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September/October 2012

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COVER — 43 Profile of low-backed single bench from Keilhauer’s Talk seating collection.

CONTENTS

FEATURES

Put to Work ALL WORK & ALL PLAY — 30 For the Montreal offices of THQ – an American developer and publisher of video games – ID+S Design Solutions creates an appropriately playful space, fostering both individual work and collaboration. By Rhys Phillips DESIGNERS AT WORK — 37 To the friendly and fluid offices of Toronto’s Figure3 we go. By David Lasker WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER— 43 Finding the balance in today’s incredible shrinking open-plan office – between privacy and transparency, individuality and commonality, solidity and flexibility – is a challenge. The savviest introductions at NeoCon 2012, held in Chicago this past June, do their best to help. By Michael Totzke

DIVE RIGHT IN— 51 In the swim at Quebec’s Saint-Hyacinth Aquatic and Recreational Centre, designed by ACDF* Architecture. By Leslie C. Smith ROUGH & READY— 58 A new tavern in Montreal’s Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie – Quai No. 4, designed by La Firme – pays tribute to the neighbourhood’s industrial heyday. By Austin Macdonald

DEPARTMENTS

WHO’S WHO — 63

INSIDE — 14

LAST WORD — 66 Before & after Bringing the Canadian Southern Railway Station in St. Thomas, Ont., into the 21st century. By Michael Totzke

WHAT’S UP — 19 SHOW BIZ — 25 Tiles in totality Sometimes a tile is just a tile. But other times, as was evident in the aisles of Coverings 2012 in Orlando last April, a tile can be so much more. By Peter Sobchak

Following page 66

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 11

September/Octover 2012 VOL.49 NO.5

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Publisher

Martin Spreer Editor

Michael Totzke Deputy Editor

Peter Sobchak Associate Editors

Janet Collins, David Lasker, Rhys Phillips, Leslie C. Smith Contributing Writer

Austin Macdonald Art Director

Lisa Zambri www.QuARTzbyACO.com (877) 226-4255

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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

80 Valleybrook Drive Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 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 $38.95 per year; plastic wrapped $41.95 per year (plus taxes) U.S.A. $71.95 US per year, Overseas $98.95 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, 80 Valley brook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 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 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

Design at work First, a shout-out to the gang at Toronto’s Figure3 Interior Design, including creative partner Christopher Wright, managing partner Allan Guinan and strategic partner Caroline Hughes. On a half-hour’s notice, they allowed associate editor David Lasker, armed with camera and tripod, to invade their space in order to document – in words and pictures – a typical working day in the life of one of Canada’s leading interior design firms. Though the idea for this feature was mine (fascinated, as I am, by what designers design for themselves; curious about their work habits; eager to get a glimpse behind the curtain), I knew it could never come to fruition without the involvement of Lasker, as adept behind the lens as he is at the keyboard. The result (“Designers at work,” page 37) is all I had hoped it would be, and I regard it – as does Lasker – as the first in a series. To have your interior design firm considered for a future “designers at work” feature, e-mail me info about your office (recently designed, and with a body count of at least 25), along with low-res images. Figure3’s Christopher Wright, by the way, designed one of my favourite introductions at NeoCon, held in Chicago this past June: Sidewise, a new style of compact, collaborative casegoods workstation, for Teknion. It’s representative of the contract furniture industry’s innovative offerings for today’s smaller, flexible, open-plan office, where the transition from “me work” to “we work” needs to be effortless. (If the real-estate mantra has always been “Location, location, location, the current office mantra is “Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration.”) You’ll find my NeoCon report, “We’re all in this together,” on page 43. The balance of “together and apart” in the workplace is brilliantly realized at the Montreal office of THQ, an American developer and publisher of video games, designed by ID+S Design Solutions, as associate editor Rhys Phillips illustrates (“All work & all play,” page 37). On two floors encompassing 57,000 square feet, a huge white loop stretching down the centre of the floor, containing both communal spaces and closed workrooms, separates the artists’ “black” zone at the rear (ideal for intense, individual screen work) from the bright “outdoor” zone at the front (suitable for both individual work and collaboration). And as befits a game-development company, it is playful, creative, witty, gritty, theatrical – and just plain fun. c I Michael Totzke mtotzke@canadianinteriors.com

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SEPT/OCT DXchanges As the summer winds down, Toronto’s venerable Design Exchange gears up for an action-packed autumn. On Sept. 13, two exhibitions that focus on international structural design make their debut. Curated by architectural historian and critic Nina Rappaport, Vertical Urban Factory surveys historical and contemporary factories around the world, highlighting innovative architecture and design. First presented at New York City’s Skyscraper Museum, the exhibition considers boundary-pushing factories in Modern and Contemporary sections, with sub-themes of New York, Detroit and Asia; the addition of Toronto will be included for the exhibit’s stay at the DX. Vertical Urban Factory presents over 200 photographs, drawings and diagrams of 30+ projects; a timeline of industry, architecture and labour, designed by Brooklyn-based MGMT Design; nine architectural models created using state-of-the-art computer fabrication; and six

films, including historical and contemporary footage, by documentary filmmaker Eric Breitbart. The accompanying exhibition is Considering the Quake: Seismic Design on the

Edge. It features structures that surpass conventional approaches to seismic design. Including full-scale seismic technology, models, renderings, animation and other multimedia platforms, the exhibition goes behind a building’s skin through its response to natural catastrophes. On Sept. 21, the Sons of Architecture Speakers Series opens with Tomas Koolhaas, whose father is the renowned architect Rem Koolhaas. The talk will focus on Tomas’s upcoming tribute to his father, a feature documentary titled REM – which uses an unconventional approach by focusing on the experience and effect of the architecture rather than biographical information about the architect. On Nov. 12, the series continues with Dion Neutra, son of Richard Neutra, one of Modernism’s most significant architects. Taking over Richard’s practice in 1970, Dion has been instrumental in furthering his father‘s legacy and countless preservation

efforts in California. On Nov. 16, the DX holds its annual fundraising gala – always a hot ticket in Toronto. Intersection DX occupies all three floors of the historic

Design Exchange building, bringing design to life through a mashup of design disciplines and creative cultures. Honoured at the gala will be an internationally acclaimed trailblazer who effortlessly moves between creative disciplines. Live entertainment, excellent food and always-surprising decor round out the evening. Auctions of oddities and unprec-

edented raffles provide guests with ample opportunity to walk away with a symbolic memory of Intersection DX. See you at the DX this autumn.

Clockwise from top left Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, by Daniel Libeskind; Maison Hermes, Tokyo, by Renzo Piano; Inotera Headquarters, Taipei, by TecArchitecture; Tomas Koolhaas, son of Rem Koolhaas; Dion Neutra, son of Richard Neutra; Breathing Factory, Osaka, by Takashi Yamaguchi and Associates.

September/October 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 19

Countdown to IIDEX Here it comes again: IIDEX Canada, running at Toronto’s Direct Energy Centre Sept. 20-21. The country’s National Design + Architecture Exposition & Conference is a whole

new ball game this year, with the involvement of Architecture Canada|RAIC, co-presenting the show with IDS (Interior Designers of Canada). The most notable new element is the Architecture Canada Expo, with over 100 industry suppliers displaying a wide array of architectural products. Architectural Canada is just one of 10 expos that make up IIDEX Canada. Others include Light Canada, anchored by Candela, the Ottawa Light Art Exhibition; Textile Design, where the Textile Museum of Canada will preview its upcoming exhibition Marimekko, With Love; and Hospitality Canada, launching the 2nd annual enRoute Hotel Design Awards.

IIDEX’s biggest event/feature this year is Special Delivery, which will transform 18-wheeler truck interiors into site-specific, immersive installations created by local designers, architects and artists. All this plus a brand-new International Pavilion; such intriguing attractions as Chair Connection, the YSmell Project, and Films by Design;

and much more. We hope to see you there: be sure to stop by the Canadian Interiors booth.

IIDEX is now 10 expos in one: Architecture Canada, Workplace Design, Light Canada, Hospitality Canada, Material World, Textile Design, Education Canada, Healthcare Canada, Landscape Architecture and Retail Design.

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facility manager, the corporation – is empowered with real-time information to measure, analyze and control energy consumption. It provides a return on investment beyond the corporate footprint. the average Logiq-enabled office workstation typically results in annual energy savings of up to 20 per cent. c I

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Tiles in totality Sometimes a tile is just a tile. But other times, as was evident in the aisles of Coverings 2012 in Orlando in April, a tile can be so much more. —By —By Peter Peter Sobchak Sobchak Are you gonna go his way? Commanding attention at Lea Ceramiche’s booth was Goccia, the new wall collection created in collaboration with rock star and now product designer Lenny Kravitz. And much like a narcissistic rock star, Goccia makes the walls of a decor the centrepiece of the project. The tiles serve as modules that create different tri-dimensional shapes, which rigorously play on concave and convex in glazed glossy and matte black and white finishes. ceramichelea.com

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1–Hip to be square As the name implies, Emilceramica SpA has attempted to exemplify the elegance, simplicity and perfection of the square with On Square, bringing together 45 blocks of cement reproduced on the ceramic surface to maintain the richness and balance of the material. This new collection is available in a palette of four dusty, natural colours. emilceramicagroup.com

2–Start spreading the news The New York City Collection by Keraben takes the energy and textures of the Big Apple and applies them to a variety of new lines that replicate different 26 CANADIAN INTERIORS September/October 2012

materials. For example, Nolita is inspired by wallpaper with a natural silk appearance and Soho is inspired by wood with a gentle, one-directional grain pattern. Moma (shown), perfect for creating urban, industrial-look settings, is a series inspired by the sobriety of stained cement. kerabengrupo.com

3–In plane view Stonepeak certainly took the axiom “Go big or go home” to heart, and wow did it bring the big. Its new Plane collection comes in four modular sizes up to an astounding 5 by 10 feet, and features engineered porcelain that is crack-, mold- and frost-resistant but with no

artificial binders, so it is VOC-free. stonepeakceramics.com 4–Colour is the substance Ceramiche Refin debuted three new products that capitalize on new production techniques. Among them, Cromie is a collection of chromatic ceramic tiles based on the scientific criteria of brightness, saturation and shade of a variety of colours. refin-ceramic-tiles.com 5–An urban touch Casalgrande Padana SpA showcased Architecture, a fully vitrified porcelain stoneware collection that is a high-performance option for floor and wall covering,

indoors and out. The line is available in a finish reminiscent of brushed cement and a range of 12 neutral overtone colours arranged in grey, beige and brown palettes, in addition to black and white. casalgrandepadana.com

6â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Quick thinking Del Conca Fast is a new patented system, by the Del Conca Group, for quick-laying ceramic flooring without joints or mortar. This system allows ceramic tiles to be laid without connection spacing to create a continuous surface without joints. No wait time is required after installation, so the flooring is immediately walkable. The first application of this new patent is the

Monte Napoleone series of porcelain stoneware that mimics the look of wood. delconca.com

7â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Sure footed Metropolitan Ceramics, a brand of Ironrock, used the show to roll out Quarrybasics Abrasive, a silicon carbide product applied to the surface of tiles that prevents slips and enhances the look and longevity of quarry tile. Like other Metropolitan products, Quarrybasics meets the requirements of the new Green Squared Certification standard and is available in three colour options: Mayflower Red, Puritan Gray and Buckskin. metroceramics.com

September/October 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 27

4 1

1–Touch me! Apavisa came to Coverings with Archconcept, a new indoor/outdoor ceramic collection of patterns in stone, metal and cement finishes inspired by new manufacturing technology and trends in architecture. It provides new animation to vertical surfaces, such as hexagons with volume in its core and square panels with raised and folded corners. apavisa.com 2–Truly artisanal A newcomer to the show, Sabine Hill spotlighted its collection of eight handmade cement tile designs that meld modern and organic shapes in endless colourways, such as Lace (shown). 28 CANADIAN INTERIORS September/October 2012

All the offerings are meant for wall and floor coverings in both residential and commercial environments. sabinehill.com 3–Hot in here Land Porcelanico debuted its new Fahrenheit series, a tile resembling metal with an aged effect, available in sinuous, curved 3D pieces. landporcelanico.com 4–Exceptional familiarity For New Ravenna Mosaics, Orlando was the right place and time to announce collaborations with several new artists, including product designer Erin Adams, whose first mosaic collection for the company includes 12 designs using

continuous line mosaics. These include Bottles, inspired by Italian still life painter Giorgio Morandi, who was noted for his tonal subtlety in depicting apparently simple subjects. newravenna.com

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Put to Work Good reception Recycled wood flooring guides the visitor through the tapered reception area, framed by customdesigned metal structures, to an informal seating area where Fatboy beanbag chairs beckon.

All work & all play For the Montreal offices of THQ – an American developer and publisher of video games – ID+S Design Solutions creates an appropriately playful space, fostering both individual work and collaboration. —By Rhys Phillips

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September/October 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 31

The great divide A huge white loop stretching down the centre of the floor, creating a mediating, ribbon-defined form through which pass tunnel-like communal spaces (below), separates the back work area (centre) from the front work area (right). In the back ”black zone,” artists can maintain a total focus on their screens; dark colours with limited natural lighting make the multiple screens (each cubicle has at least four) seem to float in the dark ether. The front area, a more “outdoor” setting for both individual work and collaboration, is flooded with natural light; abstractions of vertical metal raceways connect networking and power to honeycomb-shaped workstations.

Recently, 360, the innovative research arm of the contract furniture giant Steelcase, published two monographs – How the Workplace Can Attract, Engage and Retain Knowledge (2009) and Brand, Culture and the Workplace (2010) – that looked at the relationship between formal knowledge and “tacit” knowledge, the latter learned primarily through experience. Apparently, there is an uneven distribution of formal and tacit knowledge across the three dominate labour-force generations: baby boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. Successful creative companies, the reports argue, ensure that four work modes – focusing, collaborating, learning and socializing 32 CANADIAN INTERIORS September/October 2012

– operate in tandem through an appropriate “palette of place.” In the workplace, this means “a range of settings where all four knowledge work modes are supported.” Last year, Dutch and Turkish business professors Jan Dul, Canan Ceylan and Ferdinand Jaspers reported that their empirical research found that “the overall work environment does have a direct effect on creativity: it makes all people more creative.” Unfortunately, while what the Steelcase researchers call “clan” values best support a creative work culture, they also concluded that hierarchy and silos continue to dominate the physical workplace. But if our academic understanding of

the creative work environment still lags, albeit less and less, designers must confront directly this complex reality at the most practical of levels in their daily work. One such designer is Susie Silveri, founding partner of Montreal’s mid-sized ID+S Design Solutions. She argues that as baby boomers retreat from the dominant positions, creative office and workspaces must allow for high-intensity, individual work but also foster frequent collaboration through varied settings. The latter includes such diverse areas as stand-up “scrum rooms” for quick meetings, comfortable spaces to bounce ideas off colleagues and “decompressing” social spaces integrated

seamlessly into the office. In addition, as their moniker implies, creative people like creative spaces; so, in Silveri’s words, “each area, each room needs to tell a story on its own.” Her comments open a telephone interview about the offices for THQ, an American developer and publisher of video games, for which the firm recently snared a Quebec Grands Prix du Design (2011). Silveri was the partner-in-charge with lead designer Stefania Pasto on the project. The 57,000-square-foot studio covers two floors in the old, International-style headquarters of the Montreal Gazette. The 400 employees accommodated include all areas of the operation, including art/design,

engineering, technical and administrative staff. Selection of this very urban location on the edge of Old Montreal, near the city’s celebrated Cité du Multimédia and just south of the burgeoning arts district, all serviced by the Metro, reflects the creative class ethos of the staff, says Silveri. Montreal is emerging as a world mecca for video gaming, competing with Vancouver as well as the dominant American and Japanese centres. The designers were handed two floors stripped back to the building’s structural frame. Generous 12- and 14-foot concrete ceilings were also already well scrubbed and newly painted white. To the exposed

mechanical infrastructure, they added a series of movable, canted metal poles, abstracted “trees” or “lampposts” says Silveri, that support the generous electrical and communication cabling trays required to supply the computer-heavy studio. On both floors, a huge white loop stretching down the centre of the floor creates a mediating, ribbon-defined form through which pass tunnel-like communal spaces. Within the loop are also closed workrooms, a supervisors’ honeycomb-shaped “command module” and social spaces. The passages link two quite different office areas. On the south but shaded alley side of the building is the artists’ black zone. When September/October 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 33

working, Silveri explains, the artists want total focus on their screens, and the very dark colours with limited natural lighting make the multiple screens (each cubicle has at least four) seem almost to float in the dark ether. Once through the various passages, however, the antithesis appears. A bright “outdoor” space flooded with natural light contains two configurations of honeycomb-shaped workstations; based on a careful assessment of how employees work, they support both collaboration and individual work. These workstations bracket a more conventional grid of desks set on oak flooring rather than the 34 CANADIAN INTERIORS September/October 2012

dominant epoxy-coated concrete. This space is defined by plywood “skate park– like” platforms, a ubiquitous symbol of the X-sport generation. This, after all, is a game development company, so the various complementary rooms take on playfully casual themes of their own. The generous open lunchroom is designed as a light-filled outdoor restaurant terrace complete with large canopies and casual seating. A screening room with a revolving door exudes a very theatrical air and boasts the whimsical Lummel chair as well as theatre-style carpets. Conference-room tables double as Ping-Pong tables, complete with nets. The

last, says Silveri with a laugh, are very well used – and not for meetings! A wall of different diameter and unpainted sauna tubes serves as mail slots for employees; while unpainted particle board is used to provide rich but gritty textured casegoods. Both materials serve as honest responses to budget constraints. The studio’s overall impact is nicely summed up by the designers: “The space emulates the very nature of the organization. Each zone plays out as series of screen shots underscoring the culture of the multimedia industry: work at play.” cI

Clockwise from opposite left In the lighthearted conference room, a Haworth Planes table doubles as a Ping-Pong table (beyond, different diameter and unpainted sauna tubes serve as mail slots for employees); the generous lunchroom was designed as a light-filled outdoor restaurant terrace, complete with a custom “container” housing the kitchen area, large wood canopies, low bench seating by Steelcase, and Panton chairs from Vitra (at the rear is a graphic wall incorporating a TV within the billboard visual); a section of the front work area is defined by oak flooring and plywood “skate park–like” platforms, a ubiquitous symbol of the X-sport generation; a one-of-a-kind revolving door leads to the screening room, with compact seating by Lummel and retro theatre-style carpeting; one of a series of honeycomb workstations (proven to foster both “me” and “we” work) in the front work area; in the café/lounge area, counters are finished in Aspenite board, an honest response to budget constraints.

WELL, HELLO THERE Starting right from Figure3’s front door, a welcoming “hello,” spelled out in red, lower-case Helvitica on the elevator-lobby entry, enunciates a lively graphic theme whose variations play out elsewhere in the office. The red is a strong, simple, primary cherry red, not some subtle toned-down mix. Managing partner Allan Guinan: “We wanted something timeless that makes a strong representation of our brand. From the ‘hello’ through to the naming of meeting rooms, which represent phases of our engagement of our client, through the moving graphics of people, the red lettering pervades our marketing material. Whether it’s a proposal or presentation, we try to integrate the application and integration of our brand within the environment. This is one aspect we sell as a service.”

Put to Work

Designers at work To the friendly and fluid offices of Toronto’s Figure3 we go. —Text and photos by David Lasker

First, a head’s up. This is not your typical design-mag feature, a decorating story with glossy images shot by a photographer with an assistant to set up lights and reflectors, and a stylist to groom the space. Instead, your humble writer/photographer barged in, on a half-hour’s notice, to document a typical working day of a leading Canadian interior design firm. Just me, my camera and tripod, and the available light. There was no styling or tidying up. Among several candidates for the story, Figure3 Interior Design, whose client roster ranges from Allsteel to the University of Toronto, was an obvious winner. Its twoyear-old office had languished unpublished. The firm had a big enough body count, at 40, to require careful thought about renovating the as-found space and deploying staff members. And with its new digs, Figure3 had a chance to walk their talk about the latest ideas ranging from collaboration in the workplace to corporate identity and brand selling. In some firms, the partners work in the open-office area, but Figure3 is not so “democratic.” The three principals – managing partner Allan Guinan, strategic partner Caroline Hughes, and creative partner Christopher Wright – have private offices. “We didn’t want to create a partner row,” Guinan says. “We are involved in areas that differ from what the rest of the studio is doing.”

1-ON THE MOVE Visible from the elevator lobby, a super-graphic of walking figures (adapted from stock photography) functions as a privacy screen along the glass wall dividing the boardroom from the reception area. Allan Guinan: “We wanted animation in a space that tends not to be as lively as the studio. The moving human forms wrapped around the film represent what we do, which is about activity, human scale and interaction. We like design to be friendly and human and not cold and austere.” 2-YOU’RE WELCOME In the reception area, Figure3’s characteristic red hue features prominently in the first word of the positioning statement on the wall behind the guest seating, and in the upholstery fabric’s super-saturated, in-your-face tint.

1 2

3-ON YOUR LEFT Visible at the far end of the main corridor, and beyond the reception desk, is a sculptural bowl, three feet in diameter and made of a bright red resin, by Vancouver-based artist/ manufacturer Martha Sturdy. Continuing the graphic-branding colour motif, it acts as a focal point and initiates a cross-axial play, beckoning visitors to turn left as they move from the reception area to the café/meeting area. 4-COLLABORATION IS KEY Heading an impromptu meeting in the café/meeting area is managing partner Allan Guinan.

5 6

5-TO BE CONTINUED The moving-people super-graphic and the red words in Helvetica font continue along the main corridor’s outer wall, fronting the meeting rooms. 6-DOUBLE DUTY In the café/meeting area, the table and the large islands double as display platforms for presentations. 7-THIS IS WHO WE ARE Photographs of all staff members march along a wall in the café/meeting area, reinforcing the firm’s cultural identity. AG: “You won’t see a display of client work. Instead, you see what represents Figure3. This is our home and our identity. There are other media to represent our clients’ work.” 8 -SAMPLE THIS The sample and product library, with its own generous layout and collaboration tables, links the café/meeting area with the design-studio bullpen.

1-SOCIAL STUDIES This view along the length of the design studio shows the various combinations and permutations of collaboration spaces lined up alongside the inner wall, imparting a club-like sociability to the work area. Alan Guinan: “In the studio, we have five different kinds of innovation places, where people collaborate, sit and meet, and come together and work.” 2-A MAN’S BEST FRIEND Figure3 creative partner Christopher Wright touches down in a cozy huddle area, the most intimate of the design studio’s sequence of collaboration spaces. Says Wright, “Work in the studio is a fluid process. Spontaneous collaboration can happen anywhere; we have multiple areas to regroup, adjacent to the open office desking. It’s where I like to ideate. My favorite piece of furniture is this Teknion stool – it follows me around like my pooch!”

3 3-SOURCE MATERIAL AG: “We wanted to make work visible as much as possible. So we provide a lot of pin-up space. This helps keep people engaged and offers opportunities for continual dialogue through the creative process.”

4-C’MON, PEOPLE To enhance collaboration, a desk- rather than panel-based furniture system was chosen – in this case, Teknion’s Marketplace. Its worktable can span up to 20 feet, making it the longest in the industry (as of its 2007 launch). This attribute fosters creativity and collaboration for work teams who toil in open spaces and in close proximity to others. AG: “The benching approach ensures that the divisions between people are quite low. This creates an ‘all for one and one or all’ environment. People are very connected to each other and very aware of deadlines and issues. You can’t hide from what’s going on: our office is pretty open that way.”

4 5

5-ONE FLIGHT UP Figure3 occupies a second-storey suite at 200 University Avenue. A lobby plaque explains that the office tower “remains one of Toronto’s finest expressions of the International style,” was built for Sun Life, completed in 1961 and designed by John B. Parkin Associates, Architects & Engineers. AG: “It’s quite a little ‘60s jewel. The materials and vibe are great. It’s only 14 storeys, but it has a big office-building feel, as if we’re working in Mad Men.”

6-HIVE OF ACTIVITY AG: “What’s interesting about being on the second floor is that you are very connected to the street. So we wanted the most active zone in our business, the studio, to have that connection to University. The traffic, people and vegetation accentuate the buzz going on in the studio.”

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Put to Work With downsizing the order of the day, along with an increase in working offsite, the office as we know it is going, going – not gone, but considerably smaller, likely open plan, and in need of more touchdown and temporary spaces. The industry has been quick to tailor its offerings to this new paradigm. For example: lounge furniture doubles as collaborative work space; workstations have a smaller footprint; storage goes vertical; tables fold and tuck away; chairs are lighter and/or stack. In the following pages, you’ll find my favourite examples of this kind of compact, flexible and versatile product, along with some fab fabrics and carpeting, introduced this past June at NeoCon – the largest architecture and design exposition and conference focusing on commercial, healthcare, hospitality and educational interiors. Attendance was down a tad from last year, though not so you’d notice. The show’s 700+ showrooms, spread over five floors of the magnificent Merchandise Mart, buzzed with activity. In part to deny a rumour that NeoCon – after 44 successful years – might not have a long-term future (a rumour I hadn’t heard myself), show dates through 2025 were posted in Mart lobbies. Right on! NeoCon 2013 runs June 10-12 (as, by the way, do NeoCon 2019 and NeoCon 2024).

We’re all in this together —By Michael Totzke

Finding the balance in today’s incredible shrinking openplan office – between privacy and transparency, individuality and commonality, solidity and flexibility – is a challenge. The savviest introductions at NeoCon 2012, held in Chicago this past June, do their best to help.

TALK OF THE TOWN Designed by frequent Keilhauer collaborator EOOS, Talk is a new seating system of benches with backs, chairs and tables, created to accommodate face-to-face meetings. (Notes EOOS’s Gernot Bohman, “The seats and backs angle slightly at the centre to create the perfect configuration for talking, without losing touch with the backrest.”) Its single- and two-seat benches – the seats in both work height and lounge height – feature backrests that are high enough to double as privacy screens and sound barriers (low-backed versions are also available). Completing the collection are four lounge-height tables, one desk-height table and one small end table. keilhauer.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 43

THE WHOLE PICTURE 1-OPEN FOR BUSINESS Gunlocke’s newest wood casegoods collection – Silea Open Office – was conceived and scaled for open-plan environments. Its desks have smaller footprints and a conference-table end to facilitate collaboration; configurations can be customized with varying heights within a workspace to support different work styles. gunlocke.com

2-NEAT & TIDY Created for Teknion by Christopher Wright, design principal of Toronto-based Figure3, Sidewise is a new style of compact, collaborative casegoods workstation. The monolithic, vertical storage component structurally supports the workstation while minimizing the footprint; further space optimization is offered with unique sliding, side-access storage options. Lounge-, desk- and counter-height configurations accommodate casual to formal work styles. teknion.com 3-ZENMANSHIP Groupe LaCasse’s Zen-inspired Quad collection redefines storage: the use of its components – in varied heights or lengths that can be stacked or suspended – enables clever use of workstation volumes. Clean vertical and horizontal shapes create an architectural look. Available in a variety of finishes. groupelacasse.com

4-WALL POWER Allsteel added to its product portfolio with a new offering, Beyond Architectural Walls. Its initial introduction in the category of movable, frameless glass features a breakthrough innovation – a unique, built-in, scissor-lift leveling mechanism; functioning like a pneumatic jack, it levels the glass within the floor channel, allowing for easy and quick installation. Featuring ½-inch-thick glass that is exceptionally soundproof, Beyond is highly structural, allowing for an optimal privacy-tile system with components that hang directly on the glass. allsteeloffice.com

4 44 CANADIAN INTERIORS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

5-LIGHT TOUCH Humanscale’s Mode chair is ideal for classrooms, seminar areas, conference centres and banquet halls. It features a flexible back that reclines up to 12 degrees to encourage an ergonomic posture and dense foam cushions sculpted to accommodate the body’s natural contours. Mode’s durable, lightweight components can be quickly and easily disassembled and replace in field. humanscale.com 6-BODY CONSCIOUS The newest addition to Haworth’s seating family is Lively, in task and side chair versions. The task chair (shown) features pneumatic seat-height adjustment, weightassisted tilt tension, an upright back lock and a tension back; the complementary side chair stacks in style, up to five high, freeing up valuable floor space. haworth.com

7-HOME BASE New Brandy, designed by Lievore Altherr Molina for Andreu World, is a collection of upholstered armchairs and lounge chairs with a structure covered in flexible foam. The armchair version (shown) is available in five different bases (cantilever; sled; four steel legs; four beech wood legs; central swivel base with four legs of oak plywood). The lounge chair comes in two styles with four wood leg bases. andreuworldamerica.com

THE VERY CHAIR

8-ALL SET From Herman Miller, the Setu Conference Stool marries the ergonomic benefits of a task chair with the lightweight scale and simplicity of an occasional stool. Designed by Berlin-based Studio 7.5, it features the Kinematic Spine and elastomeric fabric pioneered with the Setu multipurpose and lounge chairs. hermanmiller.com

9-TAKE THREE Designed by Jehs+Laub, Davis’s Tre stool series features three separate pieces that rise dramatically to form a triumvirate. Constructed from paper-thin layers of beech, pressed tightly to form a solid yet slender core, Tre is offered in bar, counter and lounge heights, with a proportional base on each. davisfurniture.com 9

8 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 45

TAPLE TOPS 1-TAKE A STAND Coalesse’s FreeStand is a foldable and portable table allowing its user to work comfortably anywhere. Available in black or white, it swivels 360 degrees and is height-adjustable from 20 to 27 inches. Light enough to be easily transported, FreesStand folds down to quickly slip underneath a lounge or into a closet for storage. coalesse.com

2-KEEPING TIME Nienkämper’s new Metronome benching series echoes the distinctive composition and thoughtful design of its awardwinning Metronome table. Carefully tailored table legs are available in clear anodized aluminum with polished aluminum details, or in fully polished aluminum; tops come in a wide range of wood veneer or laminate. nienkamper.com

3-SUBJECT & VERB

46 CANADIAN INTERIORS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

Steelcase Education Solutions launched its first-of-its-kind table-based collection of classroom furniture. Verb creates an integrated, table-based learning space with personal-sized whiteboards for instant collaboration. The three other components are an instructor station, with easy access to storage and an adjustable lectern; student tables, in a unique chevron shape; and board display, allowing for effective display, storage and presentation of whiteboards. steelcase.com

4-TAKE FLIGHT The Paces table series from Versteel features, above side-by-side welded legs, a top dubbed Airfoil: a patented frame of spars and ribs, it’s up to 75 per cent lighter than traditional tops. Light in scale and weight, Paces tables fit in any work environment. Tops tilt vertically with the ease of a single-handled pull below the work surface; the tables nest together in a tight pack for quick storage. versteel.com

5-TOUCH DOWN From Davis comes the Perch stool series, ideal for quick, impromptu meetings. Its seat, padded for comfort, forms a downward-sloping diamond shape, allowing the user to rest in a relaxed position; though weighted at the base for stability, it’s light enough to be picked up, moved around and easily stored. Perch can be fully upholstered in any fabric or leather. davisfurniture.com

6-SETTLE BACK Accomplished Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola has created a casual lounge collection for Coalesse. Hosu provides a comfy place to work; it can also serve as a place to put your feet up, when converted to a chaise. It’s available in two sizes: a 36-inch-wide one-seater, in fixed and convertible versions (shown), and a fixed 64-inch two-seater. Rear and side storage pockets and technology accessibility round out Hosu’s features. coalesse.com 7-INTERFACE, NATURALLY Interface goes global with its new Urban Retreat collection of carpet tile (soon available on all six continents). Inspired by the emerging science of biophilia (which shows how the human race is “wired” to connect with the natural world), its styles are sorted into pattern studies ranging from refined textures to broad organic forms; eight colourways include earthy neutrals and lush greens that reference lichen, grass, ivy and moss. Urban Retreat is grouped into three categories. Shown at far left is Urban Retreat One; when grouped together, UR101, UR102 and UR103 create the look of moss growing on stone, with veins of green running across the floor. At left is Urban Retreat Two; UR201 recreates the look of ancient tree bark. Urban Retreat Three offers textural complements to the other two categories. interface.com

WELL GROUNDED

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 47

1-NEW DIMENSION From Carnegie comes Xorel Graphic, a ground-breaking wallpaper collection that merges digital printing with woven design. Through the use of translucent Xorel yarns, the jacquard woven fabric allows the printed layer design to be visible and interact aesthetically. Among the five lines is Pixel Graphic, a multi-coloured modern geometric with a complex simplicity; the woven layer is a repeated small box design. carnegiefabrics.com

2-KNOLL ON A ROLL KnollTextiles introduced several knockouts. Designed by Suzanne Tick, Jot (far left) is a drapery fabrics inspired by digital binary code strings reminiscent of DNA strands. An orderly matrix of small-scale dots is created by a unique process incorporating burnout and printout technologies. Available in four colourways, Dot combines three light neutral ground dots conveying a sense of airy buoyancy; two accent colours give each of the colourways its personal identity. The Stitch Collection (left), from KnollTextiles creative director Dorothy Cosonas, was inspired by stitching and embroidery techniques as well as fashion. It comprises three upholstery fabrics: Tryst, with high-sheen thread contrasting to a dry cotton ground; Marquee, with a bold, nine-inch-square geometric repeat; and Mod Plaid, inspired by a Missoni fashion fabric. knolltextiles.com 3-FARM FRESH Maharam presented its first collaboration in woven textiles with the ever-imaginative Antwerp-based Studio Job. Farm (shown) depicts traditional farmland scenery in a complex woven jacquard construction; using a flattened perspective, this truly delightful textile presents an assemblage of livestock, crops, implements and rural transport. The complementary Farm Stripe features repeating ribbons of farm iconography, including pitchforks, apples, split-rail fences, sheaths of wheat and life-sized horseflies. maharam.com

48 CANADIAN INTERIORS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

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In the swim at Quebec’s Saint-Hyacinth Aquatic and Recreational Centre, designed by ACDF* Architecture. —By Leslie C. Smith

The eight-lane, 25-metre competition pool features two different diving platforms.

Photography by James Brittain

September/October 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 51

52 CANADIAN INTERIORS September/October 2012

For some people, swimming can be almost a religion. But religion itself? “People don’t go to churches any more,” says Maxime-Alexis Frappier, associate architect with ACDF* Architecture. “They go to public spaces.” Thus, his firm’s rationale behind the design of the new Aquatic and Recreational Centre in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which stresses the “angular, sculptural proceedings” of the cathedral ceiling in the centre’s dual-pooled interior. “We wanted something different, a space where people don’t feel that they’re in a gymnasium, sort of another world. In churches, you were confronted with a nice space – a high ceiling, beautiful windows, quality workmanship. New civic buildings should be as inspiring as in the old days.” Admittedly, the building’s exterior, which is rather reminiscent of a 1980s high school, lacks that same sort of visual impact. This was a deliberate choice, forced by the project’s tight time constraints and limited budget: the city, in need of a new pool, decided at the last minute to take advan-

tage of the federal government’s 2008 Building Canada Fund. ACDF* Architecture’s Saint-Hyacinthe office won the bid for the project but had only a year and a half for everything, from coming up with the drawings to working through the various levels of the approval process to opening up the centre. The architects started with a simple image: an angled slab for the building’s roof, cracked like a chunk of ice at one end, very quick and easy to construct. Inside is where the real action – literally and figuratively – takes place. Kids cavort in the large recreational basin filled with imaginative sprinklers and a big, bright-yellow water slide; athletes of all levels train in the adjacent eight-lane, 25-metre competition pool complete with one- and three-metre diving platforms. Over in a secluded corner, the elderly and handicapped exercise in the wheelchairaccessible therapeutic basin. Kinetic activity abounds, and this energy is mirrored, apparently frozen, in the huge ceiling overhead – a ceiling made up of multiple fragments

of white, oblique shapes floating in space. Bringing to mind a shelter within an imaginary iceberg, the setting appears glacially cool, majestically calm, cathedral-ish yet secular. Practical, too. The Barrisol stretch cloth used for the ceiling’s fractal effect acts as a sound baffle, minimizing normally noisy pool echoes while improving overall acoustics; it also works as a light reflector and amplifier. The centre’s two pools each have their own skylight, angled with the roof and deeply set to ensure overhead light entering the space does not hit the pools directly, which would affect both water temperature and visual safety. Safety concerns, particularly for young users of the splash basin, led to the upper level’s glassed-in public and administrative areas being positioned where all eyes can be focused on the pools, as well as the entire space’s open design, with only clear glass barriers separating the two pools from each other and from the front lobby. Seeing and being seen makes physical activity a

Opposite top Kinetic activity is mirrored, apparently frozen, in the huge ceiling made up of white, oblique shapes floating in space. Bringing to mind a shelter within an imaginary iceberg, the setting appears glacially cool and majestically calm. Opposite bottom The large recreational basin features a bright-yellow water slide.

September/October 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 53

54 CANADIAN INTERIORS September/October 2012

communal event. Competitive swimmers and divers become role models to the younger children; adults there to watch from the overhead café or the 450-seat bleacher section may get inspired to try aquatic fitness on their own; elderly exercisers enjoy being around the kids. As Frappier says, “You don’t just go there to swim, you go there to exercise, to relate to other people.” And relate they do. More than 50,000 people made use of the facilities within the centre’s first month of operation. Only 53,236 people actually live in Saint-Hyacinthe, which means that many of these visitors were from surrounding towns. Perhaps Frappier is right, and carefully thought-out community centres such as this one have become “the new church of the city.” c I

Top The centre’s open concept stretches from its lobby straight through to the back of the competition pool, with only clear glass separating the various recreational zones. Far left Colourful sprinklers in the play area delight the kiddies. Left The upper level includes glassed-in administration areas and a public café, where everyone can keep an eye on the activity below.

September/October 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 55

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Rough & ready A new tavern in Montreal’s Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie – Quai No. 4, designed by La Firme – pays tribute to the neighbourhood’s industrial heyday. —By Austin Macdonald

58 CANADIAN INTERIORS September/October 2012

Photography by Jean-Sébastien Caron

Opposite For the back bar, La Firme mounted a tapestry of whitewashed pallets flat against the wall and inserted shallow shelving for bottles. The lampshades are matte-black propane tanks with cut-off bottoms. Below Quai No. 4’s decor is unabashedly blue collar, and that struck a chord of authenticity with rue Masson punters. Bottom Pallet stringers, with their iconic notches, border most of the under or over edges of the barstools and banquettes.

Over the last century, Rosemont developed as a bedroom community for CPR Shop Angus, a locomotive manufacturing plant and expansive railyard, which produced Valentine tanks during WWII but was decommissioned in 1992. All told, it employed 12,000 Rosemont residents, including many women, first hired during Canada’s Victory campaign, making it one of the first sites of shoulder-to-shoulder workplace equality. “The whole concept was to make a neighbourhood bar that would resemble Rosemont’s heyday, by including as many references and archetypes as possible,” says Louis Béliveau, principal and co-creative of La Firme, the budding design and construction company behind Quai No. 4. Winner of a Quebec Grand Prox du Design (2011), Quai No. 4 features prominent allusions to shipping pallets, conveyor belts and Port-O-Lets. Says Béliveau, “Rosemont was a crossroads of industry, with trains, factories, warehouses and loading docks.” Quai No. 4’s clean, sleek lines are distinctively contemporary but the colours, forms, motifs, textures, materials and found objects ooze nostalgia, harking back to the neighbourhood’s factories and workshops of the ’40s and ’50s. La Firme elevated the lowly shipping skid to new heights, using its components as the building material for Quai No. 4’s furniture. To do so, they intercepted the cut-but-unassembled, wet, low-grade (3B or 3C) local lumber from a pallet manufacturer. Now, the pallet’s stringers (parallel pieces of timber which act as risers) – with their iconic, downward-facing notches used by forklifts – border most of the under or outer edges of the furniture: the tables and the backs and seats of the barstools and banquettes. For the back bar, La Firme mounted a tapestry of standard 48-inch, whitewashed pallets flat against the wall and inserted shallow shelving for bottles into the horizontal September/October 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 59

Right The bar’s name is pressed with a die into a table – one example of Quai No 4’s excellent branding. Below A large, U-shaped banquette at the far end of the main room acts as a chef’s table; hugged by walls of gilded, stamped-tin ceiling tiles in period vine and floral motifs, it is Quai No. 4’s “gold jewel box.” Bottom left In the long, narrow, unisex washroom, five wooden stalls, built to resemble Port-O-Lets, line a wall. Bottom right Double sinks, made from the bottoms of propane tanks, are communal.

60 CANADIAN INTERIORS September/OCtOber 2012

spaces in between the top deck boards. the lighting above the bar provides a moment of drama. Originating out of the kitchen a shiny, black rail hairpins over the length of the bar. Suspended from it, three recouped, matte-black propane tanks with cut-off bottoms serve as lampshades, directing a dim, defuse, yellow light on those at the bar. With the idle bar patrons directly below these dark, massive metal forms, the scene evokes a stopped assembly line with the factory workers on an extended break. At the far end of the main room, a large, U-shaped banquette acts as a chef’s table and an immediate focal point upon entering. recessed under a low bulkhead, it’s hugged by walls of gilded, stamped-tin ceiling tiles in period vine and floral motifs. Says béliveau, “Since this is the biggest table, it was my idea to make it as VIp as possible, like a gold jewel box.” Quai No. 4’s long, narrow washrooms are unisex, just like they would be in a gruff industrial setting. Five wooden stalls, built to resemble port-O-Lets, line one wall, complete with corrugated roofs. the double sinks are also communal, made from the bottoms of propane tanks. to spruce things up, La Firme treated the opposite wall with glinting, black marquina marble tiles. A full mirror on the end wall provides the illusion of great depth doubling the row of stalls. “Visually, the mirror effect is always nice. Granted, for the envelope we would have liked to used a match-book pattern, with 10-foot-high by five-foot-wide marble slabs,” béliveau muses in a brief highbrow flourish, “just like mies van der rohe in the barcelona pavilion for expo 1929.” It’s a good thing béliveau kept his work boots firmly planted on the ground. Quai No. 4’s decor is unabashedly blue collar, and that struck a chord of authenticity with rue masson punters, rumored to still be a parochial bunch. they’re mostly weary of a recent outbreak of cookie-cutter establishments from the higher-rent, fully gentrified and foppish plateau neighbourhood. “esprit de clocher it’s still an apt description of rue masson. It’s like being in a small village, people are really protective of their environment and surroundings,” béliveau explains. c I

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TEKNION AT THE BRICK WORKS In July, Design by Nature, a recurring, rotating exhibition and competition for design, pubic art and furniture, was hosted by Teknion at the Evergreen Brick Works. The juried program showcases work by local furniture and sculpture artists. All pieces use at least 50 per cent recycled materials.

1—Gathering together on a lovely summer’s eve. 2—Competition-winner Agata Piskunpwocz, a photographer at design firm Fugitive Glue, and her co-worker, designer Ryan Wilding; Alexandra McDonald, who designs shoes at Power Athletics; and Elizabeth Bowie, senior producer of Tapestry and Ideas at CBC Radio One. 3—Matthew Cohen, part of the development team that created the Brick Works, is sustainability director at Perennial Sustainable Solutions, which integrates green solutions into businesses. He stands with Teknion’s Sue Madsen, Canadian A&D director, and John Helwig, VP, design strategy and research. 4—Gary LeBlanc, urban forestry planner, City of Toronto; Mark Jones, VP and sales rep at corporate real-estate firm Newmark Knight Frank Devencore; David Stonehouse, general manager, Evergreen Brick Works; and Ron Hughes, Teknion’s VP strategic initiatives and product applications, Canadian sales.

Art & commerce —Text and photos by David Lasker

THE RAIN IN SPAIN FALLS MAINLY ON THE DX Bravos: Groundbreaking Spanish Design, at the Design Exchange, showcased 21 of the most promising Iberian designers of the younger generation. 1—Juli Capella Semper, a partner in Barcelona-based Capella Garcia Arquitectura and curator of the show, and Juan Claudio de Ramon, cultural attaché from the Spanish embassy. They are standing at the El Ultimo Grito booth, whose design partners, Rosario Hurtado and Roberto Feo, created the whimsical red bull’s head. 2—Spanish design lightens and livens up the DX’s historic Trading Floor. 3—Klaus NienkIämper II, proprietor of the Klaus by Nienkämper store on King Street East, and his wife, Marisa, who handles store PR, flank Marian Marshall. She headed Marshall Cummings, one of Canada’s leading office-design companies, before merging it with IBI Group, and now practises residential design under the banner M². 4—Helena Grossmann, widow of noted architect Irving Grossman, is moving into 50 Prince Arthur, which her late husband designed 40 years ago. She stands with ceramist Mayta Markson and her architect husband, Jerome, whose Market Square mixed-use development, with its framed view of St. James Cathedral across King Street East, has stood the test of time.

2 3

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 CANADIAN INTERIORS 63

NEW SANDRA AINSLEY GALLERY OPENING

BARRIE WATERFRONT COMPETITION

From First Canadian Place to the Distillery District and now the light-industrial hinterland flanking the Don Valley Parkway in East York, the Sandra Ainsley Gallery’s glass art gallery has gradually moved away from the downtown, yet, to judge by the turnout at the new location’s recent launch, gallery clients remain loyal.

On the Barrie waterfront, an hour north of Toronto, City Core Developments will erect Harmony Village Lake Simcoe: an “urban-village concept with sustainable building strategies and luxury spa-resort amenities.” Four architecture firms were invited to submit designs to a jury; their designs were unveiled in August at a party at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

1—Rose and Sam Reisman (Sam named his merchant bank, Rose Corp., after his wife, the noted caterer and cookbook author); Karen Rubenstein, home-accessory consultant and sister of Sandra Ainsley; glass artist Monica Guggisberg, associated with Venice-based Venini and featured in the gallery’s opening exhibition; gallery proprietor Sandra Ainsley; and Nathanael Gray, architect of the gallery space. 2—Glass artist Susan Edgerley in front of her work titled Flow and Reaching; with Anne Patterson and her venture-capitalist husband, David, CEO of Northwater Capital.

1—Ian Chodikoff, editor, Canadian Architect; Richard Brightling, president, marketing firm Albion Architectural; and Siamak Hariri, partner, Hariri Pontarini Architects. 2—Samantha Sannella, organizer of the event (and past Design Exchange president); Sue MacKay, account exec at marketing firm 52 Pickup; and Babak Eslahjou, partner, Core Architects. 3—Architecture critics Lisa Rochon, The Globe and Mail; Christopher Hume, Toronto Star; and Paul Goldberger, Vanity Fair.

Last Word

Before & after Bringing the Canadian Southern Railway Station in St. Thomas, Ont., into the 21st century. —By Michael Totzke BEFORE High (for a building of its type), wide (described on its website as “virtually a horizontal skyscraper”) and handsome (designed in the Italianate style by Canadian architect Edgar Berryman), the Canadian Southern Railway Station (CASO) in St. Thomas, Ont., was once one of the busiest train stations in North America. Built between 1871 and 1873 by American railway promoters, to serve as both the passenger station for St. Thomas and CASO’s corporate HQ, it stood at the midpoint on the New York to Chicago line. A hundred years later, having lost its original purpose, the station was a ghost of its glorious self. DURING Along came volunteers from the North American Railway Hall of Fame (NARHF), who purchased the station and set out to 66 CANADIAN INTERIORS September/October 2012

save its beautiful hide, embellished with pilasters, arched windows and passageways, wide eaves and a heavy cornice. They chose SJMA Architecture – working closely with NARHF and the Ontario Heritage Foundation – to effect a transformation. Work began on the site in 2008. This was a complete renovation, both inside and out, massive in its reach. It involved stabilizing the foundation, rebuilding all the windows and repairing the roof; providing a barrier-free upgrade, including new washrooms and elevator access to the second floor; installing new plumbing, heating and ventilation systems; restoring significant rooms and passageways; and creating retail space, meeting rooms and offices. Interior finishes were retained or matched wherever possible, and any additional upgrades were designed to respect the building’s historical character.

AFTER The award-winning result is a knockout. As SJMA rightly trumpets, “This project has enhanced the urban fabric of the core of St. Thomas by bringing life back to the station by incorporating a diverse range of activities within it.” Shown above, before and after, is the second-floor hallway. Originally a corridor to access the various functions of the station, it is now the North American Railway Hall of Fame’s actual Hall of Fame; still used as a corridor to privately leased offices, it provides display space for historical and monumental railway events. For a view of Anderson Dining Hall, which was once the passenger dining room, see Contents on page 11. A popular venue from the get-go, it’s booked every weekend for wedding receptions. c I

Photos by Philip Bull / Shutter Studios

dimensions V O L . 3 â&#x20AC;&#x2030;/2012

Alternate Workplace Strategies/StratĂŠgie Alternative dans le milieu de travail Corporate culture trends and their influence on design Les tendances culturelles des entreprises et leur influence sur le design

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contents/ sommaire

dimensions magazine VOL. 2 /2012

features/ dossiers

departments/ département

8. my office is smaller than yours mon bureau est plus petit que le vôtre

4/5 on a professional note… sur une note professionnelle… 6/7 in conversation with… en conversation avec… 14/15 on your behalf… en votre nom… 16 industry members/ membres d’industrie

11. communicating design: the language of success Le design communique: le langage de la réussite

pg.

idc board of management conseil d’administration Donna Assaly, President/Président (AB) David Gibbons, President-elect/Présidente désigné (ON) David Hanson, Past President/Ancient président (BC) Stephen Lamoureux, Director/VP Finance/Vice-président aux finances (MB) Ada Bonini, Director/Secretary/Secrétaire/directeur (AB) Adele Bonetti, Director/Directrice (AB) Aandra Currie Shearer, Director/Directrice (SK) Clinton Hummel, Director/Directeur (ON) Monique Leger, Director/Directrice (NB) Dede Hiscock, Director/Directrice (NS) Anne-Marie Legault, Director/Directrice (QC) Michelle Du, Director At Large/Directrice (MB) Rachel Clarida, Director At Large/Directrice (BC) Jessica Gozdzierski, Director, Intern/Provisional/Directrice, stagiaire (ON) Ron Hughes, Director, Industry/Directeur, industrie (ON) Dorothy Stern, Director, Education/Directeur, formation (ON) Trevor Kruse, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Liaison/Liaison avec IIDEX/ NeoCon Canada (ON) Jenny Mueller-Garbutt, Chair, Board of Governors/Président du Conseil d’administration (BC)

dimensions team l’équipe de dimensions Publisher/Éditrice : Susan Wiggins, Executive Director, IDC Directrice générale des DIC swiggins@idcanada.org Editor/Éditrice : Julia Salerno, Manager, Communications, IDC Directrice des communications des DIC dimensions@idcanada.org Editorial Advisory Board/ L’Équipe éditoriale : Donna Assaly (AB) Lise Boucher (MB) David Chu (SK) Ron Hughes (ON) Johane Lefrançois-Deignan (ON) Carolyn Maguire (NS) Susan Steeves (BC) canadian interiors team l’équipe de canadian interiors Publisher/Éditeur : Martin Spreer, mspreer@canadianinteriors.com Deputy Editor/Éditeur : Peter Sobchak, psobchak@canadianinteriors.com Art Director/Directeur artistique : Scott Christie christie-stewart.com French Translation/Traduction française : Pierre-Éric Villeneuve

idc staff l’équipe des dic Susan Wiggins Executive Director Irma Kemp Executive Assistant Sue Gravelle Director, Professional Development Candis Green Member Services Coordinator/coordonnatrice des services aux membres Victoria Fellowes Director, Business Development Tony Sienes Manager, Accounting Debora Abreu Manager, Marketing Enrique Gaudite Marketing Coordinator/Coordonnateur du marketing Julia Salerno Manager, Communications Rachael Factor Communications Coordinator Alexandra Tichinoff Communications Coordinator/Coordonnatrice des communications

Interior Designers Of Canada C536–43 Hanna Avenue Toronto ON M6K 1X1 t 416.649.4425 f 416.921.3660 tf 877.443.4425 dimensions@idcanada.org www.idcanada.org

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on a professional note… sur une note professionnelle…

“I can’t believe summer’s already over!” “Is it September already?!” I can bet that every person reading this article has uttered the above sentiments at least once this past month, and when we do, what exactly are we attempting to gauge? Is it really about the passing season? Is it about aging, or perhaps more importantly, is it about what you have, or haven’t yet accomplished? At IDC, September is an exciting time. It means that we get the chance to tell you —our members—about what we have accomplished on your behalf. Every year in September we gather for the Association’s Annual Meeting, this year taking place on September 21 at 4:30 p.m., at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto. It’s an important meeting where we can share who will form the organization’s leadership for the coming year and where we get to celebrate the achievements of our members. This might come as a shock to you, but some people think annual meetings are boring. They stay away for fear of falling asleep in public, fear of being volun-told to do something, or worse, they just don’t think it matters if they’re there. It matters. When you decided to join your provincial association and IDC, you said to friends and colleagues that you’re proud to be an interior designer, an Intern/Provisional, Student, or Industry member. We recognize it was a decision for which you’ve paid good money and we have created our annual strategy with that in mind. When it was time for us to prepare for this year’s meeting, we began reflecting on the report we would provide and were impressed. Our report is full of exciting information and we’re anxious to share it with you. By attending our Annual Meeting, we promise to make you laugh (at least once); inspire you (by celebrating Canada’s emerging professionals); and we’ll make you proud and thankful to be part of the association, and of your decision to attend the not-so-boring-after-all Annual Meeting.

Donna Assaly, President/Président Susan Wiggins, Executive Director/Directrice générale

«Je ne peux pas croire que l’été est déjà fini!» «Nous sommes déjà au mois de septembre!» Je gagerais que tous les lecteurs de cet article ont prononcé ces mots au moins une fois le mois dernier. Et lorsque nous le faisons, que voulons-nous dire? Est-il vraiment question de la saison qui s’achève? Est-ce qu’il est question du vieillissement, ou plutôt des nombreuses choses que vous avez accomplies ou pas encore? Le mois de septembre est stimulant pour les DIC. Cela veut dire que nous avons la chance de dire à vous, nos membres, ce que nous avons réalisé en votre nom. Chaque année, au mois de septembre, nous nous réunissons dans le cadre d’une assemblée annuelle. Cette année, elle aura lieu le 21 septembre à 16 h 30, au Direct Energy Centre, à Toronto. C’est une réunion importante où nous pourrons vous dire qui formera le leadership de l’organisation pour l’année à venir et à quels moments nous célébrerons les réussites de nos membres. Au risque de vous étonner, certaines personnes croient que les assemblées annuelles sont ennuyeuses. Ils ne viennent pas de peur de s’endormir en public ou que nous exigions d’eux qu’ils fassent du bénévolat pour une activité quelconque. Le pire, ils pensent que ce n’est pas important d’être là. Oui, c’est important. Lorsque vous avez décidé de joindre votre association provinciale et les DIC, vous avez dit à vos amis et à vos collègues que vous étiez fier d’être un designer d’intérieur, un membre étudiant, stagiaire, provisoire ou d’industrie. Nous reconnaissons que c’est une décision qui a eu son prix, et nous avons créé une stratégie annuelle avec cette idée en tête. Lorsque le temps de préparer la réunion annuelle de cette année est venu, nous avons commencé à réfléchir au rapport annuel que nous vous présenterons.

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While we hope to change your mind about the meeting, we can’t do anything about the cold weather coming. Hope you had a wonderful and memorable summer. See you at the Annual Meeting! Follow IDC on twitter: @idcanadatweets

IDC’s Annual Meeting Friday, September 21, 2012, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Direct Energy Centre Keynote Theatre, Toronto La recontre annuelle des DIC Vendredi le 21 septembre 2012, de 16 h 30 à 17 h 30, au Direct Energy Centre Keynote Theatre, Toronto

“I can’t believe summer’s already over!” “Is it September already?!”

« J e ne peux pas croire que l’été est déjà fini! » « Nous sommes déjà au mois de septembre! »

Nous avons rapidement été impressionnés. Notre rapport est rempli d’informations stimulantes que nous avons hâte de partager avec vous. Nous vous promettons de vous faire rire (au moins une fois), si vous venez à l’assemblée annuelle. Nous vous inspirerons en célébrant les jeunes professionnels du pays. Et nous vous rendrons fier et heureux de faire partie de l’association (et finalement fier de votre décision d’être venu à cette assemblée annuelle, pas totalement ennuyante). Même si nous espérons changer vos perceptions sur l’assemblée, nous ne pourrons pas arrêter le temps froid qui est à nos portes. Nous espérons que vous avez eu un été merveilleux et mémorable. Et nous espérons vous voir à l’assemblée annuelle! Suivez les DIC sur Twitter : @idcanadatweets

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in conversation with… en conversation avec… Dimensions speaks with IDC Intern member Jean-Marc Blanc of ADI group in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Dimensions parle avec le membre stagiaire Jean-Marc Blanc de la firme ADI group, à Winnipeg, au Manitoba. By / Par Julia Salerno

What made you decide to pursue a career in interior design? I knew from the age of 10. When my family and I moved into a new neighbourhood in a Toronto suburb, we received a home plan magazine. I kept that magazine and began to collect more. I loved looking at all of the different residential designs and even began doing my own crude designs. I was also quite involved in theater and was thinking of pursuing a career in set design, so I decided to keep my options open for university that would involve both disciplines. After graduating with a bachelor of arts in theater, I enrolled in interior design at the University of Manitoba. Although, I didn’t continue with set design, I still enjoy participating in the local theatre scene. What path have you followed to get to where you are today? After graduating in 1999, I immediately started working for a small firm that specialized primarily in residential design. Following two-years of working in the field I decided to move back to Ontario to help out at my family’s resort hotel and restaurant. I moved back to Winnipeg in 2007 to work for the same firm I did after graduating and later decided to make the move to a larger firm. Shortly after that I became interested in getting back into a smaller firm when a great opportunity with ADI group opened up. Being a hospitality-focused design firm, I was particularly interested as I could use my knowledge of the hospitality industry there. Do you have a favourite project? I have had the opportunity to work on many great projects but I think my favourite has been the renovation of a small, 1920’s home in the character-rich neighbourood of Woleseley in Winnipeg. Like most client’s today, they were very design savvy. The

Name: Jean-Marc Blanc Design School: University of Manitoba  Year of graduation: 1999 Favourite design tool: Sketch trace  Least favourite: Autocad

Nom : Jean-Marc Blanc École de design : Université du Manitoba Année de graduation : 1999 Outil de design de prédilection : Sketch trace Outil de design le moins apprécié : Autocad

Qu’est-ce qui vous a motivé à poursuivre une carrière en design d’intérieur? Je le sais depuis l’âge de 10 ans, lorsque moi et ma famille sommes déménagés dans une banlieue de Toronto. Nous avions reçu un magazine contenant des plans de maisons. J’ai conservé ce magazine et j’ai commencé à le collectionner. J’aimais regarder les différents designs résidentiels et j’ai même commencé à faire mes propres designs rudimentaires. J’étais aussi très impliqué dans le théâtre et je pensais poursuivre une carrière dans le design de décors. J’ai alors décidé de maintenir mes options ouvertes et de choisir un parcours universitaire qui engloberait les deux disciplines. Je me suis inscrit en design d’intérieur à l’Université du Manitoba après avoir terminé un baccalauréat en théâtre. Même si je n’ai pas continué dans le domaine du design de décors, j’aime toujours m’impliquer dans la scène théâtrale locale. Quel parcours avez-vous suivi pour en arriver où vous êtes aujourd’hui? Après ma graduation en 1999, j’ai immédiatement commencé à travailler pour une petite compagnie spécialisée dans le design résidentiel. Après deux années de travail dans le domaine, j’ai décidé de revenir en Ontario pour aider ma famille dans ses affaires, au restaurant et à l’hôtel. Je suis revenu à Winnipeg en 2007 pour travailler pour la même firme qui m’avait engagé après ma graduation. Plus tard, j’ai décidé de me trouver un emploi dans une plus grosse compagnie. Cela n’a pas été très long que j’ai voulu revenir travailler dans une plus petite compagnie. C’est à ce moment que la possibilité de travailler chez ADI group s’est

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challenge of creating a modern efficient design with clean lines and simple furnishings, while honouring the classic style of the home and surrounding neighbourhood proved to be a rewarding challenge. What is your favourite part of interior design? The interaction with clients. There is great satisfaction in problem solving and delivering a solution that responds to a client’s needs. My favourite compliment is hearing a client say: “That’s great, I never would have thought of that.” I also enjoy being exposed to new and innovative products and technology.

My advice for other Intern/Provisional members who are preparing to write the exam is to get organized. Studying takes time and there’s a lot to learn. Try to study a little each day and break it down into manageable parts. Continue the conversation: @jmblancdesign

Tell me about your role at ADI group. I am immersed in all aspects of the office at ADI group, including assisting with marketing development, proposal writing, client meetings and of course, I design, too. How are you preparing for writing the exam? I have started to accumulate literature from recent design articles that deal with accessibility, sustainability, recent advancements in technology and design in general. Learning through CEU’s is also helpful and I plan to join a study group.

Jean-Marc’s advice to other Intern/Provisional members:

Le conseil de Jean-Marc aux autres membres stagiaires ou provisoires :

“ Study a bit each day. It helps to break it down into manageable sections.”

« Étudiez un peu tous les jours. Cela vous aidera à diviser le tout en des sections plus faciles à gérer. »

présentée à moi. Cela m’a immédiatement intéressé, puisque c’est une firme de design spécialisée dans l’hôtellerie. Je peux y utiliser mes connaissances de cette industrie. Avez-vous un projet favori? J’ai eu l’occasion de travailler sur plusieurs projets intéressants, mais je dois avouer que mon projet favori a été la rénovation d’une petite maison des années 20, dans le charmant quartier de Woleseley, à Winnipeg. Comme la plupart des clients aujourd’hui, les propriétaires de la maison étaient très à l’affût du design. Le défi que représente la création d’un design moderne et efficace, avec des lignes et des meubles simples tout en valorisant le style classique de la maison et de l’environnement, a été très gratifiant. Quel est votre domaine préféré du design d’intérieur? L’interaction avec les clients. Il y a une grande satisfaction dans la résolution de problèmes et dans

le fait de fournir une solution qui répond aux besoins d’un client. Le meilleur compliment est d’entendre un client me dire : «C’est merveilleux. Je n’y aurais jamais pensé.» J’aime aussi me confronter à des nouveaux produits et à des technologies innovatrices. Parlez-moi de votre rôle chez ADI group. Je suis impliqué dans plusieurs aspects du bureau. Je peux aider autant dans le développement du marketing, dans l’écriture de propositions que dans les rencontres avec les clients. Évidemment, je suis aussi impliqué dans le design à proprement parler. Comment vous préparez-vous aux examens? J’ai commencé à compiler des articles sur le design portant sur les questions actuelles d’accessibilité et de développement durable, sur les avancées récentes dans le domaine de la technologie et du design en général. Les unités de formation continue (UFC) sont aussi profitables, et je devrais me joindre à un groupe d’études. Mon conseil aux autres membres stagiaires ou provisoires qui préparent les examens est de bien s’organiser. Étudier demande du temps et il y a beaucoup de choses à apprendre. Étudiez tous les jours et diviser l’ensemble des connaissances en des sections plus faciles à gérer est une bonne chose.

Pour continuer la conversation : @jmblancdesign

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my office is smaller than yours mon bureau est plus petit que le vôtre

Are big corporations pushing an “alternate workplace strategy” in order to economize on office squarefootage and encourage employee productivity? Est-ce que les grosses entreprises valorisent une « stratégie alternative dans le milieu de travail » dans le but d’économiser le pied carré d’espace alloué aux employés et d’encourager leur productivité? By / Par David Lasker

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More and more large corporations are embracing alternate workplace strategies (AWS) in order to economize on the winwin of office square-footage and enhancing employee happiness and productivity. John Tanfield, project manager at the property and corporate facility management firm Jones Lang LaSalle, says, “Alternate workplace strategies are common. The average workspace 10 to 15 years ago was 200 to 225 square-feet per person. Now, 150 square-feet is very aggressive, but many firms are getting down to 180 or 190 square-feet. That’s a 20 per cent reduction.” “The trend,” Tanfield adds, “is especially notable in the insurance industry. With interest rates so low, they’re not making the money in the bond

De plus en plus, les grosses compagnies s’identifient aux stratégies alternatives dans le milieu de travail dans le but d’économiser les pieds carrés d’espace alloués aux employés et d’améliorer leur bien-être et leur productivité. John Tansfield, gestionnaire de projet pour la firme d’immobilier et de gestion des bâtiments Jones Lang Lasalle, dit : «Les stratégies alternatives pour les milieux de travail sont communes. Elles ne sont dévalorisées ou réduites en aucune manière. Il y de cela 10 ou 15 ans, l’espace de travail moyen était de 200 à 225 pieds carrés par individus. De nos jours, une surface de 150 pieds carrés est l’extrême, mais plusieurs firmes offrent des espaces de 180 ou 190 pieds carrés. On parle d’une réduction de 20 %.» Tansfield ajoute que cette tendance est particulièrement remarquable dans l’industrie des assurances. Selon lui, avec des taux d’intérêts aussi bas, «ils ne font pas autant d’argent sur le marché obligataire que par

market that they used to, so they’re turning to their real estate. It started in the U.S. five years ago, and now, Canadian companies are doing it.” Allan Guinan, a partner at interior design firm figure3 says, “The factor that mostly drives alternate workplace strategies is that organizations are starting to pay a lot of attention to their occupancy rates. These spaces were designed with one seat per person but many people are out of their seats visiting clients or in meetings. For firms such as sales organizations, the vacancy rate can be as high as 60 per cent.” Office design constantly evolves. “A few years ago, many organizations were working on a universal footprint to create consistency and a simpler, easierto-manage inventory of parts, allowing office turn-over to happen more easily. Organizations are getting more sophisticated. They’ve learned that this model doesn’t necessarily work,” Guinan says. “When we look at alternate workplace strategies now, we provide different work settings, including private spaces for people who do heads-down work,

to allow employees to work in different types of environments throughout their work day or work week.” “People aren’t tethered to their desk or cubicle anymore. It’s no longer what an organization is looking for in an employee. They want collaboration, engagement and innovation.” This trend certainly fits with employee demographics. “The younger generation accepts the open, collaborative, European-style office,” Guinan says. “They feel that their value in the workplace isn’t associated with how much space they’re provided.” Have we reached the limit of downsizing? Tanfield thinks so. “More people work on each floor than was the case 20 years ago,” he says. “They store files off site. However, buildings can only accommodate so much density. You can add more washrooms, but you can’t easily add exit stairs.” John Alley, senior advisor at MHPM Project Managers, part of the Colliers International commercial real estate services organization, says, “Tenants in older spaces still have potential to

le passé, alors les firmes s’en remettent à leur investissements dans l’immobilier. Cela a commencé aux États-Unis il y a cinq ans, et maintenant, les compagnies canadiennes le font aussi.» Allan Guinan est un partenaire de la firme de design figure3. Il affirme : «Le facteur le plus stimulant pour les stratégies alternatives dans les milieux de travail est le fait que les organisations commencent à se soucier des taux d’occupation. Ils sont à la recherche d’espaces conçus pour un ratio personnalisé où plusieurs personnes vont à l’extérieur du bureau pour des réunions ou pour rencontrer des clients. Pour certaines firmes ou organisations vouées à la vente, le taux d’inoccupation peut être aussi élevé que 60 %.» Le design des bureaux est en constante évolution. «Il y a quelques années, plusieurs organisations travaillaient à établir un modèle universel afin de créer une plus grande uniformité et un inventaire simplifié des morceaux plus facile à gérer lors des changements de bureaux. Les organisations deviennent de plus en plus sophistiquées et ont appris que ce modèle ne fonctionne pas toujours.» Guinan précise : «Lorsque nous regardons les stratégies alternatives dans le milieu de travail valorisées de nos jours, nous pouvons fournir différents

types d’espaces de travail, incluant des espaces privés pour les gens qui font un travail nécessitant une plus grande concentration. Cela permet aussi aux employés de travailler dans des environnements différents durant la même journée ou la même semaine.» «Les individus ne sont plus confinés à leur bureau ou à leur bureau à cloisons. Cela ne fait plus partie des choses que les employeurs attendent de leurs employés. Ils veulent la collaboration, l’implication et l’innovation.» Cette tendance correspond certainement aux caractéristiques démographiques des employés. Guinan précise que «la jeune génération accepte les espaces ouverts et collaboratifs des bureaux de style européen. Les jeunes ont l’impression que leur valeur dans le milieu du travail ne correspond pas à la grandeur des espaces de bureau qu’il leur sont alloués.» Avons-nous atteint les limites du redimensionnement? Tansfield le croit : «Il y a plus d’employés par étage qu’il y a 20 ans.» La technologie rend cela possible. «Les compagnies entreposent leurs dossiers à l’extérieur des bureaux. Cela dit, les bâtiments peuvent accommoder seulement une certaine densité. Il est facile d’ajouter des salles de bains, mais on ne peut faire la mêmes chose avec des escaliers de sortie.»

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downsize. But, as far as the new spaces we are designing, the space allotted to desks seems to have stabilized.” Aandra Currie Shearer of Saskatoon-based Kindrachuk Agrey Architecture doesn’t like to refer to AWS as ‘downsizing’ because of its potentially negative connotation. “I refer to it as ‘work-area restructuring.’” Shearer has worked extensively with Cameco, the world’s largest publicly traded uranium miner, to “encourage collaboration in open spaces, take out the generous meeting areas from personal workspace and provide accommodation for it where it’s shared.” Alley cites a law firm that recently reduced the size of its private offices. “Their net space didn’t decrease. We made more space for meeting and collaboration areas. It was a reconfiguration of space and not a downsizing per se. Employees bought into it entirely.” And of course, buy-in is key. Alley has witnessed “a reaction against very aggressive downsizing to openconcept, small-workstation situations, where there was a lot of nervousness about the new configuration’s ability to accommodate the noise and bustle of phone conversations and other distractions.” To smooth the process, Shearer advises involving people within the system right from the get-go. “Learn where the organization is at the moment, where it wants to go, when it will get to that point

and why it wants to get there. Make a plan with measurable stages,” Shearer says. “When we get to the end of the process, even those who were superresistant to change often say, ‘I get it. I can work with this.’ They’re happier because they see improvements, such as new chairs and other furnishings, more daylighting, and, where possible, individual control of their own lighting and HVAC.” Janine Reaburn, director of real estate and facilities services at LoyaltyOne, the parent of Air Miles, and a figure3 client, says, “We have a very strong work-at-home program in our call centre that has grown from a 20-person pilot to about 250 associates. We have been able to recapture our real estate and make use of it for other groups working in the office.” At TD Bank Group, meanwhile, Roger Johnson, senior VP enterprise real estate, relates that two years ago, group president and CEO Ed Clark announced an “extraordinary workplace” mandate because, Johnson says, “people want to work anywhere

they can any time they can. There is now five times more collaborative space on a typical TD floor.” “Collaborative spaces range from large conference rooms for 15 to 30 people; two-, three- and four seaters; cafes; and comfortable lounge seating around the building that serves for impromptu meetings—and this is where innovation tends to hit.” So, it may just be that alternate workplace strategies, or work-area restructuring as Currie Shearer puts it, is not just a trend but a reality for today’s corporate office.

John Alley est conseiller expert de la firme MHPM Project Managers, qui fait partie de l’organisation Colliers International, reconnue pour ses services d’immobiliers commerciaux. Il affirme : «Les locataires d’espaces plus anciens peuvent encore faire un redimensionnement, mais pour les nouveaux espaces que nous créons, l’espace alloué aux bureaux est stabilisé.» Aandra Currie Shearer, de la firme Kindrachuk Agrey Architecture à Saskatoon, n’aime pas penser à ces stratégies alternatives dans le milieu de travail comme une forme de redimensionnement, en raison de la connotation négative que cela évoque le plus souvent. Elle préfère parler d’une «restructuration des aires de travail». Shearer a beaucoup travaillé avec Cameco, le plus grand producteur d’uranium au monde, afin «d’encourager la collaboration dans les espaces ouverts et d’enlever les espaces de réunions spacieux dans les bureaux individuels, en fournissant l’espace nécessaire pour ces fonctions dans des espaces partagés.» Alley évoque une firme d’avocats qui a récemment réduit les formats de ses bureaux. «Leur espace total n’a pas été réduit. Nous avons alloué plus d’espace aux lieux de rencontres et de collaborations. C’était une reconfiguration de l’espace et non pas un redimensionnement à proprement parler. Les employés ont immédiatement apprécié.» Évidemment, l’adhésion est aussi essentielle. Alley a vu «des réactions très négatives contre un redimensionnement radical en concept ouvert, des situations de très petits espaces à bureaux. Il y parfois des résistances à la nouvelle configuration et sa

capacité d’étouffer les bruits, les conversations téléphoniques avoisinantes et autres distractions.» Pour alléger le processus, Shearer recommande «d’impliquer les individus dès les débuts. Apprenez où l’organisation est rendue en ce moment, jusqu’où elle veut aller, quand elle pense y arriver et pourquoi elle veut en aboutir là. Faites un plan avec des étapes mesurables. Lorsqu’on arrive à la fin du processus, même ceux qui s’opposaient le plus ouvertement aux changements disent souvent : «Je comprends et je peux travailler avec cela.» Ils sont contents parce qu’ils voient une amélioration : des nouvelles chaises et un autre mobilier, plus de lumière. Et quand c’est possible, ils ont le plein contrôle de leur lumière et de leur système de chauffage, de ventilation et de climatisation.» Janine Reaburn est directrice de l’immobilier et des services du bâtiment chez Loyalty One, cette firme parente à Air Miles qui fait partie des clients de figure3. Mme Reaburn dit : «Nous avons un excellent programme pour le travail à domicile dans notre centre d’appels. Ce programme est passé d’un projet pilote de 20 personnes à environ 250 associés. Nous avons été capables de réinventer notre immobilier et d’en faire le meilleur usage pour

d’autres groupes d’individus qui travaillent au bureau.» Roger Johnson, vice-président senior de l’immobilier des entreprises au Groupe Banque TD, mentionne «qu’il y a deux ans, le président du Groupe, Ed Clark, a annoncé un mandat de milieu de travail extraordinaire. Les gens veulent travailler où et quand ils le désirent. Il y a maintenant cinq fois plus d’espaces pour le travail accompli en collaboration sur le plancher traditionnel d’une banque TD.» «Les endroits faits pour le travail en collaboration vont des larges espaces de conférences pour 15 à 30 personnes aux espaces moins grands, pour deux, trois ou quatre fauteuils. Il y aussi des cafés, des salons confortables pour s’asseoir dans les environs du bâtiment et qui servent pour des réunions plus spontanées. C’est précisément là que l’innovation est optimale.» Les stratégies alternatives dans le milieu de travail, ou plutôt la restructuration des aires de travail, comme le mentionne Currie Shearer, ne sont pas qu’une mode, mais bel et bien une réalité pour les bureaux des entreprises d’aujourd’hui.

Continue the conversation: @collierscanada @LoyaltyOneInc @TD_Canada

Pour continuer la conversation : @collierscanada @LoyaltyOneInc, @TD_Canada

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communicating design le design communique: le langage de la réussite

Writing doesn’t come easily to everyone. Learn a few tips and tricks from writing professionals on how to write effective communications materials. Pour plusieurs, écrire n’est pas chose facile. Apprenez quelques trucs d’écrivains professionnels sur les rouages d’une écriture de documents efficace. By / Par Julia Salerno

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The ability to write clearly and effectively doesn’t come easily to everyone. Luckily, writing is a skill, not a talent, and skills can be learned. Just as you regularly learn through continuing education, your writing too can be improved with some practice. Well written communications can help you win over prospective clients and can even attract more visitors to your website. By following these tips from professional writers you can learn how to showcase your company to its best advantage. Chris Hannah is principal of Cricket Design and has been an educator at Toronto’s Ryerson School of Interior Design for the past 25 years. His course teaches third-year students how to prepare for their required fourth-year internship with a design firm. “The majority of issues that arise in design relationships are often communications based. There’s written communication in everything that we do, so it’s important to be able to effectively communicate our ideas.” Hannah takes a practical, experienced-based approach to his teaching. He instructs students

La capacité d’écrire de manière claire et efficace n’est pas chose facile pour tout le monde. Heureusement, écrire est une aptitude et non un talent, alors il est possible de l’apprendre. Tout comme vous apprenez régulièrement dans des séances de formation, l’écriture peut aussi s’améliorer avec la pratique. Des communications bien écrites peuvent améliorer vos chances avec des clients potentiels. Elles peuvent même attirer plus de personnes sur votre site Internet. En suivant ces quelques recommandations d’écrivains professionnels, vous pouvez apprendre à montrer votre compagnie sous son meilleur jour. Chris Hannah est le président de Cricket Design. Il a été professeur à la School of Interior Design de l’Université Ryerson de Toronto depuis 25 ans. Ses cours enseignent aux étudiants de troisième année comment bien se préparer pour leur stage de quatrième année dans une firme de design. Il souligne : «La majorité des conflits qui émergent dans les relations de design sont souvent reliés aux communications. La communication écrite est au cœur de tout ce que nous faisons, alors il est important de pouvoir communiquer nos idées le mieux possible.» Dans ses cours, Hannah valorise une approche pratique qui sait profiter de l’expérience. Il apprend

on how to write resumes and cover letters, site instructions, formal letters, contract documents, meeting minutes, addendums to drawings and even the basics, like email writing. He advises students to always assume the reader doesn’t know what you’re talking about. “Introduce your subject and be clear about what you’re writing about. It’s important to choose your words carefully.” Keep it simple, advises Stephanie Chandler, author of Own Your Niche and seven more small business and internet marketing books. “Avoid using jargon and long sentences. Novice writers may find it easier to divide their writing into sub-heads or use bullet points to layout their communications,” she says. “Readers have limited attention spans, so it’s important to grab their interest quickly and keep them engaged throughout your piece,” adds Chandler. She believes that beginners should start the process by outlining their key points. The author recommends trying not to over-think your

writing. “That could lead to jumbled ideas and result in an incoherent finished product for the reader to decipher. Try to write as though you’re conversing with a fifth grader.” Emma Jowett, account director at H2 Central Marketing and Communications says the most common mistake she sees business owners make when writing their own material is not tailoring their pieces to a specific audience. “Before you sit down to write, it’s important to think about who might be reading your material and what they could do with it,” says Jowett. She recommends identifying your core audience and breaking them into two groups: your direct audience, like a client, potential client, or design collaborator and indirect audience, like the media who may be interested in contacting you about your work. Once you’ve established who you’re writing for, you’re ready to structure your argument. “Make your objective known to the reader early in the piece by stating the most important points first.”

aux étudiants à écrire des curriculums vitae, des lettres de présentation, des descriptifs de site Internet, des lettres officielles, des documents contractuels, des procès-verbaux, des légendes pour des croquis, et même des courriels. Il dit à ses étudiants qu’ils doivent toujours faire comme si leurs lecteurs ne savent pas de quoi ils parlent. «Il faut être clair à propos du sujet dont il s’agit. Il est aussi important de bien choisir ses mots», ajoute-t-il. Stephanie Chandler est l’auteure du livre Own Your Niche et de sept autres bouquins de marketing pour l’Internet destinés à des petites entreprises. Elle recommande de rester le plus concis possible. Elle dit qu’il est préférable «d’ éviter les jargons et les longues phrases. Les jeunes écrivains peuvent trouver plus facile de diviser leurs propos en divers sous-titres ou d’utiliser des points marqueurs pour mieux élaborer leurs communications écrites.» Chandler ajoute : «Les lecteurs ont leur limite d’attention, voilà pourquoi il faut attirer rapidement leur attention et les maintenir intéressés tout au long de votre texte.» Elle croit que les débutants doivent commencer le processus en cernant les points les plus importants. L’auteure recommande de ne pas trop penser à son écriture : «Ce genre

d’attitude peu finir par brouiller les idées et donner un produit fini incohérent et difficile à saisir pour le lecteur. Essayez plutôt d’écrire comme si vous conversiez avec un étudiant de cinquième année.» Emma Jowett est directrice des comptes chez H2 Central Marketing and Communications. Elle dit que les erreurs les plus communes et remarquées chez les propriétaires d’entreprise lorsqu’ils écrivent leurs propres documents découlent du fait que le texte ne tient pas compte des lecteurs ou du public spécifique. Elle affirme : « Avant de vous asseoir pour écrire un document, il est important d’avoir en tête les destinataires du texte et ce qu’ils pourront faire avec votre document.» Elle recommande de bien identifier le public cible et de le diviser en deux groupes : votre public ciblé le plus directement, comme un client, un client potentiel ou un collaborateur en design, et votre public plus élargi, comme les personnes des médias qui pourraient être intéressés à vous contacter pour discuter de votre travail. Une fois que le public cible est bien déterminé, vous êtes prêt à structurer votre argument. Elle précise : «En premier lieu, il faut expliquer l’objectif au lecteur clairement, en lui décrivant les points les plus importants.» La professionnelle des

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The communications professional recommends using the Think, Feel, Do principle. “Think is about informing your audience; what you want them to think about when reading your piece. Feel is about how you want your audience to react when they read your material. Have you donated to charity, or recently won an award? These examples make the audience feel good about hiring or wanting to hire you. And lastly, Do is about motivating and wanting your audience to act on something,” explains Jowett. She suggests creating an experience for the reader by highlighting achievements and adding social proof to your material to inform, reinforce and motivate your reader to think, feel and ultimately do. Patricia Eakins is the author of Writing for Interior Design. For more than twenty years, she taught “Writing for Architecture and the Arts,” creative writing, basic composition, and other writing classes at colleges and universities across the U.S.. “Some designers think that grandiose phrases, academic terminology, and puffy “spin” will make them seem more estimable in their clients’ eyes. Nothing could be further from the truth. No matter how many people read what you write, remember each of them reads alone. Write as an individual speaking to an individual. This principle is at the heart of all good writing.”

communications recommande l’usage du principe Think, Feel, Do (penser, sentir et faire). Elle affirme : «L’acte de penser (Think) est associé au fait d’informer votre public cible; les choses auxquelles vous voulez qu’il réfléchisse lorsqu’il lira votre texte. Le fait de sentir (Feel) cherche à établir comment vous souhaitez que votre public réagisse lorsqu’il lira votre texte. Avez-vous contribué à un organisme de charité ou récemment remporté un prix? Ces réussites parmi d’autres convaincront vos lecteurs de vous engager. Finalement, Jowett insiste : «L’acte de faire (Do) témoigne de la motivation et de la volonté que votre public s’engage activement sur des questions et des dossiers.» Elle suggère de créer une expérience pour les lecteurs qui éclaire les réussites et ajoute des preuves incontournables à vos documents. Le but est de mieux informer et stimuler les gens à penser, à sentir et, en bout de parcours, à faire des choses. Patricia Eakins est l’auteure du livre Writing for Interior Design. Elle a enseigné pendant plus de vingt ans un cours sur les méthodes de rédaction spécifiques à la littérature et aux arts. Elle a également donné des cours de création littéraire, de compositions élémentaires et d’autres cours de rédaction écrite dans divers collèges et universités à travers les États-Unis. Elle souligne : «Certains designers pensent qu’une phrase grandiloquente, une terminologie académique et des tournures frappantes sauront les rendre plus estimables aux yeux de leurs clients. Rien ne pourrait être plus éloigné de la vérité. Peu importe combien de gens lisent ce que vous écrivez, souvenez–vous que chacun d’eux lit lorsqu’il est seul.

“Try saying aloud what you have to say before you commit it to writing,” adds Eakins. This is particularly appropriate for interior designers, who may be called upon to make an oral presentation even before they do a written one. “You might try reading your writing into a recorder, then playing it back to yourself. Your ears will catch clumsy phrasing and botched sentences before your eyes do.” “You may not think of yourself as a natural writer, but over time you will find that writing becomes a well-developed skill that you can take pleasure in—if at the least because it provides such strong support for your work as an interior designer.” Visit businessinfoguide.com/ dimensions/ and enter the promo code “dimensions” for your discounted copy of Stephanie Chandler’s Own Your Niche. Continue the conversation: @bizauthor @H2_Central

Écrivez comme si vous parliez avec un autre individu. Ce principe est au cœur des meilleurs textes écrits.» Eatkins précise : «Essayer de dire à haute voix ce que vous voulez communiquer par écrit, avant de le faire.» Cela est particulièrement souhaitable pour les designers d’intérieur qui devront peut-être se soumettre à une présentation orale, avant même de devoir fournir au client un document par écrit. Elle ajoute : «Vous pouvez même vous enregistrer et vous écouter. Votre oreille entendra les phrases boiteuses avant même que vos yeux puissent les voir. Vous ne pensez probablement pas que vous êtes un «écrivain-né», mais vous verrez qu’avec le temps l’écriture est un outil qu’on peut développer et faire avec plaisir, surtout s’il vous fournit du soutien dans votre travail comme designer d’intérieur.» Visitez businessinfoguide.com/dimensions/ et entrez le code promotionnel «dimensions» pour obtenir une réduction sur votre copie du livre de Stephanie Chandler, Own Your Niche. Pour continuer la conversation : @bizauthor @H2_Central

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on your behalf… en votre nom…

An Industry member special feature for manufacturers and suppliers to the interior design community. Un article spécial pour les membres d’industrie, les fabricants et les fournisseurs de la communauté du design d’intérieur.

Your Association’s primary mandate is to ensure the advancement of the interior design profession, on your behalf.

An important function of IDC is that it connects the industry with the interior design community. IDC works with its Industry members to find valuable ways to reach out to interior designers, while supporting the programming IDC provides for interior designers. Getting value out of your Industry membership comes down to taking advantage of the many benefits IDC has to offer. From involvement in local and national trade shows, targeted mailings, newsletters, sponsorship opportunities, discounts on advertising, Canadian industry-specific surveys, Mock-up Standards, and through participation on committees, IDC Industry members have a variety of options to get their brand in front of interior designers. Aside from the many services we offer, IDC promotes its Industry members regularly. Our Industry members are listed by membership level in each issue of dimensions magazine, in the buyers’ guide found inside IDC’s annual member directory, and on the IDC website’s IndustryINDEX. Organized by region or by category, IndustryINDEX, an online database of members, is a quick and easy search tool for interior designers and specifiers to locate and source products or services from IDC Industry members across the country. In addition, Industry members receive a complimentary subscription to Canadian Interiors magazine each year. One way to get more involved is through participation in local trade shows, called Table Tops. Table Tops are smaller-scale trade shows where suppliers and manufacturers display their latest products and services on tables, rather than within booths. The program has recently expanded, with Table Top Shows in Vancouver Island, Okanagan, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The shows have proven to be a great way of bringing the local interior design community together. They’re also more intimate, as Industry members receive more face-to-face time with interior designers and other specifiers. IDC has found that these trade shows present a good opportunity for Industry to learn more about

Le premier mandat de votre association est d’assurer en votre nom l’avancement de la profession de design d’intérieur.

Un des rôles importants des DIC est celui d’agent de liaison entre les fabricants, les fournisseurs et la communauté du design d’intérieur. Les DIC travaillent avec les membres de l’industrie pour trouver des manières efficaces de joindre les designers d’intérieur, tout en soutenant les programmes et événements offerts aux membres. Profiter au maximum de la valeur de votre adhésion d’industrie et implique profiter des nombreux avantages et des privilèges offerts par les DIC. Les membres d’industrie ont plusieurs options pour rehausser leur visibilité auprès des designers d’intérieur : l’implication dans les salons et événements locaux et nationaux, les envois postaux ciblés, les divers bulletins, les occasions de commandites, les rabais pour des publicités, les sondages canadiens spécifiques à l’industrie, les Normes des maquettes et la participation à divers comités. Les DIC font régulièrement la promotion des membres d’industrie en plus des multiples services qu’ils offrent. Les fabricants et les fournisseurs sont listés selon leur niveau d’adhésion dans chacun des numéros du magazine dimensions, dans le Répertoire des fournisseurs qu’on trouve à l’intérieur de l’Annuaire annuel des membres des DIC, ainsi que sur le site Internet IndustryINDEX des DIC. Le Site IndustryINDEX est une banque de donnée en ligne des membres cataloguée selon les régions et les catégories. C’est un outil rapide et facile pour faire des recherches pour les designers d’intérieur et les fournisseurs qui souhaitent trouver des membres des DIC partout au pays. De plus, les membres de l’industrie reçoivent tous les ans un abonnement gratuit au magazine Canadian Interiors. Une manière de s’impliquer davantage est de participer aux divers salons locaux, comme les expositions sur table. Les expositions sur table sont des minisalons où les fournisseurs et les fabricants exhibent leurs nouveaux produits et services sur des ordinateurs, au lieu de les présenter dans des kiosques. Les DIC ont récemment participé à ce genre d’événements, avec des expositions sur table à Vancouver et à Kelowna, en Saskatchewan, au Manitoba, en Alberta, au Québec, au Nouveau-Brunswick et en Nouvelle-Écosse. Ces minisalons sont une façon originale de réunir les communautés de design d’intérieur locales. Ils sont généralement plus intimes, car les membres de l’industrie ont l’occasion de passer plus de temps en personne avec les designers

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the local market, meet new members, or build on relationships already in place. IDC offers two direct mailing services for Industry looking to promote a product launch, showroom party, or introduce themselves to a new market. The first service is our Mailing Labels Program and the other is IDC’s Email Broadcast Program. Regional members receive one free e-blast, while National members are entitled to two free e-blasts. Industry members receive four newsletters from IDC. ID Connections, IDC’s monthly e-newsletter, brings you news about the association, the industry and provincial events. Professional Development Bulletin is IDC’s bi-weekly newsletter that highlights all continuing education opportunities occurring nationally. IDC Sponsorship Opportunities is our monthly e-newsletter that outlines the association’s latest sponsorship offerings—an important way to stay informed about how you can get involved with local and national events—and our fourth newsletter is IDC News Clippings. Delivered to your inbox weekly, this newsletter delivers current and compelling economic, real estate, and industry news from across Canada and around the world. The newsletter is managed by an external company that offers IDC Industry members a 10 per cent discount on advertising. The ads run for a 13-week cycle and can be purchased through MultiBriefs by downloading the media kit on the IDC website.

In late July, IDC sent out a survey to gather information about Canadian furniture manufacturers’ sales figures for the past three years. Once compiled, the study will provide meaningful data to your company, to the industry in general and to the association—for benchmarking figures in the Canadian marketplace—as we advocate on behalf of the Canadian interior design sector to business and government. Earlier in the year, IDC released an Industry Mock-Up Standard, on your behalf. The Standard limits the number of mock-up requests interior designers can make, sets a guideline for lead-times, and recommends an appropriate timeline for clients to make their decision. The Standard is in an effort to minimize waste and unnecessary expense in preparing excessive mock-ups. The Industry Mock-Up Standard can be found on IDC’s website. Victoria Fellowes is IDC’s Director, Business Development. Her role is to ensure that IDC’s more than 280 Industry members are informed about the ways to promote their business through the association. “I’m thrilled to be in this role,” says Fellowes. “I’m committed to ensuring our members get the most value out of their membership dollar, so I’m always looking for ways to improve the services we offer.”

d’intérieur et les fournisseurs. Les DIC croient que ces salons représentent une occasion unique pour l’industrie d’en apprendre plus sur les marchés locaux, de rencontrer de nouveaux membres et de renforcer les relations d’affaires déjà établies. Les DIC offrent deux services d’envois directs pour les compagnies qui souhaitent promouvoir le lancement d’un produit, annoncer une fête dans une salle de montre ou simplement se présenter à de nouveaux marchés. Le premier service est notre programme de liste d’adresses et le second est le programme de publipostage des DIC. Les membres régionaux reçoivent un publipostage électronique gratuitement. Les membres nationaux ont, quant à eux, le privilège de deux publipostages électroniques gratuits offerts pendant l’année d’adhésion. Les membres d’industrie reçoivent quatre bulletins des DIC. Il y a d’abord le bulletin mensuel ID Connections des DIC, qui vous donne des nouvelles de l’association, de l’industrie et vous informe au sujet des événements provinciaux. Il y a le Professional Development Bulletin. Ce bulletin bimensuel vous renseigne sur les séances de formation continue au niveau national. Ensuite, il y a le bulletin IDC Sponsorship Opportunities, qui est publié bimensuellement et rend compte des dernières opportunités de commandites. Ce véhicule vous tiendra au courant des façons de vous impliquer dans les événements locaux et nationaux. Notre quatrième bulletin est Les manchettes des DIC. Ce dernier est envoyé dans votre boîte de courriels hebdomadairement et vous tient au courant des nouvelles nationales et internationales concernant

l’économie, l’immobilier et l’industrie. Ce bulletin est administré par une compagnie externe et offre aux membres d’industrie des DIC un rabais de 10 % sur les publicités. Les publicités sont publiées sur un cycle de 13 semaines et peuvent être achetées chez MultiBriefs en téléchargeant la trousse des médias sur le site Internet des DIC. En juillet dernier, les DIC ont envoyé un sondage pour recueillir de l’information au sujet des chiffres de ventes des fabricants de meubles canadiens dans les trois dernières années. Une fois les résultats compilés, l’étude fournira des données inestimables pour votre compagnie, l’industrie en général et l’association. Elle présentera les chiffres d’étalonnage sur le marché canadien. Ces chiffres sont importants puisque nous faisons la promotion au nom du secteur du design d’intérieur canadien auprès des entreprises et du gouvernement. Plus tôt cette année, les DIC ont publié les normes des maquettes de l’industrie, en votre nom. Ces normes limitent le nombre de demandes de maquettes que les designers d’intérieur peuvent exiger. Elles servent aussi à établir des directives et recommandent des délais satisfaisants pour donner le temps aux clients de prendre la meilleure décision. Ces normes sont un effort pour minimiser les pertes et les dépenses inutiles dans la préparation à outrance de maquettes. On peu trouver les Normes des maquettes de l’industrie sur le site Internet des DIC. Victoria Fellowes est directrice du développement des affaires des DIC. Son rôle est de s’assurer que les 280 membres d’industrie sont informés sur les manières de promouvoir leur entreprise grâce à l’association. Fellowes souligne: «Je suis heureuse de remplir ce nouveau rôle. Je suis déterminée à m’assurer que nos membres ont les meilleurs services pour l’argent qu’ils ont investi. Voilà pourquoi je ne cesse d’essayer de trouver des façons d’améliorer les services que nous offrons.»

In the next few weeks IDC will begin putting together its 2013 Industry Member Package. The package will have improved member services and will focus on bringing more benefits to your Industry membership. We encourage you to send in your suggestions for improvement to Victoria Fellowes at vfellowes@idcanada.org. Need us to act on your behalf? Let us know. We’re here to help.

Dans les prochaines semaines, les DIC commenceront à assembler les documents destinés aux membres de l’industrie. Ces documents vous donneront les informations requises sur les services aux membres améliorés et détailleront les nouveaux privilèges de votre adhésion d’industrie. Nous vous encourageons à faire parvenir vos commentaires et vos suggestions à Victoria Fellowes, à vfellowes@idcanada.org. Vous avez besoin de nous pour agir en votre nom? Faites-le-nous savoir. Nous sommes là pour vous aider.

dimensions 15

Interior Designers Of Canada C536–43 Hanna Avenue, Toronto ON M6K 1X1 t 416.649.4425 tf 877.443.4425 f 416.921.3660 dimensions@idcanada.org www.idcanada.org

Industry members *Membres de l’industrie With thanks to our industry members for their continued support of IDC. Avec nos remerciements aux membres de l’industrie pour leur soutien continu aux DIC. IDC/IIDEX Partner Partenaires des DIC/IIDEX Altro Cree Canada Inspire Interface Levey Wallcoverings Philips Teknion IDC National Member Membres nationaux des DIC Caesarstone Canada Hunter Douglas LP. Knoll North America Corp. Shaw Contract Group Steelcase Canada Ltd. StonCor Group Tandus Flooring Williams-Sonoma Inc. Designer Marketplace IDC Regional Member Membres régionaux des DIC 3M Canada - Architectural Markets Ames Tile & Stone Ltd. Cambria Natural Quartz Surfaces GLOBAL GROUP Haworth Ltd. INSCAPE Kravet Canada Lutron Electronics Canada Inc. Milliken & Company IDC Provincial Member Membres provinciaux des DIC Allseating Allsteel American Standard Brands Arborite, division de/of ITW Canada Beaulieu Commercial Benjamin Moore & Co. Ltd. Ceragres Tile Group Contrast Lighting M.L. Inc Crown Wallpaper & Fabrics Dauphin North America Delta Sierra Construction & Millwork Ltd. Hettich Canada L.P. Joel Berman Glass Studios Julian Ceramic Tile Inc. Kohler Canada Co. LEEZA Distribution Inc. Mabe Canada (GE Monogram) Mapei Inc. MARANT Construction Ltd. Metropolitan Hardwood Floors Inc. Miele Limited Odyssey Wallcoverings Paloform Inc. Partition Components Inc. Three H. Furniture Systems TORLYS Smart Floors IDC Media Partner Partenaires des médias des DIC Canadian Interiors HOMES Publishing Group

IDC Print Partner Partenaire d’imprimerie des DIC Entire Imaging Solutions Inc. IDC Local Member Membres locaux des DIC 2KGrafx 3form Abet Corp. Aeon Stone & Tile Inc. AGA Marvel Alendel Fabrics Limited AMTICO International Inc. Appliance Love Applied Electronics Ltd. Arconas AriaArt Art Works Gallery Astro Design Centre Atlas Carpet Mills Inc. Avant Garde division of Master Fabrics AYA Kitchens and Baths Ltd Banner Carpets Ltd. Beckwith Galleries Bermax Furniture and Design bf workplace BL Innovative Lighting Blackburn Young Office Solutions Blum Canada Ltd. BoConcept Bradford Decorative Hardware Inc. Bradlee Distributors Inc. BRC Canada Brunswick Manufacturing Co. Ltd. Buckwold Western Business Interiors by Staples California Closets Canadel Canlyte Inc. Cantu Bathrooms & Hardware Ltd. Carpenters Union, Local 27 CAS Interiors Inc. Cascadia Design Products cd/m2 LIGHTWORKS corp. Ceratec Inc. CGC Inc. Chase Office Interiors Inc. Cherrywood Studio Chestnut Grove Cabinetry & Millwork Ciot Click Lighting and Home Coast Wholesale Appliances Cocoon Furnishings Colin Campbell & Sons Ltd. Colonial Countertops Ltd. Command Performance Exclusive Electronic Solutions Commercial Electronics Ltd. Connect Resource Managers & Planners Inc. Convenience Group Inc. Cooper Bros. International Coopertech Signs and Graphics Coreplan Construction Inc. Crate and Barrel Canada Creative Matters Inc. CTI Working Environments Cubo Design Inc. Custom Closet Organizers Inc./Hiddenbed Canada Custom Range Hoods Inc. Daltile Canada Decor-Rest Furniture Ltd. Dell Smart Home Solutions Denison Gallery Design Exchange Design Lighting Design Living Centre Digital Smart Homes Divine Hardwood Flooring Ltd.

DOM INTERIORS TORONTO Dominion Rug Sales Ltd. D’or Art Consultants DPI Construction Management Drechsel Business Interiors E. Roko Distributors Ltd. / Formica Emily Quinn Emma Dane Design + Build Ensuite, The Entertaining Interiors Environmental Acoustics Envirotech Office Systems Inc. Erv Parent Group Ethan Allen European Flooring Group Fendi Casa, Canada Fleurco Products FloForm Countertops Floor Coverings International Flux Lighting Inc. Fontile Kitchen and Bath Forbo Linoleum Inc. Geovin Furniture Inc. Grand & Toy GRANGE Furniture Inc. Greenferd Construction Inc. Gresham House Inc. Grohe Canada Inc. Grosfillex Inc. Hardwoods Specialty Products Hauser Industries Inc. Heritage Office Furnishings Ltd. Heritage Office Furnishings Victoria Ltd. Herman Miller Canada Inc. High Point Market Authority Holmes & Brakel Humanscale IDEE17 Impact Office Furnishings Limited Indigo Books & Music Inc. Info-Link/Enviro-Link Interior Conciousness Interior Surfaces Inc. Interna Furniture Design Ltd. Island Window Coverings Ltd. Isted Technical Sales JCO & Associates Johnsonite Jones Goodridge Keilhauer Kinetic Design Products Ltd. Kitchen & Bath Classics (Wolseley) Kobe Interior Products Inc. Korson Furniture Design Kraus/Floors with More Krug La Scala Home Cinema + Integrated Media Leber Rubes Inc. LED John Lighting Application Inc. Leonardi Construction Ltd. Leon’s at the Roundhouse Liesch Office Interiors Light Resource LightForm M.R. Evans Trading Co. Ltd. Maharam Marble Trend Ltd. Marco Products (W Group) Marilyn Harding Art Martin Knowles Photo/Media Mercury Wood Products Metro Wallcoverings Inc. Miller Thomson LLP Millson Technologies Inc MOEN INC. Momentum Group Monk Office Interiors mpengo Ltd. M-Tec. Inc.

My Greener House Nienkamper Furniture and Accessories Inc. Novanni Stainless Inc. Octopus Products Ltd. Office Shop, The Office Source Inc. OLON Industries Inc. Olympia Tile International Inc. Orion Hardware Corporation Pacific Stone Tile Ltd. Para Paints Pentco Industries Inc. PI Fine Art/ Posters International POI Business Interiors Powell & Bonnell Home Inc. Pravada Floors Prima Lighting Prolific Marketing Inc. Pure Wood Studio Inc. Rae Brothers Ltd. Ram Mechanical Marketing - Manitoba Reeves Group Agents Ltd., The Robert Allen Fabrics Canada Rodgers Wall Materials Inc. Roman Bath Centre Salari Fine Carpet Collections Schoolhouse Products Inc. Sherwin Williams Silk and Style By Dann Imports Silverwood Flooring SMARTWaste Canada smitten creative boutique SOFA, Source of Furniture and Accessories Solutions Workplace Furnishings Sound Advice Sound Solutions 1997 Inc. Spacefile International Corp Spacesaver Corp. Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. Stonequest Inc. Streamline Sales & Marketing Inc Stylish Fireplaces by Huntington Lodge Sullivan Source Inc., The SwitzerCultCreative Symmetry Lighting Tasco Distributors Taymor Industries Ltd. The Brick Commercial Design Centre Midnorthern Appliances The Mohawk Group The Pentacon Group The Sliding Door Company Tierra Sol Ceramic Tile TOR The Office Resource Tremont Wood Specialties Inc. Tremton Construction Inc. Tri-Can Contract Inc. Tripped On Light design inc. Tritex Fabrics Ltd. Turco-Persian Rug Co. Ltd. Turnkey Lifestyle Technologies Tusch Seating Inc. Twelve O’clock Dream Valley Countertops Industries Ltd. Vandyk Commercial Co. Ltd. Vifloor Canada Ltd. W Studio Decorative Carpets Waterflo Kitchen & Bath Gallery Weavers Rug Gallery Westport Mfg. Co. Ltd. White-Wood Distributors Ltd. Wilsonart Canada Window Works Ltd. Your Home Custom A/V Systems *As of July 23, 2012

*À partir du 23 juillet 2012

SOURCE OF FURNITURE

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