Canadian Interiors July August 2020

CDN $8.95 JULY AUGUST 2020

Home is Where We All Are

Residential projects that fit in a COVID world

Products to help WFH

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FOR ALL THE WAYS WE WORK Alone or together, at home or in the office, work wherever the moment takes you. studiotk.com

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July | August 2020 / V57 #4

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Canadian Interiors magazine is published by iQ Business Media Inc. 101 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 302 Toronto ON M3B 1Z3 Telephone 416-441-2085 e-mail: info@canadianinteriors.com website: www.canadianinteriors.com 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.

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07/082020 Features

22 HOW LIVE AND WORK GO TOGETHER A new typological idea for residential units designed for live/work integration. By Danny SC Tseng

25 HOW TO RIDE OUT A PANDEMIC Although designed before self-isolation

dictates were enacted, these projects have what it takes to keep the coronavirus blues away.

By Martha Uniacke Breen

Regulars

06 Scene

10 CAUGHT OUR EYE 12 THE GOODS New residential products that cover areas in the home such as the kitchen, bathroom, home office and outdoor setting are all useful in improving the current stay-at-home ethos. 34 OVER & OUT Picnic Design revives the question of whether co-living can be an option for reducing loneliness during a lockdown.

COVER – A new multi-family cabin built on the banks of Lac Brome is bisected by a vertical atrium that opens on to the lake and supports the clients’ highly active lifestyles. Photo by Adrien Williams.

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scene FOOD to FIGHT Between May 19 and May 22, 500 meals per day were produced and delivered to frontline healthcare workers at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital and Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, as part of a program initiated by Eventscape and Liberty Entertainment Group. Each of the 2,000 meals were prepared by Cibo Wine Bar in the kitchens at Liberty Grand.

Forest Hill Garden & Pavilion Bar Basso supports Milan

Amantea Architects modernizes a lush and casual urban residential landscape with a Mondrian-esque composition of deftly programmed spaces.

A GoFundMe campaign was started by designers Todd Bracher, Joe Doucet and Marc Thorpe, originally to support the beloved Milanese bar known for its Negroni Sbagliato and well-known industry haunt during Salone del Mobile. Maurizio, the owner of Bar Basso, has requested all proceeds go to the Opera San Francesco, a Milanese organization that has been taking care of the needy for over 60 years.

Easy Street With an eye on resale, this family home in Whistler, B.C.

by Deborah Ross Design needed to appeal to a wide market of future buyers in a resort.

George Brown College Waterfront School of Design

Chair Times If you’re tired of self-isolation-induced Netflix binging, Vitra has recently offered Chair Times for free on its website. This 90-minute documentary by Heinz Bütler takes place almost entirely within a massive white room in the Vitra Design Museum, where 125 objects from the collection are displayed so industry luminaries can browse and discussed the history of seating furniture. A mustwatch for chair aficionados.

A four-building complex designed by RAW Design, Giannone Petricone Associates and Rafael + Bigauskas Architects aims to connect academia and real-world solutions.

Pacific Blue Cross This Burnaby, B.C. workplace project involved a complete gut and redo of 120,000-sq.-ft. over six levels, completed in five phases

by Square One Interior Design.

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inside

ees are expressing a desire not to return to the office, and for the same reasons many companies are moving towards permanent home-based work. What will this mean from a design perspective?

Staying Home

In the 120-plus days since that Old Testament-style plague descended upon us and ground everything to a halt, copious treatises have been written about how to successfully adjust to the new world of working from home. When distilled, they all have similar recommendations: structure your day; create and maintain a routine (particularly a morning one); establish a work area; prioritize tasks; learn new technology and leverage old (with a primary focus on staying connected). For the most part these advice-laden op-eds carry a “holding our breaths” tone, suggesting that although massively inconvenient, the pandemic will end “someday soon” and we will be allowed to return to the workplace. However, I am more interested in what happens after the light goes green and there isn’t a massive return to the workplace?

Many are suggesting this will happen, as both employers and employees not only get used to remote working, but also see various benefits in it. For health safety and financial reasons, many employ-

“We’ve been talking for decades about how residential and hospitality design have influenced workplaces, with the ideas of play, lounge, and library making their way into office design. The trend has been entirely about shifting office space in the direction of domestic comfort. We will start to see some reversal of this trend,” says Caroline Robbie, principal at Toronto-based Quadrangle. We’ll see elements of workplace design making its way into residential design “along with dedicated areas for working from home as a necessity rather than an added marketing incentive.”

Designers who get in front of this may be well-positioned. In today’s world where efficient and creative use of home space has become a necessity, the idea of remodeling existing structures to accommodate and mingle several office environments and functions has received growing interest and enthusiasm, and designers with that skill set will be increasingly sought after. However, I’ll end on a delicate point that needs to be discussed further later: in the rise of remote-work, somehow designers will become active participants in a new space-allocation dance where, it could be argued, businesses will be expropriating their employee’s private living space.

How design can be used to alleviate that will rise in importance.

This is, after all, our home.

08 Peter Sobchak

psobchak@canadianinteriors.com

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caught our eye COVID-19 edition

Leave Space

Stay Safe

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Stay Back! It’s no surprise that public spaces will be one of the biggest challenges for designers in a post-pandemic world. Equally unsurprising is how many designers are already tackling issues like social distancing. For example, Entro has partnered with Arconas, a manufacturer of furniture for airports and transportation terminals, on a set of graphics for cushion covers and floor panels that pair pictograms with distancing messages. Available on the Arconas website, all net proceeds will be donated to charity. www.arconas.com

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Signs o’ the Times Dylan Coonrad is a clever guy. He’s also an avid people and dog watcher. But when they disappeared in his Brooklyn neighbourhood, he started to notice something else: street signs. And being the Creative Director at CannonDesign’s New York City office with a knack for visual storytelling, he noticed them in a new way, which led to these graphic “love letters to the places we live” in this socially distant era. www.cannondesign.com

Head of the Class Torontobased school architectural firm Weiss Architecture & Urbanism Limited has collaborated with modular design specialist, Wonder Incorporated, to create OUTSIDE the Box, a modular “front of classroom” teaching support unit designed to facil­itate healthy, fresh air education during the time of COVID-19.

Inside, closets and cabinets provide teachers with storage and organizational space, while bright, graphically marked hand cleaning stations are provided on the exterior. www.weissau.com

Face to Face Bologna-based architect Massimo Iosa Ghini has created a conceptual design for a new protective mask to safeguard against the coronavirus. The mask is fully transparent and covers the entire face, is easy to use, adjustable, and more import­antly, can be worn repeatedly.

Specs to put it into production are available. www.iosaghini.it

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the goods

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2 WFH – get used to it

For when the couch or dining room chair isn’t cutting it anymore…

5 6 Compiled by Peter Sobchak

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2 Picnic | Allsteel Part of the Townhall Collection designed by Rainlight Studio, this group of seated-height and standing-height tables, benches, and stool turns underutilized, out-of-the-way spaces into active enclaves that support multiple work modes and the changing postures necessary for sustained work. www.allsteeloffice.com

Fred | Fritz Hansen Designed in collaboration with Jaime Hayon, meaning ‘peaceful’ in Danish, Fred is a casual nickname and nod to comfort and good vibes (something needed these days). Inspired by both Scandinavian and Spanish design influences, the wide, flat armrests embrace and support the body, as does the curved backrest.

360° Container | Magis This deskside storage unit on wheels by Konstantin Grcic is now available in a new range of colours: bordeaux, pink, blue, yellow, and green. These drawer units are available in two heights (five or 10 drawers), and as the name suggests, each storage level can fully spin around the aluminum tube for easy access. www.magis.com

www.fritzhansen.com

LW Office Chair | Okamura Designed as an organic bridge between residential and commercial seating, the soft, contoured shape supports postures for long working sessions and the arms are at just the right height to tuck underneath tables. www.roomandboard.com

Brace Collection | Davis Designed by jehs+laub, the architectural legs of this solid wood table series are the statement pieces. Constructed from either binary steam bent solid wood or dual 3/8” angled solid steel, each leg unites at the floor and then splits into a fork which connects to the underside of the table. www.davisfurniture.com

Havn Table Series | Studio TK This new offering of occasional tables complements the Havn Seating Collection, both of which are designed by Busk+Hertzog.

The clean lines of the wooden legs on Havn tables visually and aesthetically harmonize with Havn lounge legs and enable the tables to work with other lounge collections or be applied to different environments to yield different outcomes. www.studiotk.com

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the goods

1 Koko | Tayco Part of a larger series of worktables designed by Toronto studio Fig40, this versatile minimalist laptop table, originally intended for reception and soft seating areas, is also perfectly adaptable for the home environment. The 20-metal paint colour selection provide an extra boost of personality to the already impactful aesthetic.

2 Terra | Georg Jensen Meaning ‘earth’ in Latin, this series of indoor and outdoor pots and plant accessories in steel and terracotta is Snøhetta’s first collaboration with Georg Jensen. The collection comes in an array of sizes and designs so nature can be brought indoors to fit small spaces like window frames, shelves, or floor nooks. www.georgjensen.com

NJP | Louis Poulsen An ergonomic arm/stand design

by Nendo delivers great freedom of movement and provides direct glare-free horizontal light while reflecting some of the light through the rear of the head, illuminating the top of the arm.

Available in table, floor, and wall styles in black, white, and gray. www.louispoulsen.com

www.tayco.com

QuickStand Eco | Humanscale A great option for first-time standing desk users or for those looking for a portable option that rests on any flat surface (an existing desk, table, or even a kitchen counter). Compatible with laptops, single or dual monitors, and moves effortlessly with users as they go from sitting to standing, or vice versa. www.humanscale.com

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2 3 FR500 | Humanscale The smooth curvature encourages users to get their legs and feet moving, providing support for the lower back, promotes circulation and allowing users to sit for extended periods without fatigue or discomfort. www.humanscale.com

Creative classes are typically seen as craving collaborative, vibrant work environments, to which this new live/work-from-home setting seems the antithesis. So we asked two professionals: how are you avoiding cabin fever and staying creative in this new reality?

Actually, it is anything but workingin-isolation. While in the beginning I tried to function in a stationary way (i.e. work-online-from-the-sofawith-a-simple-background), I have now adopted a nomadic workflow: mobile hotspot + laptop + bicycle has allowed me the freedom to change settings throughout the day. The work keeps me creative and the riding cabin-feverless.

Simple Writing Desk | HBF Designed by OEO Studio, this desk’s design is international in flavour with clear references to American Modern and Danish Modern and even a hint of Japanese influence. It offers a slim profile and clean lines that make it unobtrusive in the home but has the functionality of a professional desk. www.hbf.com

• George Foussias, Design Director, Toronto Studio, Lemay

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I’ve never been so engaged, actually.

From a community standpoint, we are learning and adapting daily in response to COVID-19 and to the BLM movement In both cases, we are thinking critically and acting. That is design. We have also been experimenting with Augmented Reality as an alternative way to bring our work into our collectors’ homes.

• Jeffrey Forrest, founder, StackLab

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the goods

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Palace of Hygiene Tapping new technology to make a room that exalts cleanliness.

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1 Protect | Panariagroup A partnership with tech company Microban has resulted in antimicrobial floor and wall tiles that eliminate up to 99.9 per cent of bacteria from surfaces. Silver ions, which are permanently integrated into the tile during the firing process, offer protection from strains like Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus with or without sunlight. The Protect technology is integrated into Cotto d’Este, Lea Ceramiche, and Panaria Ceramica collections. www.panariagroup.it 2 Soltronic 8102 | Ramon Soler The fight against COVID-19 calls for less surface contact, meaning electronic taps such as this one become perfect allies since they are activated by infrared sensors without the need for touch. Additional features include an electronically set flow time and safety time limit when activated and pre-set temperature limits. www.ramonsoler.net

3 WashBar | Bradle The next-gen of all-in-one hands-free soap, water and dryer technology features a thin, L-shaped design that gives the feel of floating above the sink, and with only one connection point to the sink, the unique design provides more open space for easier cleaning. The durable chrome-plated cast alloy fixture features LED lighting to visually orient the user through the hand washing process with easy-to-identify icons on top of the bar. www.bradleycorp.com

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4 Milano | Fantini The non-touch version of this faucet line known for its modern shape and clean lines includes two sensors at the bottom of the fixture that control the water flow. www.fantiniusa.com 5 SensoWash i | Duravit The company’s first-ever integrated shower toilet looks as much Elon Musk as Philippe Starck, incorporating Rear-, Lady- and Comfortwash functionality as well as remote controlled heated seat, odour extraction, individual adjustments for water, air dryer and seat temperature and an automatic opening/closing lid. Water is sprayed from an interior wand made of microbial stainless steel that automatically self cleans before and after each use. www.duravit.us

Compiled by Peter Sobchak

6 Nebia | Moen Using a patented spray technology that creates the sensation of more water through atomization (the process of breaking up water into tiny droplets) while actually using 45 per cent less water than normal means Moen’s new shower system is as much about conservation as it is about stylish design.

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www.moen.ca

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7 Bios Antibacterial | Casalgrande Padana TOTO has added their Hydrotect photocatalytic technology to a line of eco-friendly ceramic tiles that kill surface bacteria by using a combination of silver ions and titanium dioxide, targeting aggressive strains such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis. www.casalgrandepadana.com

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the goods

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Clean Slate

For kitchens in need of an upgrade, these products may give home-bound Canadians the nudge they require.

Compiled by Peter Sobchak

1 Dark Collection | Caesarstone The collection features four new colours that present a range of captivating hues from the classic luxury of Empira Black to the matte infinity of Piatto Black via the evocative patinas of rusted Oxidian (shown) and weathered Black Tempal. The new Natural Finish with a slight grain enhances all colours in the collection. www.caesarstone.com

5 Heritage Series Décor Sets | Bertazzoni These jewelry-inspired knobs and finials available in real gold, copper and black nickel plating give someone the ability to tailor their Heritage Series lines of ivory, matte black, and stainless steel ranges, range hoods, refrigerators and dishwashers, thereby tapping into the growing trend of mixed metal finishes. www.bertazzoni.com

2 20|20|20|20 | Cambria In celebration of its 20th anniversary and 20th design launch, Cambria has released 20 new designs, which represents one of the most significant design launches in the company’s history. All designs are “fabricator friendly,” with random veining resulting in a higher yield making them ideal for larger applications. www.cambriausa.com

6 HI-MACS Aurora | LG Hausys New low-contrast colours with organic swirling movements inspired by Aurora Borealis have been added to the Aurora Collection.

Examples include Blanc, a white marble with subtle gray veining; Sanremo, a black marble with veining and large particulates inspired by the night sky; and Gray (shown), with hints of sparkle on a warm gray marble. www.LGHausysUSA.com

3 The Collection Dekton 2020 | Cosentino This is a new concept devised for introducing new products, series and colours across their main brands of Dekton, Silestone and Sensa. The launch includes a grouping of four Dekton colour series: Liquid, Chromica, Avant-Garde ‘20 and Portfolio ‘20, as well as Uyuni (shown), a new colour that has a pure white tone and icy crystalline appearance, inspired by the visual purity of the largest natural salt flat on the planet. www.cosentino.com 4 U by Moen Smart Faucet There are all kinds of ways you won’t have to touch this faucet: voice control allows users to start and stop water flow as well as CANADIAN INTERIORS 7/8 2020

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perform specific tasks on command through digital voice assists like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant; a Wave Sensor positioned at the front of the faucet turns water on or off with a simple hand movement; and multiple personalized presets can be accessed via a smartphone app. www.moen.ca

7 2020 Living Impressions Collection | Formica Canada Hand-painted marbles and watercolours are among the new surfaces in this collection, which includes one new Laminate pattern (Black Bardiglio, shown) and five new 180fx large-scale laminate designs in exotic granites, stones and woodgrains. www.formica.com

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Kitchens as WFH Not everyone has the luxury of a separate room in their home to create a dedicated office, particularly if your work environment changed quickly and unexpectedly due to self-isolation. Home wellness expert Sarah Walker of The Curated House says that it is essential to designate an area in your home that will serve as your workspace. That might mean a dining table or kitchen island. AyA Kitchens and Baths’ Pull-Out Table is a clever work-around for those with minimal square footage to work with: it seats four and folds to hide neatly into a drawer when not in use. www.ayakitchens.com

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the goods

1 Landlord | FLOS Designed by Piero Lissoni, this family of diffused outdoor lighting comes in Soft, with an adjustable head made to be installed on ground poles; and Spot, a round multi-functional spotlight that can be placed on the wall, ceiling, ground, or even tree branch. www.flos.com 2 Reverie | Walters Marcel Wanders designed this collection to be a nest of relaxation, and includes a one- and two-seater chair, a chaise longue and day bed in an ornamented woven resin pattern material angled to accommodate different reclining positions, with accompanying square and round side and coffee tables. www.marcelwanders.com 3 Neocube-o | Neolith Born from a partnership with manufacturer CB stone-tec, this chic outdoor fireplace combines high-quality gas firing technology in stainless steel and Schott glass with an elegant, Neolith-clad base.

The fireplace has the further advantage of being easy to move, set on four discreet rollers with a brake for fixing in position. www.neolith.com

Stay In But Get Out! Social isolation ain’t so bad when you 1

4 JEKO 01 | Gervasoni Designed by Paola Navone, this outdoor loveseat’s material provenance is what makes it interesting.

Obtained from old teak beams recovered from the demolition of traditional wooden homes on the Indonesian island of Java, the recovered elements are cut to size, repaired with recycled wood, assembled, sanded and hand polishing with hemp cloths to highlight the original grains. www.gervasoni1882.com

Compiled by Peter Sobchak

5 Bee Hive | Loll Designs Residential beekeeping is growing in popularity, with the rate of beginner beekeepers more than doubling in the last decade. Made from recycled HDPE (high density polyethylene), an uncommon material for beehives, these durable and functional models are available in white, driftwood, and bright colours such as blue, green and orange. www.lolldesigns.com

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6 VDL Pavilion | Kettal Originally designed

by Richard Neutra, an updated version under the supervision of Dion Neutra, Richard’s son, uses construction methods and materials that respect all the original beams, skylight, ceramic floor and louvers details. It even now comes with an app that controls the electric system. www.kettal.com

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can spend it in a yard like this.

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How Live and Work Go Together A new typological idea for residential units designed to integrate life and work.

By Danny SC Tseng

Breathing in the aroma of a Costa Rican brew freshly steeped with cinnamon, I adjusted the belt of my robe as I felt my back caressed by the lumbar support of my task chair. It is 5:30am in Toronto and I had just accomplished the most monumental task: getting out of bed without hitting snooze. “Win the morning, win the day,” I chuckled to myself during my brisk walk to the office, a short commute of only a dozen steps since converting my second bedroom into a home office.

This was four years before the world was upended by COVID-19 and I was part of a growing group of self-employed freelancers who worked from home. Over the course of the next few years, I’ve witnessed the continual advancement of digital tools that made running a small business faster, cheaper, and more efficient. I realized then the way we live and work is at the brink of a tipping point.

explore the urban infill townhome as a viable live/work typology.

For maximum flexibility, our Live/Work concept is designed to serve as a template for accommodating different lifestyles. The ability to section off specific areas for different uses is crucial: the basement and half of the ground level has the ability to be sectioned off through solid pocket doors. The intent is to create a threshold that separates the zones between living and working.

There is a direct link between the environment and overall happiness, and oftentimes basements can be dark, gloomy and uninspiring. Furthermore, people are also more productive when they are in an environment that promotes well-being. We integrated a sunken entry landing and a small central courtyard garden to further bring in light and vegetation to make it one of the most desirable areas.

The space can be configured for either a home office, income property, or guest suite/media/games room. Alternatively, the upper level with outdoor terrace is designed to be the type of space that makes you want to linger a bit longer, perfect for those who spend the majority of their waking hours at the office.

The design of our home and offices has constantly evolved through the lenses of social, demographic, economic, and technological forces that shape us. Technology has made remote work possible by dematerializing data into the cloud and reducing the cost of starting and running a business. With the approaching onslaught of the “Silver Tsunami” as Baby Boomers reach their golden years, it’s speculated that multi-generational housing will become more common place as kids who started their careers living at home to reduce expenses warm up to the idea of their parents living with them post-retirement, many of them even starting a second career.

On the exterior, metal screens provide a subtle sense of privacy for the upper levels. Fair-face concrete, metal, and wood were chosen as exterior materials to complement the interior, creating a sense of congruency between the inside and out. A thick horizontal gunmetal band runs through the length of the development to visually anchor the composition, and housing planters that allow vines to snake through and vegetate the metal screen above are included.

Unconventional patterns of work, from on-demand gig-workers, freelancers, self-employment, and remote work has steadily risen in recent years. Statistics Canada reports that between 2005 and 2016 the number of workers participating in on-demand work grew by nearly 50 per cent, while Intuit predicted back in a 2018-published report that 45 per cent of the Canadian workforce would comprise self-employed, freelancers, or on-demand workers by 2020. That figure has yet to be confirmed, but assuming that nearly half of the total workforce will no longer be confined to the 9-5 environment, where would they work other than co-working spaces or biting the bullet and leasing their own office?

Having designed and assessed a substantial number of residential condo units, it is clear that current market offerings do not cater to the needs of professionals who work from home, so we decided to CANADIAN INTERIORS 7/8 2020

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The world underwent an unprecedented acceleration towards remote work capabilities thanks to COVID-19 and the impact will likely be felt for years to come. Although physical offices will still be a crucial component for collaboration and fostering corporate culture, the geography of spaces for productive work has been liberated. A dedicated work area within every residential dwelling space is a logical next step in the ever-changing evolution of the home and office landscape.

Fascinated with the way people live, work and play, Danny Tseng, architect and co-founder of Toronto-based Syllable, uncovers the untapped potential of any given space and tailors it to the end-user.

When he’s not designing residences, offices, and shops, he can be spotted slurping noodles at a

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local ramen restaurant sporting a perpetually expanding bed-hair.

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This spread Syllable has been researching the ultimate live/work residential setting during their off-time for the last two years. The idea behind this Live/Work townhouse aims to address the rise of multigenerational housing, the gig-economy, and remote-work technologies by providing a flexible template for end-users to live and work effectively within the same building.

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Basement 1 Boardroom 2 Integrated Storage 3 Storage Room 4 Courtyard 5 Bench Seating 6 Kitchenette 7 Office Space 8 Convertable Shelving

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Basement 1 Bedroom 2 Integrated Storage / Closet 3 Storage Room 4 Courtyard 5 Bench Seating 6 Kitchen / Dining 7 Living Room 8 Convertable Shelving

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Second Floor 1 Master Bedroom 2 Ensuite Bathroom 3 Laundry 4 Shared Bathroom 5 Bedroom 6 Bedroom / Work Space 7 Terrace

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Third Floor 1 Terrace / Event Space 2 Double-ended Fireplace 3 Living Room 4 Shelving Partition 5 Murphy Bed / Work Space 6 Terrace

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Ground 1 Kitchen / Dining 2 Breakfast Bar 3 Side Entrance 4 Living Room 5 Convertable Shelving

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Second Floor 1 Master Bedroom 2 Ensuite Bathroom 3 Laundry 4 Shared Bathroom 5 Bedroom 6 Bedroom / Work Space 7 Terrace

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Third Floor 1 Terrace / Event Space 2 Double-ended Fireplace 3 Boardroom 4 Shelving Partition 5 Work Space 6 Terrace

7/8 2020 CANADIAN INTERIORS

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DEADLINE EXTENDED! You asked, we listened.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been causing many unforeseeable difficulties for the Canadian A+D industry, for example inabilities due to lockdown and quarantine restrictions to access and photograph new project sites. Therefore, based on your strong feedback regarding that and many other logistical hurdles being faced by the Canadian design community, we at Canadian Interiors have decided to significantly extend the submission window in order to give you more time to submit your Projects and Products to the Canadian Interiors Best of Canada Awards competition.

All winners will be published in the November / December issue of Canadian Interiors.

Submission Deadline: Thursday, September 10 at 11.59 p.m. www.canadianinteriors.com/BoC

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Although designed before selfisolation dictates were enacted, these projects have what it takes to keep the coronavirus blues away.

Most residential architects, of course, think carefully about how clients will live and relax in the spaces that they create for them. But it’s fair to say not very many had directly considered the implications of being basically trapped at home 24 hours a day, waiting out a pandemic.

The same features that might be desirable in a normal world suddenly become drawbacks: communal condo pool, gym and social spaces; balconies set cheek-by-jowl to the neighbours’ (not to mention thin walls that maximize limited space but freely transmit noise from next door); and worst of all, tiny pieds-à-terre that are little more than affordable perches for metrosexuals who spend most of their off-work time in restaurants and clubs.

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By Martha Uniacke Breen

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How to Ride Out a Pandemic

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Lockdowns inevitably cause us to rethink what we value in life. Suddenly orderly and abundant storage, even in small spaces, is desirable to allow longer times between shopping trips. Surfaces that require less cleaning save time and, possibly, reduce germ transmission. And accommodation for leisure pursuits, from TV and music to wellstocked bookshelves, help the hours pass more pleasantly.

But what’s special about the four spaces here — none of which, incidentally, were designed expressly for surviving a shutdown — goes beyond their practical suitability for sheltering in place. Instead, each in its own way provides what may be the most precious commodity of all in this time of coronavirus: a safe refuge.

7/8 2020 CANADIAN INTERIORS

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Pavilion A Maurice Martel, Maurice Martel Architecte Photography by Adrien Williams

Inspired by Philip Johnson’s Glass House (with a further nod to the Ben Rose House from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), this pool house is well-isolated within cocoon-like walls of greenery, despite its location in a suburban neighbourhood. The all-glass walls form a viewing platform from which to survey the changing light and weather outside in all four seasons, while within, tropical palms and lemon trees create a fragrant, semi-tropical oasis, unchanging through weeks or even months of lockdown.

The pool and surrounding slate-tile deck serve the main function of the building, but indoor-outdoor terraces (accessible and broadened by opening sliding doors in summer, or sheltered from the elements in winter), spa facilities and a dedicated yoga space add to the options for leisure. Seating areas at the side provide a place to read or chat with family members, while skylights set sequentially along the ceiling make the enclosure feel even less substantial.

The only completely closed space is the bathroom, tucked inside a cylindrical structure clad in red cedar cleats near the back corner. In contrast to the spare, rectilinear lines of the rest of the pool house, every element of this oasis-within-an-oasis is a variation on a curved or circular form, from the penny-tile mosaic walls to the round skylight.

“This is a wonderful place to just go and be quiet,” says Martel. “It’s a relaxed space, purely designed for relieving stress.”

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Opposite page and this spread The black exterior structure contrasts with a clear and bright interior, while 360-degree glazing removes the border between interior and exterior and contributes to a seasonal change of scenery.

The interior layout and its plants on the ground help to create a tropical atmosphere that promotes relaxation.

At the heart of the pavilion’s orthogonal lines stands the cylindrical bath­room, whose warm cedar-clad character contrasts with the pure and bright interior of the white mosaic and the circular opening in the ceiling.

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Lakeside Cabin Felix Schwimmer, Atelier Schwimmer Photography by Adrien Williams

The climbing rope suspended from the top of the atrium in this cottage, on Quebec’s Lake Brome, is an apt metaphor for the many ways this delightful house eliminates the feeling of climbing the walls during extended isolation.

Designed for two brothers and their families, the cottage consists of a communal space on the main floor, then divides into two discrete living quarters upstairs, allowing both families to stay there simultaneously and still keep their distance.

Designer Felix Schwimmer was struck by the beauty of the site on his first visit and determined that the design should embrace both the lakeside views and the more intimate beauty of the woods at the sides and back. Virtually every spot in the house has its own special view, maximizing the feeling of being in nature, not closed off from it.

Both halves of this family feature dynamic, active and creative people, especially when at the cottage, so the interior and surroundings are designed to offer plenty to do. The big and well-appointed kitchen is great for group cooking, baking and preserve-making (a favourite family specialty). The ceiling dips from the double-height atrium at the centre of the house to a more intimate nine feet beyond the fireplace, to frame a family music area with a piano and other instruments. And under that soaring atrium, with its double-height windows overlooking the lake, the main seating area is as comfortable for one or two as it is for a crowd.

“Many modern houses just have one big room, and you do different things in it,” observes Schwimmer. “But here we have all these different spaces, and each area is meant for doing different things.”

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This spread The cabin is centred around a triple-height atrium with glazed walls that opens to the outdoors. Located in the centre of a concrete slab on the ground floor and visible from everywhere, a fireplace divides the open space into areas of various spatial qualities. The exterior cladding is made of larch treated with two methods: charred planks directly facing the elements and natural oil protecting the less-exposed planks.

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Collected Condo Gloria Apostolou, Post Architecture Photography by Riley Snelling

The principle of a place for everything and everything in its place goes a long way to providing the relief that comes with a sense of order. So says Post Architecture principal Gloria Apostolou, who designed this space for a client downsizing into her first condo.

The condo features all the practical elements suitable for sheltering in place: working home office; well-appointed kitchen; and so on. But for the client, it was more important to have all her favourite things — artwork, books, her music collection — around her, helping the new space feel like a home rather than just an anonymous white cube.

Apostolou and team carefully measured and catalogued every piece and designed the space to fit them perfectly, not only in terms of shelving and storage but right down to the wall dimensions, assuring a pleasing composition for treasured artwork and other pieces.

Sliding doors help tailor space to the needs of the moment, such as increased privacy for the home office or opening up the kitchen. The layout is also oriented so that leafy views or interior focal points like art are visible from almost every corner, another important mood lifter. A soft colour scheme of blue-grey, white and natural wood completes the sense of calm.

“Having everything in its place, I feel, contributes to the sense of being a good place to ride out the pandemic,” observes Apostolou. “The organization of spaces and storage eliminates clutter and reduces stress, increases the sense of space, and brings an appreciation of craft into the everyday.”

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This spread Inspired by the idea of adaptability, the transformation of this condo connects various spaces in the unit. As the central space, the home office/den offers views through to the living area, kitchen, and entry, and can be open or closed to those spaces by sliding a millwork door. The design of the millwork allows for the den to convert into a guest bedroom, hiding the computer hub and revealing a pop-up TV and sofa bed.

A hidden appliance garage built into the side of the tall kitchen storage unit conceals everyday appliances which would otherwise live on the counters.

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7/8 2020 CANADIAN INTERIORS

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Innovation Suite 10 York Square Stella Salvador, Tridel Inc. Photography courtesy of Tridel

The Innovation Suite is a 2,000-sq.-ft. concept space in Tridel’s new 10 York Square condo tower, equipped with every state-of-the-art, programmable, multifunction gadget you could name for 21st-century living (and probably quite a few you couldn’t), making it just about as fine a space as you could find yourself in while holding out for better days. The suite has a wealth of extremely cool features, but there are several that seem especially well-suited for pandemic living.

All major home functions, including audio/video, lights, shades, temperature, alarm security, and more, are controllable by voice, app or wall pad, reducing the need to physically touch surfaces. Some functions in the bathroom and bedroom are also voice-controlled, including the shower and even the smart mirror lighting. The kitchen has plenty of storage and large-capacity appliances, perfect for stocking the pantry with food and reducing grocery-store runs.

There’s plenty to do here during a lockdown, thanks to extensive builtin entertainment and activity facilities. The sound system can be voiceactivated from anywhere in the suite. Along with a built-in laser projection screen that pops down out of the ceiling, there’s a 48-in. HDTV in the den for Netflix, gaming or to watch while working out, and a third built into the wall of the master bedroom (above an electric fireplace that uses mist and special lighting to create its “flames,” and may be a bit more calming to watch than the nightly news).

But no matter how beautiful the indoor environment may be, sooner or later you’ll still want to step outside onto either of two balconies, where you can enjoy a breath of the outside world, all without leaving the comfort of the suite.

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This spread The list of features in the Innovation Suite that can be controlled by voice (via smart home assistants like Amazon’s Alexa), associated mobile apps, or touch is impressive, and include centralized lighting, audio visuals and motorized blinds, smart home appliances in the kitchen, plumbing fixtures in the bathrooms, changing a glass partition in the master bedroom from opaque to transparent, or a smart shower with voice-controllable water temperature and flow rate, and an AV-connected vibracoustic bath. The warm wooden herringbone floors throughout the suite are coated in titanium oxide that is activated by light and motion, filtering and cleaning the air regularly.

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Photo courtesy of Picnic Design Inc.

over & out

[Co]mmon Ground

Can co-living be an option for reducing loneliness during a lockdown?

By Peter Sobchak

Words beginning with “co” were getting quite a bit of attention even before the pandemic struck. Words such as co-working, co-living and co-ownership, the latter two of which were of great interest to Torontobased Picnic Design, led by Joanne Lam and Eric Martin, who explored their utility and potential through an installation at IDS20 called Do You Dare to Share?, which included an analog survey of what rooms or things people see themselves sharing with others in a co-living setting.

pandemic lockdown has brought into focus our need to be around other people and revealed the inadequacies of everyone living in their own castle,” says Lam. “At present, isolation is felt across demographic lines, whether it is seniors, single adults, or families with young children. To have a diversity of ideas and people would be welcomed relief and would make a household bubble more resilient, not to mention the much-needed built-in help in a co-living house.”

“Generally, people’s responses aligned with our expectations,” says Lam. “We knew the bathroom would not be popular and it is obvious in the amount of black “No” stickers around it. Most “Yes” went to the garden, the rec room and books. We were a bit surprised by the differences between sharing meals and the kitchen. We thought both would have had more “Yes” and would be more aligned. 68 per cent would share meals but less than half would share the kitchen.”

The installation drew a lot of attention at the show for Picnic Design (even winning a Best Booth Design Silver Award), so they were asked

by IDS to do a larger follow-up installation for 2021 that will incorporate one of their main lounges. “We are planning [that] installation to be an experience. Based on our survey, we plan to build out the most popular spaces at 1:1 for people to get a taste for sharing. Instead of a walk-through installation, it will invite you to sit down and linger. Each space will have a different feel, and visitors can decide where to go based on their needs at the time, or simply try out all of them. Hopefully, it will also lead to spontaneous networking and generate rigorous debates about co-living.”

However, when that other “co” word — COVID-19 — struck, the title of their installation seemed to take on a whole new meaning. “At first glance, co-living seems to be the antithesis to social distance, yet the CANADIAN INTERIORS 7/8 2020

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BMO Bank of Montreal Design: IBI Group Graphic Wall Murals

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405 Midday – NEW

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