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Official publication of Interior Designers of Canada
Features
03/042015
33 PARTNERS IN DESIGN The II BY IV DESIGN that Dan Menchions and Keith Rushbrook built – a solid success from the get-go – turns 25. By David Lasker
40 CHANCE TO SHINE Bright lights of the 17th-annual Interior Design Show, from LED lamps to the latest constructions in wood. By Leslie C. Smith
44 NEW WORK Outstanding at Orgatec, the international trade fair for the modern working environment, held this past October in Cologne. By Enrico G. Cleva
Regulars
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INSIDE CAUGHT OUR EYE SEEN Walk-on parts: flooring innovations at Domotex 2015, plus some runners-up from our flooring files. SCENE OVER & OUT Dolce Britannia: Touring Superleggera and MINI make one sweet ride.
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COVER – Portrait of Keith Rushbrook and Dan Menchions, in the II BY IV DESIGN office, by Stacey Brandford
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One for all, and all for one
Extuple, designed by Toronto-based Partisan Projects, is a balanced exploration of material, form and functionality, located on the 37th floor of the historic Mies van der Rohe Toronto-Dominion Centre. The office hinges around a work area where staff can collaborate around a custom-designed table, while phone-booth style offices of glass and plywood provide privacy when needed.
A perfect 10
Montreal-based KANVA, the 10-person collective led by Tudor Radulescu and Rami Bebawi, is the recipient of the 2015 Emerging Architectural Practice Award given by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada.The multi-disciplinary firm acts as an experimental laboratory for the advancement of building practices and material innovation.
major manufacturers were there showing off current and upcoming models at the ever-popular event, but some of the most visionary concept vehicles and tantalizing upgrades belonged to Infiniti, Acura, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan.
18 Announcing the 18th annual Best of Canada Design Competition
Design Africa Vroom, vroom
The Canadian International AutoShow is Canada’s largest automotive fair, held annually every February in multiple venues around downtown Toronto. As always, all the
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Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, is celebrating Africa this spring and summer with two exhibits, The main event, “Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design” – running through Sept. 13 – showcases the work of 120 African designers and is accompanied by a starstudded events program.
Be part of the country’s only design competition to focus on interior design projects and products without regard to size, budget or location.
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For information and entry form, visit canadianinteriors.com
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Bachelor of Interior Design Bridging Program Turn your diploma into a degree... Graduates with a three-year Advanced Diploma in Interior Design may be eligible to complete our Bachelor of Interior Design degree.
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S O F T S U R FA C E B R O A D L O O M : P R E S A G E ( G R E Y S K Y )
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Canadian Interiors publishes six 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 n ewsstands 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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Why I’m all for II BY IV
I first became aware of II BY IV DESIGN in 1997, when I was the food editor of Toronto Life magazine. One of the hottest new restaurants in town – Zoom Caffe and Bar – had opened in a former King Street East bank close to the TL office, a success in part due to the fresh and fanciful design by II BY IV principals Keith Rushbrook and Dan Menchions. It became my favourite spot to eat (lunch or dinner), drink (many a happy hour) and be made merry by the festive atmosphere created by II BY IV, thanks to deep, lushly upholstered lounge seating, small cocktail tables and low table lamps. In my mind’s eye, I can still see the trio of massive, spiky, custom-designed glass spheres, incorporating incandescent light fixtures, suspended on steel rods from the 25-foot ceiling: the “three graces” of Zoom. --------------------------------I’ve been a fan of II BY IV DESIGN ever since, as the “hits” kept on coming: Rain, Scarpetta Dining Pavilion at the Thompson Hotel, Trump International Hotel and Tower, etc. What I like about Rushbrook and Menchions is this: they’re not afraid to take things just short of “over the top”; their work is unabashadly glam (without being glitzy) and dramatic (without being overwrought). - - - - - - --------------------------------Associate editor David Lasker, who profiles the firm in its 25th-anniversary year (“Partners in design,” page 33), has been a fan even longer than I have been. “I was personally attracted to Dan and Keith’s work, and was delighted to give them real estate in The Globe and Mail when I was Fashion and Design editor in the 1990s,” he recalls. “I admire their nerve. How many designers would stick their necks out by making the focal point of a high-profile project like the Trump Hotel lobby in Toronto something as literal, in-yourface and bold as their 1,300-pound crystal cherry blossom? Compared to the lobbies of the four other five-star hotels to open more or less concurrently in Toronto, II BY IV’s alone doesn’t seem impersonal.” - - - - - - - - --------------------------------•
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caught our eye Photo by Christine Bourgier
BLOW, WINDS, AND CRACK YOUR CHEEKS For an updated version of Shakespeare’s King Lear in Montreal, Mazen Chamseddine Architect created an uncommonly powerful setting in an old barracks, using only three elements: an immense wooden structure (nowhere land), 175 stacks of newspaper (labyrinth, cemetery, barren heath and audience seating) and a concrete block (gravestone at the centre of an unforgiving universe).
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caught our eye
DIAMOND LIFE From Marcel Wanders’ Illusions collection for Graham & Brown, the delightfully pixelated Braille Chester wallpaper. grahambrown.com
FINDING TIME Nixie Machine by Frank Buchwald for M.A.D. Gallery in Geneva is a sculptural clock made out of burnished steel and brushed brass; it features six incredibly preserved Z568M Nixie tubes manufactured by RFT in East Germany during the 1960s (recently discovered in a Bulgarian army depot). madgallery.ch
MINIATURE MONOLITHS Micro-versions of London’s Brutalist tower blocks printed on recycled paper cutouts by Polish design studio Zupagrafika. The series features various buildings from the 1960s and 1970s and come with historical details. zupagrafika.com
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LET DOWN YOUR HAIR Lucky artists, writers, musicians, architects and designers will take part in the year-long Artist in Residence Project called “Room on the Roof” – the room being the work of i29 Interior Architect, the roof being Amsterdam’s historic tower of de Bijenkorf. i29.nl
HOT OFF THE PRESS The Stack line from Italy’s La Castellamonte reinterprets the ancient tradition of ceramic stoves. lacastellamonte.it
NOT THE CRAZY KIND Reinvent the Swiss cuckoo clock. That was the challenge given to students and guest designers by the HEAD – Genève, Haute école d’art et de design, and their solutions can be seen in a new exhibition at the UQAM Centre de Design in Montreal. centrededesign.uqam.ca
— more
canadianinteriors.com
CANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2015
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Brushed Aluminum in Rubber? Impossible! Absurd! Not anymore. Johnsonite Rubber Tile Textures break the boundaries of flooring design with textures that capture the authentic essence of Brushed Aluminum, Hand-tooled Leather and even Rice Paper just some of the 23 textures that will send your imagination soaring. And the 36 ColorMatchŽ colors they’re available in lets you coordinate finishing borders, accessories, stairwell management and more. Room to room, floor to floor, bring the whole experience together. Find out more at tarkettna.com.
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Large and small squares, planks and skinny planks.
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FUN WITH GEOMETRY This January at Domotex, Vorwerk presented the TEXtiles carpet-tile collection. Here, designer Werner Aisslinger uses intriguing modular geometries and colours that let designers shift between calm, rhythmic repeat patterns and vivid, graphically oriented compositions. Variations within the collection have names like Trapez, Darts+Diamonds, Tripod+Prisma and Stripe: you get the idea. vorwerk-carpet.com
Like Hollywood starlets, flooring innovations primped & preened & made ready for their close-up at Domotex. P lus: a few from our flooring files
Hannover, Germany, was the place to get floored (excuse the pun) by a fresh new crop of flooring stars-in-the-making at Domotex 2015. It was here that the underlying magic (again, sorry about the pun) resilient textile floor coverings, parquet and laminate flooring, woven, knotted/tufted carpets, and flooring installation systems can bring to an interior was revealed in all its glory. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------•
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seen
REINVENTING ITSELF Netherlands-based carpet manufacturer Edel Group garnered well-deserved attention for finding a way to make carpet product out of a waste product. Majestic is billed as the world’s first fitted carpet made from 100 per cent recycled PET bottles.
THE KNOTS OF LIFE Jürgen Dahlmanns, the design mastermind at Berlin-based Rug Star, sees Tibetan rugs as a canvas to explore all manner of the human experience. Using Freud and Nietzsche as reference points, his efforts reaped several 2015 Carpet Design Awards at Domotex, including the Best Modern Design Deluxe trophy for Heart No. 01 Original, an abstract epitome of “man’s hunger for love.” rugstar.com
A STEPPE ABOVE Those seeking solace in nature will be transported to the lush fields and meadows of each season by the Steppe collection created by Wool and Silk. This Turkish company has fared very well at Domotex, scooping up Carpet Design Awards three years running, including this year in multiple categories. woolandsilkrugs.com
edelgroup.nl
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SIDELIN ED BY N ATURE Jaipur Ru gs used Domotex collection to debut by Kavi, its n which exp ordered p lores wha ew Project Error recision o ru t happen f machin Such acc s when th g es is side idents ca e lined n le “nature’s interruptio ad to “misprints,” by happy acciden ts. n or as Kavi that etho s, no two of mechanical du plication.” calls it, rugs are jaipurrug exactly th Keeping sco.com true to e same.
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PREPARE FOR LANDING Berlin-based Jan Kath is always a reliable source of optical and haptic stylistic devices in hand-knotted rugs, but this time decided to take a stab at photorealism with the eye-popping Spacecrafted collection. In it are a variety of intergalactic floor fantasies, such as Moon, which uses 150 to 200 knots per square centimeter and no fewer than 60 hues to depict the lunar surface with telescopic precision. jan-kath.com
OUTSIDE THE BOX A new carpet collection from Vorwerk flooring brings a playful touch to business-oriented spaces. The product family Elementary Shapes – by designer Werner Aisslinger – combines new colours, shapes and materials in wool carpet tiles that can be joined using brightly coloured felt strips to create free-form rug islands and runners that can act as lively room accents. vorwerk-carpet.com
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TOUGH CUSTOMER Lauzon Flooring’s latest is the Émira series from its Ambiance collection of engineered hardwood flooring. Lauzon’s Pure Genius technology (a light-activated air-purifying agent) is offered standard or optional; the company’s Titanium finish provides superior protection. Available in four colours.
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LATEST EMPIRE Crossville has relaunched its popular Empire porcelain tile collection, now with a new nine-colour palette and updated size offerings. Empire is made with 20 per cent recycled content; it’s suitable for commercial and residential use on interior floors and walls or exterior vertical surfaces. crossvilleinc.com
THE VINYL EDITION The latest from Beaulieu International Group is Pure, a luxury vinyl tile and plank collection. Thin, waterresistant and lightweight, it can be installed over an old tile floor. Available in a wide range of colours, in several tile and plank sizes. bintg.com
THAT WAS FAST Nora Systems Inc., manufacturer of rubber flooring, has introduced Norplan nTx, an innovative sheet flooring that cuts installation time by as much as 50 per cent compared to standard PVC sheet installation. nora.com
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ART & COMMERCE Shaw’s Contract Group’s Color at Work collection merges fields of colour and pixelated pattern to create the framework for an open canvas. It comes in four styles: Achromatic, Duotone, Saturate and Value. Shown: Achromatic and Dutone. shawcontractgroup.com
CANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2015
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TEST PATTERNS From Tarkett comes two collections of vinyl sheet and tile flooring that allow for subtle non-directional design with colours and patterns that run throughout the sheet and tile. Johnsonite Melodia 2.0 (shown) and Aria 2.0 coordinate with other Johnsonite floor solutions, as well as wall base, transitions and finishing accessories.
SOMETHING IN COMMON Interface has added 25-cm-by-1-m skinny plank modular carpet tiles to its Common Theme collection of squares, creating a series that can yield uncommon flooring design for a variety of commercial and workplace space. Available in three styles. These latest tile options feature up to 70 per cent recycled content.
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— more
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The II BY IV DESIGN that Dan Menchions and Keith Rushbrook built – a solid success from the get-go – turns 25 By David Lasker
Portrait by Stacey Brandford
P art ner s i n de si gn
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HERE’S TO THE LADIES (AND GENTLEMEN) WHO LUNCH “Holt Renfrew was probably our first exposure to luxury,” Dan Menchions recalls. “The valuable lesson we learned is that you minimize the colouration and finish selection for the sophistication of that market.” Holts Café, a jewel of the downtown Toronto flagship, seamlessly integrates a chic eatery serving gourmet salads, sandwiches and drinks with luxury-item retail goods arrayed on display shelves. After 13 years, it remains a favourite spot for the well-heeled to meet, greet and, with delicacy, eat.
“If you seek his monument, look around you,” says Sir Christopher Wren’s epitaph at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. If you seek II BY IV DESIGN’s monument, look around in Toronto: at the outdoor dining pavilion at the Thompson Hotel, with its jazzy skewed crisscross framework running along Wellington Street; at the Trump International Hotel and Tower; the café at the Holt Renfrew flagship, the South Beach Residences’ public spaces; or look up, way up, at the CN Tower restaurant soon to undergo their renovation. And with the II BY IV DESIGN–enhanced, very high-end Crystal Cruises repeatedly voted the world’s best cruise ships by Condé Nast Traveler and Travel and Leisure, the firm can be said to carry the flag for Canadian design. - - -------------------------------------------------At their boardroom table flanked by classic Eames Aluminum Group chairs, an expansive Dan Menchions and Keith Rushbrook, founding partners of interior design firm II BY IV DESIGN, are enjoying a CANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2015
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quarter-century retrospective walk down Memory Lane. The Humber College and Ryerson grads, respectively, have led a charmed life since launching their practice with $500 of capital and an “office” in the trunk of Menchions’ Chevy Nova. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Today, their staff of 40 sprawls in brick-and-beam industrial loft space in Toronto’s Liberty Village, in lower Manhattan’s trendy TriBeCa district, and in a separate Toronto studio devoted to their latest design venture, product design. “We have a lot of mouths to feed,” Menchions says in his booming baritone. Right on cue, Rushbrook pours a glass of sparkling cold water for the visiting reporter and explains, in his piping tenor, “We have a Q water system, like restaurants use. It eliminates bottles and makes Toronto water taste delicious. We all have little carafes at our desk, so more people are drinking water.” - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------The partners’ jointly act as creative director, Menchions says. “I’ll do more of the hotel, condominium and one-off big-picture pieces. Whereas Keith will concentrate more on the restaurant and retail component.” Menchions, typically the firm’s talking head, is a familiar quotegiver in weekend newspaper condo sections. They both stress the importance of mentoring. “Twice a year, we take the juniors out to tour other firms’ recent work and have lunch at a great restaurant that’s been designed recently,” he says. Completing each other’s sentences, as the
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Photography by David Whittaker (opposite page & right); Esto (above)
TAKE US OUT TO THE BALL GAME The Legends Suite Club – one of a trio of sophisticated spaces for top-level season-ticket holders at NY’s new Yankee Stadium – is a 700-seat, exclusive bi-level dining club located behind home plate. II BY IV DESIGN employed signature Yankee blue throughout, including as a tint for custom-laminated glass panels, bearing a pattern of repeated team logos, adding drama to the entry.
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two business-and-life partners are wont to do, Rushbrook adds, “Then we’ll take the intermediates, and then the seniors. We send staff all over the world for inspiration, to trade shows, to Milan, to Art Basel.” - - - -------------------------------------------------The partners attribute much of their success to their love of travel. During the 2007 financial crisis and ensuing recession, they relied upon it to rustle up gigs. “For those years, Keith and I traveled the world and marketed our company,” Menchions recalls. - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------“We looked at our database of contacts and researched like crazy to find out who would be doing what, post-recession,” Rushbrook says. “We learned to ask for help and reach out to developers and people in the hospitality industry, to a whole web of chains that would make introductions. We would be seen…” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MOON OVER MIAMI OVER TORONTO Soaring to nearly 13,000 square feet, with a 24-foot span to the roof deck, the sheer scale of Toronto’s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - South Beach Residences and Marketing Centre makes a powerful “Going to restaurants, going to functions,” Menchions jumps in. - - - statement – and playing with scale was one of the tactics for creating - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - a sense of “arrival.” In suite layouts and public spaces, II BY IV DESIGN interpreted the South Beach style with wit, whimsy and colour. “And going to awards,” Rushbrook says. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------------------------------------------
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“And getting your name out there and personally being seen,” Menchions adds. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Along the way, their projects have gotten bigger, thanks to “soliciting all the developers here, in New York and San Francisco,” Menchions says. “New York has been very good to us; we’re working with Tishman Speyer Properties, one of the largest developers in the world. We did Yankee Stadium with them, and the largest residential development in San Francisco, under construction as we speak.” He’s speaking of Lumina, which occupies nearly a whole San Francisco city block. - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Longevity is not a term associated with hospitality, five to seven years being the norm, according to Rushbrook, but II BY IV DESIGN restaurants survive longer than most. Oro, on Elm Street, is pushing 20. Shark City Athletic Club, the boite that made the intersection of “Young and Eligible” hip, swam for 10 years along the swinging strip of Eglinton Avenue between Yonge Street and Mount Pleasant Road. Windows with oval frames suggested portholes in which billiard balls bounced above cutout waves. Downstairs, wave-shaped seating banquettes lined the walls; structural columns were encrusted with colourful glass nuggets inspired by barnacles growing on the piles under a wharf; and drink tables had fish-shaped feet and sharks sandblasted into the glass tabletops. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------If Shark City’s humour verged on slapstick, II BY IV DESIGN’s wit on subsequent hospitality projects seemed less literal and more subtle. Case in point: a trio of sophisticated spaces (2008) for top-level season-ticket holders at the new Yankee Stadium – Legends Suite Club, Legends Dugout Lounge and NYY Steakhouse – incorporating trademark architectural features of the old, demolished baseball park that play off loyal fans’ nostalgia pangs. Says Rushbrook, “We were inspired by not only the game, the materials and textures of the woods and leather, but also by the sophisticated restaurants of Manhattan.” - - - -------------------------------------------------Looking back, the designer duo view Holts Café (2002) as their first landmark work. The hybrid hospitality-retail project occupying former executive offices overlooking Bloor Street, seamlessly integrates a chic eatery serving gourmet salads, sandwiches and drinks with luxury-item retail goods arrayed on display shelves. “It was amazing that they wanted to work with us because we hadn’t done a lot of retail,” Menchions recalls. “Holt Renfrew was probably our first exposure to luxury. The valuable lesson we learned is that you minimize the colouration and finish selection for the sophistication of that market. They loved this so much we rolled it out at other locations across Canada [Montreal, Edmonton and Toronto Yorkdale].” - - - - -------------------------------------------------Indeed, the minimalist, monochrome interior, with a materials palette of terrazzo, glass and glass tile, paint and lacquered stainless steel, is deceptively simple. “This was one of the first installations in the city for a brand to communicate to their client,” Rushbrook says, pointing out the hidden projectors that can cover the white walls with “images du jour.” This protean flexibility enables the real estate to earn its keep by doubling as an event space. The custom tables wheel away for trunk shows. In the ceiling, deep slots prevent the downlighting from mucking up the space. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------CANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2015
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ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE Located just down the block from the building site of Residences of 488 University Avenue – a new condo development – II BY IV DESIGN’s presentation centre aims to help potential buyers envision themselves living in the coveted Toronto neighbourhood. The firm’s design for the project’s grand entrance, boasting a 30-foot ceiling, sets the stage for “the glamorous life,” with glowing glass walls, wood panelling and eclectic furnishings.
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“There are a lot of [Toronto] firsts in this project,” says Menchions. The bar front, for instance, comprises eight-foot-wide, inch-thick white tempered glass. The smooth, bracket-less backlit walls boast concave insides, like car headlights, with lamps aimed to provide a shadow-free, giant lightbox effect. Second thoughts? “I wouldn’t change a thing. We’re not creating trends here. It looks as great today as when it was built.” -------------------------------------------------By now it should be apparent that there is no identifiable II BY IV DESIGN house style. Menchions wears this attribute like a badge of honour. “I can honestly say we don’t have a ‘look.’ On other designers’ websites, their portfolio of work looks the same, there’s a continuity of the ribbon of design throughout, it’s consistent. We design ours specifically for the client.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------A hundred years from now, when folks reminisce about Toronto’s good old days, they’ll cite the Trump International Hotel and Tower. When the hotel opened, Menchions remembers, “People walked through the lobby and were in complete awe. They felt that they were in another era gone by. They’d never seen anything this exceptional here. We’ll never be able to do this again in this city.” - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------A sky-high budget is manifest in the lobby’s focal point, a 1,300-pound crystal sculpture sprouting on the reception-desk wall that sounds a cherry-blossom motif seen on the elevator lobby ceiling and elsewhere. White onyx walls with handcarved molding playing off against giantscale black granite window and portal embrasures, enunciating a champagne-and-caviar palette. Antique Italian mirror in the ceiling and bronze accents exemplify the project’s use of classic details in a contemporary way. “It was a fascinating learning experience,” Menchions says. “It was our first big full hotel. We did everything, 850,000 square feet of space, 54 storeys high, a hotel and residences with all the restaurants and amenities. We designed every aspect of the interiors down to the signage, the ventilation covers on the floors, the elevators, fabrics, carpeting, light fixtures, furniture, and molding profiles.” - - - -------------------------------------------------It takes discipline and ruthless editing to keep a palette of such lavish materials from appearing over the top or even vulgar. But II BY IV DESIGN knows how to temper luxury with comfort and a sense of CANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2015
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THEY LEFT THEIR HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO Under construction, Lumima - a large-scale condo development – will occupy nearly a whole block on San Francisco’s Folsom Street, with majestic views of the city and the Bay. II BY IV DESIGN’s vision for private and public spaces (including a 10,000-square-foot rooftop terrace, bi-level club lounge, 7,000-square-foot fitness centre and 70-foot lap pool) is streamlined.
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fun – which helps explain why high-end clients flock to them. Their exquisite and imaginative detailing plays variations on a few themes. The laser-cut steel filigree on the ballroom stair railing, for instance, repeats on carpet throughout the hotel. In heavy-traffic areas like the ballroom, the pattern repeats several times, slightly shifted. The pattern’s busyness conceals wear and stains. For carpet on less-traveled guest-room corridors, on the other hand, the pattern makes a single appearance, sans overlay. The family resemblance of carpet patterns throughout the hotel conveys coherence and subliminally reassures guests that every single detail of their stay was carefully thought through. The eclectic style juxtaposes classic and contemporary. - - -------------------------------------------------“We wanted this space to feel like it was established,” Menchions says. “It wasn’t about rolling out an existing brand. It was about recreating the brand and making sure it had legs to stand on. This building attracts a particular demographic that wants to feel like it’s in a luxury world of high-end design. And so the perception is that this design is part of that brand, going forward.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------The payoff? “What this did for us in the hotel world was fantastic because now we’re working with the Trumps directly. We would do client-courtesy fly-downs to present designs to Mr. Trump and family and have a little bit of their input. Now we’re renovating all the public spaces in their Columbus Circle [Manhattan] property. They’re kind, polite, generous, lovely people.” And The Donald? He’s not like his public persona? “Not at all.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Finally, to combine trend watching with a look at what’s on deck, their designs for the public spaces and display suites at the condo development at 488 University Ave. in Toronto evince a new zeit-
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Photography by Bbox (opposite page); David Whittaker (above); Ian Schemper (right)
YOU’RE HIRED! At Toronto’s Trump International Hotel and Tower, a sky-high budget is manifest in the lobby’s focal point, a 1,300-pound crystal sculpture sprouting on the reception-desk wall that sounds a cherry-blossom motif seen on the elevator lobby ceiling and elsewhere. With its palette of “champagne and caviar,” high-heel-worthy mosaic floor and gleaming surfaces, one can imagine a movie-star tryst.
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geist, with condos becoming more like grand hotels. “Most of our developer clients are looking for larger suites,” Menchions says. “In the properties we’re doing now, the suites are getting larger. We have such a small suite inventory here in the city, people are getting tired of living small. They [Amexon Development Corporation] are phenomenal at giving back to their clients. The public spaces are amazing. We have 20- and 30-foot ceilings in those spaces, with the opportunity to do big-scale art.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Rushbrook chimes in. “Amenity spaces are so important now. There are chef kitchens and libraries and theatre rooms.” Certainly, the inBUT SQUARE-CUT OR PEAR-SHAPED, THESE ROCKS DON’T LOSE door-outdoor saltwater pool, free of hair-yellowing chlorine, should THEIR SHAPE Luxurious suites and public spaces by II BY IV DESIGN for seal the deal with the target demographic. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Crystal Cruises offer a modern take on the golden age of travel. In the - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Facets fine-jewellery store, a mother-of-pearl feature wall and bevelled chrome vitrines suggest the interior of a jewellery box. “Yes,” Menchions says. “There are touches, little hints, of an era gone by that will speak to the interest of the purchaser.” - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------------------------------------------•
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Bright lights of the 2015 Interior Design Show
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At 17 years and counting, Toronto’s Interior Design Show has had its ups and, more rarely, its downs. But this time around, everything seemed to fly. So much so, that it was hard to pick just a handful of notables from the busy, buzzing floor of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. We have, nevertheless, given it our best shot. - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------•
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NORTHERN LIGHTS Canadian lighting designer Saleem Khattak, owner of Vancouver-based Archilume, introduced a new configuration of energy-efficient LED chandeliers. The Archilume P28 is completely customizable and installed on site – so each installation is one of a kind. archilume.com PERFECT BALANCE A fun pendulum pendant, fresh off the press and CSA approved. The brainchild of Toronto sculptor/designer/visual artist Eugene Paunil, this standing lamp called Light W8 is structured in maple and walnut, and uses a denim or canvas sock filled with river stones as a counterweight to lift and lower its position. eugenepaunil.com
AERELIGHT Just going into production in Toronto, the sleek, prototype Aerelight desk lamp features organic LED lights with three dimming options controlled by capacitive touch. Merely tap any portion of the lamp’s anodized aluminum body to turn it on, down, down and down, and off. BTW, you can also wirelessly recharge your cellphone by simply setting it on top of the base. aerelight.com
POLE DANCING New from Toronto’s AM Studio Custom Lighting & Glass is this ’70s throwback – an upright pole with hand-blown glass shades from Karli Sears, available in five different tones. Adjustable, capable of being wired up to an outlet or down to a plug, the Blooming Post Lamp can be placed pretty well anywhere in a home, allowing for instant nostalgic enjoyment. amstudio.ca ROUND UP Deceptive simplicity, faceting and walnut are trends, and they were on display at the National Design Collective sales table at Designboom Mart, a new retail showcase. The design firm’s Dark + Stormy Night pendant lamp is a nifty, near-geodesic dome made from joining together 20 pieces of precisely cut solid wood and laboriously lathing the whole into a hollow, light-filled sphere. NDC co-founder Heather Lam claims its inspiration was equal parts a Canadian cocktail, Buckminster Fuller, and a book on diamond cutting. thenationaldesigncollective.ca COLOUR MY WHIRL Launched last year, the Belle de Nuit chandelier by Lladró, Spain’s premier porcelain maker, is a whimsical swirl of cheerful, Crayola-like colours that makes you happy just to look at it. LED-wired, available in 12-, 24- or 48-light configurations, and set with charming Porcelain “fabric” shades, this array truly would brighten up any abode. Available in several different colourways. lladro.com
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RESERVED SEATING In many ways, Peter Coolican represents the real reason we walk the design shows – to meet new artists and craftspeople who have something wonderful to express. Based in Toronto, this young woodworker specializes in creating small-batch, limited-run furnishings imbued with a timeless sense of refinement. A stand-out piece is the Palmerston stool. Built from Niagara black walnut, featuring Shakerinfluenced tapered legs and stretchers and fitted with a through-tenon, faceted seat curved slightly top and bottom, it is beautiful to behold, to touch, and to perch oneself on. coolicanandcompany.com ROCKWELL-BYE BABY A further reason to attend shows like IDS is to see what some of our favourite designers have been up to lately. This time around, the king of quality kids’ furniture, Ralph Montemurro – of Monte Design Group Inc. – presented his Rockwell basinet. This plain, U-shaped basket with washable upholstery cover can either rest in its sturdy chrome frame fitted with gentle wooden rockers, or be lifted out for safe bed-cuddling with baby. montedesign.net A HANDMADE’S TALE Quebec’s Kino Guérin is another go-to designer. This time around, the master manipulator of bent plywood showcased his Nebula console table, a twisting, turning feat with no feet, offering the ironic premise of flowing motion set in stasis. kinoguerin.com CANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2015
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ON A ROLL Bordbar continues to transform authentic airplane trolleys into design objects, with new editions always in the works. They can be customized inside and out. Inside, shelves and drawers can be added and arranged to suit any purpose.
Outstanding at Orgatec, held this past October in Cologne
bordbar.de
HAVE DESK, WILL TRAVEL Nomado by Martin Baldness for Mobica+ is a mobile, stackable desk system with integrated electric outlets and task lighting, which can also be used as an ad-hoc wall separator offering flexibility and economy of space. mobicaplus.de
By Enrico G. Cleva
GREEN WITH ENVY For venerable Vitra, G-Star Raw developed Prouvé Raw Office Edition. The Dutch fashion label took designs created by Jean Prouvé nearly 70 years ago – for the interiors of several French corporations and universities – and gave them a modern edge in industrial green. vitra.com
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CONE OF SILENCE Oblivion – by Koray Malhan for Koleksiyon – is a customizable room divider that takes the form of a fabric cone, with a vertical aluminum structure. The user takes part in the design process, choosing footprint dimensions, height, interior and surfaces; and then equipping the volume with shelves, desks, cabinets, seats and more. koleksiyon.com.tr/en
PAINT IT BLACK For Kokuyo, Japanese studio Nendo spliced together traditional office furniture pieces to create strikingly simple desks and storage units, in matte black iron. Nendo broke the office down to its smallest components, then put everything back together. Set inside a pristine white booth, the black compositions floated majestically. nendo.jp kokuyo.com
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TOGETHER & APART Keypiece Communication Desk, designed by EOOS for Walter Knoll, has the flexibility to work both as a personal workplace and a meeting-room table. It comes in both Classic and Executive, both with a modern storage space to work as a complete office. The shape supports up to five people and the video position is specially designed for video conferences. walterknoll.de
GOOD ON PAPER Go, Molo! The Canadian company’s Benchwall modular system, by Stephanie Forsythe + Todd MacAllen, enjoyed a prominent position in Orgatec’s promenade – always a busy place during the fair. With its simple maneuverability and multiple configurations, the paper furniture has become a show of its own, and the resulting spaces are being used continuously. molodesign.com
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CASE STUDY Architect Jean Nouvel sees the office as a place where “freedom flourishes.” For Unifor, he has created the Cases range, which allows the user to “build the space” with a number of interlocking components conceptualized like parts of a construction. Cases consists of an articulated family of containers and worktops that can be freely combined. unifor.it
WORK IN PROGRESS Konstantin Grcic’s Hack table system for Vitra anticipates the requirements of companies and employees – a provocative, proactive solution that could be understood as a “hack” of the office environment. With its raw wooden panels, Hack presents an unfinished aesthetic suitable to today’s high-tech companies. It is foldable and movable on wheels. vitra.com
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DX Dinner by Design
Monogram, Casey House and the Design Exchange teamed up on the DX’s Trading Floor to present Dinner by Design, featuring dining installations by Burdifilek, Castor Design, Hariri Pontarini Architects, KPMB, Mason Studio, NH Design, Candice and Alison, Partisans, Sarah Richardson Design, I-V, and Uufie – all in support of Casey House, the AIDS hospice. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1—At Burdifilek’s booth, partners Paul Filek and Diego Burdi flank Cecilia Lai, their marketing and business development specialist. The 24-karat-gold swirls painted by Moss and Lam on the stretchedcanvas walls, combined with the asparagus ferns on the table, “create a sense of calm and elegance,” Burdi says. 2—Mason Studio partners Stanley Sun and Ashley Rumsey at their booth depicting a dinner “among good friends stuck in a cottage,” Rumsey says of the scenario inspired by poet Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” 3— Guests Dr. John MacLeod, physician and HIV treater; Yona Zukerman, administrator, Zukerman Family Foundation; and Alex Filiatrault, area director, sales and marketing, Toronto and Vancouver, Shangri-La Hotel. 4—Sarah Richardson of her eponymous design firm and her associate Tommy Smythe created a winter garden with vintage furniture, fabrics from her Kravit collection, maple trees and, on the table, vintage silver and quince blossoms. 5—At GE Monogram: Emil Teleki, founder, and Joquin G., junior designer, at I-V, who created the 2001: A Space Odyssey—inspired booth, flank Philippe Meyersohn, general manager, marketing and training at GE appliance distributor Mabe Canada. Says Teleki, “It’s based on fire as the foundation of food preparation in a primitive place, juxtaposed against the science and technology of the GE brand.” 6—Architects Alan Wong and Vanessa Guillen of booth design firm Hariri Pontarini Architects flank Kathryn Walter of Felt Studio, creator of the felt hearts on the wall; and Stephanie Karapita, CEO of Casey House.
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IDS Opening-night Party
At the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building, 5,700 design aficionados enjoyed live bands, drinks, snacks and a first look at exhibits at the opening-night party for the 17th annual installment of the venerable Interior Design Show. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• 1—At Victoria & Albert: Suzy Louw, sales consultant; Nicola Dankovich, assistant sales consultant; Jonathan Carter, marketing director; Janine Keeble, business development, all from Victoria & Albert; and Eric Eagleton, sales growth manager, Watermarks Kitchen & Bath Boutique. 2—At Le Pattern: Le Pattern’s Elena Slepneva, co-owner, and Dimitri Rezvan, sales manager; Maxim Grigorovich, general manager, Fortune Custom Cabinets; and Le Pattern’s John Zheddybin, customer service manager, and Sasha Muravyeva, co-owner. 3—At Roche Bobois: interior designers Nina Bazian, owner of NB Designs, and Allan Guinan, partner at Figure3; Lisa Schneider, account rep at furniture supplier Plan B; and Gillian Gillies and Cyndie Jerome of their eponymous interior design firms. 4—At Dala Decor: Randy Phipps, publicist, Evolution PR; Dala Decor’s Priya Ami, business development; Seema and Deep Gill, owners (and spouses); and Meg Peth, president, Evolution PR. 5—At Godi, the luxury bathroom fixture supplier: Homes Publishing Group’s Jessica MacInnis; Samantha Sannella, booth designer and owner, Urban Retreat Homes; Cindy Grenke of Cing Studio, where she creates custom art objects; Marta Finkel, York University nursing student; Godi’s Eugene Leiderman, sales and marketing specialist; Godi CEO Dmitry Zherinov; and Homes Publishing Group’s publisher Michael Rosset. 6—At patio-furniture maker Hauser’s house. Standing: shop.ca’s George Adamidis, VP customer relations management, and Nick Crain, partner, business development; and booth designer Drew Hauser, principal, McCallum Sather Architects. Seated: Tanya Rentzos, market rep, Cambria; and Hauser’s Holly Hauser (Drew’s brother), retail operations, and Jay Hauser (Holly’s cousin), GTA contract salesman. 7—At Avani Kitchens: Paul Kruger, senior industrial designer, Teknion; architect Justin Ford of Hariri Pontarini Architects, the booth designers; Coraline Allard and Pierre Quesnel, partners in Q and A Design Lab, who built the driftwood cloud overhead; Radha Chaddah, multimedia artist; and her husband, Dave Marcus, president, AyA and Avani Kitchens. 8—At the Designjunction wall: Alex O’Brien, director of first impressions, Veritas Communications; Joshua Nelson, principal designer at commercial designers JNKM Design Group; and Peter Kattan, furniture designer and decorator. 9—Up against the green wall at Miele, who once again boasted the show’s biggest booth: Breanna Armstrong, product trainer, B.C.; Gina Garaventa, product marketing and marketing communications manager; brand ambassadors Mads Pilested and Sarah Nanacsik; and national training manager Kirby Dumont.
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Touring Superleggera and MIN I make one sweet ride
By Peter Sobchak
The Canadian International AutoShow is like a confectioner, with tantalizing treats everywhere you look. And one especially delightful imported sugarplum making its Canadian debut this February was the electrically powered MINI Superleggera Vision, a modern interpretation of an open-top two-seater created by a partnership between MINI and Touring Superleggera, a design and coach-building house based in Milan known for its light sports car bodies made from large hand-shaped aluminium sheets. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------A sporty, elegant and dynamic exterior that imbues classic race car elements merges beautifully with an eye-popping interior. Only a surrounding shoulder line in polished aluminium visually separates the two, creating an effect of a tan and black leather bubble floating in a sea of Como Blue (an exterior paint colour specially developed for this car). In the look and feel of its materials – untreated aluminium sheeting, tube-shaped structural elements – the interior celebrates the tradition and essence of classic coachwork construction. - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Of course new technology is also embraced in the less-is-more aesthetic. The centre instrument in the middle of the dash panel includes a touch-sensitive control screen and two circular instruments CANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2015
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with metal surrounds on the right. In addition to an analog clock on the far right, the second framed instrument activates a camera which is integrated between the driver and front passenger seat. Perhaps most striking is the dashboard itself, created from a single aluminium sheet that has been left in the state the automobile body would look like without a paint finish. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Below the shoulder, covered in brown leather in the classical colour Sabbia, the materials are kept simple. The structural elements in the doors form a Union Jack, discreetly indicating MINI’s British origins, and together with the centre console are finished in high-gloss black chrome, which pop from the aluminium surfaces and the raw, matt textured paint finish in the footwell area. The sporty bucket seats and three-spoke steering wheel are reminiscent of bygone MINI motor racing achievements and are covered in black leather. Small spots of Misty Magenta provide accentuations in two hot air outlets under the instrument panel and inside the door openings. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Like a true European bonbon, the MINI Superleggera Vision provides a touch of Italian flair wrapped in tongue-in-cheek MINI style. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • — more canadianinteriors.com
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Design: Acton Ostry Architects, Photography: Michael Elkan
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