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March/April 2013
Official publication of the Interior Designers of Canada
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ew
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COVER — 31 The Buchanan Courtyard Pavilion at UBC, designed by Public: Architecture + Communication. Photo by Nic Lehoux
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Contents
DEPARTMENTS INSIDE — 10
FEATURES WHAT’S UP — 15 PUBLIC PERFORMANCE — 31 The greatest hits of Public: Architecture + Communication – so far. By Adele Weder LAW & ORDER & ART — 39 For family-law firm J.K. Hannaford, Barristers, Taylor Smyth Architects creates an oasis of calm – more art gallery than lawyer’s office. By Leslie C. Smith 15 & COUNTING — 47 Highlights of this year’s Interior Design Show. By Leslie C. Smith
THE GOODS — 18 More on the floor New floor coverings offer something comfortable and inspiring underfoot. By Peter Sobchak WHO’S WHO — 52 LAST WORD — 54 Upward mobility The University of Toronto at Mississauga’s Instructional Centre, by Perkins+Will Canada, offers students a step up. By Michael Totzke
March/April 2013 CANADIAN INTERIORS 7
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Inside
cast of characters intent on keeping my prodigiously talented “regulars” – deputy and associate editors – engaged and employed, i seldom get to use outside contributors. But when i do, i go for the best. case in point: adele Weder, who in this issue profiles one of my favourite young firms, Vancouver-based public: architecture + communication (“public performance,” page 31). Based in Vancouver herself, adele is a distinguished design journalist and critic, and winner of the 2001 raic president’s award for architectural Journalism. an ardent admirer of West coast Modernism, she co-authored the books B.C. Binning and Selwyn Pullan, and is curating the exhibition “ron Thom and the allied arts,” slated to open at the West Vancouver Museum in June and travelling to Toronto and peterborough, ont., in 2014. smart, gifted, inquisitive, civic-minded and down to earth: these are words that describe adele, as well as the three public principals, Brian Wakelin, John Wall and susan Mavor. elsewhere in the issue, deputy editor peter sobchak offers up his third annual round-up of what’s new and notable in flooring products (“More on the floor,” page 18); associate editor leslie c. smith critiques the Toronto office of family-law firm J.K. hannaford, the work of Taylor smyth architects (“law & order & art,” page 39); and i, as a last Word, reflect on the public space at the heart of the University of Toronto at Mississauga’s instructional centre, designed by perkins+Will canada (Upward mobility,” page 54). leslie, associate editor David lasker and myself teamed up to cover this year’s interior Design show, celebrating its 15th anniversary – with leslie as writer, David as photographer, and me as ... let’s see ... aide, enthusiast, sounding board, critic, and all-around buttinsky. This proved to be an incredibly enjoyable and efficient way to experience the show, compare notes and shape the story, then produce a report (“15 & counting,” page 47) – and i hope we can do it again next year. We three were knocked out by the “how Do You Work?” feature exhibit (see page 49). To all the participants – Dubbledam architecture + Design, Black lab, igloodgn, samare and Joel loblaw – we say, “Good work!” c I Michael Totzke mtotzke@canadianinteriors.com
Gayle Marshall Sales Representative I had no idea that I was asking you to perform a Herculean task when I asked you to sell a property for me in an area where there was virtually no market for it at the time. However, undaunted, you proceeded in a very professional, creative and supportive manner, leaving no detail to question and culminating in a successful sale. I don’t know how you did it but I’m extremely grateful for all your efforts. You were a joy to work with Gayle and I wish you continued success. Kind regards, Helen Helen Moffett and Associates
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What’s Up
Mar./Apr. Rooms with a view Internationally celebrated artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller make their highly anticipated return to Toronto this spring with Lost in the Memory Palace, a selection of seven installations incorporating complex soundtracks, videos, objects and images that have never before been shown together in Canada. The exhibition, opening on Apr. 6, will include the debut of a new, as-yetuntitled work specially created by the duo for the AGO. Janet Cardiff began collaborating with fellow Canadian artist and partner George Bures Miller in 1995. Representing Canada at the 49th Venice Biennale with the piece Paradise Institute (2001), they won La Biennale di Venezia Special Award and the Benesse Prize, which recognizes artists who break new artistic ground with an experimental and pioneering spirit. Their work has been shown in numerous venues worldwide; they live in Grindrod, B.C. Co-curated by Kitty Scott, the AGO’s new curator of modern and contemporary art, and Bruce Grenville, senior curator of the Vancouver Art Gallery, Lost in the Memory Palace takes its name from an ancient memorization tool that associates ideas with specific physical locations. According to the “memory palace method,” a person can walk through these locations in the mind to recollect facts and memories. 14 CANADIAN INTERIORS March/April 2013
Filling level four of the AGO’s David and Vivian Campbell Centre for Contemporary Art, the exhibition is arranged like a traditional house with rooms opening up into other rooms. Visitors are invited to roam through the spaces, each one a new environment featuring a distinct work. Included in the exhibition are early works Dark Pool (1995) and The Muriel Lake Incident (1999), as well more recent works Opera for a Small Room (2005) and the thundering Storm Room (2009). Says Scott, “When you enter these spaces and are confronted by soundtracks, images, moving images and objects, you understand the physical environments to be works of art themselves. As you engage with the artworks, you become a true participant. As a result, these installations are deeply moving.” An accompanying iPad app, featuring exhibition content and essays co-created by the AGO and the Vancouver Art Gallery, will be available for purchase from iTunes and released concurrently with the exhibition’s launch. Toronto is the first stop on the exhibition’s tour; after closing at the AGO it will travel to the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, in September 2013 before opening at the Vancouver Art Gallery in June 2014. In conjunction with the exhibition, the AGO will install Janet Cardiff’s celebrated soundscape Forty-Part Motet (2001) in the Henry Moore Sculpture Centre. The work features 40 mounted loud speakers that define a round space, each emitting a separately recorded voice singing
Thomas Tallis’s 1573 choral composition Spem in Alium; the arrangement of speakers gives participants the opportunity to explore choral music as they would a sculpture, by listening to it in parts and as a whole. Hailed by the New York Times as “deceptively simple, matter-of-fact in its presentation – and so sublime in its effect,” the piece is on special
loan to the AGO from New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Vancouver Art Gallery, Lost in the Memory Palace runs at the AGO from Apr. 6 to Aug. 18.
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What’s Up
New in Vancouver 1 The Museum of Vancouver is working directly with local retailers to both stock and produce merchandise inspired by its collection. “This new model is a great way to take the MOV brand and our array of historical artifacts out to the city,” says Kate Follington, MOV director of development. “Given that we can only ever display a fraction of our collection, it is a way for us to breathe new life into artifacts and raise funds to continue our work.” Smart move. First up: a line of graphic rugs created by harvey Burritt’s 2nd Century rug Company, each individually hand-knotted in Nepal. Five rugs are part of the initial launch: a ‘30s map of Vancouver; a ‘50s streetcar scroll; a ‘50s bus scroll; a collage of
corporate seals; and a message board signed by Vancouverites following the Stanley Cup
New in Vancouver 2 Vancouver-based Studio Brovhn has introduced Elemental, a clever collection of bins and bags. Each element of Elemental is created from an innovative technical material called Tyvek, which is
Final riots in 2011. Each rug has a specific catalogue number that can be used to view the original artifact at openmov.museumofvancouver.ca. And 2nd Century will add to the line over time. Other retailers involved in the initiative include the Cascade room restaurant & Bar, Country Furniture, london
seven times finer than human hair and half the weight of paper. Made in Canada, Elemental products are extremely strong, lightweight, and water- and tear-resistant. In keeping with Studio Brovhn’s commitment to sustainability, Elemental is made from part recycled content and is highly recyclable. The entire range folds flat to the thickness of a magazine, a compact size useful for shipping and storing. Bins and bags are available in several sizes; bins come with or without handles. Colours are Mineral White, Vivid Orange and Whale Grey. For more information, visit studiobrovhn.com.
Made in Canada, Elemental bags and bins are strong, lightweight, and water- and tear-resistant. 16 CANADIAN INTERIORS MArCh/AprIl 2013
Drugs, Make Vancouver, Vancouver Special, and Walrus – stocking everything from key chains, coasters and beer glasses to pillows and T-shirts. Rugs based on MOV artifacts (clockwise from top left): Seal (imprints created by corporate seals used by Vancouver businesses and charities from 1890 to 1990); Bus Scroll (circa 1950, listing destinations along the city’s Oakridge bus line); and Map of Metro Vancouver (circa 1935, showing the major car routes).
Our mistake In our Best of Canada issue (Fall 2012), we misidentified the architectural firm that created the perimeter Institute for Theoretical physics in Waterloo, Ont. It was Saucier + perrotte Architectes, of course, not Kuwabara payne McKenna Blumberg Architects. We regret the error.
The Goods
More on the floor Ever since the human race climbed (or fell, depending on your philosophical bent) out of the trees and began walking upright, we’ve yearned for something comfortable and inspiring underfoot. This broad range of new floor coverings gets us closer to our collective dream. —By Peter Sobchak
It’s a small world after all ciot is known as a large-scale tile and slab stone surfaces monger. But at iDS13 the venerable company announced that it has added a new service to its offering: that of custom-made artistic mosaics. employing the talents of igor Marziali, a master mosaic artist from italy’s La Scuola Mosaicisti del Friuli mosaic academy, ciot can now turn whatever graphic whim you have into a finely detailed mosaic from the ciot Fabbrica workshop, the only one in canada to design and manufacture mosaic, stone and solid surface products under the iSo seal of quality. ciot.com
B r
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18 CANADIAN INTERIORS MARCH/APRIL 2013
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The Goods
GREY MATTERS 2
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1—Sing the blues Florida Tile’s newest porcelain floor and wall tile line, called cliffside, is modelled after traditional Vermont slate, known for its deep monochromatic blue/grey tones. This new line is designed using its hDP (high Definition Porcelain) technology to reproduce not only the stone look, but also its strong cleft texture through a variation of punches. Made in the u.S. of 40-percent post-industrial recycled content, it is greenguard and Porcelain Tile certified. floridatile.com 2—Simple gravitas Delicate layers of cool greys and soft browns build an earthy palette in Softline coco by Amtico international. The abstract, versatile yet unpretentious design of this high-performance vinyl tile makes it suitable for corporate, hospitality, healthcare and educational interiors. Softline coco has a urethane coating and bevelled edges and is low-Voc and FloorScore certified; it can be reclaimed after its first lifetime of use and returned to Amtico’s recycling program. amtico.com 3—Hot rodders Dur-A-Flex, inc. used World of concrete 2013 in Las Vegas (a town that is no stranger to all things bling) to debut Reflexions, the newest in its line-up of decorative flooring systems. using advancements in effects pigments, Reflexions is a souped-up version of the company’s poured-in-place resin flooring systems. enhancement with uV stability, extending the life of the floor, and Voc-compliance make the system eligible for LeeD credits. dur-a-flex.com 4—Natural currents Striations by Armstrong commercial Flooring is an environmentally friendly BioBased tile collection that mimics the look of time-weathered stone and wood. Winner of a 2012 good Design award (often considered the oscars of industrial design), the non-PVc tile is composed of 85-per-cent north American limestone, 10-per-cent pre-consumer recycled limestone, and contains Armstrong’s BioStride polymer, which is derived from rapidly renewable domestic corn. armstrong.com
20 CANADIAN INTERIORS MARCH/APRIL 2013
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The Goods 1—“‘tis to glory we steer” “heart of oak” is the official march of several commonwealth navies, including our Royal canadian navy. now, thanks to Dinesen (and quite coincidentally), we have something to march on. With heartoak, the Danish firm processes the tree in a gentle way to preserve the natural cracks in the floor planks that tell the story of a hundred years of nature. As a particularly beautiful detail, the cracks are locked by dovetail joints of oak. dinesen.com 2—Manners, please! crossville, inc. introduced Manoir, a new porcelain tile collection inspired by renowned American manors and estates, at the Surfaces expo in Las Vegas in January. intentionally soft and modest, the line is meant to offer an elegance and traditional earthen look to soften contemporary colour palettes. The tiles contain a minimum of four-per-cent pre-consumer recycled content and are green Squared certified. crossvilleinc.com
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DOWN TO EARTH
3—A little more action Shaw commercial hard Surfaces’s most recent addition to its vinyl product collection, uncommon ground, is a departure from its more sober cousins, and features 48 colours to complement a myriad of design schematics. The line comes in 24 wood pattern options ranging from modern european to traditional American cherry and maple species, and also includes clever visuals such as olivewood and the abstract, striated Zen design. constructed as a 3mm, glue-down LVP with a heavy commercial grade wear layer, planks are finished with Shaw’s exoguard topcoat, reinforced with quartz for more wear resistance than basic urethane finishes. shawhardsurface.com 4—Doin’ floors big time instead of just releasing one or two new lines a year, like many companies, Torlys has reinvented its entire line of cork floors to include 40 styles, all of which are FSc-certified; some even come in six-foot lengths, the first in the industry to do so. The new lines come in two collections – Florence (shown) and classic – and feature trendier colours and thicker bevelled edges. torlys.com
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22 CANADIAN INTERIORS MARCH/APRIL 2013
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Explore our new line of architecturally scaled and embossed metal surfacing materials. Available in five exclusive, large-scale designs, each one comes in four metallic colorations. Request your samples today.
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The Goods
1 2
COLOUR WHEEL
1—Sk8r’s life imagine Tile, known for its use of high-resolution imagery on commercially-rated ceramic tile, has collaborated with Art of Board, a skateboarding lifestyle brand, to develop The Art of Board collection: a photo-realistic tile that incorporates a ragged skateboard’s scratches, gouges and worn graphics. currently available as wall tiles, a floor tile line suitable for both interior and exterior use is expected later this spring. The tiles contain no Vocs; made with pre-consumer recycled materials and resistant to strong chemicals, they are unaffected by uV lighting. imaginetile.com 2—Group-think floors commercial rubber floor giant nora decided to “open source” its newest product for commercial facilities, particularly schools and hospitals, and brought together designers from across north America to drive the design and colour selection. The result is noraplan Sentica, which features a subtle tone-on-tone design and a palette of 38 colours - 32 standard and six accents - available in 2mm and 3mm rolls and tiles, and in acoustic and electrostatic dissipative options. nora.com/us
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24 CANADIAN INTERIORS MARCH/APRIL 2013
3—Ripe for the picking The collection of colourful natural dyes of Shaw hospitality group’s new (and appropriately named) Vivid Palette carpet line – for guest rooms and public spaces – sounds like a grocery list from the produce section: beets, madder root, onion skins, eucalyptus, and more. And by weaving, twisting, bundling, dipping then dying them, the carpets come out in more random patterns evocative of their natural inspirations. shawhospitalitygroup.com
Daniel Corbin Architecture And design preverco AmbAssAdor
Flooring: THE DnA oF EvEry room The floor is part of the essence of every room and the canvas you create on. In the same way that you choose a room’s colours starting with a bedspread, your floor will become a focal point for the room’s décor. This architectural element is the foundation of the room’s design. Depending what wood or texture you use, you will be bringing light and a sense of space to your environment.
Opt for something you really love, that will adapt to future décor updates over the years. Invest in a quality product, because you’ll have to live with it for a long time. I invite you to come visit the Preverco website to get inspired and for helpful advice and tips. You’ll find everything you need to know to help you choose a floor covering you’ll adore for years to come.
There are a lot of things to think about before you buy: the nature of the wood, the finish, the texture, the way it’s manufactured, etc. Choose noble materials of quality that will survive the test of time.
Visit preverco.com and you could win an exclusive personal design consultation with my team and I, a meeting that might finally help make that décor you’ve always dreamed about a reality.
1. red oak, Zebra, brushed finish 2. White oak quarter-sawn, broadway, brushed finish 3. birch, maldives, Wave finish
1
The Wave texture on these boards adds warmth with their artisanal look. The room’s more modern décor elements and bright splashes of colour bring balance for an overall contemporary effect.
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c r e At i n g Am b i An c e
tm
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The Goods 1—Playful The proud recipient of a Best Booth Design award at iDS13, Tiptoe Rugs by AliStar (the brainchild of Toronto carpet designer Alyssa McMurter) turned heads with its whimsical line of children’s rugs made from 100-per-cent industrial-strength felted Merino wool that has been intensively steamed and compressed to make a soft, flat surface, ideal for play. currently the little-firmthat-can carries three collections – Art Rugs, Building Blocks and Animal Friends (shown) – that come in 21 vibrant colours. alistar.ca 1
2—When not designing buildings… Like they don’t have enough to do designing projects around the globe, the whiz kids at the international firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects collaborated with Bentley Prince Street on their ninth carpet collection, Modern Motion. Featuring a lively large-scale pattern of intertwining spheres and elegant colour lines, it is available in broadloom, carpet tile and area rugs intended for corporate, healthcare, hospitality and educational settings. bentleyprincestreet.com
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3—Like grandma used to make needle Tech is a four-pattern collection from Tandus Flooring that projects a highly textural, hand-stitched look similar to the construction of needlepoint, crochet and traditional Japanese origami. To create this aesthetic, Tandus explored new yarn processing and tufting techniques that mimic the appearance of cut/uncut pile on a solution-dyed, loop-pile construction. Since its release, needle Tech has been scooping up awards, such as the Best of Year Award for Broadloom carpet in interior Design’s 2012 Product competition, a Best of neocon gold and iiDeX gold innovation Award. tandus.com 4—Desert flower inspired by old-fashioned rugs reminiscent of nomadic desert cultures, when rugs originally served to protect people from the ground yet also defined the space, nanimarquina’s new Medina collection is made using the kilim, or flat tapestry-woven carpet techniques from north Pakistan. nanimarquina.com
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SOFT TOUCH
To ww tra
26 CANADIAN INTERIORS MARCH/APRIL 2013
Act Natural. Readorn. Recommit. Reanimate. Urban Retreat™ can help you turn your passion for sustainability into aesthetic action. Shown: UR201™ in Stone. All in 100% recycled yarn.
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Official publication of the Interior Designers of Canada
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Public performance The greatest hits of Public: Architecture + Communication – so far. —By Adele Weder
Words to live by The Buchanan Courtyard Pavilion at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver is a place for gathering and celebration, contemplation and relaxation. The pavilion rests in a reflecting pool where quotations have been typeset in radiating rings – establishing a visual expression of “the Arts” at UBC.
Photo by Nic Lehoux
MARCH/APRIL 2013 CANADIAN INTERIORS 31
Definition of public (Oxford English Dictionary) adjective 1. of or concerning the people as a whole 2. done, perceived, or existing in open view The term “public” is a loaded one. Who decides what should concern the people as a whole? How, in the online age, does one define being “in open view”? And what 32 CANADIAN INTERIORS MARCH/APRIL 2013
design studio would have the moxie to bestow the very lofty term upon its own operation? The self-evident answer is the Vancouver firm Public. That its full official name is Public: Architecture + Communication only affirms its audacious self-confidence. “Our ideas are public,” says co-founder Brian Wakelin, “and they’re collaborative.” Actually, the namesake grew out of more humble circumstances: it was, in
part, a homage to a Vancouver watering hole called the Public Lounge, where over many an evening Wakelin and partner John Wall first brewed their plans to launch the firm. But it’s also a tribute to the idea that architecture is for the public realm, not just rarified clients or corporations; and that the individual designers in the firm don’t matter as much as the collective idea. Even after a third partner, Susan Mavor, joined in to form a triumvi-
Opposite and above For Xthum, an aboriginal gathering place at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, B.C. – set within an existing classroom building – Public created a ceiling/wallscape that defines flexible zones around a fixed kitchen and fireplace. Corners and windows are draped and concealed; a new skylight and entry provide connections to the sky and nearby forest. Right Energy-efficient passive designs are incorporated into the Centennial Beach Day Use Facility in Delta, B.C. The pavilion comprises a concession stand, washrooms and park-support services.
rate, Public held fast. Says Wakelin, “We very purposely chose not to incorporate the partners’ names in the firm name.” The three principals of Public came of professional age just as modernism had re-established itself as the natural ruling party of the design establishment, the “starchitecture” trend was peaking and preparing to implode into a caricature of itself, and a recession-scarred country was ready to build again. Still hovering Photos by Nic Lehoux
Left and above UBC’s Centre for Comparative Medicine is strategically low-key, from its understated massing to its bas-relief signage. The architects placed mechanicals into rows of skylights jutting from its roof, resolving both the practical placement of ducts and the monotony of simple, flat roofline. From inside, the skylights read as triangular spaces that pour daylight into the airy workspaces below. Below Yopoto, an installation at Vancouver’s Science World, evokes corn mazes and rolling hills. Children were encouraged to wade in, on and under the fanciful terrain. Opposite Working closely with the owner of Cantu Bathroom Hardware, Public designed a crisp, clean, 25,000-squarefoot retail showroom. It also created advertising for the company, as well as updated logo typography. Inset Public principals John Wall, Brian Wakelin and Susan Mavor.
near the sunny side of 40, the Public partners have gathered around them a coterie of keen and talented young designers, the better to take on more complex and multidisciplinary design briefs. Instead of relying on eye-bending shapes or gimmicks to win contracts, they win awards and work by way of their protean DNA: they’re equipped to handle big jobs and small jobs; interior-focussed and tectonic; branding and graphics. Wakelin and Wall first met at the University of British Columbia School of Architecture, but after graduation, their paths diverged for a good while. Wakelin 34 CANADIAN INTERIORS MARCH/APRIL 2013
logged 10 years at Busby Perkins+Will (now Perkins+Will Canada), a rigorous boiler-room of a firm renowned for its clean high-tech aesthetic, green design and top-down office hierarchy. Wall joined Hotson Bakker and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg for three years, just enough time to sink his teeth into the firms’ Richmond City Hall joint-venture, and then created his own firm called Superkül, a boutique establishment that garnered local buzz. Soon after forming Public, Wakelin and Wall brought in Susan Mavor, a communications designer with her own firm,
Metaform. An alumna of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Mavor brought expertise in theatre and graphic design with her, including a series of stamps she designed for Canada Post. It was a project that was like boot camp for designers, she recalls: “It’s extreme graphic-designing training. There’s nothing like it for honing your skills in making the tiny details count.” The firm’s early renown flared with Xthum, an aboriginal gathering place at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in nearby Surrey, B.C. A small jewel of a project, the gathering place is designed in one corner
Photos: top left and right by Martin Tessler; above by Chris Forrest / Public; opposite by Thor Pona; portrait by Christopher Sklar
Above and right The New Westminster Museum & Archives is set to open in a brand-new civic building in 2015. Public is designing the complete interior, including cases and exhibit elements. Making use of the museum’s outstanding photographic collection, the team is creating a visual snapshot of the city’s history; the story can be experienced at a glance from significant viewpoints in the museum space looking forward and back in time - from First Nations settlement to the future of the city area. Scaled-down tunnels through the museum provide “secret” elements for children.
of Kwantlen’s “C” Building, warming a starkly officious space with reams of cedar strips that curve from wall to ceiling and crest into what looks like a breaking wave at the top of the room. The other associates – interior architect Scot Geib, Sarah English and others – have varied backgrounds that, collectively, serve the purposes of a highly compact but multidisciplinary firm. But unlike many emerging practices, Public has foregone the temptation of the big-budget trophy home or condo complex as a stepping-stone to greater things. A surreal outdoor installation at Vancouver’s Science World; a branding campaign for the city’s avant-garde Vancouver East Cultural Centre (or “The Cultch” as it’s universally called); a website for a folding-kayak company – these small creative projects help brand the firm as a creative goldmine. After Xthum came the Centennial Beach Day Use Facility in suburban Delta. The elegantly modernist pavilion-cumcafé stands less than a kilometre away from a jumble of suburban roadways and fast-food emporia, but it embodies an 36 CANADIAN INTERIORS MARCH/APRIL 2013
entirely different architectural identity. Perpendicular to the shallow waves of Boundary Bay waters it faces, the pavilion is clad in concrete sheathing that is itself inscribed with bas-relief undulations, evoking the nearby waves. It also brings to mind the origami-like folds of one of the firm’s early benchmarks, the Buchanan Courtyard Pavilion at UBC. Public has made its mark at the co-founders’ alma mater, the University of British Columbia, with distinctive assignments that are contributing to the enlivening of the once-banal campus. Following the Buchanan Courtyard, the firm completed the university’s Centre for Comparative Medicine and, just this winter, the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre. The Rugby Centre was an exercise in creative thrift: the fundraising clocked in at just two-thirds of the project’s original $3-million budget, so the design team took its mandate to use recycled materials very, very seriously. Like the bulk of Public’s work to date, the Rugby Centre evokes compact simplicity, but reveals its complexity as you perambulate the building. From the fore
and sides, the two-storey structure reads like an enclosed spectator booth, its front facade buttressed by a sloping concrete grandstand. It’s a sharp, trim counterpoint to the bland behemoth of a stadium that it stands beside. “In these kinds of projects, we try to find large moves that organize the little moves,” says Wakelin. The firm’s Centre for Comparative Medicine at UBC is another case in point. The building is relatively simple looking from the outside, but the design brief is hugely complex. A primordial ethical dilemma of our times comes to a crux here, for this is the place where UBC and affiliated groups conduct animal research. It’s an entity whose goals – including the advancement of medicine and zoology – are noble, but its means are necessarily grim, which makes it a potential target for activists and vandals. It is the most contentious activity on campus, presenting unique and discomfiting design challenges. In a twist from the usual pro-branding mandate, the architects had to work toward sublimating any overt signs of the structure’s very presence and purpose. The building is strategically
Above and right At UBC, Public is renovating the existing Faculty Club, taking care not to disrupt the heritage value of the building’s interior. Now known as the Leon and Thea Koerner University Centre, its heart will be the sleek and handsome Sage Bistro, with a new brand identity and logo.
low-key, from its understated massing to its bas-relief signage. The designers worked with the centre’s director, Dr. Chris Harvey-Clark, on “animal-welfarefriendly” approaches for the hundreds of monkeys, rodents, rabbits, swine and other doomed residents. The animals’ quarters are designed with indoor/ outdoor access, access to daylight, exercise space, and specialized bedding. The business argument for animal-welfare-friendly design is that it reduces animal illness and therefore veterinarian bills, improves staff morale and therefore reduces employee turnover. The ethical argument is self-evident. The architects strategically placed the mechanicals into rows of skylights jutting from its roof, resolving both the practical placement of ducts and the monotony of simple flat rooflines. From inside the building, the skylights read as triangular spaces that pour daylight onto the workspaces below. From the outside, it presents rows of rectilinear steel burrows. “It’s a lift from Louis Kahn,” says Wakelin with a smile. “In almost all of Kahn’s work, he had what he called ‘served’ and
‘servants’ spaces.” The project was a joint venture of Public and the venerable firm Cohos Evamy (now Dialog), in keeping with the UBC selection committee’s policy of nurturing a variety of emerging firms as well as the tried-and-true. The UBC architect committee chair Gerry McGeough has been a huge support, says Wakelin. “He told us: ‘This is perfect: you guys are young and punky; they’re grey-haired and established.’” McGeough, blushing only slightly, is quick to clarify his comment: “We thought it was a great partnership. Cohos Evamy had the depth of experience, the expertise in facility design. Public brings a lot of thought to the contemporary nature of the campus, and, given their own experience on campus, what it means to be at UBC. So there’s two generations coming together in this design.” The projects keep coming. Public’s current UBC gig, a mid-century-flavoured renovation of the existing Faculty Club, is slated for completion by the end of this summer (the building is now known as the Leon and Thea Koerner University Centre).
Renderings by Public; Sage photo by Chris Forrest / Public
For the somewhat frowsy and bleak restaurant-cum-lounge, the designers are creating a new brand identity and logo along with the slick new surfaces and seismic upgrades; it will be known as Sage Bistro. “One of the things we reminded them of is that in the 1950s, modernism was pretty cool and that we should return to that again,” says Wall. Public’s interior of the New Westminster Museum & Archives will be finished in two years. And a slew of smaller boutique projects for theatres and public spaces keep the firm’s name in, well, the public realm. At the same time, Wakelin, Wall, Mavor and their eight associates are beginning to explore the possibilities of, gulp, non-government for-profit clients: businesses, offices and mixed-use complexes. “We had someone ask, ‘So, will you change your name to ‘Private’? Well – no!” laughs Wakelin. “We advocate for whatever architecture gives back to the city as a whole.” Not everyone gets it, though. “Some developers joke that they’d never hire us because of our firm name,” says Wakelin, who then wryly adds: “That tells us we’re doing something right.” c I
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For family-law firm J.K. Hannaford, Barristers, Taylor Smyth Architects creates an oasis of calm – more art gallery than lawyer’s office. —By Leslie C. Smith
Law & order & art
Photography by Taylor Smyth Architects
March/April 2013 CANADIAN INTERIORS 39
Above The reception desk - in blonde recycled wood fibre and white backpainted glass – was custom made by Taylor Smyth. A white-leather bench by Teknion invites visitors to sit for a moment and view the surrounding art. Opposite top Old pipes and other mechanical bits lie like flotsam close to the surface of the highly polished concrete floor. Opposite bottom Clients may prefer the complete privacy of the waiting room tucked behind reception. Clerestory windows, along with a folded resin fixture from 3-Form, keep it bright.
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Nervous, bewildered, angry, panic-stricken – the predominantly female clients who require the family law services of J.K. Hannaford, Barristers, are stressed out enough. The last thing they need is added intimidation, in the form of traditional lawyer’s rooms with their dark wood panelling, imposing black-leather chairs and shelves full of thick-spined books. Such male-centric gravitas just wouldn’t do for Julie Hannaford’s new office space, her clientele, nor, for that matter, her all-female staff of 10. “I think it’s very important to be in a more comfortable atmosphere, a more empowering one,” Hannaford says, adding that in her brief to Michael Taylor, of Toronto’s Taylor Smyth Architects, she asked for “colours and shapes more associated with an aesthetic than an ethos.” And Hannaford knows aesthetics. A prolific collector of postmodern, mostly Canadian, art, her office at the corner of Bay and Bloor streets also acts as a quasi-gallery for her collection’s overflow.
March/April 2013 CANADIAN INTERIORS 41
Left The office’s airy sensibility continues through semi-transparent sliding doors into individual lawyer’s workspaces. Below The sensation of walking through an art gallery that just happens to house lawyers carries on down the tributary corridor branching off the main hallway; here, track spots highlight a found-art installation by Canadian Clint Griffin. Sliding translucent glass doors subtly indicate the presence of private offices. Opposite Ciot river-stone-and-resin flooring, faux-limestone porcelain tiles and trough sinks give the washroom (affectionately known as “The Folly”) an elegant, spa-like atmosphere. But it’s the Jeff Goodman vessel in soft grass green that provides the space with an indelible finishing touch.
42 CANADIAN INTERIORS March/April 2013
Indeed, the reception area, all white walls and hints of blonde wood, its floor a glistening sheen of highly polished concrete, features track halogens spotlighting a series of arresting installations with a blurb about the individual artist affixed neatly beside each frame. So easily could this quiet, contemplative spot be mistaken for a real gallery that it’s somewhat of a blessing to be located on the 17th floor, far above the heads of curious passersby. According to Michael Taylor, the high view overlooking the Windsor Arms Hotel’s tastefully finialled rooftop became in itself a generating piece of the design, as did the amount of sunlight that pours in from the unobstructed west-facing windows. This light glints and dances across the reflective floor, making it appear like a gentle river flowing down the hallway – another calming component, although one that came about almost by accident. The office formerly played home to the German Consulate and the leftover flooring was a showpiece of intricately laid marble and granite tile. Although it bothered Taylor to destroy such workmanship and grind
down to imperfectly pockmarked concrete, he felt the extravagant tiling worked against the light, airy feeling he wanted to create. “I liked the final result,” he recalls, “but I thought, ‘Oh God! What’s Julie going to say?’ Thank heaven she loved it.” For her part, Hannaford finds pleasure in the embedded “urban fossils” of pipes and other mechanical bits cut flush to the grey-tinted floor, and the darker areas here and there where the epoxy coating pooled deep into stray divots. The rest of the 7,000-square-foot space, however, did run according to careful plan. Client privacy is of primary concern to Hannaford. The waiting room therefore sits screened off from front reception behind a half-wall panel. High clerestory windows allow natural light into this small space, the brightness abetted by an intriguing overhead fixture of twisted translucent resin by 3-Form. The room’s blonde-wood credenza, circular table and swivel barrel chairs were all bought straight off the Teknion showroom floor as, indeed, was the Interface carpet, a tactile mix of industrial felt and boars’ bristles that Hannaford says reminds her of the stereotypical lawyer’s grey-flannel suit. More Teknion furniture, 3-Form lighting fixtures, Interface carpeting and, of course, artwork adorn the compact boardroom
behind the waiting room, as well as the work stations and personal offices lining either side of the corridor that branches to the right off the main hallway. The sense of calm, established so brilliantly at the entrance, continues throughout this space. But there is yet a higher level to come. Most people, including the German consul, would refer to it simply as an executive bathroom. Julie Hannaford calls it “The Folly,” and it has been repurposed for her entire staff as well as her clientele. The rectangular washroom, which features a glass-partitioned toilet and separate shower stall for lawyers who put in long hours, is kitted out in faux-limestone porcelain tile and über-cool Ciot flooring made from resin-encased river stones. It, too, has a view – of a stunning Jeff Goodman glass vasiform islanded in its own display niche set into the far wall. Clean, soft, beautiful, serene – a spa-like enclosure that acts like a cherry topping the cake, designed specifically to engage the feminine temperament. A perfect marriage of Hannaford’s proposed tranquil aesthetic as interpreted through Taylor’s professional artistry. c I
March/April 2013 CANADIAN INTERIORS 43
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15 & counting highlights of this year’s Interior Design Show. —By leslie C. Smith
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The gang’s all here At the Canadian Interiors/ Canadian Architect booth (designed by Europtimum Display): art director Lisa Zambri; publisher Martin Spreer; editor Michael Totzke; circulation manager Beata Olechnowicz; and Tom Arkell, senior publisher of Canadian Interiors and publisher of Canadian Architect.
The Interior Design Show – held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre over a 3½-day extended weekend; host to over 300 Canadian and international exhibitors and more than 50,000 attendees – reached a milestone this January. It officially turned 15 years old. What would merit teenager status in a human being becomes venerable in a trade exhibition, proof that it has what it takes to lead the field. And lead it did, with highlights that included star turns by Japanese-Canadian Oki Sato and Canada’s Douglas Coupland and Karim rashid, a broad-ranging keynote speakers program, and an opening-night party that left several media members and exhibitors sleepy-eyed the following day (not I, alas, as I was unable to attend). You’ll find the products I liked best, along with a special exhibit, in the following pages. (For photos taken at the show, see the Who’s Who section on page 53.)
photos by David lasker MArCh/AprIl 2013 CANADIAN INTERIORS 47
1—Write on! Douglas Coupland did more than just address an IDS seminar audience; the renowned artist and author also debuted a new luxury furniture line under exclusive license to Vancouver’s SwitzerCultCreative. The small collection contains lamps, chairs and bookshelves built along the lines of traditional Japanese design. The standout piece, however, is the Bento Box Escritoire: a drop-front writing desk, deeply lacquered in either black or white and lined with bold red felt. In a multitasking, multi-purpose world, Coupland says he enjoys the single-minded nature of the escritoire, adding that viewing its lush, rich colour “makes my brain release a small hit of dopamine which, in turn, makes me want to write more.” switzercultcreative.com
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2—Wooden whimsy The Studio North and Prototype displays always get grouped together in one corner of the exhibition, yet they remain the centre of attention for many IDS visitors. This year, Prototype showcased a halflacquered sugar maple accent table – called T1 Storage – by Quebec City’s Six Point Un (a) that is not only as cute as a bug’s ear but, when its upper portion is removed, doubles as a cool stool. At Studio North, the white oak Parkdale Chair (b) by Toronto’s Scott Eckert coupled simple lines and a sinuous saddle seat to delightful, and restful, effect. sixpointun.ca; scottdeckerfurniture.blogspot.com
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48 CANADIAN INTERIORS March/April 2013
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Photos: Dubbeldam team by Dubbeldam; all others by David Lasker
The Dubbeldam crew Oliver Dang, Heather Dubbeldam, Amber Baechler, Suzanna MacDonald and Jacob JeBailey.
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3—The works Four design groups took on the challenging IDS Show Feature exhibit. Each was given the theme “How Do You Work?” and a separate 200-square-foot display area within an enclosure landscaped by HGTV host Joel Loblaw. a) Montreal and Milan-based studio Samare used pegboard walls hung with tools, rug swatches and the occasional snowshoe to support its position that modern CGI technology, while very useful, can’t replace hands-on experience. samare.ca
b) The “irreverent botanist” inspired Montreal firm Igloodgn to create a mainly two-dimensional workspace, filled with Fornasetti library-book wallpaper and tree-sized line drawings of tulips, that riffed on our modern, 3-D world. igloodesign.ca
c) Toronto’s Black Lab also used pegboard, plus 60 hours of labour, to meticulously place 1,200 pencil crayons in
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one-inch squares, creating a pixelated abstract that spoke to both the literal and non-literal meaning of the firm’s own design life. blacklabarchitects.com d) But it was left to Toronto’s Dubbeldam Architecture + Design to blow the roof off the joint. Interpreting the chosen theme to mean how people in general now work, principal Heather Dubbeldam proposed the Pop-up Office. Take one shipping container and line it entirely with shipping palette wood. Have that wood rise up, seamlessly morphing in graduated levels of sanded finish from floor to furniture, walls and ceiling. Toss in a few well-placed lights and outlets. Use minor distinctions to indicate areas of individual focus, collaborative effort and relaxed conversation. What you are left with is a highly flexible, mobile workplace that distils today’s office life down to its essentials – a simple surface to work on and somewhere to plug in. dubbeldam.ca
March/April 2013 CANADIAN INTERIORS 49
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1—Mum’s the word Seven years ago, before his third child’s birth, Toronto designer Ralph Montemurro decided to remodel his house. In doing so, he hit upon the conundrum he calls “the nursery niche” – in an otherwise completely modern home, traditional baby furniture just don’t jive. So he and wife, Michelle, started Monte Design Group Inc., producing Canadian handcrafted nursery furnishings that now sell across North America and as far away as Australia. The firm’s big attraction this season is the Grazie Glider, a matching armchair and ottoman that gently slide back and forth along with a nursing mother’s rocking motion. Available in multiple fabrics, including Paul Smith stripes and Missoni zigzags, the glider possess such style and comfort that every home should own one, whether or not children are in the offing. montedesign.net 50 CANADIAN INTERIORS March/April 2013
2—Transformer Montreal’s Wet Style is justifiably proud of its new Wetmar BiO eco-friendly material. Made from a proprietary composite of soy and mineral stone, it offers strength and superior heat retention, and comes available in matte, high-gloss and dual-tone finishes. But that’s just the counter-top. The rest of the floating vanity in its Japanese-inspired Frame Collection is built with powdercoated Canadian aluminum and American black walnut, and features lacquered glass panels that can be popped off and replaced with differently coloured or mirrored sections whenever a fresh look is required. wetstyle.ca 3—Sink me! Fresh from Victoria + Albert in London’s design district comes a small sink with big attitude. At only 44cm long, the Edge
basin is specifically fit to grace any restricted powder-room space. Cast in a single piece out of a unique volcanic-limestone-and-resin mixture, each stand-alone sink has a natural high-gloss white finish and is guaranteed to last without cracking or chipping for 25 years. vandabaths.com Photos: top left and above by David Lasker
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Who’s Who IBI GROUP PARTY
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IBI Group, the international, Toronto-based multidisciplinary design-and-engineering firm that keeps growing like crazy and is listed on the stock exchange, held its annual client-appreciation party in the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Walker Court. 1—Drummond Hassan and Neil Munro, principals, Young + Wright/IBI Group Architects; Catherine Low, associate, controller at IBI Group; and Chris Andrews, senior VP, engineering solutions, EllisDon construction. 2—Filomena Montonero, senior designer, project leader; Ellen Roland, associate, interior designer; Anibal Pinguelo, project manager; and Annette McArthur, interior designer. 3—IBI Group architect Steve McKee, associate; interior designers Cara McBride and Erik Heppner (senior associate); and Jessie McConnell, intern, ARIDO.
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Happy Sagmeister at the DX The Design Exchange exhibition “The Happy Show” is the first museum show of Stefan Sagmeister’s fanciful, engaging work in Canada. The New York–based graphic designer has created album covers for the Rolling Stones and campaigns for HBO and Levi’s that put a smile on your face. As DX president Shauna Levy explained during the opening party – while gesturing to the popcorn wagon, candy table, cotton-candy concession, open bar and hotdog stand (with sauerkraut!) on the Trading Floor: “This is happy food for our ‘Happy Show.’”
Happy days are here again! —Text and photos by David Lasker
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1— Twin woodworkers and custom-furniture makers Brothers Dressler and friends: Tiffany Dressler, graphic designer and spouse of Jason, at her side; Orest Tataryn, who sculpts in neon, “a cheating art form because you can’t lose, everybody likes it”; and Lars Dressler and his wife, Shawna, HR and admin manager at branding agency Zulu Alpha Kilo. 2— John Tong of Tongtong, the new company he formed recently after 20 years with renowned design practice partnership, 3rd Uncle; Chris Pommer, partner at landscape design practice Plant Architect; and Anita Modha, owner and marketing director at custom wallpaper supplier Rollout. 3— “Gumball Personal Happiness Survey, 2012”: the bubblegum dispensers offer jumbo jawbreakers. 4—Andrew McCracken, designer at branding agency Doublenaut; Alex Durlak, owner of printing firm Standard Form; Sara Nickleson, DX acting curator; Jessica Walsh, partner at design firm Sagmeister & Welsh and “wife of”; and Brian Richer, owner, furniture and product creator Castor Design. 5— Standing tall, very tall (as tall as the Brothers Dressler): architect Michael Taylor, partner at Taylor Smyth; and the Austrian-born Stefan Sagmeister.
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INTERIOR DESIGN SHOW Every year, upwards of 50,000 design professionals and mavens attend the Interior Design Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. With its eclectic mix of exhibitors, from multinational giants to fledgling arty ateliers, the show floor always offers something new and interesting just around the corner.
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1— At Eurolite, Tricia Besserer, showroom sales; Charles Lyall, chief creative director; and Rohan Periana, sales. 2— Blacklab Architects principals Tony Round, Andrea Kordos, Sarah Knight and Joe Knight in front of their Op Art-like booth – part of the “How Do You Work?” exhibit (see page 49). 3— Interior designer Brian Gluckstein, creator of the Gluckstein Home brand of home furnishings; and Canadian House & Home VP communications Mark Challen. 4— David and Shanea Rakowski (he is a dentist and owns real estate management company Hi-Lo Investments, while she is a printmaker); Shauna Levy, president, Design Exchange; her daughter, Jaya Vos; her father, Steven Levy, president, Informa Canada (owner of IDS, which he and Shauna created in 1998); and Michelle De Los Santos, director, treasury and risk management, CIBC. 5— Igloodgn partners Anna Abbruzzo and Alain Courchesne in their trompe l’oeil-themed booth – part of the “How Do You Work?” exhibit (see page 49).
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IDC & IDNS TABLE-TOP TRADE SHOW & AFTER-PARTY In January, IDNS held its first ever table-top trade show at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax. The show welcomed 43 exhibitors and more than 75 attendees, who participated in an afternoon of learning and networking. The after-party was a great success, where more than 80 attendees enjoyed cocktails, snacks and networking at the Pipa Restaurant and Bar. (Photos by Jacob Hitchcock)
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1 – National Art Limited’s Dan Quinton, showroom sales, and Mary Black. 2 – Brooke McMillan, program support officer, Defence Construction Canada; Jennifer MacNeill, Interface; and Carolyn Maguire, interior designer, MAC Interior Design. 3 – Mark Ring, territory manager, Beaulieu Canada; and Ed Storm, account manager, Atlantic Business Interiors. 4 – Haley Wagg, project designer at MAC Interior Design; and Kevin Smith, territory manager, Nova Scotia, Teknion. 5 – Crowd at the after-party at Pipa Restaurant and Bar. March/April 2013 CANADIAN INTERIORS 53
Last Word
Upward mobility The University of Toronto at Mississauga’s Instructional Centre, by perkins+Will Canada, offers students a step up. —By Michael Totzke
54 CANADIAN INTERIORS MArCh/AprIl 2013
At a fine university, the practical and the aspirational come together – with bettering oneself as prized as bettering one’s prospects. The University of Toronto at Mississauga’s Instructional Centre, designed by perkins+Will Canada, brilliantly evokes this duality. On a practical level, the $70-million, three-storey building increases the campus classroom space by 50 per cent, offering teaching spaces of various types and sizes, including 350- and 500-seat lecture theatres, and encompasses a computer lab and various lounges. On an aspirational level, it provides a venue worthy of student striving. Much of the Instructional Centre’s magic derives from the use of a singular material: pre-patinated copper, which covers a good portion of the facade, then continues directly into the main interior. revealing bare copper in some areas and hitting dark parts in others, it integrates well with the building’s pastoral setting on the north end of campus. On a late-February morning, I stepped inside the Instructional Centre and let the copper panels guide me past a cafeteria and commons to the “main event”: a soaring public space connecting three stacks of classrooms, with a feature stair rising to a fully glazed curtain wall. I began to ascend. With classes in session, all was hushed (but I could imagine a rush and hum of activity); with the weather inclement, long, thin custom light fixtures provided the light (but I could imagine rays streaming in on a sunny day). I ran my hand along a copper panel, which proved to be smooth to the touch when I had expected rough. reaching the fourth and final flight of stairs, I paused on the landing and reflected on the human need for places such as this: high, wide and handsome. At the top of the stairs, I maneuvered between tables of students reading, texting and chatting to find a spot by the window. And there, in the woodland stretching before me, I spotted one – then two, three, four, five – deer, nosing the ground and moving gracefully through the bald-headed trees: a reward for my climb. c I
photo by Ben rahn / A-Frame photography
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EvEn if you’rE a onEpErson dEsign shop, you can still havE a 200,000 sq ft showroom.
Use it like yoU own it. BRINg yOUR ClIENTS.
Whether solo designer or 100-person powerhouse, SOFA is the place for you. Walk clients through 30+ trade-only showrooms offering living, kitchen, appliances, dining, bed, bath & accessories in traditional, transitional and contemporary styles. Engage SOFA’s switchedon people for support. Access unlimited free parking, complimentary wi-fi, meeting areas and a restaurant. SOFA. Everything you need under one big, comfortable roof. Keep up to date on news & trade events: visitsofa.com/subscribe or watch our video: visitsofa.com/video
We are a member of: IDC, CDECA, IDRC, NKBA, TSA, RDI
Tues.–Thurs. 10–4 n VIP Concierge Appointments: 905.678.5626 n 6900 Airport Rd., Mississauga (International Centre)