Canadian interiors January February 2017 by IQ Business Media

CANADIAN INTERIORS

CDN $6.95 JANUARY FEBRUARY 2017

Away from it all

3 private residences challenge how we live

+ January February 2017

Eyefuls of bathrooms and tiles

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everlasting trends marble stone granite onyx ceramic quartz mosaic montreal quebec brossard toronto vaughan mississauga detroit new york ciot.com

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1330 Castlefield Ave | Toronto, ON | 416.929.9290 | wstudio.ca | info@wstudio.ca

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01/022017 Features

24 CLEAN START Bathrooms have long abandoned simple utilitarian purposes and now conjure notions of spa-like tranquility and places of meditation. Compiled by Peter Sobchak

28 LANDSCAPE IN A BOX On many levels a new cottage designed by Architecturama facilitates both protection from and projection into nature. By Rhys Phillips

32 FANTASY FAMILY HOUSE Nestled in a hemlock forest, Fahouse presents an enchanting cottage that seems to emerge from a children’s story. By Martha Uniacke Breen

36 REACHING SKYWARD A soaring skylit atrium of a remodelled townhome heightens the experience of a dynamic interior volume. By Martha Uniacke Breen

38 BEING JAKE One of Toronto’s in-demand furniture craftsmen, Jake Whillans’ work explores the effect that visual and spatial qualities have on our consciousness. By Michael Totzke

Regulars

11 CAUGHT OUR EYE 14 HOW IT’S MADE Break~Wave by Lilly Otasevic. 16 SEEN Highlights and insights from IIDEXCanada in Toronto, and Cersaie in Bologna. 42 SCENE 46 OVER & OUT A University of Manitoba alumna tackles a lack of textile

and decor products informed by Indigenous traditions in Canada.

COVER – Architect Jean Verville designed a storybook-like cottage in the woods for a young family that encourages imagination and playfulness in every corner. Photo by Maxime Brouillet

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com Coming soon:

Orgatec 2016

“La Casa” of Paul & Sigi MXMA Architecture & Design was inspired by the foliage of Montréal’s Lafontaine Park when transforming a duplex interior into an innovative living space with abundant wood surfaces.

Equinoxe Residence APPAREIL architecture modernizes a young family’s Montréal townhouse and gives it both a Nordic and green signature.

Led by the theme “creativity works - new visions of work,” Orgatec 2016 saw a healthy attendance with more than 56,000 visitors from 118 countries coming to see what’s new and noteworthy in the modern working world.

Jarnuszkiewicz House The house of sculptor Jacek Jarnuszkiewicz, overhanging Lake Trousers in Bolton-Est, Ontario, is a product of collaboration between the client, sculptor, and YH2 Architecture.

LeJeune Residence Located in the PlateauMont-Royal Borough of Montréal, this reno by Architecture Open Form involved balancing municipal constraints and the clients’ vision.

Visit the expanded digital edition of to see our roundup!

1/2 2017 CANADIAN INTERIORS

January| February 2017 / V54 #1

Senior Publisher

Martin Spreer

416-441-2085 x108 Editor

Peter Sobchak Art Director

Roy Gaiot

Assistant Editor

Shannon Moore Associate Editors

David Lasker, Rhys Phillips, Leslie C. Smith Contributors

Kelley Beaverford, Martha Uniacke Breen, Michael Totzke Customer Service / Production

Laura Moffatt

416-441-2085 x104 Circulation Manager

circulation@canadianinteriors.com President of iQ Business Media Inc.

Alex Papanou

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. 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, 101 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 302 Toronto ON M3B 1Z3 or order online www.canadianinteriors.com For subscription and back issues inquiries please call 416-441-2085 x104 e-mail: circulation@canadianinteriors.com, or go to our website at: www.canadianinteriors.com 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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Show Me What You’ve Got

Like you, there are many aspects of 2016 that I would rather forget, and also a lot of fallout I am not looking forward to dealing with (you probably know what I’m referring to). But at the same time, there was a lot of good to come out of that year, and for us at Canadian Interiors, one great example is the relationship we’ve forged with the Toronto Design Offsite Festival (TO DO), for whom we produced their festival guide. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - As the editor of a design magazine, I travel quite a bit to other cities to investigate emerging trends in the world of design, which is manifested in many ways, from large-scale city building to small-scale furniture and décor products. One thing I noticed early on is that cities with successful design industries also typically have mature design sensibilities that extend beyond the product manufacturing sectors, and exhibit themselves in ways that generate a dialogue between professionals, students and the general public about the thought that design is an integral part of life. And one of the best pieces of evidence of this design maturity can be seen in cities that host “Design Weeks.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Obvious cities like Paris, New York and Milan have robust, successful Design Weeks, but other second-tier cities such as Cologne, Valencia, Kortrijk, and many others also proudly host similar events that incorporate trade shows, exhibitions and conferences that attract design aficionados, makers, architects and thought leaders to present work, exchange ideas and showcase innovation in design. And thanks to the efforts of its organizing council, TO DO is doing exactly that for Toronto, and helping put it on the same map as these other design capitals. -------------------------------------------------What started as a grass-roots endeavour has exploded exponentially, no doubt because it has tapped into something that both Toronto’s denizens and the design industry had been waiting for — a platform for new and provocative design as well as an opportunity to share and explore perspectives and ideas in ways that engage more ordinary citizens beyond the cloistered academic bubbles or the elite print media’s obsession with capturing some zeitgeist within the architecture and design industries. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At street level, Toronto feels today like an exciting place to be. From designers’ studios to retail showrooms, restaurants, galleries and hotels it is clear that things are happening. Toronto is showing that it is ready to do more to position itself as a confident global city, tackling urban challenges and using design as a tool to do so, and TO DO is one of those efforts that are helping point the city toward a new era of maturity and accomplishment. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Peter Sobchak psobchak@canadianinteriors.com

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caught our eye Flowing Ideas Unveiled during Guangzhou Design Week, local firm PONE Architecture amazed and confused visitors with Transparent Shell, a structure consisting of 30 main “bone models” and three groups of large curves that, through multiple layers of woven and crisscrossed transparent films, created various functional spaces such as entrance, wall, ceiling, window, and seating. Almost as convoluted as the dazzling piece of interior architecture was the firm’s attempt to conceptually explain it, eventually calling it a show of “behavioral art,” whatever that means. www.pone.cn.com

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caught our eye

Pop the Cork During Art Basel Miami, Italian furniture line Henge introduced the Mushroom Tables collection. These metallic coffee tables, created in collaboration with Canadian heavyweights Yabu Pushelberg, are devised as a pair of complimentary size configurations, and come in a champagne-coloured gloss finish. www.henge07.com

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Unver the Veil From January 27 to February 28, Vancouver’s Fairmont Pacific Rim will host a new exhibit titled Japan Unlayered, curated by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma together with Westbank and Peterson (developers-owners of the hotel). Displayed over two levels, the exhibition will focus on the Japanese philosophy of layering: for example, just inside the front doors, the traditional Japanese teahouse will be given a contemporary treatment with a 130-sq.-m. Super Organza fabric roof, made of 27 micron polyester, suspended from a translucent helium balloon. www.japanunlayered.westbankcorp.com

Photos: Japan Unlayered by Ema Peters; Loop by Ulysse Lemerise OSA Images

Rolling Right Along A new installation on the Place des Festivals will ignite a dreary Montréal winter until the end of January. Called Loop, it consists of 13 giant zoetropes designed by Olivier Girouard, Jonathan Villeneuve and Ottoblix. Evoking the optical toy and forerunner of animated film, when these zoetropes are activated, images are shown in rapid succession, creating the illusion of motion. www.quartierdesspectacles.com

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how it’s made

1—Break~Wave was designed as a low-lying round bench topped with an undulating surface that mimics the organic properties of coffee.

2—Pieces of aluminum for Break~Wave are buffed for assembly by builders at Toronto-based GG Fabrication Inc.

Break~Wave

Winner of the Grand Cru/ation design competition, Lilly Otasevic’s new bench gives travellers a break in Union Station. By Peter Sobchak

3—Entrants were challenged to submit proposals for an aluminum structure to encourage the recycling of Nespresso capsules, which are also made of recyclable aluminum.

Last summer, the Design Exchange and Nespresso partnered on a competition called Grand Cru/ation that challenged designers to rethink the conventional coffee break. Lilly Otasevic’s winning proposal, called Break~Wave, was manufactured and installed on November 11 in Toronto’s Union Station as part of the DX’s Satellite program. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • www.dx.org

Photos courtesy of Design Exchange

4—Manufactured in three colourways, representing the Nespresso Grands Crus: Linizio, Arpeggio and Odacio, the benches are now on display at Union Station in the newly renovated West Wing.

CANADIAN INTERIORS 1/2 2017

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Your Show of Shows Highlights and insights from IIDEXCanada 2016, Toronto’s annual architecture and design expo.

With over 1,600 exhibitors occupying both the north and south floors of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and 30,000plus visitors, not to mention a large slate of prestigious seminar speakers, IIDEX is indeed justified in proclaiming itself Canada’s leading design and construction trade show. The twoday event, which ended December 1st, offered a wealth of innovative ideas, from new takes on old subjects to the latest high-tech developments. --------------------------------•

The Mutable Office Sometimes an office-worker needs to mute out all that open-concept bustle and get down to business. Last year’s IIDEX introduced North Americans to Framery Acoustics’s updated version of the glassed-in phone booth. This year, the Finnish firm presented its Framery Q model: a completely enclosed, two-person cubicle that can be positioned wherever the need for privacy exists. Contrasting the Q’s futuristic styling is the Huddle Rustic Shed from England’s Frövi. This sound-dampening, sit-down booth, complete with cushioned banquettes, table and plug-in interface, comes enveloped in an ironic, faux barn board exterior and shingled roof that would be perfect for Jed Clampett and his kinfolk. Finally, Italy’s Fantoni showcased its Acoustic Room, a “box haven” fitted with sound- and reverberation-resistant glass walls and melamine panelling. The display featured a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche – “Noise kills thought” – that has been aptly echoed in recent brain-concentration studies. According to Fantoni’s rep, the company’s business in secondary schools and universities alone is up by 80 per cent this year. www.frameryacoustics.com /

By Leslie C. Smith

www.frovidesign.com / www.fantoni.it

CANADIAN INTERIORS 1/2 2017

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Turn-ons What would IIDEX be without a smattering of smashing lights? Of note were Canada’s Eurofase collection, particularly the Aldo Pendant – a 3D,

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antiqued aluminum box with inset LED strips, cradling a resin tree branch. But everybody was really talking about Dyson’s foray into fixtures. The British company that seems to be taking over the world one industrial design at a time presented its new-to-North-America Csys Task Light and Cu-Beam Duo Pendant. Both are very low-profile and high-tech. The aluminum task light (also available as a floor lamp) rotates 360 degrees, glides up and down via a small counterweight, and receives its power via a thin, flexible strip attached to its vertical post. Just like the larger direct/indirect light Cu-Beam Duo Pendant, it uses heat pipe technology – a rotational system wherein tiny droplets of water are continually cycled through the fixture’s fins – to keep strong LEDs cooled, thereby maximizing their efficacy and life. Both lights are nifty to look at, just like everything else Dyson produces. www.eurofase.com / www.dysoncanada.ca Please be Seated Canada’s Tusch (yes, it is pronounced “tush”) Seating International has an eye for the innovative and attractive, importing residential and commercial seats, as well as other furnishings from some of the world’s brightest designers. This year, the offerings included the Dunas XL Lounge collection, designed by France’s Christophe Pillet. Low-slung and geometrically pleasing, these lounge chairs feel as comfortable as they look. A special nod

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goes out as well to Pillet’s laptop-ready Lan Side Tables and Tetris System modular bench seating. The latter – upholstered slabs set in a metal sled-frame – can be accessorized with an Auxiliary Table top that slides right over the bench surface. Also under the Tusch umbrella comes an assortment of outdoor chairs created by Poland’s Mac Stopa. Made from sturdy, lightweight polyurethane, the River Collection boasts waterproof, UV-resistant and easy-to-clean properties. The Riverside Chair and Riverstone Ottoman are more or less circular lumps, striated like sedimentary rock, that offer surprisingly soft comfort. www.tuschseating.com

Wood Works IIDEXCanada 2016 gave us not one but two wood showcases. Ontario Wood promoted locally sourced lumber crafted by numerous hands into furniture, flooring and even a wood-top turntable. Woodshop, now in its fourth year, continued its challenge to local designers in finding recycled uses for insect-threatened ashwood. Notable in the assemblage were Norman Cramer’s Danish-inspired 5° Furniture Collection, Matt Ryan’s lozenge-shaped Wicket Pill Table, and Nicholas Hamilton Holmes’s cheeky Shell Table, an accessory homage to the Eames Shell Chair. www.hamiltonholmes.com / www.fad.ca / www.normancramer.com 1/2 2017 CANADIAN INTERIORS

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seen

Lucky 13 Spotting a baker’s dozen of trends at Cersaie 2016. During a long, leisurely breakfast on my free day in Bologna — after three whirlwind days at Cersaie, the world’s largest exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings — I caught myself studying the tile used in the hotel dining room. Clearly my tile indoctrination had been successful, and where better to study tile than in the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, the heart of Italy’s ceramics industry? After those three days of walking what seemed like miles of aisles through various halls full of tiles, encompassing 156,000 square metres, it was hard not to feel overwhelmed. It wasn’t until I got home and had time to comb through all I had collected that I knew how to make sense of it all. Here, then, is the crème de la crème. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------•

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By Michael Totzke

Graphic My personal pick for Best of Show goes to Ornamenta’s OPLUS collection of slim laminated porcelain with screen-printed colour, which celebrates the “plus sign” in the most fresh and delightful way. Single signs are turned at different angles in comparison with their centre, giving the whole composition a sort of visual “flicker”; here and there, a few signs are in contrasting colour, adding a subtle touch of whimsy. The aptly named colour families – moving from light to dark – are Chalk, Peanut, Cloud, Simply Taupe, Smoke and Carob. www.ornamenta.com

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Hey, good looking

3 Menswear Ceramic Sant’Agostino best advanced a trend apparent through all Cersaie halls: the look of men’s suiting materials. Its Tailorart collection of porcelain stoneware presents tile that has the look of fine linen (the colours light, taupe, sand, grey and brown) or – a knockout punch – tartan (in light and dark versions).

www.ceramicasantagostino.it 2 Decoration Marcel Wanders continues his collaboration with Altaeco, showing two new collections: Eve and Sofia. Both are beauties, with Eve the fairest of the two; a graphic collection of matt tile — loosely inspired by the foliage, flowers and springs of the Garden of Eden — hand-painted by two craftspeople. It changes magically as you view it from different vantage points.

www.altaeco.com 3 Wild Modena-based 41Zero42 is one of the hippest companies on the scene. Its Paper41 range of “contemporary frescoes” (in two sizes: 50x100cm and 50x50cm) are made of slim porcelain with high-res digital glazes, reinforced with a sheet of fibreglass for wall application. There are 10 “stories” in total, each bearing a person’s name (shown: Karl), encompassing seven punchy graphics and three wild botanicals.

www.41zero42.com 4 Blues What’s black and white and grey all over? The halls of Cersaie. When colour does creep in, it’s mostly shades of beige, brown and terra cotta – but now and then a shade of blue shines through, more often than not the soft, luminous, cooling blue of Fap Ceramiche’s Color Now collection of white-body wall coverings (eight in all), here called Avio. www.fapceramiche.com CANADIAN INTERIORS 1/2 2017

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Great pretenders

Metal The Cor-ten collection from Faetano, a brand of the Del Conca Group, captures the post-industrial air of late-20th-century factories; replicas of studs, hinges and nails add a witty graphic element. Available with an undertone of beige (shown) or grey. www.delconca.com

1 Wood Tagina Ceramiche d’Arte keeps alive the ceramic tradition and artisan culture of the Umbria area. New this year is Rivamancina, inspired by wooden roofs covering workshops along the banks of the Navigli canals around Milan. Available in several shades, Rivamancina comes in large 20x120cm sizes, allowing for maximum visual impact. www.tagina.com

Stone Cardoso – a dark grey verging on blue – is a low metamorphic-grade sandstone rock formed by the fragmentation sandstone rock. In Ceramiche Coem’s porcelain stoneware version, also produced in warmer shades, pale, striped veins move lightly across the surface, which is soft to the touch yet highly resistant. Available in both indoor and outdoor versions. www.coem.it 2

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4 Other When I say Other, I mean concrete, plaster and such. Lea Ceramiche’s Trame collection of ceramic tiles comprises three textures, one of which is Plaster (soft and spatula textured) and another Matter (rough and opaque, like concrete). But my favourite — and runner-up for my personal Best of Show — is Canvas (shown), characterized by a linen texture with a delicate graphic relief enhancing its three-dimensionality. www.ceramichelea.it

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2 State of the art

Big Wide is ABK’s collection of tough yet lightweight porcelain panels, with a thickness of just 7mm and a record size of 160x320cm. Thanks to their metrics, these panels are ideal for use in large residential and commercial spaces, including architectural volumes designed for custom applications. Shown here is the new collection Alpes, in Wide format, in Sand. www.abk.it

3D You can’t help but reach out and touch Atlas Concorde’s 3D Wall Design collection of white-body ceramic tiles. Abstract and sinuous motifs with a silky soft, satiny finish are enlivened and enhanced by the play of light. In Mesh (shown), rippled lines meet rhythmic, harmonious waves. Others feature geometric patterns (such as Diamond and Grid), strong reliefs (Blade and Kite) or sinuous textures inspired by the natural world (Wave and Ribbon). www.atlasconcorde.com

Architecture Good news for architects: Zurich’s Les Couleurs Suisse, which holds the exclusive rights to Le Corbusier’s “Polychrome architecturale,” has granted Gigacer Spa the license to use the influential Swiss-French master’s palette: that is, 63 colours he approved for use in his design and architecture. Giggler Spa’s Les Couleur Le Corbusier collection of porcelain stoneware so far consists of 12 colours that combine well. www.gicacer.it

4 Solar The architectural contingent in our North American group was all abuzz about roof tiles from Ardogres Tegole di Ardesia Cermica: specifically the Ardosolar range. Modules of the Ardolar System — which convert sunlight into electric power through photovoltaics — are designed to integrate fully into Ardogres’s ceramic slate roof coverings. www.ardogres.com

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2018 source guide Product Guide for Interior and Architectural Specifications The product guide is distributed to all readers of Canadian Interiors and Canadian Architect magazines. Your listing will be seen by 8,450 interior designers and 12,000 architects in Canada. The Design Source Guide is also distributed at trade shows such as IIDEXCanada, Construct Canada and the Interior Design Show (Total circulation: 26,577 plus 5,000 trade show copies). In addition, the online listings attract upwards of 30,000 unique visitors per month. If you want to put your products in front of the A&D community, reserve your space in 2018 Design Source Guide today. www.canadianinteriors.com/design-source-guide-listing/

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the goods

Clean Start Bathrooms have long abandoned simple utilitarian purposes and now conjure notions of spa-like tranquility and places of meditation. Compiled by Peter Sobchak

Milano Collection | Fantini The Milano Collection, designed by Franco Sargiani for Fantini, is an entire line of bathroom showerheads, shower panels, faucets and handles, with the newest addition being the MilanoSlim and MilanoSlim Outdoor, introduced in 2016; both feature a multi-functional in-wall shower panel with thermostatic mixer, rainfall showerhead, body sprays and hand shower. www.fantiniusa.com

CANADIAN INTERIORS 1/2 2017

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DXV presents the Seagram Â® Freestanding Tub and Contemporary Floor Mount Tub Filler.

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the goods

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1 Drench | Danze The new – and very appropriately named – Drench rain showerhead from Illinois-based Danze is able to push a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute at 80 psi through a paper-thin design. www.danze.com 2 Ashfield | Pfister Pfister has upgraded versions of its kitchen and bathroom faucet families such as Ashfield (shown) and Kenzo with high efficiency models. The new faucets are designed to help consumers save water usage by as much as 20 percent with no noticeable impact on performance. www.pricepfister.com

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3 Hammock | Clou Netherlands-based bathroom specialist Clou was awarded a Red Dot Award: Best of the Best in 2016 for the free-standing two-person Hammock bath with Kaldur tap. Designed by Dutch product designer René Holten, the generous and organic dimensions of the bath mirror the soft fluid forms of the Kaldur tap and mixer. www.clou.nl 4 F-digital | Grohe The new F-digital Deluxe App from Grohe lets you design your own personal combination of lighting, sound and steam through a wireless Bluetooth connection. Module functions in this Star Trek-esque experience include coloured and dimmable LED light, the intensity of the steam, and music – thanks to the Aquatunes waterproof speaker, created in a partnership with Philips Sound and itself a 2016 Red Dot Design Award winner. www.grohe.com

5 ActiClean | American Standard ActiClean is a new self-cleaning toilet by American Standard that combines their VorMax flushing technology with a fully integrated push-button cleaning system. Powered by four AA alkaline batteries, components are tucked away inside the tank top. www.americanstandard.com

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6 Pebble | Ronbow Northern Californiabased luxury bathroom furnishings manufacturer Ronbow has partnered with French designer Ora Ito on the new Pebble collection, an organic bathroom vanity and sinktop (plus LED mirror) and wall cabinets. Soft, organic and asymmetrical, this range is unified by a glossy white finish that acts as a canvas to showcase the “pebble-like” shapes and curves. www.ronbow.com 7 Font | Scavolini Units with drawers, pull-out baskets, wall units, horizontal and vertical cabinets and open-fronted compartments in various depths are the elements that make up the collections in the new Scavolini Bathrooms range. The Font line is characterised by a glass door: the 4mm sheet of glass is applied to a panel lacquered in the same colour as the glass. It can be opened through push-pull systems or a handle with glass insert at the centre of the door (seen here are base units, side facing panels and wall-mounted cabinets in Ruby Red polished glass). www.scavolini.com 8 Pescadero | Victoria + Albert Inspired by the sea, and named after the picturesque seaside town in Northern California, Victoria + Albert’s new Pescadero tub features a dynamically undulating rim that was designed to form a distinctive, asymmetrical wave, and is crafted from EnglishCast, a finely ground volcanic limestone mixed with resin. www.vandabaths.com

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9 Touch & Steam | Effegibi Featuring state-of-the-art-stream generating technology, the Touch & Steam’s touch-screen controls allow the user to adjust steam release, warm air function, unit per-heating function and white light or colour-therapy lighting. www.effegibi-perfect-wellness.com

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landscape in a On many levels – literally and figuratively – a new cottage designed by

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Photography by James Brittain Photography

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By Rhys Phillips

Perched on a wooded hillside overlooking Lake Jasper just outside rural Chertsey, in central Québec, a new cottage/studio designed by Montréal-based Architecturama initially exhibits a decidedly classical persona for a house in such a rugged romantic landscape. A simple three-storey cube clad in unstained eastern cedar, it is fronted by a full-height portico whose five unadorned columns suggest the rational classicism of the late Italian architect Aldo Rossi. But this rigid balance is almost immediately undone by three broad turquoise-painted bands that slash diagonally up and across behind the columns before angling back down through the open porch and entering the house itself. This colourful, three-dimensional chevron is the first hint of an interior architectural landscape as rugged and as romantic as its exterior environment. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Inside, functions are compartmentalized into two very different spaces. A series of “minimalist” compartments are stacked over five irregular levels along the north wall and read more as galley, berths and heads than kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms. The much larger or “maximal” space faces south, exposing the lake through a full wall of glass made possible by commercial framing stabilized by a 32-inch wide glulam beam across the top. This gloriously expansive interior void is sliced by two inclined bleacher-like planes reflecting the sloping site, each with a common starting point at the southwest corner of the con-

crete ground floor. These step up to just above the kitchen floor on the top level and meet at 90 degrees to one another. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Where the top platform on the southfacing bleacher fronts the galley kitchen, it doubles as a food preparation surface and a dining table with stools on the inside and a bleacher bench on the great room side. The west-facing bleacher slips out through the glazing and stretches across the open portico. Thus, those lively turquoise bands serve as balustrades for a stepped exterior terrace. Its benches are stained translucent blue with spacers between the 2x3 planks to allow light to filter through, creating ever changing patterns below. Conversely, the planks of the south-facing terraces are stained green and packed tightly like mill flooring. Comprised of standardized panels, each section can be individually adjusted to modulate the landscape of each terrace. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The structure of the larger, interior free space accommodates above and below the bleachers a working studio, changeable interactive platforms to entertain friends and family and, not incidentally, an appropriate stage on which to confront a romantic environment without hostility, to paraphrase the great Norwegian architect and theorist Christian Norberg-Schutz. In architect Sylvain Bilodeau’s own words, the house and its terraced platforms facilitate both protection from and projection into nature. --------------------------------------------------

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Architecturama facilitates both protection from and projection into nature. Above The cottage/studio is a basic cube fronted by a classical portico but disrupted and tied back to the romantic landscape by a three-dimensional turquois chevron tucked behind simple classical columns. Below right Two intersecting bleacher-like planes, supported by a forest grid of black-painted pillars create an interior landscape, a platform to comfortably confront nature through a floor-to-ceiling south facing glass faĂ§ade looking out over the lake. Below left On the left, the blue-stained bleacher with 2x3â&#x20AC;? studs with spacers permit light to filter to the first level, extend through the glazing and out across the porch to become a steeped exterior terrace. The green-stained bleacher on the right has tightly packed mill floor tiers.

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Above left to right Underneath the bleachers, the forest of 2x4 columns set in a 44-inch grid allow for adjustable studio tables at the ground level with in-between platforms above tucked under the tiers, creating favourite spaces for visiting children. Left While two staircases are intertwined with the bleachers, movable blocks on the tiers also act as steps as well as doing double duty as side tables or lounge supports. The standardized components can also be height adjusted to modulate the landscape of the tiers.

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Underneath, the bleachers are supported by a relatively dense, 44-inch grid of double 2x4 columns intended to suggest the site’s deciduous forest. The columns, stained black and wired with exposed black cable to increase lighting flexibility, allow horizontal plywood planes to be attached (and adjusted) to create working desks on the bottom level or intertwined levels higher up under the benches. “Children love the cottage the most, as they can roam, crawl and filter around and through the many in-between spaces,” says Bilodeau. “The bleachers are simultaneously oversized furniture, an agora, a circulation area, filters, dividers, bookshelves, structural elements, and so on.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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A 1

4 3

Site section

Conceptual axonometric

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - While two circulation staircases are tucked into the underbelly of the bleachers, there are also movable blocks that serve as steps up the terraces but can also be used as sitting and lounging supports or as side tables. A fireplace hung on the wall, a movie projector and feather cushions (the last being one of the few furniture pieces added to this architectural landscape) turns the agora space into an arena for entertainment, reading or just relaxing with a spectacular panoramic view. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Returning to the opening observation about the severe rationalism of the cottage’s form, Bilodeau notes “at first glance, the difference between natural and built form is

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Section A

Section B

1 Guest berth 2 Main berth 3 Bathroom 4 Antechamber 5 Bleachers 6 Kitchen 7 Guest room 8 Mechanical

highlighted [but] the close links uniting the architecture with nature emerge through ambiances, relationships, mimetic qualities, materials and light.” Not incidentally, the deep portico decreases interior heat gain in summer but allows passive solar in the winter. Ground level south-facing windows combine with high north-side windows to create a heat chimney furthering the cottage’s green credentials. -------------------------------------------------At many levels, both as a professional design studio and a friendly, even beguiling space to entertain, the Lake Jasper cottage works, in a word, naturally. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • — more canadianinteriors.com 1/2 2017 CANADIAN INTERIORS

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F an tasy tas HOUSE

Nestled in the privacy of a hemlock forest, Fahouse presents an enchanting cottage that seems to emerge from a children’s story. By Martha Uniacke Breen

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Photography by Maxime Brouillet

Montréal architect Jean Verville took his cues from the close family that commissioned this Eastern Townships cottage to create a design that reflects, he says, “a new kind of living for a new kind of family – where the parents and kids are fused, much more than before.” ------------------------------------------------“Fahouse” stands for family house, and in his design Verville drew both on generalities about modern family life and the specific lives of these clients. But it could also mean fantasy house, since its cottagey, childlike features offer a wealth of small delights for those who will actually live there. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -The barrier between communal and private space is minimized, using interior windows, cutaways and knee walls, connecting every space to every other. At the same time, woods and trees

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are visible from almost every vantage point — whether you are lying down or standing, toddler or grownup, playing or cooking or simply reading by the window in a patch of sun. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -There’s a childlike literalness about the exterior profile, which consists of two A-shaped sections that evoke the tall conifers surrounding the property. The metaphor is strengthened by the use of black corrugated metal siding. “The siding is designed to integrate into the woods even in winter,” he explains. In summer, it blends into the shadows of the woods, while in winter, the home’s outline creates a dramatic silhouette, like tall spruce trees against the snow. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -A poured concrete walkway follows the slope of the land down a flight of steps to a patio sheltered by a can-

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Clockwise from far left The exaggerated pitch of the roofs and matte black metal siding make the cottage feel like a children’s impression of a huge, sheltering spruce tree, rising in the midst of the woods; seen from the drive, strategically placed windows in the cottage’s two sections line up so that a view of greenery pierces the entire length; a deep cantilevered overhang shelters seating area and entry, like an overhanging bough; broad window walls make the seating area feel like part of the forest, rather than merely facing it.

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tilevered overhang, under the larger of the two “trees.” Despite its size, this section seems to float over a wide expanse of window walls that wrap around the vertical part of two full sides of the cottage. The effect blurs the boundary between indoors and out, and provides a leafy backdrop to the living/dining/sitting area within. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Inside, the division between the two sections is loosely defined between communal spaces like the main floor family area, and what Verville whimsically refers to as the “perched” areas. Past the kitchen in the centre of the house (just as the kitchen is the central hub of many families, of course), and a closet and storage area painted primary-school red, semi-enclosed stairs lead to the bedroom areas on the second floor. The stairway railings echo the diagonals of the rooflines; they allow for safe passage for younger family members, while still permitting conversation, all the way to the top. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -The toddlers’ perch features bunk beds under the eaves, with strategically placed windows for both upper and lower berths (or for taller or shorter vantage points). A further short flight leads to the parents’ own retreat, which Verville likens to a beehive, since it consists of several cells: bed and bath are almost the same size and placed side by side, with a single expanse of window wall conjoining both rooms equally. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -The family bathroom offered another opportunity to eschew seriousness for a bit of kidfriendly design. A graphic pattern of white rectangular ceramic tiles and dark grout underscores the triangular (or as he explains, prismatic) shape of walls and peaked ceiling, perforated by another big

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skylight view of trees and sky. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -The top floor of the main volume is a kids’ paradise, simply because it is largely unassigned. A big, open space under the rafters with windows on either end, it’s tailored to burning off youthful energy and simply letting imagination go. The ribbed roofline led Verville to characterize it as “the lair of the whale.” ------------------------------------------------With its unpretentious materials, ranging from corrugated metal and concrete outside to Baltic plywood and painted drywall inside, the home is a playbox for both young and older folks, and a supporting player to the landscape around it. And even with these modest goals, it’s also a highly original work of architecture. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -“For me, the process of creation was really connected to the family; meeting the parents and their children inspired me to make something personal, a picture of them. It’s a mix of classical architecture and playful design,” he says. “The assemblage of aesthetic, personal, emotional, figurative and architectural — it’s really a blend of all these things.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • — more canadianinteriors.com Clockwise from bottom left Lacquered Baltic plywood lines interior walls and guardrails, helping to keep the interior bright and emphasize the airy feeling; the indoor-outdoor boundary is blurred through shared materials such as concrete floors and lacquered ceilings, while a playful shot of red marks the way to the children’s perch; Verville refers to the top-floor playroom as “the lair of the whale,” with rafters as giant ribs; a graphic pattern of white tile and dark grout in the children’s shower suits the simple, childlike design of the home, while a clerestory window high in the eave lets in a glimpse of trees and sky.

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Top A crisp, clean material palette of Douglas fir, concrete floors, and white lacquered millwork maximizes the light that infuses the entire house, from a broad atrium that spans the full 32-foot width. Bottom The fireplace and hearth transform into storage and seating in the kitchen in the rear section. A watery blue hex-tile backsplash provides one of the few shots of colour in the home, complementing garden views through a window that forms the entire rear wall. Opposite page, from top In place of ordinary top-floor guard rails, a genuine trapeze net; vertical-grain Douglas fir slats replace guard rails on stairs and mezzanine; vertical elements such as the library ladder, second-floor window and high bookshelf wall draw the eye up through the atrium.

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Photography by Ro bitailleCurtis

The dramatic atrium of a Montréal townhouse that runs the full 32-foot height of the house became the central inspiration for an exquisitely simple, lightinfused remodelling by RobitailleCurtis principal architect Andrew Curtis. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “The clients were a thirtysomething couple who were expecting their first child,” explains Curtis. “They had wanted to live in it for a period before renovating so they could decide in an informed way what they wanted. In the end, they were clear about wanting a modern, lowmaintenance home that could accommodate their many pets, and that would take advantage of the home’s unique feature: its atrium.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The main floor was reoriented into three central axes; strategically located Douglas fir slatted walls provide safety and define spaces without sacrificing light and views. The succession of spaces starts with a pure-white “cube” in the front area, dividing living room from the central atrium area and kitchen, with a coat closet on the entry side and powder room on the other. Pocket doors allow the living room to be closed off when desired. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The kitchen was repositioned in the back third, to maximize views through a full window wall overlooking a small but beautifully landscaped garden. The window wall adds to the feeling of transparency and light that filters throughout the home, despite the narrowness typical of city townhouses.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The central third features a fireplace with an open bookcase that soars clear to the third floor. Here, it ends under a square opening directly beneath the atrium skylight, rigged with a trapeze net instead of railings. The net, says Curtis, was supplied and installed by the same company that supplies Cirque du Soleil. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “The net was conceived of while we were considering options for guardrails. On the second floor, the wood slats replaced the existing drywall guardrails, and at the third floor [the kids’ floor], we removed them completely. Conceptually, the net became a play surface for the clients and their [future] children.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - With its careful balance of openness and enclosure, vertical and horizontal, and the warmth of Douglas fir against the purity of white walls and woodwork, the townhome is a lovely example of just how complex the simplest design can be. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • — more canadianinteriors.com

Reaching Skywa rd

By Martha Uniac ke Breen

Embracing a soaring skylit atrium not only forms the heart of a remodelled townhome but also heightens the experience of a dynamic interior volume.

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Jke

Being

One of Toronto’s explores the effe

By Michael Totzke

It’s a good time to be Jake Whillans. In a studio space he shares with fellow designer Dan Gruetter in the depths of small-industrial Etobicoke, his works-in-progress are stacking up: a sleek white-oak-veneer torsion-box platform bed for a private client; his Barstool of white oak and wool upholstery, whose design he is tweaking; and prototypes for a set of planters/side tables in beechwood, cast bronze, soapstone and spun brass. A soapstone sommelier counter he designed for French restaurant Alo (at Queen and Spadina) just went out the door; a new bench typology in white oak and vegetable-tanned leather is being installed at Glassbox Barbershop in Harbord Village; and a roughsawn white-oak boardwalk he recently installed at the Alex Wilson Community Garden will open in April. He’s also working on prototypes for a new line of furniture from MSDS Studio. Not bad for a thoughtful, self-effacing, unflashy guy who officially launched Jake Whillans Studio in August. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CANADIAN INTERIORS 1/2 2017

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Whillans, 30, was born and raised in the transforming borderland between Brampton and Caledon. In his youth, his family home backed onto a small tributary of the Credit River; beyond it lay pastureland, and beyond that enough forest and meadow to keep a curious child stimulated. Like his father, he liked to build, fix and tinker with things. After attending Mayfield Secondary School for the Arts, he began post-secondary education as an engineering student at the University of Waterloo before moving to Toronto to study English Literature at the University of Toronto. “I was restless,” Whillans says, “and about halfway through my studies I became somewhat disillusioned by the academic world and made the arrogant decision to leave school altogether.” After a year of playing in a band that wasn’t going anywhere and writing poetry that would never be published, he decided to allow his mathematical side another chance to express itself and found work as a mechanical systems designer, developing a skill set in vector-based design software. “In my spare time I wrote, practiced piano, built computers and what today I wouldn’t exactly call furniture,” he says. He regards this three-year pe-

s most in-demand furniture craftsmen, Jake Whillansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work ect that visual and spatial qualities have on our consciousness.

Above A new bench typology in white oak and vegetable-tanned leather was recently installed at the Glassbox Barbershop in Harbord Village, a tony Toronto neighbourhood. Photos by Matthew Tammaro

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riod as invaluable, versing him in all the commercial and industrial requirements of projects in general. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Quite by chance, Whillans discovered Sheridan College’s Craft and Design program. “My partner, Amira Shabason, held a summer intern position at the Ontario Craft Council [now Craft Ontario],” he recalls, ”and it was likely a Sheridan graduate exhibition that inspired me to consider this new career path as a maker of furniture and objects.” He was eventually accepted to Sheridan, which proved to be a smart move, and he characterizes his time there like this: “First year was an eye-opener, revealing all I needed to learn; in my second year I had doubts, I thought, ‘This is too difficult’; in my third year, it all came together. As both a physical and intellectual space to explore the poetry of things, it was somehow exactly what I had been looking for in an educational institution. With the guidance of studio head Peter Fleming and program coordinator Gord Thompson, I came to understand the significance of a well-designed object while developing a competent set of skills.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Fleming characterizes Whillans as a rare talent. “Jake is no stranger to hard work, although he is phenomenally modest about his significant achievements in the design and CANADIAN INTERIORS 1/2 2017

fabrication of some of the most elegant furniture forms I’ve seen recently,” says Fleming. “He exhaustively explores form and the appropriate selection of materials to resolve concepts that are informed by the canon of Scandinavian and Japanese design. The resulting pieces are fresh, individual, and somehow seem inevitable; his craft is meticulous and his aesthetic compass always points true north.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Whillans’ furniture, designed while at Sheridan and made of locally sourced materials, includes the Barstool and an elegant Lounge Chair of white oak; Truss occasional tables in walnut and maple, “inspired by the venerable strength of early architecture”; and the playful Mars Console, a low-lying record/media cabinet with sliding Corian doors that “reproduce the topographical shades of our distant neighbour.” The piece that has garnered the most attention, though, is his sustainable Leather Bench, made of local white ash and vegetable-tanned leather. A project of his final year at Sheridan, it was inspired by a currach: a traditional Irish boat with a wooden frame, over which animal skins or hides were stretched. As noted in the Globe and Mail, “Whillans spent hours looking into the history – and environmental implications – of leather, tanning and dyeing before concluding that its durability and availability as a by-product of the food industry was the right fit. He then searched for a vegetable-tanned leather source (he settled on a tannery in Pennsylvania) and hopes in the future to be able to get info on each specific hide – like how the cow lived.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - After graduating in 2015, Whillans worked at Toronto design studio Hollis+Morris, specializing in modern furniture. His boss, Mischa Couvrette, remains a mentor, as do Heidi Earnshaw of Heidi Earnshaw Design and Jonathan Sabine of

MSDS Studio. “Jake is both an exceptional craftsperson and a solid, nuanced designer,” says Sabine. “It’s fairly rare to come across someone with talent in both areas. His work shows an interest in classical proportions enlivened by a rigorous minimalism and an interest in Modern forms.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “I make furniture because I am fascinated by the effect that visual and spatial qualities have on our consciousness,” says Whillans. “Subtle in form and quite often restrained in its use of ornamentation, my work employs both digital and traditional means of making, while a consideration for the longevity and sustainability of my practice underlies every decision that I make. I strive to provide objects that are quietly expressive, progressively timeless, and delicate yet with an utmost concern for craftsmanship.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Is it a good time to be Jake Whillans? Yes, if you don’t mind the stress that comes with being in demand. Yes, if you can handle working evenings and weekends, after a few years of working evenings and weekends. Yes, if you make certain you’re not busy doing the wrong jobs. Yes, if you can find a way to produce your furniture in a way that is both ethical and economically viable. “I do often question the sustainability of my career path, but I think every creative person does,” Whillans admits, with a good-natured shrug. “Besides, it’s an extremely unproductive way to start thinking as I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else.” - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------•

Left to right Leather bench of white oak and vegetable-tanned leather finished in tinted hardwax oil and beeswax; Lounge chair of white oak and finished with natural soap; the Barstool is also of white oak and natural soap, detailed in wool upholstery.

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scene

A flurry of activity

Text and photos by David Lasker

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TSA Bash16

The Toronto Society of Architects’ year-end party, which always sells out, was held this year at Daniels Spectrum in smartly redeveloped Regent Park. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

1—Bortolotto’s Danielle Braemer, marketing and business development manager, and junior architect Brian Muthaliff; flank architect Prianka Smita, Quadrangle Architects. 2—R. H. Carter Architects’ architect Brian Danby; Emil Frank, senior project manager; and architect Ewa Charowska, project manager. 3—Montgomery Sisam architectural interns Kavitha Jayakrishnan and Phil Wharton; and project manager Brad White. 4—Architect Wayne Olson, principal and founder, TO EcoNeighbourhoods Initiative; and Dialog architect Robert Fiorino, national lead, business development; Mark Cichy, director of computational design and research; and Krissy Schmidt, communications manager. 5—Elizabeth George, architect and principal, Studio Great Lakes; Martha Trivett, U of Waterloo architecture student; Desirae Cronsberry, intern architect, and Chris Lynch, architectural technologist, G Architects. 6—Alistair Vaz, architect, Montgomery Sisam; and B+H Architects’s Gabriela Savu and Katherine Robinson, architects and senior associates. 7—Recruiting and staffing agency Aerotek’s Max Grouette, account manager, engineering; and Chelsea Kime, account manager, architecture and engineering. 8—Mark Garber, VP development, KingSett Capital; architect Anna Madeira, principal, Quadrangle Architects; architect Bindya Lad, superkül; and electrical engineer Shaili Patel, VP, Mulvey & Banani.

DX Nespresso Grand Cru/ation

The Design Exchange unveiled the winner of last summer’s Grand Cru/ation design competition in partnership with Nespresso. Four differently coloured iterations of Lilly Otasevic’s Break~Wave design were manufactured and exhibited at Union Station’s renovated West Wing. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1—Nespresso brand manager Caroline Desvaux; competition winner, Lilly Otasevic; and DX president and CEO Shauna Levy. 2—Montréal-based ceramic artist and jury member Pascale Girardin; and Laurie Sakamoto, sponsorships, Toronto Fashion Incubator. 3—Adam Jackson, producer, Vice Media; Faryl Reisman, design co-ordinator at condo developer Great Gulf; and Tara Akitt, DX permanent collection and programs supervisor. 4—DX’s Monique Bynoe, finance and admin supervisor; Elena Carson, events manager; Stacey Mackenzie, executive assistant; and Brigitte Huard, programming manager. 5—DX’s Nina Boccia, program director, and Rosa Ricci, development co-ordinator; and Marcello Cabezas, a consultant helping DX attract a young demographic.

Caesarstone celebrates

Caesarstone held its A&D holiday soirée at the Thompson Hotel in a very crowded, loud room embellished with upside-down Christmas trees in front of the windows. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1—Sia Mahdieh, director of interior design, Pulsinelli; builder and realtor Joe Mancuso, principal at Mancuso Homes; and Evgueni Litvinenko, architectural technologist, Perkins+Will. 2—Victoria Drainville, interior designer, Tara Fingold Interiors; with interior design firm Sealy Design staffers Andrea Nagel, designer; Karen Sealy, owner and principal designer; Gabriella Gandolfo, project manager; and Emily Thiffault, operations manager. 3—High-end home builder Derek Nicholson and his daughter, Jessica, interior designer at Croma Design; Aristotle Andrulakis, manager at Electronica hedge fund; and architect Danny Tseng, partner at Soldatova Tseng 4—Margaret MacDonald, A&D trade sales manager, Maroline (distributor of Sub-Zero and Wolf Appliances); Michelle Mawby, principal at interior design firm Lucid Design; Sheldon Mahabir, director, Institute of Corporate Directors; and Glen Peloso, principal, Peloso Alexander Interiors.

180 degrees of Sweeney

The One Eighty lounge on the the 51st floor of the Manulife Centre offered dramatic city views outside and a convivial Sweeney&Co Architects Christmas party inside. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------1—Eva, wife of Stephen Taylor, VP real estate, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan; and party host, architect and company founder Dermot

Sweeney. 2—Sweeney&Co’s Alexei Jorge Guerra, planning and urban design; Siobhan Sweeney, intern architect; Fei-Ling Tseng, marketing director; and Peter Baugh, managing director. 3—Sweeney&Co’s BJ Smith, intern architect; Banah Mustafa, architectural designer; Mahtab Oskuee, intern architect; and Stacy Agapay, accounting and administration. 4—Mulvey & Banani electrical engineer and senior associate Peter Lee, lighting designer and associate Stephen Kaye; and Sweeney&Co architect and associate Peter Kirkjian.

1/2 2017 CANADIAN INTERIORS

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Best of Canada After Party

Teknion’s sleek Michael Vanderbyl-designed downtown showroom, steps from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, was the luxurious setting for the Canadian Interiors Best of Canada Awards and the Canadian Architect Awards party following the awards presentation at the Keilhauer Keynote Theatre on the IIDEX show floor. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• 1—Teknion’s David Feldberg, president and CEO, and Susan Hahn, Western regional VP. 2— Giannone Petricone Associates’s Kevin Martin, associate; and Pina Petricone, architect and principal, flank architect Emily Dovbniak, intermediate designer, Leckie Studio Architecture + Design; Bryan Chartier, director of interior design, Diamond Schmitt Architects; and David Rezmovitz, director, project management, Knightstone Capital Management. 3— Daniel McNeil, heritage architect, Kearns Mancini Architects; Irish architect Róisín Heneghan; and the Canadian Canoe Museum’s Carolyn Hyslop, general manager, and Richard Tucker, project director. Heneghan won the competition (along with Kearns Mancini) to design the new home of the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ont. 4— Richard Chow, architect and partner at GH3, shares a drink with Canadian Architect editor Elsa Lam. 5— Marilina Cianci, intern architect at Provencher Roy Associates Architects, Montréal; architect Shirley Gagnon of Gagnon Letellier Cyr Ricard Matthieu Associates Architects, Québec City; Jean-François Julien, intern architect, Taylor Hazell Architects; and Julien Beauchamp, master’s of architecture student at Laval University. 6— Interior designers and Burdifilek partners Diego Burdi and Paul Filek flank Doron Minehard, associate architect at Hariri Pontarini Architects. 7— Interior designer Dolores Pian, principal, Spaces Custom Interiors, and architectural photographer Francis Fougere. 8— Mara Del Bianco, director, business development and marketing at lighting designers Lightemotion; Steve Keilhauer, VP product development, Keilhauer. 9— EC & Co. architect and partner Enrico G. Cleva; Peter Sobchak, editor of Building and Canadian Interiors; and Laura Moffatt, manager of publishing operations at IQ Business Media, whose properties include the two magazines. 10— Teknion’s Scott Deugo, chief sales and sustainability officer; David Patterson, president, Canadian sales; and Pamela Mason, director, Canadian marketing; with Canadian Interiors publisher Martin Spreer. 11— Dubbledam Architecture + Design’s Kevin McIntosh, business director, and principal, Heather Dubbledam, flank architect Sara Viarengo Cleva, president at Milan-based architecture firm EC & Co.; and LightForm president and founder Richard Assaly.

CANADIAN INTERIORS 1/2 2017

Wed. Nov. 29 & Thurs. Nov. 30 Product Innovation. Design Trends. Thought Leadership. Practice Insights. Be informed and stay connected with stimulating keynotes, summits, seminars and tours.

#iidex17

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Lines to the Past

A University of Manitoba alumna tackles a lack of textile and decor products informed by Indigenous traditions in Canada.

By Kelley Beaverford

Indigo Arrows is a small company that looks to the past for inspiration. Destiny Seymour started the company after struggling to find interior design products that reflect her culture as an Indigenous person living in Manitoba. Motivated by her university degrees in interior design and anthropology obtained at the University of Manitoba, she paid a visit to the Manitoba Museum to learn about household items from the past. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - While there, Curator of Archaeology Kevin Brownlee introduced Destiny to a collection of Indigenous pottery and bone tool fragments gathered from sites across Manitoba. Holding a 3,000-year-old pottery piece in her hands, she felt a connection to her ancestors, and the delicate patterns on the pottery made her wonder how the visual language could have evolved if still in use today. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Destiny combined a study of ancient objects with 21st-century design to create a line of screen-printed home dĂŠcor products. Artifacts such as a 400-yearold elk antler tool uncovered near Birtle, Man. inspired a repeating pattern of thoughtfully spaced lines and circles. Images once stamped or carved on to ancient pottery influenced other compoCANADIAN INTERIORS 1/2 2017

sitions of lines, angles, and pressed dots. The contemporary patterns are hand-printed on 100 percent linen using eco-friendly inks. -------------------------------------------------Anishinaabemowin words are used to name the pieces in the inaugural Indio Arrows collection, such as patterns named Bezhig (one), Niish (two), and Niswi (three). The goal is to bring a language and culture that was once threatened by the Canadian residential school system back into the lives of Canadians. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Like the pottery that inspired the creation of Indigo Arrows, the new designs demonstrate respect for local people and the environment. The products are available on the Indigo Arrows website and at select events in Manitoba. The company may be small, but the attention it draws to the emerging field of Indigenous interior design in Canada is significant. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.indigo-arrows.com â&#x20AC;˘ Kelley Beaverford is the Acting Head and an Associate Professor in the Department of Interior Design at the University of Manitoba. She has published numerous arti-

cles on studio education and cross-cultural design.

Photos courtesy of Destiny Seymour

over & out

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Horse Play

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