-per-cent-cotton fabric whose marbled design is created by an ink-jet print technique; and Mezzo, imitation leather (100 per cent polyurethane) with colourcoordinated embroidery creating squares and ovals. nya.com
2–EUSTERGERLING INTERIEUR Based in Berlin, this curtain and upholstery manufacturer was founded by a great-grandson of Karl Eustergerling, a well-known German furniture maker and designer of upholstery and textiles. A wide variety of materials is used to produce designs that combine classics with the latest fashion trends; the majority of Eustergerling’s collection is made of mix-based fabric using cotton, polyester, acrylic, viscose and linen. Lines include (clockwise from top): Black & White, Modernistic, Spring, and Abstraction. eustergerling-interieur.de
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Show Biz
3–SAFETEX Chinese company Safetex Mills Hangzhou specializes in yarn- and piece-dyed jacquard, taffeta, organza, embroidery and suede fabrics. Durable and saturated with colour, they are used for curtains, pillows, bed coverings, sofas and other home textiles. Three new introductions are made from rayon/polyester (top) and polyester/ cotton (centre and bottom). safetex.cn
5–MYEONG SEUNG TEXTILE This South Korean upholstery and home textile manufacturer is best known for its brand-name product Amco Velvet. Made of 92 per cent polyester and eight per cent spandex, it is as tough as it is soft. Tuening Monaco (left) – shown in Marble (in wine) and Chain (in green) – is available in 20 vibrant colours, as is Monaco Burim (right). okmst.net
4–KAS Established in 1976, Kas Australia is the premier designer and manufacturer of coordinated soft furnishings in Australasia. Located in the hub of Sydney’s home fashion and design district, the company’s wares reflect the youthful outlook of its management and designers. The Kas range – in all-natural cotton, silk and linen with high thread counts – includes bed linen and such coordinated accessories as cushions, throws, comforters and footstools. kasaustralia.com
6–ATT-ROTEX Based in Taiwan, this wallcovering company is the exclusive agent for the county’s best-known brands, including luxury wallpaper that uses natural and environmentally friendly materials. One such brand is ATT Sanko, whose general manager, Ding Sanko, designs rare, rich papers prized by royalty – handcrafted using gold and silver, bamboo, shells, bird feathers (shown) and other special materials. att-rotex.com.tw
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MAY/JUNE 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 17
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1–BN WALLCOVERINGS Dutch company BN Wallcoverings, located in Huizen since 1926, has its own design studio and production facilities, geared toward the latest trends and technical innovations; Brand van Egmond, on the other hand, is a high-quality lighting design label based in the Netherlands. BvE’s Annet van Egmond and BN Wallcoverings have come together to create Shadows on the Wall, a collection of romantic wallcoverings encompassing 15 different designs in various colour combinations. Motifs include roses (left and centre), chesterfield sofas (right), pearls, lace and lingerie.
2–NATURTEX Starting life as a belt and bag manufacturer, this Spanish company creates a wide range of articles – including rugs and fabrics – that can be custom made for all kinds of spaces. Its rugs are usually made from natural fibres, but the Belt Rug (left), designed by Felix Deiner, is made of polyurethane “leather.” A new woven-steel fabric (centre) produces special reflections and light effects. Naturtex’s latest innovation is the decorative NTX Panel (right); made of MDF and covered with a synthetic material in a variety of finishes and colours, it is easy to install and clean. naturtex.es
bnwallcoverings.com
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18 CANADIAN INTERIORS MAY/JUNE 2010
ODE TO JOY REvEl in ThE cuRREnT sTaTE Of plaY
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Nine lives Palm + Havas’s lobby, a linear space between two elevator banks, terminates in one of several glass “fishbowl” boardrooms. Dark-toned walls with bold graphics are set off by a brilliantred runner along the polished concrete floor.
In a floorplan shaped like a number nine, Champigny Raymond Studio has created an office – for Montreal-based PR firm Palm + Havas – that is intensely alive. —By Rhys Phillips
Photography by Martin Clairmont
May/June 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 21
Pedigree counts, even when you’re down on your luck. A few years ago, the Confederation Building, located on the prominent southeast corner of McGill Avenue and Rue Ste-Catherine, had seen better days. But the 11-storey office building constructed in 1926 was by Ross & Macdonald architects, which designed such Canadian icons as Toronto’s Union Station, Winnipeg’s Fort Gary Hotel and Montreal’s Art Deco Holt Renfrew flagship. A complete renovation has now returned Confederation to its earlier solid if prim-and-proper elegance, a transformation enhanced by the success of its owners in attracting prominent full-floor tenants, such as Google Canada. Most recently, Palm + Havas, a Montreal-based but internationally connected public-relations firm, moved into customdesigned digs occupy the fourth floor – the work of Champigny Raymond Studio. Stripped back to its raw but now whitepainted concrete frame and ceiling, contrasted against mainly dark-toned walls, the office is 16,000 square feet of open, flowing space punctuated with multiple splashes of intense colour. Coupled with an assemblage of independent, transparent volumes, along with some whimsical but totemic objects, the result exudes the feel of a marketplace of creative vibrancy. Planning of the new space started a few years ago with Palm Arnold Communication, an independent Montreal marketing and communications agency. According to Marie-Ève Lévesque, now director for strategic brand strategy and integration, “Co-founder Pierre Mercier wanted a space that was very different from the existing office up the street, where even members on the same team were often far apart and shut away in individual offices.” He wanted open spaces that would allow complementary teams from different disciplines to interact and share information. “By doing so,” she explains, “we could avoid time-wasting duplication.” During our tour of the facility, lead designer Pierre Raymond reiterates this theme: “What drove the design process was the desire to ensure management, employees and even clients would continually cross paths.” But while the space was to be open, there had to be a multiplicity of meeting areas for meetings and consultations – formal and informal, large and small.
22 CANADIAN INTERIORS May/June 2010
A long, central gallery stretches down the spine of the number-shaped floorplan. This circulation space, with a series of low stages, frequently serves as a display gallery or occasionally as party central. Moooi’s Horse Lamps add a welcome touch of whimsy.
An open staff lounge, which also serves as an informal staff or client meeting space, stretches along the tail of the “number-nine� plan. The long kitchen bar is anchored by a vibrantgreen, graphic-covered base. The large Stripes table is by Fantoni.
May/June 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 23
Along and around public areas, which double as circulation routes encouraging frequent interaction, various departments are arrayed in largely open configurations. Three brilliantly coloured meeting pods offer staff a welcome retreat.
When the 80-employee Palm Arnold was bought out in 2008 by Paris-based conglomerate Havas Worldwide in the middle of the recession, some belt tightening ensued but the core concepts survived. To understand how the design works as a grid of crossing public spaces organizing a series of largely open or transparent working zones, it is useful to understand the unique pattern of the inherited floor plan. Imagine a fat, graphic number nine with its large loop on the south, its spine running along McGill and its tail fronting Ste-Catherine before curling inward to almost enclose an open light well (see page 22 for the floorplan). One enters directly into Palm + Havas’s lobby, a linear space between two elevator banks spanning across the bottom of the upper loop. Dark-toned walls with bold black graphics – a frequent motif in the design – are offset by a brilliant-red runner along the polished concrete floor. Equally colourful banquettes divide the space. Terminating its east end is one of several glass “fishbowl” boardrooms. On the west, a glossy white reception desk sits in front of a red wall cleaved horizontally by a line of high-definition video screens. Curiously, the desk appears to be bracketed by two steeplechase jumping hedges. And in this case, as we shall see, appearances are not necessarily deceiving. The desk breaks up the 165-by-13-foot gallery that stretches down the centre of the number nine’s spine. This polyvalent circulation space, with a series of low stages down the middle, frequently serves as a display area or occasionally as party central. But it is the whimsical presence of four Moooi Horse Lamps, that provides the pretense for the steeplechase jumps. A third key axis, an open staff lounge that also serves as an informal staff or client meeting space, stretches across the tail of the figure-nine plan and overlooks Ste-Catherine. Its black, white and grey scheme includes a large Stripes table by Italy’s Fantoni (also used for desks in the work pods), as well as Marco Viola’s cheeky Humour Chair with its infectious smile cut out of its white plastic bucket seat. In contrast, the long kitchen bar features a vibrant-green, graphic-covered base. Along and around these public areas, which double as circulation routes encouraging frequent and causal interacMay/June 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 25
tion, the various departments are arrayed in largely open configurations. Indeed, transparency permeates the Palm + Havas office. Even the executive corner offices overlooking Ste-Catherine have floor-toceiling-glass interior walls without blinds. Likewise, the firm’s largest boardroom sports glass walls but in this case is moderately tinted. “We used darker glass,” says Raymond, “because from the lounge it permits a high level of transparency and even helps emphasizes the exterior view out through the room’s two generous windows. At the same time, when inside, the tint works with the dark walls surrounding a high-gloss white table recycled from the old office to generate a sense of focus and intimacy.” Intimacy is not an adjective that applies to three brilliantly coloured meeting pods scattered around the office. These freestanding steel- and woodframed “containers,” as Raymond calls them, have the look of small cargo crates that have had their ends replaced by glass, with only the ubiquitous large number graphics to mediate transparency. Each is divided across by an acrylic light wall to create two small meeting areas. Their interior walls, clad in high-gloss Arborite – in fluorescent orange, green or blue – make the containers appear to glow. If these enclosed containers offer an audio, if not visual, retreat for staff, creative personnel are grouped around desks that circle two round, half-walled “drums” containing colourful beanbags for creative thinking. Despite the office’s openness, slick surfaces and stripped-back frame, there is nothing minimalist about the design. Colliding colours, multiple textures, reappearing typographical detail, freestanding forms – even a wonky bookcase and, of course, the hard-to-miss horses – work with the unusual plan to provide visual richness, busy but satisfying. Lévesque believes the mix is ideal: “We are about creativity and this space gives off the right vibes.” Its communication flow “has converted into an invigorating flow of energy that came as a pleasant surprise.” In sum, she concludes, it is space that supports the brand. c I
26 CANADIAN INTERIORS May/June 2010
Colliding colours, multiple textures, reappearing typographical detail, freestanding forms – even a wonky bookcase – work with the plan to provide visual richness, Two half-walled “drums” contain colourful beanbags for creative thinking.
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Tktk Tktk There can’t be a better design show to beat the winter blahs than Maison et Objet’s now! design a vivre. The objective of the show is to act as a crossroads event, bringing together the most innovation designers and design, creating opportunities to meet with others in the industry and see what’s new and what’s up and coming. Celebrating its 10th birthday this year, the show has consistently delivered on that mandate and is always the place at the winter fair where you are guaranteed to see a plethora of fresh, fun and exciting design. Though there is always plenty of understated and elegant work, it’s the brighter, more whimsical products that seems to characterize now! Consider that, along with the show’s signature pink branding, and it should be no surprise to learn that Canadian-bred Karim Rashid was everywhere. You could hardly turn a corner without seeing his Karim logo scrawled across booth walls, so often in his trademark pink. Though Philippe Starck was Maison et Object’s designer of the year, it seemed Rashid’s ubiquity in now! overshadowed the former’s presence. The Starck-curated exhibit of the work of 10 young designers, in honour of the show’s 10th anniversary, was a great concept and showed interesting stuff; but tucked away in 7b with little to inform attendees on the details of the work shown, it left room for Rashid to steal the show.
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At Maison et Objet’s now! design a vivre, one could hardly help but think pink. —By Erin Donnelly
MAY/JUNE 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 29
1-VONDOM “An undulating, cloud-like bench” or “a really huge organic blobular structure” is how Vondom describes its new Karim Rashid–designed bench, Lava (overleaf). This bubbly piece is just one of several Rashid-designed indoor/outdoor pieces the company introduced this year, there are plenty of other bright, whimsical, pretty-in-plastic seating options to choose from in the collection, including Doux (a) and Surf (b). vondom.com
3-MARIMEKKO Previewing its Autumn 2010 collection of prints, Marimekko showed off Nanuk, which will surely become a favourite in Canada. Designed by Teresa Moorhouse, Nanuk features a white polar bear with a lush, leafy background and is a companion piece for the designer’s Sininen Gepardi cheetah-in-the-jungle pattern. There are three colour variations: a breezy blue, a glowing red-pink-green, and a graphic black-grey-white. marimekko.fl
2-GAEAFORMS The Slope writing desk, designed by Pinar Yar and Tugrul Govsa, was one of Gaea’s many new products debuting at the show. The desk’s shelves start at the top and move down the ladder-like shape to transform to a desk top surface at the bottom. Composed of oak and MDF, two versions – called tall and long – are available in black, white, pink, mustard, red or chocolate. gaeaforms.com
4-IL COCCIO Il Coccio has been a leader in the design of humidifiers for decades, but its 2010 Design Edition goes above and beyond. Coordinated by Giulio Iacchetti, the new collection includes nine pieces, designed by Patricia Urquiola, Fernando Brìzio and Monica Förster, as well as a new edition of the famous Fischietto humidifier, designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1998. martinispa.com
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5-ANTONIO LUPI Italian manufacturer Antonio Lupi has introduced a new line designed by Carlo Columbo. Featuring “aggressive geometry,” the technologically advanced material Cristalplant was the catalyst for the new Tratto and Washi sinks, and Cuna tub (shown). Intended for placement in the middle of the bathroom, this showstopper’s high backrest is set at a comfortable inclination, and while the base is square, the interior edges are rounded, for ultimate relaxing. antoniolupi.it 6-QUI EST PAUL? Ublo is a new line of outdoor furniture designed by Cedric Ragot for Qui Est Paul? Formed from rotation molded low-density polyethylene, the line is made up of a sofa, fauteuil and table. Tough enough to withstand temps between -60 and 50 degrees Celcius and resist UV rays, the pieces are long-lasting. But when the time comes, each is fully recyclable.
7-CASAMANIA Kouch (b) and Ouch (a) are two Karim Rashid creations introduced last year by Casamania. In fabric or leather upholstery, over a fire resistant foam and metal structure, the sofa and armchair feature the soft organic curves and bright, playful colours that the designer is known for. casamania.it
8-VANGE After it was introduced at the September edition of Maison et Objet, Vange’s Desile (named for its creator, Christian Desile) took home both Coup de Couer and Decouverte now awards. Made from bamboo and recycled PET, Desile offers two-way opening functionality and an amazingly efficient system, with 100 stacked chairs measuring just 2 linear metres. vange.be
qui-est-paul.com
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1-MOLO Brand new to Molo’s Softlight collection is Cloud, the company’s first hanging lamp. Made with the paper-and-textile-composed flexible honeycomb structure that the Vancouver company is known for, the lamps are lit from within by LED. The hollow lattice forms of the Cloud lamps can be clustered to shape an undulating overhead canopy, allowing the user to create a custom cloudscape. molodesign.com
2-YOULKA Youlka Design, a fairly new France-based company that sells the work of Polish designers, was showing several felt carpets designed by Joanna Rusin and Aga Czop. The collection is both fun and functional, with shapes punched out of the top layer of felt. The cutout shapes (in a variety of colours) come along with the carpet in a bag and can be mixed, matched and moved around, like a design puzzle. youlkadesign.fr
3-MOUSTACHE The Bold chair, designed by Big Game, is new from Moustache. A surprisingly little piece, it’s composed of a tubular steel structure, with a thick polyurethane foam and textile cover that is actually removable. Available in purple, pink, dark grey, light grey, yellow, navy and black.
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4-BITOSSI Following a successful re-edition of vintage ceramic pieces, Bitossi commissioned a new collection from Karim Rashid, a designer who consistently tries to focus on the present, rather than revisiting the past. However, Rashid so admired Ettore Sottsass’s Bitossi totems made in the ’60s that he was inspired to create Symbolik, a line of bowls, vases and totems. The Sottsass-inspired pieces incorporate signature Rashid shapes and colours. bitossiceramiche.it
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Class act Top marks to Gow Hastings Architects for a plethora of Toronto school projects. —By John Bentley Mays
Since joining creative forces and founding Gow Hastings Architects eight years ago, Valerie Gow and Philip Hastings have pursued a career that’s somewhat unusual for a young Toronto design office. The couple began, like most emerging architects, with small renovations – redoing bathrooms, replacing windows and such. But while they expected to soon move on to the crafting of freestanding buildings, the pair quickly discovered their distinct flair for the overhaul of existing institutional interiors. Little commissions along this line led to bigger ones, speeding Gow 34 CANADIAN INTERIORS May/June 2010
Hastings on its way to what the company is today: a small but important creator of fresh, innovative interiors for Toronto-area colleges. Take, for example, the firm’s recently completed $2-million, 12,335-square-foot renewal of Ryerson University’s School of Interior Design. The school’s home, in a cluster of Victorian brick warehouses with insufficient lighting and poor floorplan layouts, called most urgently for brightness and clarification. The reply of Valerie Gow (an alumna of the school) involved the thorough opening and reshaping of
the old interior. The offices were pushed to the front of the building to give new prominence to the main entrance on Church Street, and the classrooms and corridors were outfitted with tall walls of glass, frosted and clear, alternating with opaque elements. The mood of the space was changed from warren-like density in the old configuration to open-plan lightness. Among the most attractive aspects of the project, and one that is typical of Gow Hastings’ renovations, is its chromatic treatment. “I really like the bold use of Photography by Tom Arban
Opposite At Ryerson University’s School of Interior Design, the architects transformed an awkward transition from one floor to another into a feature ramp; a fibre-optic system washes the walls with boldly coloured light. Above An open studio is now four classrooms with full-height, 12-foot-wide rolling doors that open the rooms to each other and to the main corridor. A pink lightbox (at left) marks the threshold of the school’s major critique space. Right Gow Hastings restored the window openings in a wall of one of three 19th-century brick warehouses that serve as the building’s foundational structure.
May/June 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 35
Opposite Entry to the Humber Students’ Federation reception and offices. Left In the Student Centre, glass is overlaid with a pattern of frosted circles, which offers privacy to the offices beyond. From a distance, the circles form a pixilated image of a forest from the adjacent Humber Valley – bringing an awareness of nature to a space with no outdoor views. Below A two-storey curtain wall separates the student federation (shown) and the student centre. This wall not only serves as a beacon for the student-service offices, but also provides a coherent and stimulating backdrop for such major events as award ceremonies and convocation.
colour,” Gow says. “In all our projects, we try to define a focal point for the space, then try to play off from that. We like to use a fairly neutral palette for the majority of the space, then accent it with really strong colours.” In the Ryerson exercise, the basic colour scheme has been provided by the historic fabric of unpainted wooden pillars and beams, and by blond brick walls, often perforated by large windows. To this warm ensemble, Gow added dashes of strong pink here and there to lend a sense of chic
contemporaneity to the plan. In another interesting use of light and colour, Gow refashioned a previously awkward transition from one floor level to another with a ramp that is washed in boldly coloured light, ranging from deep blue-violet to hot red. This move transforms what had been a problem into a delightful passage through the renewed interior of the building. Other large-scale reformations in Gow Hastings’ portfolio include the George Brown College Centre for Hospitality and
Culinary Arts, a reno with Kearns Mancini Architects; and the $3.4-million, state-ofthe-art Canadian Centre of Culinary Arts and Science at Humber College. One of the biggest recent projects on Gow Hastings’ list is Humber’s 95,000-square-foot Centre for Trades and Technology. Located in a former furniture warehouse, this facility offers training stations for students in such skilled crafts as woodworking, welding, plumbing and electrical work. The firm has opened the interior of this industrial building to May/June 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 37
Above View of the dining area and open kitchen in the George Brown College Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts (a collaboration with Kearns Mancini). Left A glimpse of student chefs at work at the Canadian Centre of Culinary Arts and Science at Humber College. This feature wall – with slot window and bench seating, as well as signage, entry doors and donor wall – marks the school’s main entry.
38 CANADIAN INTERIORS May/June 2010
Humber’s 95,000-square-foot Centre for Trades and Technology, offering such skilled crafts as woodworking, welding, plumbing and electrical work, is located in a former furniture warehouse. An abstracted pattern of nuts and bolts – applied to generous windows – casts bands of yellow and green light into the student hall.
natural light by installing a 100-foot bay window at the rear and punching clerestory windows along a roofline heightened for this purpose. Another expansive venture of the firm is the student centre at Humber College. This complex of student government offices, games rooms and a cafeteria embodies well the transparency and colour that delight the partners. Glass walls provide views through and natural lighting, while some of the glazing has been covered with delicately patterned laminate, or splashed with strong red and
orange, to invite visual liveliness into the otherwise tough-surfaced interior. Also for Humber, Gow Hastings has renovated a former car dealership near the campus to create the college’s Centre for Justice Leadership. The west and south facades of the building are draped with an aluminum screen (slashed by a green wall of ivy) that suggests dynamic, fluid movement, relaxing over the main entrance, then tightening across the building’s south face. The structure contains both well-furnished classrooms and expert crime laboratories.
Along with these large-canvas undertakings, the firm has also completed a number of tightly focused, highly specialized productions. These include a 1,420-square-foot bartending and drinkmixing lab for George Brown College, and a music production facility and recording studio for Humber College. Though one doesn’t usually find both labs and slick interior designs together in a single architectural firm’s portfolio, science and art rest comfortably alongside each other in Gow Hastings’ list of projects. Before studying architecture at the May/June 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 39
Above At Humber’s Centre For Justice Leadership, students hone their investigative skills in a tiered 45-seat theatre – complete with simulated one-bedroom apartment where crime scenes are staged. Left The west and south sides of the building (once a car dealership) are draped with an aluminum screen slashed by a green wall of ivy.
40 CANADIAN INTERIORS May/June 2010
Above For the Humber School of Creative & Performing Arts, the architects created a state-of-the-art production centre and recording studio wrapped in a shell of honey-toned maple. Left Bartending class is in session at George Brown Mixology. Lit from above, the white Corian stations allow students to judge the quality of their concoctions through colour.
University of British Columbia, Philip Hastings completed a degree in biology at McGill University. Valerie Gow, similarly, has a hybrid educational history, having graduated both in interior design from Ryerson and in architecture from UBC. The pair has travelled extensively, and they have worked in London, Vancouver and Toronto. In their widely varied work, Hastings says, “It’s always there – living surrounded by architecture in an old city like London, the biology background, the history of living in foreign places. And our personality also comes out in projects,
which are playful, light-hearted. But it’s hard to shy away from the kind of rigour you develop as a scientist. We do a lot of laying out things, testing them, building up projects on solid foundations.” Over the brief, busy life of their award-winning firm, Gow and Hastings have found a way to do such solid building within the constraints of tight time frames and budgets. “We are an office that has developed out of projects, rather than being theory-based or teaching-based,” Hastings says. “Some are literally designed in a couple of weeks.” Gow and Hastings agree that a top
priority for the firm is the design of a freestanding building. But for the time being, they are keeping active with the institutional renovations they’ve proven themselves very good at. Anyway, they’ve come rather to like the process of knocking out the interiors of old buildings and inserting something new and exciting into them. “We shy away from very clear, simple solutions,” Hastings says. “We’re being handed sometimes near-impossible projects. We’re young enough and foolish enough to embark on those projects, and see what we can do.” c I
May/June 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 41
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Martin Hirschberg of Hirschberg Design Group, one of Toronto’s most prolific hospitality designers, likes to draw even when he’s not creating restaurants. Meet the Family, a collection of his vividly coloured, humorous illustrations, recently opened at local gallery Spazio Dell’ Arte.
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Teknion Vancouver Teknion opened its redesigned Vancouver showroom recently with a 2010 Winter Olympics–themed event. Guests were invited to design a T-shirt celebrating Olympic athletes. On hand to judge the shirts was Ben Rutledge, part of the Gold Medal– winning men’s 8+ rowing team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. *Photos courtesy of Teknion
1—2B1 photo agency co-owners Donald Gillies and Donna Maclachlan. 2—Michael Carpentier, CEO, bigtrucktv.com, an online media company for trucking and transportation; Alexis Jardin, painter in acrylics; Matti Gidilevich, modelling agent at Elite; Ric Little, VP and creative director at Mamone & Partners; and Rob Plomer, director of sales at photography agency 2B1. 3—Exhibition curator Asha Hodura, executive producer at branding agency Mamone & Partners; Martin Hirschberg; and Gerry Mamone, owner of the gallery, which also doubles as his agency office.
1—Roy Collins, Teknion dealer TOPS; Neville Grigg, Heritage Office Furnishings; Carmen Spragg, TOPS; and Chris Simpson, Heritage Office Furnishings. 2—Erin Shanks and Nicola Law, Arris Design; and Iris Moews, Idesign. 3—Gail Tyshynski and Ben Rutledge, GT Consulting; and Christina Duncan and Katerina Litva, K3 Design. 4—Selena D’Onoforio and Joanna Leong, Ashley Pryce Interior Design; and Rebecca Bertrand, interior designer at SSDG Interiors.
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Artopex
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Viceversa Bridges – Versatile work tables form the basis for this collaborative collection designed to enhance communication. Linear table assemblies maintain work and data/power service support, while you define and facilitate your personal work style or space by selecting from a variety of side tables, storage, privacy screens and accessory items.
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DESIGNABLE ENVIRONMENTS Inc. DESIGNABLE ENVIRONMENTS is a Canadian architectural consulting firm specializing in universal design, accessibility, and future care planning. For the last 25 years we have worked across Canada as well as internationally, on projects that create appropriate access for everyone, including people with disabilities. We offer a level of experience and expertise unmatched in the industry. Our services include accessibility needs and implementation planning; developing accessibility standards; creating barrier-free environments; education and training; and building audits. Helping your team create great architecture… which is also truly accessible. 905 278-0665 www.designable.net
InterfaceFLOR Tectonics™ High tech turns high design with Tectonics. Inspired by metals and metallic finishes, Tectonics incorporates linear patterns in mixed widths in an i2™ design that can be installed non directionally as patterns and colours blend easily during installation or replacement, saving time and creating less waste. Use one colour for a uniform look, or mix among the 16 available colours for a dramatic statement. This style also lends itself to pattern by tile designs that are limited only by your imagination. 800 267-2149
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modularArts, inc. modularArts™ Interlocking-Rock utilizes a combination of raised and inset forms to create innovative 3-dimensional surfaces. All designs repeat for continuous sculptural walls or ceilings of any size. The joints interlock for precise edge alignment and panel-to-panel continuity. Panel material is entirely non-combustible, lightweight, easily trimmed on-site and has a rock-hard, paintable surface. Design shown: dune™. 206 788-4210 www.modularArts.com
Nienkämper Building on the success of its previous collaborations with Karim Rashid, Nienkämper introduces Isola 8, the latest concept in lounge seating from the visionary designer of Wavelength®, Blob, and the Kloud® Collection. 800 668-9318 www.nienkamper.com
nora systems, Inc. norament® 925 serra is a high-performance floor covering inspired by the dramatic textures and colors of nature´s landscape, developed with input from architects and designers. The 3.5-millimeter product is suitable for high-traffic areas, offering durability and comfort underfoot. Like all nora flooring, norament 925 serra does not contain PVC. It is also GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified® and contributes to healthier indoor air. 800 332-NORA
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May/June 2010 CANADIAN INTERIORS 45
TktkWord Last Tktk
You can thank the Mergatroid for these elegant new pendant lamps, designed by Laura McKibbon, of cul de sac design, and Kurt Dexel, of Dexel Crafted. No, I’m not talking about the mysterious character from the Yogi Bear Show catchphrase. And though it sounds like it could be some sort of robot toy, the Mergatroid is not a Transformer, or even a Gobot. It’s a building in East Vancouver that was designed to offer studio spaces for a variety of creative types. Both McKibbon, a ceramicist, and Dexel, a furniture designer who works primarily with wood, have studios in the Mergatroid, which is currently home to a couple of dozen artists, designers and manufacturers. It’s also where the LIGHT pendant lamps were created. “This collaboration evolved pretty naturally,” say McKibbon. “I was already working on the lamps and it was pretty evident that the walnut and porcelain were a lovely pair. Over our daily coffee/sketch/critique session, this came about pretty quickly.” The final product combines McKibbon’s hand- and slab-built porcelain with Dexel’s individually hand-pressed and -turned black walnut. The current designs vary between 14 and 16 inches long, but McKibbon says the two are open to working with interior designers to create custom versions. “These could easily be adjusted to fit existing fixtures and would be particularly nice in a dining/hotel setting, I think,” McKibbon says. “The patterns are really open, since they are all hand done, so making changes is fairly easy.” The two designers have both been busy with other work in recent months, but are looking forward to showing off LIGHT at ICFF in New York this spring. And when time permits, groups of smaller shades and wall sconces are on the drawing table, back at the Mergatroid. c I
Heavens to Mergatroid Vancouver designers Laura McKibbon and Kurt Dexel were just being neighbourly when they created this new lighting line. —By Erin Donnelly
46 CANADIAN INTERIORS May/June 2010
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O Owner/CEO/President/Partner
O Industrial Designer
O Purchasing/Manager
O Government/Building Official
O Decorator
O Financial Mgmt.
O Developer/Urban Planner
E. Size of company (by number of employees) O 1-9 O 10-19 O 20-49 O 50-99 O 100-249 O 250-499 O 500+
FOR FAST SERVICE, FAX THIS CARD TO (416) 510-6875
O Yes! I would like to subscribe/renew to Canadian Interiors O 1 year O 2 years O 3 years
$36.95 (+GST/HST/QST) $59.95 (+GST/HST/QST) $79.95 (+GST/HST/QST)
O 1 year US $69.95 (US funds)
O 1 years wrapped $39.95 (+GST/HST/QST) O 2 years wrapped $63.95 (+GST/HST/QST) O 3 years wrapped $84.95 (+GST/HST/QST) O 1 year Overseas $95.00 (US funds)
O Payment enclosed O Please charge my credit card account
CUSTOMER SERVICE HOTLINE: CDA: 1-800-268-7742 ext. 3539 USA: 1-800-387-0273 ext. 3539 Email: lmalicdem@bizinfogroup.ca URL: www.canadianinteriors.com