CANADIAN INTERIORS
CDN $6.95 MAY JUNE 2016
May June 2016 www.canadianinteriors.com
School’s OUT Canada House Finds in Chicago & Paris
PM#43096012
1 CI MayJun cov FIN.indd 1
16-05-16 9:59 AM
O
Pe th su
W
13
2 TOC.indd 2
16-05-16 8:37 AM
The Wickson Social Designer: Elisa SauvĂŠ Art Work: Candice O. Bell Denegri Bessai Studio: Architects
Our carpets aren’t just for floors. Perfect as acoustic art, our W Dream collection can improve the sound quality of any room. And because of its non-reflective surface, colours remain vibrant and clear.
W Dream, endless possibilities. 1330 Castlefield Ave | Toronto, ON | wstudio.ca | 416.929.9290 | info@wstudio.ca
2 TOC.indd 3
16-05-16 8:37 AM
2 TOC.indd 4
16-05-16 8:37 AM
2 TOC.indd 5
16-05-16 8:37 AM
Change the way you look through glass...and more!
Exclusively from PCL Graphics Ltd.
Established over three decades ago, PCL Graphics has been at the forefront of the grand format printing industry. Realizing that there was a gap in identifying transparent and translucent colours, Lumitone® was launched. The Lumitone® line offers you the potential to customize density, opacity and overall look of your designs in regards to covering clear surfaces, such as acrylics and glass.
Follow Us On Social Media For The Latest News from PCL Graphics & Lumitone®
Feel the returns of going green. The world’s only living wall biofilter that actively cleanses air and reduces energy costs to pay for itself. Unlike any other green vertical wall, a Nedlaw living wall biofilter is a biological system that takes the air within a building, removes the pollutants and returns the cleansed air to your building’s occupants. Go beyond green, get more LEED® points and feel the returns of energy savings and improved air quality.
Free Standing | Fully Integrated | Hybrid Installations for Retrofits and New Builds
2 TOC.indd 6
Filtered Air
Dirty Air
livingwalls@nedlaw.ca nedlawlivingwalls.com
2016-05-18 12:36 PM
CREATE A HEALTHIER WORKPLACE WITH TAKE OFF HEIGHTADJUSTABLE TABLES by
Y BUSIN
E
IL
SS
A
FA
2 TOC.indd 7
IN CAN AD
1 800 363-3040 / artopex.com
DE
M
Showrooms: Calgary - Toronto - Montreal - Quebec
MA
For more information, follow Artopex on Facebook and LinkedIn.
16-05-16 8:37 AM
Authentec ® McQueen pvc free • sandblasted grain • 18 colorways
Interiors 8May/June 2016.indd 1 2Cnd TOC.indd
4/15/16 12:44 16-05-16 8:37 PM AM
28
05/062016 Features
28 OUT OF THE SHADOWS Step into the light with these new lighting products and systems from designers whose self-appointed mission is simple: to brighten an otherwise dark world. By Peter Sobchak
41 AHEAD IN THE CLOUD York University’s Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence aims to re-tool engineering education for the 21st century. By Leslie C. Smith
47 LONDON CALLING An iconic Canadian home away from home gets a dramatic makeover. By Rhys Phillip
Regulars
17 CAUGHT OUR EYE 20 SEEN Highlights and insights from Maison & Objet in Paris, Coverings 2016 in Chicago and art and architecture at BKLYN DESIGNS in New York.
52SCENE 56 OVER & OUT Original Knoll designer Jens Risom celebrates his
100th birthday.
COVER – York University’s Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence has turned traditional learning environments on its head, including a dramatic staircase on the main level that provides panoramic views and social spaces where students gather. Photo by Doublespace Photography.
20
american-biltrite_may-jun_2016.pdf 1 2016-04-29 11:30:15
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
COLORFAST GUARANTEE
10 YEARS
AB PURE
RUBBER TILE & SHEET
AB Pure rubber takes colour to new heights. GUARANTEED. AB PURE’s revolutionary patented formulation with far superior colorfastness means colours will not fade under light compared with traditional rubber formulas. AB Pure now sets the standard for colour within the rubber flooring industry even further by being the only rubber flooring line to carry a 10 year colorfastness warranty. Taking clarity and longevity of colour to new heights. Guaranteed.
Visit us at Neocon booth # 7-7112 www.american-biltrite.com
3 Online.indd 10
16-05-16 8:36 AM
com Coming soon: dispatches from the front lines of Salone del Mobile. Milano 2016.
Bienvenue Ă Ontario Simons, the fashion retailer from Quebec City, has opened its first Ontario store at Square One shopping mall in Mississauga. Designed by Lemay Michaud and Figure3, two long-time partners of Simons, the new store also features a sculpture by ceramic artist Brendan Tang.
Giving Back Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto unveiled a new donor recognition system that celeÂbrates the names of generous contributors in a way that completely fits the modern digital age. Designed by Toronto-based Envision, the structure is an animated canvas standing 50-feet long by 12-feet high, and spans 21,000 pixels wide.
Dynamic Duo The husband-and-wife team of David and Susan Scott, the pair behind Vancouver-based Scott & Scott Architects, are the recipients of the 2016 Young Architect Award given by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC).
Moving Pictures The 2016 Red Dot: Design Team of the Year will travel half way around the globe to receive the Radius cup: Blackmagic Industrial Design, led by Simon Kidd from Australia, will receive the highest title of the Red Dot Design Award on July 4 in Essen, Germany.
11
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
May| June 2016 / V53 #3
Publisher
Martin Spreer 416-510-6766 Editor
Peter Sobchak Art Director
Roy Gaiot
Associate Editors
David Lasker, Rhys Phillips, Leslie C. Smith Customer Service / Production
Laura Moffatt 416-510-6898
Circulation Manager
circulation@canadianinteriors.com Senior Publisher
Tom Arkell
President of iQ Business Media Inc.
Alex Papanou Head Office
80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Telephone 416-442-5600 Crush™ PANEL ©2015 modularArts, Inc. U.S.
Canadian Interiors magazine is published by iQ Business Media Inc. Tel: 416-442-5600 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, 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Stella™ PANEL ©2015 modularArts, Inc. U.S.
Dune™ PANEL ©2003 modularArts, Inc. U.S.
For subscription and back issues inquiries please call 416-510-6898 e-mail: lmoffatt@iqbusinessmedia.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).
Member of Canadian Business Press Member of the Alliance for Audited Media
ISSN 1923-3329 (Online), ISSN 0008-3887 (Print) H.S.T. # 815380985 RT0001 Linen™ PANEL ©2015 modularArts, Inc. U.S.
wall panels align to create seamless, sculptural wall surfaces of any size. Add drama and intrigue to any space, with durable, lightweight, natural gypsum. iQ Business Media Inc. Canada Post Sales Product Agreement No. 43096012 “We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.”
www.modulararts.com
4 Mast-Edit.indd 12
info@modulararts.com
206-788-4210
made in the USA
16-05-16 11:07 AM
BUZZ MANAGED Total Acoustics™ Ceilings
Total Acoustics™ panels combine sound absorption (NRC) and sound blocking (CAC) in one product. So you can create buzz-free spaces for concentration, collaboration, and confidentiality. Visit armstrongceilings.com/totalacoustics to learn more about total noise control and design flexibility.
NRC + CAC = TOTAL ACOUSTICS™ PERFORMANCE
4 Mast-Edit.indd 13
PRODUCTS: CALLA® TOTAL ACOUSTICS™ PANELS, FORMATIONS™ CLOUDS IN COLORATIONS® COLORS, SUPRAFINE® SUSPENSION SYSTEM, AXIOM® TRIM / LOCATION: BRANDSTAR STUDIOS, POMPANO BEACH, FL / DESIGNER: KALYN ROTHAUS
16-05-16 11:07 AM
From something negative comes something positive. 50% of the materials that go into our carpet tiles are recycled or bio-based, creating a more environmentally sustainable supply chain. By 2020, we plan to be at 90%. All to make the world a more beautiful place, inside and out. Join us in making a positive impact at interface.com.
Interface_CDN_Interiors_May_June_2016.indd 1 4 Mast-Edit.indd 14
2016-05-15 12:55 PM 16-05-16 11:07 AM
5 12:55 PM
inside
Introducing the World Woven™ Collection Weaving global inspiration into positive change.
More light!
More so than temperature, it is light that lets you know you have emerged from the winter doldrums and are entering the Season of Life: spring. This is when daylight is noticeably brighter and lasts longer, and when we tilt our faces upwards, eyes closed, smiles widening. As Emily Dickinson once wrote, “A light exists in spring / Not present on the year / At any other period. / When March is scarcely here.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------For designers, the challenge seems to have always been this: imitate day’s light inside. Or perhaps more accurately, imitate its effects on occupants of space. As Le Corbusier once famously said, “Light creates ambiance, light makes the feel of a space, and light is also the expression of structure.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------We see this axiom at work in this issue in both featured projects, as well as the product round-up. In York University’s Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence by ZAS Architects, we see how student productivity drove the design process to optimize spaces for learning, which meant inverting the typical academic space structure – eliminating lecture halls and traditional labs, moving faculty offices to the core – so that students are given access to the best and (literally) brightest spaces. In the rejuvenation of Canada House, conducted by Stantec, natural light is key to the renovation’s success, primarily due to uncovering and remediating original skylights, as well as introducing several new ones. The effects are vividly illustrated by the various open areas accommodating modern workstations washed with sunlight, and perhaps most dramatically by the now re-named Queen Elizabeth Atrium, with a striking steel and Canadian hemlock staircase that soars through a towering space topped by a large skylight. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------Natural light is most desirable, but the products and systems showcased in this issue also show that as LED technology evolves, and light sources are getting smaller and smaller yet remain just as vibrant, designers have incredible opportunities to put light wherever it is really needed. The high-quality design and adaptability of these lighting tools offer designers enormous freedom when it comes to illuminating spaces. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------Whenever I talk about light, I am always reminded of the dying words of Goethe, which Frances Ellen Watkins Harper repeated in her famous poem, Let the Light Enter: “Light! more light! the shadows deepen, / And my life is ebbing low, / Throw the windows widely open: /Light! more light! before I go.” More light for us all, please. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------•
Peter Sobchak
Large and small squares, planks and skinny planks.
psobchak@canadianinteriors.com
19th annual Best of Canada Awards. Call for Entries! Visit canadianinteriors.com to submit your project or product!
19 15
4 Mast-Edit.indd 15
WW860 Charcoal Tweed
To learn more visit interface.com
16-05-16 11:07 AM
19
Announcing the 19th annual Best of Canada Design Competition
Be part of the country’s only design competition to focus on interior design projects and products without regard to size, budget or location. For information and entry form, visit canadianinteriors.com
Gayle Marshall
Sales Rep resentative Refreshingly unique condo community in Victoria Memorial Square Park - 22 unit dog-friendly building designed with elevator direct to unit eliminating corridors. 1400 sq. ft. of spectacular views. Ten foot ceilings, fireplace, BBQ on deck - every convenience.
416.925.9191
gaylemarshall@chestnutpark.com 1300 Yonge St. Suite 100 Toronto ON M4T 1X3 www.chestnutpark.com
5 COE 2.indd 16
2016-05-18 2:17 PM
caught our eye HOME TEAM For two brief days in early May, the Textile Museum of Canada showcased the work of 10 Toronto-based artists at a show called Greater Toronto: New Artist Textiles at New York City’s Textile Arts Center, as part of the city-wide fair NYCxDESIGN. The work of Bonnie Devine (with Wolves and Rabbits, shown), Seth, Ed Pien and others explored issues of contemporary culture and collective landscapes through printed fabrics that are available now on demand. www.textilemuseum.ca
SUMMER OF ‘67 In 2017, Montreal will celebrate 50 years since Expo 67, and to mark the occasion, August D., a new Quebec furniture and design products distributor, has relaunched the M.E67 Chair. Originally designed by Emile Metivier for the Expo, it now features a metal structure manufactured in Quebec and was redesigned to promote a lighter, more contemporary look while still symbolizing that period. www.augustdistribution.com
17 5 COE.indd 17
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
16-05-16 12:06 PM
caught our eye
CLICK THROUGHS As part of the 2016 International Digital Art Biennial (BIAN) of Montreal, digital artist Manuel Chantre will unveil Monday March 11, 2013, created from photo and video data collected from a lost cell phone. Through sculpture, video and engraving, Chantre takes a critical and poetic look at our confidence in the personal data stored in our mobile phones. www.manuelchantre.com
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
18
PHENOMENAL MUSIC Blurring the lines of music delivery and functional art, the new album from electronic musician Saul Stokes called Objects and Phenomena will be available as a limited “Sculptural Physical Release� which comes with a 316 grade steel casted USB key held in a laser cut micro plywood frame. Pre-orders of Objects and Phenomena also include a laser cut mini Saul and synthesizer stand. www.saulstokes.com
Johnson 5 COE 2.indd 18
16-05-17 10:58 AM
Minerality Rubber Tile and Plank. You’re Hired!
™
Looking for a sustainability rock star? Minerality has all the qualifications. Cradle 2 Cradle Bronze. Made in the USA. FloorScore certified. Recyclable. Phthalate free. Minerality is understated, classy sophistication with the performance luxuries of rubber flooring. Talk about a well-rounded candidate. Room to room, floor to floor, bring the whole experience together. Find out more at tarkettna.com.
BRONZE
Visit us at NeoCon: Booth #7-6130 & Showroom #391
Johnsonite_CanInt_MayJune2016.indd 1 5 COE.indd 19
5/2/16 1:23 PM 16-05-16 9:08 AM
seen 1 Gardin of Earthly Delights The creation of Belgian designer Emmanuel Gardin for Linadura, Ika is a pendant light constructed from a single sheet of birch plywood. Bent by hand into an ethereally light organic shape, Ika measures 120cm x 55cm x 15cm and indeed resembles the cuttlefish after which it is named. Gardin’s focus on sustainability means that Ika is constructed of renewable and recyclable materials. Slit perforations in the birch result in evocative patterns of light and shadow being cast from a 22-watt 1250-lumen LED light source. www.linadura.com 2 Hello Hely Finland’s Katriina Nuutinen consistently deploys an elegant design
aesthetic, and the Hely lamp is no exception. With the finessed detailing skills of a jeweller, Nuutinen has created a coloured glass light fixture that resembles a bracelet of semi-precious stones. Clear and translucent orbs of glass in white, blue, grey and brown are strung together with stainless steel components, resulting in a form so irresistibly delicious it has been included in the Finnish Glass Museum’s permanent collection. www.katriinanuutinen.fi
1
3
2
Flaneurs’ delight Always a bright spot on the January calendar, Maison & Objet’s 2016 winter edition in Paris did not disappoint, offering a mind-boggling number of exhibitors By Leslie Jen showcasing the latest and greatest in interior design. Despite a struggling economy and the pall cast over the city through continuing acts of terrorism, the international design community rallied to show its full support, if the throngs of people crowding the cavernous halls of the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte were any indication. With the Now! Design à Vivre section having been moved to Hall 7, there seemed to be an endless array of products on offer to whet the appetites of those seeking cutting-edge innovation. - - - - - --------------------------------------------------The pre-eminent European design heavyweights such as France’s Ligne Roset and the U.K.’s Tom Dixon were supported by a greater variety of exhibitors, perhaps suggesting a larger global scope with increased representation from Asia and the Americas — a natural outcome of Maison & Objet’s expansion into both of these continents. And a strong Nordic presence was manifest in what was CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
6 M+O.indd 20
20
clearly a highlight of the show: Scandinavian Rising Talents, a featured exhibition of the work of six emerging designers and design teams selected from Europe’s northernmost countries. - - - - - - - - - - --------------------------------------------------It is interesting to note that the success of Maison & Objet has spawned a complementary attraction simultaneously taking place in the city: Paris Déco Off is an event open to the trade and public, focused primarily on textiles and wallcoverings. Occupying clusters of showrooms in both the 6th and 2nd arrondissements across the Seine from one another, the five-day event is gaining popularity each year, welcoming industry veterans and flaneurs alike to experience a lavish display of new products while strolling through some of the most beautiful streets in the City of Light. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------------------------------------------•
16-05-16 9:54 AM
seen 3 Forest Ranger Iceland’s Kjartan Oskarsson focuses his practice on carefully
6 A Late Bloomer Based in the Philippines’ Cebu province, furniture designer
considered lighting design projects that connect user and object. His designs provide a satisfyingly interactive and engaging experience; the ceiling-mounted Forester light is just one example. Inspired by a forest of trees and made of slender copper pipes attached to an oak-plated steel base, the fixture channels light through the pipes, which can be manually adjusted by the user to suit a variety of illumination requirements. Employing a LED light source, Forester is available in a range of different sizes. www.kjartanoskarsson.com
Kenneth Cobonpue has unleashed Bloom, a whimsically expressive seating option that is available as either an easy armchair or club chair, with a choice of fixed or swivel options. Its name reveals its horticultural inspiration; hundreds of fine running stitches radiate from the centre of the fabric seat, forming a fluid and pleated petal-like appearance. Handmade in microfibre stitched over a fibreglassreinforced top, Bloom sprouts from a base made of steel. Bloom is offered in a multitude of colours: lime green, moss green, muted red, yellow, cobalt blue, tangerine and black. www.kennethcobonpue.com
4 Shell Game As creative director and founder of Made in Ratio, the company
that produces the Cowrie seating series, Australian-born, London-based designer Brodie Neill has drawn inspiration from the curvilinear forms of sea shells. An extensive research and innovation process bridges the handmade with he digital, resulting in an all-in-one plywood structure faced with natural ash, ebonized ash or walnut. The sinuous Cowrie is available as either an easy chair or an elegant rocking lounger. www.madeinratio.com
7 Chiquita Banana Also designed by Kenneth Cobonpue, the Chiquita stool
5 No Mess Founded in 2007 by Suzanne Potts, Nomess Copenhagen offers
www.kennethcobonpue.com
a glorious selection of products designed for the single purpose of making everyday life easier. The various pieces are applicable to both home and office environments, streamlining the storage and organization process in impeccably elegant Danish fashion. The cardboard display and tray boxes come in a variety of sizes and shades, offering an endless array of attractive possibilities for storage and display. Flexibility is key; smaller trays can be arranged within larger trays, and trays can stack to form triple-layer storage boxes with lids. www.nomess.dk
comes in a variety of candy-coloured shades that look good enough to eat. Set within a powder-coated steel base, the rattan poles forming the seat initially appear to offer an unforgiving and uncomfortably rigid experience. However, a concealed polyurethane foam layer allows the rattan to recede beneath weight or pressure, providing a welcome cushion for one’s delicate bottom. Chiquita is available in muted red, sky blue, tangerine, silver, chocolate brown and black.
8 Sturdy As She Goes Venerated Canadian artist and designer Martha Sturdy
made an impression at Maison & Objet with her gorgeously chunky and sculptural bronze, steel, cedar and resin artifacts. One of the most elemental and impactful pieces on display was the square table in the Floating series: sitting on a substantial steel base equipped with castors, the milky marbled top is made of a non-porous, scratch-resistant resin that outperforms glass or wood in durability. At just 16 inches high, this low table is available in a variety of sizes, and can be customized with a concealed interior light source to cast a luminous glow in any space. www.marthasturdy.com 9 Succession Plan Founded in 2010 by Fredrik Färg of Sweden and Emma
Marga Blanche of France, the Stockholm-based design studio has distinguished itself through an experimental approach that utilizes ideas and modes of production borrowed from textile and fashion design. Available in a variety of shapes and sizes in either black leather or grey polyester felt, the Succession series of mirrors features soft, puffy contours that beg to be touched. The effect is achieved by tying ropes around the forms before briefly baking them at 150°C. When released from bondage, deep indentations from the rope remain, creating a compellingly patterned and textured surface. www.fargblanche.com
4
5
8
6 7
21 6 M+O.indd 21
9
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
16-05-16 9:54 AM
seen
14 13
12
11
10 The ability to mix and match vibrantly hued and variously sized transparent glass storage units for placement within these clear glass receptacles offers endless possibilities for function and colour: violet, orange, green, yellow and warm grey are the options. www.glasitalia.com
10 It’s been a Slice Originally designed by Pierre Charpin in 1998, the Slice chaise longue has been reissued by Ligne Roset in all its technicolour glory. A club chair at its essence, the whimsically colour-blocked chaise longue can be infinitely extended in length through the addition of a footstool – or two or three. A sturdy wood/particleboard structure and a seat, back and armrest formed of high-resilience polyurethane foam comprise Slice; removable covers in 100 per cent virgin wool fabric come in delightful shades of teal, gold, violet, cobalt and sky blue. www.ligne-roset-usa.com
13 Terra Firma Part of the parallel Paris Déco Off event, Italian company
Alcantara occupied a small gallery on Place Furstenberg in the 6th arrondissement to launch their new Terra line of luxury textiles. As the name would suggest, the line is inspired by earth’s varied landscapes: Vaalbara, Ur and Vendian are just a few of the richly coloured and textured fabrics that result from Alcantara’s unique proprietary technology. With a specialized focus on manufacturing high-tech textiles for automobile interiors, the products are not only light, strong and durable, but 100 per cent carbon-neutral. www.alcantara.com
11 Radio Silence Portuguese company Wewood unveiled yet another
elegant sideboard in their collection of exquisitely crafted furniture pieces. Radio is constructed of either solid oak or walnut, and features perforated doors that slide past one another to reveal two interior compartments. Its gently splayed legs evoke classic mid-century modern design, and the low-slung form makes it ideal for showcasing television and stereo components. www.wewood.eu 12 Boxing Day The ever-prolific Philippe Starck has designed a line of furnishings for Italian manufacturer GLAS Italia called, appropriately, BOXINBOX. Intended for storage and display, these pieces also perform double duty as low tables and consoles. Fabricated of laminated, thermo-welded extra-light clear glass, the outer box frames rest on a base of reflective polished stainless steel. CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
6 M+O.indd 22
14 Rugrat The evocative drawings of architect Daniel Libeskind form the basis
of luxury Italian carpet company Loloey’s limited-edition rug collection. Exploring form, pattern and colour and inspired by the fractal geometries characterizing Libeskind’s work, the vibrantly hued abstract patterns in the carpets are effected through a hand-wrought tufting technique utilizing luxurious 100 per cent bamboo silk. 10 carpets comprise this series, all of which reflect the architect’s longstanding interest in the interplay between order and disorder. www.loloey.com
22
15 Spiritualized Solid European walnut is meticulously crafted to produce Ligne Roset’s Spirit of Forest dining table. Peter Maly’s design is premised on his
16-05-16 9:54 AM
15
16
17
“search for expressive forms which are original...and a hope that [his] creations will endure for years.” The smooth horizontal tabletop flows seamlessly like a waterfall into slightly canted legs through a curved dovetail joint. Spirit of Forest is available in lengths of 180 and 220 centimetres, but can be ordered in alternate sizes. www.ligne-roset-usa.com 16 Howdy Gaudí Named as Maison & Objet Designer of the Year for this
edition of the Paris show, Spain’s Eugeni Quitllet unveiled Pedrera, a chair designed for Vondom that takes its inspiration from Antoni Gaudí’s La Pedrera in Barcelona. The curvy, sensual shapes of Gaudí’s iconic building are evident in this lightweight stackable chair made of injected polypropylene and fibreglass. Suitable for either indoor or outdoor use, Pedrera is available in six colours: black, white, red, bronze, pistachio and ecru. www.vondom.com
18
17 It’s Miller Time Launching for the first time ever at Maison & Objet Paris,
the Miller lounge chair and ottoman appeal with richly hued leather and simple contours. Designed by Christoph Seyferth for Dutch company Functionals, Miller was inspired by legendary French designer Pierre Paulin and his leather butterfly chair circa 1963. The chair’s frame and base are made of reflexive 18-millimetre powder-coated steel in either black or sand; wood under the seat provides a degree of shock absorption. 5mm-thick German leather is used for the seat and back, stitched and polished by a saddle-maker. Miller is available in natural, cognac, dark brown and black. www.functionals.eu 18 Spongebob Squaresofa Designed by Koichiro Kimura of Japan, the Miyavie sofa reflects an austere pared-down aesthetic that is distinguished by its material innovation. Thin filaments of polyethylene resin are intricately woven and heat-formed, incorporating pockets of air to create a type of high-performance porous styrofoam. The resulting material is assembled into seating components that offer an intriguing springy resilience, providing the utmost in comfort. Available in white only, the Miyavie line includes an arm and armless chair, as well as a square or round stool/table. www.miyavie.com
6 M+O DE.indd 23
00 23
0/0 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
16-05-24 8:45 AM
ma ke a stat em e n t. Whether bold, sophisticated or avant-garde, our Victory® Series luxury vinyl tile caters to your design sensibility. Our handcrafted process ensures every piece is unique, and custom cutting allows for endless possibilities.
tandus-centiva.com
LVT VICTORY ® SERIES: CORAL REEF (ARTIC & PEARL), MAGICS (FLORENTINE BRASS) & FUSION (SAND)
800.248.2878
7 Coverings.indd 24
16-05-16 12:11 PM
seen
www.wonderporcelain.com
Tile Council of North America
Fabric Folio Wonder Porcelain’s Fabric Folio collection is a contemporary interpretation of textiles overlaid on a cement base that highlights the natural movement and striations of fabric. Unpolished and light polished finishes complement the colour palette for an interesting industrial sheen, instead of the more wool knot look of area rugs.
Natural Design Inspired by American walnut, Landmark Ceramics’ Natural Design planks are crisscrossed by delicate design traces typical of the manufacturing of natural materials, such as planing, veining, saw cutting, and can be used in both floor and wall applications. www.lcusa.com
Metonyms and Synonyms
It’s getting harder and harder to differentiate the source from the mimic, especially when it comes to tile flooring products. This was abundantly evident at Coverings 2016 in Chicago, where the three host associations showcased ceramic tile manufacturers equipped with a shocking ability to replicate concrete, brick, wood, marble, limestone, carpet, wallpaper, sand…you name it, and in ways that look even more real than real. Compiled by Peter Sobchak
Satori Satori, a Laminam by Crossville collection, is suited for commercial and residential applications, and these luxe porcelain tile panels come in 1x3 metre and 1x1 metre sizes yet are only 5.6mm thick, increasing their application efficiency.
Urban District American Marazzi Tile touted its Urban District BRX collection, which is inspired by Chicago’s own historic bricks. The style is meant to evoke the revitalization of gritty downtown districts by combining rough and smooth surface effects. www.marazzitile.com
www.crossvilleinc.com
25 7 Coverings.indd 25
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
16-05-16 12:11 PM
Tile of Spain
Foresta Benton Alto Maestrazgo is an area in the Spanish province of Castellón very close to Peronda’s headquarters and associated with large rural farmhouses known as masías. The wooden door of one such building — painted years ago and worn by the weather and passage of time — was the inspiration for the Foresta Benton collection.
Brick Equipe exhibited the Brick collection of porcelain tiles, designed with multiple graphic patterns, reliefs, sizes and colours to reflect traditional handmade brick and its processes of aging. www.equipeceramicas.com
www.peronda.com
Playground Bringing colour and vibrancy to both walls and floors, the Playground series by Venus Ceramica is available in a 30x60cm format and in solid, brick or cotto options, in black, beige and grey colours.
Ground Inspired by industrial settings and the robust solidity of large cement panels, the Ground series by Inalco attempts to replicate that material’s concepts of strength and architectural resilience. www.inalco.es
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
7 Coverings.indd 26
www.venusceramica.com
00 26 16-05-16 12:11 PM
seen
Ceramics of Italy
Canvas Like a painter’s canvas, this collection from Ariana features textured surfaces with highly realistic fiber relief effects. Available in five colour patterns and two sizes, this collection is also available in ABK Group’s new Wall & Porcelain technology which merges the best qualities of porcelain and double fired tiles, while eliminating their disadvantages, such as microcracking, and the need for backbuttering. www.ariana.it
Earth by Pininfarina Earth by Pininfarina is the first tile system designed by the worldrenowned sports car design firm in collaboration with Casalgrande Padana. Inspired by the automotive world, the porcelain stoneware slabs combine influences from glass, leather, and fabric creating a multisensory effect. The collection is also available in eco-friendly, antibacterial and self-cleaning technologies. www.casalgrandepadana.it
Pictart Pictart is a new porcelain stoneware collection from Ceramica Sant’Agostino inspired by the stems of banana leaves. The combination of shades and drawn graphic movements in long and narrow sizes are accentuated by light, almost transparent strokes, creating a play of light between opaque and shiny and turning every plank into a true work of ceramic art. www.ceramicasantagostino.it
Transition A collaboration between designer Lanzavecchia + Wai and Mirage, the Transition collection’s porcelain tiles features strips of colour in slightly varying tones that create an interesting textural effect. The concept is inspired by the idea of a pixelated image of a journey through Italy — the five contemporary colourways are each inspired by an Italian city.
BrickLane Inspired by the famous London street, this brick look-alike collection by Marca Corona reflects a cool eclectic spirit, and conveys a contemporary taste for building restoration. Available in standard brick format sizes as well as a 25x22cm hexagonal decor, and four colours (white, olive, beige, red). www.marcacorona.it
www.mirage.it
27 7 Coverings.indd 27
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
16-05-16 12:11 PM
the goods
Up North (below) A Red Dot winner, the Igloo pendant lighting system designed by Milan-based Studio Klass for Italian outfit FontanaArte is an innovative, self-supporting modular system that allows users to connect up to 100 modules to just one power supply. The double shell allows for both a vertical and horizontal installation of the modules, while modules without LEDs can also be included. www.fontanaarte.com Luxe Life (bottom) Axo Light has launched the Hoops series of ceiling and pendant lights, which boast dramatic and interchangeable swirls of hoop-like shapes and sizes. Designed by Giovanni Barbato, each swirl surrounds a cylindrical light-body housing holding one or two LED light sources per unit, and all light bodies and tubular metal swirls are finished in 24-karat gold. www.axolightusa.com
Out of the Shadows Step into the light with these new lighting products and systems from designers whose self-appointed mission is simple: to brighten an otherwise dark world. Compiled by Peter Sobchak
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
8 Lights.indd 28
28 16-05-16 12:14 PM
Svend 20
Project: Omers Design: Ray Inc. (previously know as Raymond Chiappetta Associates Inc.)
Project: Royal Sun Alliance Design: HOK
Project: Metrolinx Design: Helen Moffett Associates Limited Photographer: Philip Castleton
Project: Sheppard Mullin Design: TPG Architecture Photographer: Chris Cooper
Svend Nielsen Ltd. is an established Designer/Manufacturer of the finest custom furniture and millwork. Drawing upon more than 65 years experience, we take great pride in crafting products that satisfy the most discerning eye. As a company we have a proven strength in working with designers and architects. We take your vision on paper and translate it into reality through a collaborative process in which our clients’ needs are seen as paramount. Over the years we have demonstrated our ability to handle the most demanding projects, executing contracts on time and in a professional manner.
Custom Furniture, Millwork and Public Seating 55 Penn Drive, Toronto, Canada, M9L 2A6 Tel: 416-749-0131 Fax: 416-749-0414 nielsen@svendnielsen.com www.svendnielsen.com
8 Lights.indd 17 3 Svend 2016.indd
10:28 AM 16-05-16 10:25
the goods
New Market (above left) Humanscale, known for its workstations task lighting products, has entered the architectural lighting arena with the purchase of Todd Bracher’s cylindrical Vessel. Made of quartz crystal and available in both pendant and sconce options, Vessel is designed to cast a soft circle of glare-free, uniform white light, making it well-suited for hospitality and residential lighting settings. www.humanscale.com Right at Home (above centre) New Zealand design house Resident debuted the Mesh Space in mid-2015, but it is now making its way to North America. Designed by Flynn Talbot in both a wall and ceiling mount version, Mesh is a flattened mesh dome reflecting light from a LED ring onto surfaces below. www.resident.co.nz Soft Charm (above right) Sant is a dimmable linear LED pendant luminaire that can be installed either as an individual light or as a continuous lighting system. An opal diffuser allows users to choose warm-white (2,700 kelvins) to cold-white (6,500 kelvins). Designed by RO-Architecten (Rob van Beek) for Czech-based HALLA, Sant won a 2015 Red Dot Award. www.halla.eu Going Al Fresco (below) Anglepoise has reengineered the Giant for outdoor environments, incorporating marine-grade stainless steel fittings, a sealed light unit and durable silicone rubber cable. The Original 1227 Giant Outdoor Collection includes a floor lamp and articulated wall light in 15 colours, turning a garden terrace into a striking al fresco room. Available in Canada from Klaus. www.anglepoise.com
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
8 Lights.indd 18
30 16-05-16 10:28 AM
BEAUTIFUL. ARCHITECTURAL. BEAUTIFUL. ARCHITECTURAL. GLASS WALLS. GLASS WALLS. PC350.COM PC350.COM 130 Nolan Court | Markham Ontario L3R 2V7 Canada 130 Nolan Court | Markham Ontario L3R 2V7 Canada
8 Lights.indd 19
1.866.633.0233 1.866.633.0233
info@pc350.com info@pc350.com
16-05-16 10:28 AM
the goods
It’s All Connected (top left) The Infra-Structure collection is Vincent Van Duysen’s reinterpretation of a typical Bauhaus design language, utilizing a tubular structure to create a network of light within the space. The collection is composed of a 24V track using Flos’ magnetic technology for power distribution and luminaries installation. But be patient: Flos isn’t making this system available in North America until 2017. www.usa.flos.com Sticks to You (top right) The Running Magnet 2.0 architectural lighting system from Flos was originally designed for use in retail displays where frequent changes are typical, but can also find use in hospitality, office and residential environments. Linear LED and accent fixtures can be exchanged and re-positioned without tools, connecting automatically through the magic of magnets. www.usa.flos.com Show-off (above left) Hank, a new lighting apparatus from Swedish company D75, is a lamp, a hanger and a design piece all-in-one, making it ideal for retail environments. The tubes come in various widths with a unique custom dimmer feature, and are available in shades of cumulus white, new denim blue, curb grey and raw steel. www.d75.se Groovy Baby! (above centre) The new Inn Side indoor/outdoor lamp designed by Gemma Bernal for B.lux is a reinterpretation of the classic concept lamp, evoking the decorative lighting of the 1960s. A waterproof light structure made of white polyethylene is what makes it suitable for outdoor use, and comes in florescent or LED options. www.grupoblux.com Ahoy Matey! (above right) Captain Flint, by Michael Anastassiades for Flos, is a dual-purpose floor lamp, with an up-lighter illuminating the space with ambient lighting and the ability to be rotated in a complete circle – directed up, down or to the side – and dimmed for reading. Available in brass with white marble or anthracite with black marble. www.usa.flos.com No Sensationalism (right) The Central floor and suspension lamp, designed by Formfjord for Serien Lighting, is focused on doing simple things well. For example, the height of Central Floor, which measures over two meters at its maximum, can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally via delicate telescopic arms, yet always keeping the controls within reach. www.serien.com
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
8 Lights.indd 20
32 16-05-16 10:28 AM
ISA_Panorama_CanInt_fullpage_ad.pdf
1
2014-10-17
4:22 PM
PANORAMA COLLECTION
Taking design to new vistas.
8 Lights.indd 21
16-05-16 10:28 AM
No Sleep Till
Assembly Line SLAB is the inaugural series from Assembly Line, a new product brand from Brooklyn architecture and interiors firm General Assembly. With a minimal form rooted in the equilibrium of two elements, the arm and base are designed to balance against each other with no need of outside support. The LED desk lamp available in two metal finishes (polished brass and oil rubbed bronze) and two marble base options. www.genassembly.com
Brooklyn! By Kristin Coleman
Showcasing a cross section of art and architecture, BKLYN DESIGNS is the first of four major shows that comprise the month-long NYCxDESIGN extravaganza. Founded by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in 2003 to highlight the borough’s bustling creative economy, the show continues to serve as an incubator for emerging designers as well as a platform for established brands, producing a range of products across furniture, lighting, tableware, art, textiles, and jewelry. From May 6 to 8, the show attracted over 7,000 design industry professionals and design-savvy consumers at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------•
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
34
seen
Bolé Road Textiles Inspired by a trip to southern Ethiopia, the new Konso collection by Bole Road Textiles mirrors the vibrant stripes and colourful trim found on women’s skirts in the namesake region. The collection of pillows and curtains is the company’s boldest and most colourful line yet. www.boleroadtextiles.com
Calator Design Arbore is the first product line from Calator Design, launched by artist Leonard Ursachi at BKLYN DESIGNS. Each lamp is handmade from translucent, tinted resin cast from driftwood pulled from the East River and fallen trees rescued from Prospect Park. When the lamps are turned off, the resin reflects subtle modulations in ambient light; when on, they glow like jewels. www. calatordesign.com
35
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
De Islas De Islas is an incredible resource for one-of-a-kind textiles. Each pattern is hand-drawn by founders Junko and Elena, creating truly unique textile designs for the home, upholstery and wardrobe. Ducks (pictured) is available on 100 per cent cotton poplin, a versatile woven fabric perfect for home decor. www.deislas.com
Think Fabricate Suitable as a work or dining surface, the Dialogue Table from Think Fabricate is crafted from maple hardwood with eye-catching brass inlays. The geometric tabletop graphic evolved from the studio’s exploration of hexagonal forms and demonstrates its appreciation of materials and craftsmanship. The table is complemented by matching benches featuring subtle chamfered edges and visual halves connected by a brass inlay. www.thinkfabricate.com
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
36
seen
Talbot & Yoon Talboy & Yoon is a young firm that incorporates architectural thinking into smaller scale objects for everyday use. With a half gold mirrored bulb and base hand-cast in concrete with recycled glass aggregates, the minimal form of the Bob Lamp allows for seamless transition between small table lamp and pendant light fixture. www.talbotandyoon.com
Come Out to the Coast These hand-cast sculptural planters, made from gypsum cement and epoxy resin, come in a variety of different shapes and sizes. Apart from their unique, eye-catching surface made from found bubble wrap, they also include a highly functional, built-in drainage system. The Bubble Planters are available in white, beige, or slate. www.comeouttothecoast.com
37
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
Sawkill & Louis Lim Sawkill Lumber wowed visitors with its Rocking PacMan bench designed by Louis Lim. Using 400 pieces of reclaimed distillery oak, Lim created a backwards see-saw that requires two people to activate, offering a lesson in trust, balance and opposition. A portion of sales proceeds will benefit Brooklyn Woods, a wood shop job training program in Gowanus, Brooklyn. www.sawkill.nyc
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
38
seen
Peg Woodworking Peg Woodworking is a one-woman operation run by Brooklyn designer and woodworker Kate Casey. Coming from a background in sculpture, Kate began making custom furniture in 2013, incorporating elements of handmade joinery, Danish cord weaving, crochet, macramé, and shaker techniques. Her latest creation, the Euclid Bench, features a coopered white oak frame with a hand woven cotton seat that pierces the rounded legs. Patterning, cord colour and size are customizable. www.pegwoodworking.com
39
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
9 Bergeron.indd 34
16-05-16 10:56 AM
Ahead in the cloud York University’s Bergeron Centre aims to re-tool engineering education for the 21st century By Leslie C. Smith
Photography by Doublespace Photography
41
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
Janusz Kozinski is proud and excited. The new, hands-on dean of York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering oversees a tripartite campus-within-a-campus, comprising the Lassonde computer engineering building, the Petrie earth and space science and engineering building, and the Bergeron Centre for mechanical, civil and electrical engineering, all clustered together at the southwestern edge of the university’s property line in north Toronto. - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------But it is the just opened, $69-million Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence, brilliantly designed by Costas Catsaros and Ella Mamiche of Toronto’s ZAS Architects + Interiors, that’s got him beaming today. “We were quite clear from the onset that this was not to be just another engineering school,” he says, “and its design certainly indicates this.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Built with BIM technology to a mathematically precise algorithm, the building is a five-storey-high “cloud” of triangulated glass floating above a curvaceous concrete “rock” islanded on a sloping landscape. The façade’s myriad facets permit light to flow inside during the day, blaze outside at night; its unique undulating exterior blends in with the sky, refracted reflections making it seem in a constant state of flux. - - -------------------------------------------------The 170,000-sq.-ft., LEED Gold facility has been named after entrepreneur Doug Bergeron, who graduated from York in 1983 with a major in CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
42
computer science. His and his wife, Sandra’s, massive contribution to the Lassonde School came in part because they were impressed by its 50/50 Challenge, aiming to be the first engineering school in Canada to attain student and staff gender parity. Kozinski states that this goal has already been achieved on the new school’s teaching side. (The North American average for female engineering students is 18 per cent; female professors sits at a lowly eight per cent. When she hears these figures, Ella Mamiche, ZAS principal and lead interior designer of the Bergeron Centre, whispers to me with all the superiority of her Eastern European background, “In Poland, we’ve had parity for decades.”) - - - -------------------------------------------------The idea of inclusion naturally rolls out of the equality issue, leading to Kozinski’s second criteria for the building’s design, the concept of “flipped classrooms.” Rather than the traditional school schematic of staff offices occupying the windowed periphery with a core of lecture and seminar rooms dominated by a professor at a blackboard, ZAS twisted it around. Student-focused meeting areas and lounges that stimulate social interaction among all academic levels have been situated along the outside curves; offices are slotted into the central space. In addition, says Kozinski: “There are zero lecture halls, no amphitheatres. That’s passé education. The new generation has a short attention span. They can’t sit and consume information. They’ve got to participate, learn by doing – something we call ‘active learning.’” Some active learning could come about almost by osmosis. Mamiche says she care-
Previous page A glass skin made from scores of triangulated panels envelops York University’s Bergeron Centre, giving the façade a continually shifting appearance that acts as a metaphor for the transformative student experience inside. Opposite The dynamic triangle motif carries through the building like a brand icon, visible here in the main lobby’s fluorescent “skylights” and U-shaped staircase constructed from welded triangular slabs of steel. Below and bottom ZAS Architects + Interiors principals Ella Mamiche and Costas Catsaros kept the student journey top of mind, “flipping” classrooms around into flexible, easily accessible workspaces and social areas that line the building’s periphery. Spacious and light-filled, these semi-private-to-public areas enable an agile educational process that blends online, in-person and hands-on learning.
43
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
Below The writing’s on the wall… and on locker bays, and even elevators. Specialized paint and glass surfaces permit the jotting down of ideas when and wherever they occur. Right Semi-industrial touches – high ceilings and tumbled fluorescent lighting sticks, concrete pillars and faux cement flooring – mimic the look of modern workplaces, subtly reflecting the “job” of acquiring an education.
fully situated social spaces near to high-intensity research and academic areas, in order to facilitate “the cross-pollination of ideas and creativity among students and faculty.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Nearly half the school’s curriculum is online and can be accessed from anywhere. Students on campus are therefore encouraged by example and by design to spend their time with or without their professors, clustered in small groups, solving problems. To accommodate this fluid learning process, Mamiche created flexible, omni-purpose spaces with plenty of computer plug-ins and whiteboards. Many of the walls, including those along the circulation areas as well as the banks of lockers, are finished in writable paint, ideal for spur-of-the-moment scribbling. Oddly enough, Mamiche adds, the availability of so much writing space has greatly reduced the amount of graffiti the university usually sees. On nice days, classes and socializing can move easily out of doors, with students sitting along the Bergeron Centre’s terraced edges, or down on the grassy sward that overlooks a nearby conservation area, with Toronto’s jagged skyline spiking up through the horizon. - - - - - -------------------------------------------------The relaxed, collaborative indoor atmosphere – dotted with ad hoc workspaces, a café, student-run clubs, and a design commons called the Sandbox – most closely resembles a modern, tech-oriented office place. The floor’s vinyl and porcelain tiles mimic cool concrete; overhead, twisting mechanicals and tumbled fluorescent-tube lights preCANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
44
dominate, punctuated by the occasional triangular slab that merely sketches in the idea of a dropped ceiling. The triangular motif crops up again and again throughout the interior, even showing up in upholstery fabric and window mini-decals. To Mamiche and Catsaros, the triangle represents the purest, most pleasing geometric form. To Dean Kozinski, it relates to the three engineering pillars of the Lassonde School. -------------------------------------------------The correlation between the Bergeron Centre’s interior and a real work environment is deliberate, bound to Kozinski’s third design criteria of the Renaissance Engineer. As he describes it, the school must prepare students for life outside of academia. “Most will be selfemployed and need to understand legalities, ethics, and the business of engineering, as well as how a variety of disciplines can interact with and impact their chosen speciality,” he says. The Lassonde School of Engineering has therefore partnered with York’s Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School to help create a more rounded next-gen graduate, one who uses creativity, entrepreneurial skills and social awareness to solve 21st century challenges. -------------------------------------------------As for the challenge of building the Bergeron Centre, ZAS has already given the school’s students an enduring illustration of mathematical and multidisciplinary excellence. Needless to say, Dean Kozinski couldn’t be prouder. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------•
Smashing Good Fun The Bergeron Centre boasts an enviable selection of hands-on labs. But, hands down, the most impressive is its Highbay Materials Lab. This multi-storey structure was built as a “building within a building,” insulated from noise, dust and vibration, with a one-meterthick concrete floor and meter-anda-half concrete reaction walls, the latter perforated to hold steel anchor rods. Why all this engineering overkill? So students can perform stress tests on large structural materials in the kind of space previously available only to engineers in the field. Or, if they don’t want to get their hands dirty, they can always view the proceedings from the lab’s elevated steel-andconcrete walkway.
45
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
2016/17
source guide
source guide Product Guide for Interior and Architectural Specification CANADIAN INTERIORS / CANADIAN ARCHITECT
2014
design source guide
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 12,012 architects in Canada.
Product guide for interior and architectural SPecification
published by
design source guide 2014
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 2016 /17 Design Source Guide today.
www.canadianinteriors.com
www.canadianinteriors.com/design-source-guide-listing/
www.canadianarchitect.com
cdn $16.95
PM#40069240
CANADIAN INTERIORS / CANADIAN ARCHITECT
2013
design source guide
Product guide for interior and architectural SPecification
published by
design source guide 2013 8
74470 93754 0
SPR 12
www.canadianarchitect.com
01
www.canadianinteriors.com
10 Canada.indd 40
cdn $16.95
PM#40069240
16-05-16 11:10 AM
Londoncalling Photo: Ben Blossom
An iconic home away from home gets a makeover
By Rhys Phillips The Queen Elizabeth Atrium’s cascading staircase provides an active option for vertical circulation through the original Sun Life Building (1929) that now operates as Canada House’s working wing. By stepping out into the atrium’s tight space, it provides multiple platforms that serve as spaces for social interaction delightfully washed by eastern sunlight from a massive skylight.
47
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
48
Above Canada House’s original staircase, with its remarkably slim profile given its 1823 date of construction, has been meticulously restored. Omar Arbel of Bocci has contributed 57.157, a 14.5 metre, gossamerlike light fixture of thin wires and supporting glass globes that whimsically reference snowflakes. Top right Originally the High Commissioner’s office, the Sir John A. MacDonald Room now serves as a grand reception space with its fireplace restored and neo-classical details highlighted in gild to showcase Canadian art work. Its competition winning carpet, Foothill, is designed by Saskatchewan artist Sean William Randal and translated into a carpet by Toronto’s Creative Matters. Right The cube-shaped B.C. Room is one of the 16 rooms named for Canada’s provinces, territories and oceans. Reflecting the use of regionally specific bespoke carpets, furnishing, lighting and art: the round area carpet “Natural Vision” is by B.C. artist Leslie Robert Sam (LeslIE); the ash seating and coffee table/credenza by Vancouver’s Bombast Furniture and Brent Comber respectively; and the light fixture, Cumulus, by Propellor. Art includes Stan Hunt’s mask Super Natural Raven and Gathie Falk’s painting Pieces of Water #8
Photos: Ben Blossom
“We wanted to show Canada, not tell Canada,”
is a line Canada’s High Commissioner to the U.K., Gordon Campbell, repeats several times as we tour Canada House, located on the western edge of London’s Trafalgar Square. His point is simple: the renovated and revitalized embassy is intended as a tour de force of contemporary Canadian design reflecting strong Canadian themes all deftly layered into an intricately restored Grade II heritage building. And such is its symbiotic interweaving of historic and Modern, that hard-to-please English Heritage, who monitored the project throughout, blessed the outcome as the best restoration in London at its opening. - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Canada House’s almost classically balanced Trafalgar Square façade unites two buildings designed between 1823 and 1827 by British National Gallery architect Sir Robert Smirke. The Union Club component was purchased in 1923 with its conjoined twin, the Royal College of Physicians, added in 1963. Even though it was repaired after almost being sold in 1993, Canada House’s interior by 2012 was drab, rather shopworn and largely used only for occasional events. But with an enthusiastic Campbell installed, a new British-centric Conservative government in place and the adjacent Sun Life Assurance Building (1929) purchased, transformation was on order. Edmonton’s Stantec Architecture was handed the task of a complete makeover including consolidating all 240 dispersed staff into the expanded Trafalgar Square location. -------------------------------------------------Stantec’s mandate included a major infrastructure upgrade as well as inserting modern office spaces into Cockspur, indifferently renovated in the 1980s. Three connections through one-metre-thick walls separating the new building from the heritage wing were required. Natural light was to be teased into the new complex along with improved transparency from the square. An extensive heritage restoration of Canada House was demanded given what Campbell admits were highly destructive earlier interventions. And finally, the new High Commission had to emerge as a seamlessly integrated showcase for Canadian art and materials as well as manufactured and bespoke furniture and lighting design. -------------------------------------------------The Return of Light - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Key to correcting Canada House’s dreary reputation involved first re-opening many lost windows. Not incidentally, the re-opening of numerous and generously-sized neo-classical windows opened views to and from the Square to ensure greater interactive transparency. They become “a really shining beacon of light, especially at night,” says Stantec’s Vancouver-based principal Noel Best. “You can really look right into the building and see it happening.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Second was the restoration of the building’s many original skylights including two delightful oculi in the Ontario and B.C. rooms. A raft of closely packed and unsightly “dog house” skylights were replaced by flat glazing, now integrated into the large roof deck terrace that overlooks Trafalgar Square and ensures an attractive “fifth” elevation from surrounding buildings. The skylights also bring light into the reintro-
49
duced two-story College of Physicians library space that now serves as open office space for the Trade Office and an upper mezzanine containing library space for Giller Prize winners and an Inuit art gallery. -------------------------------------------------In Cockspur, a relatively tight but full-height skylight atrium was stripped of its non-functioning marble fountain and replaced with a grand “cascading” stair. Structured to step out into the space of the newly named Queen Elizabeth Atrium, each run of this scissor staircase is washed with eastern sunlight turning it into warm platforms for social interaction. Stair treads and a massive feature wall are of rich hemlock, part of the strong wood theme employed throughout. -------------------------------------------------A Return to Grace - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Lost or compromised heritage details have been meticulously restored. Inelegant outdoor carpeting was stripped, exposing marble flooring that was brought back to its original sheen. Where required, new carefully matched marble sourced from Canada was used, and Canadian Shield granite was introduced in Cockspur’s public lobby. As Canada is the world’s largest exporter of lumber, Campbell (not incidentally past-Premier of lumber-rich B.C.) wanted wood used at every opportunity, says Stantec’s London-based principal, Aaron Taylor. Thus, domestic red oak flooring, detailed with intricate parquetry inlays and stained dark to match extant mahogany doors and handrails, was reintroduced along with maple and walnut in other locations. - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Where neo-classical detailing had been destroyed, old photos and squeezes of remaining details were used to manufacture replicates. A rich, off-white pallet replaced light-sucking yellow, while friezes and other details were picked out in gold leaf to accent deeply coffered ceilings and panelled walls. Original and still-in-use brass door handles employing a maple leaf motif were recast to create approximately 100 additional ones used elsewhere in the building, adds Cindy Rodych, Stantec’s project leader (now principal of Wnnipegbased Rodych Integrated Design). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------A Design Showcase - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Canada House’s light-intensive functional revitalization and rich heritage restoration stand on their own merits. But crucially, both work well to provide worthy galleries that showcase probably the largest out-of-country Canadian collection of historic and contemporary art, as well as domestically commissioned bespoke and manufactured furniture and lighting. To be inclusive, all of Canada House’s meeting rooms bear the names of Canada’s 10 provinces, three territories and three oceans. Major event rooms take their monikers from four prominent Prime Ministers: MacDonald; Laurier; Borden and Mackenzie King. The task was to populate each with art and furnishings that spoke to and came from their identified region. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------In addition to their artistic merit, the selected artwork was carefully assessed and digitally mocked-up to ensure they responded well within each room’s physical characteristics. “We [were] very careful about where we have introduced art into the spaces, incorporating works even into the design of the friezes and the design of the mouldings around the walls,” explains Taylor. Of 281 pieces, 91 were newly acquired, including 44 financed through donations (in order to sidestep the $25,000 limit for single acquisitions). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
Another favourite Campbell saying is “look down at every turn.” One downward glance and his meaning is obvious. With the return of wood floors, acoustics mandated area carpets, but not just any off-the-shelf rugs. Instead, arts communities in each province or territory were approached for submissions. 29 designs from 16 artists where then converted into hand tufted wool carpets by Toronto’s Creative Matters for meeting and function rooms. This included four from Winnipeg-based multi-media artist Denise Préfontaine and two from P.E.I. painter Norma Jean Maclean, including her haunting early spring light on buildings in a coastal landscape for the P.E.I. room. - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------With the carpets literally as a base, the team worked with the Department’s own design group to identify Canadian furniture manufacturers. Rodych reached out to Stantec’s many provincially-based interior design leaders to identify the best bespoke designers. This regionspecific sourcing included chairs, tables, credenzas and lounges, although where boardroom-type chairs were not available, commercial furniture firms from Ontario and Quebec, including Teknion, Nienkämper, Krug and Keilhauer, filled in. Through an intensive iterative process, multiple bespoke objects were commissioned that eloquently reflected the climate, landscape, plants, wildlife and human artifacts characteristic of the named room. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------The same mix of manufactured and bespoke products was adopted for lighting. Canada has a strong reputation for its LED lighting industry, thus Cockspur’s offices and all the named rooms boast contemporary lighting fixtures manufactured in Canada and, where possible, manufactured regionally, such as the Cumulus fixture by Vancouver-based Propellor hanging below the B.C. Room’s oculus. For some rooms, bespoke fixtures were commissioned, including three by Toronto’s AM Studio Lighting in the Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario rooms. -------------------------------------------------The most spectacular is by Omar Arbel of Bocci. His slim, chaotically entwined metal strands and glass globes (“snowflakes, although more amorphous,” says Rodych) cascade down through the core of the ultra-thin, gravity defying main staircase profile in Canada House’s elegant main entrance. It is evocative in its own right but its “structural quietness ensures it does not detract from the showcase stair,” adds Rodych. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------More than a sum of its parts - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - With typical Canadian modesty, Campbell finishes our tour by saying, “blend don’t brag.” Similarly, Best concludes, “Canada House is not about some sort of radical intervention, it is more about careful, incremental steps. We could call it “layering on,” but basically it was about always being ready to backtrack and reconsider. At the end of the day we made sure we were consistent in how we married the two.” - - - - -------------------------------------------------Notwithstanding its cohesive balance of old and new highlighted by optimistic colour and rich materiality, all washed by natural light and marked by transparency, Canada House emerges as both a striking showcase and a fitting home-away-from-home for Canadians. - - - - -------------------------------------------------•
— For more on this project, read the full interviews with Aaron Taylor and Noel Best,
50
both from Stantec Architecture, and Cindy Rodych, principal, Rodych Integrate Design Inc.
canadianinteriors.com
Photos: Noel Best (top left to right); Ben Blossom (right)
Left Highlighting Canada’s abundant wood is a theme carried throughout Canada House. The Queen Elizabeth Atrium boasts a feature wall of rich hemlock with the same wood used for the underside of the stairs. Above The credenza and feature wall in the Pacific Room are by Vancouver’s Hinterland and is constructed from B.C. lodge pole pine harvested from stands destroyed by the province’s devastating pine beetle infestation. The wood is finished with hand-rubbed oil and clear wax. Below The adjacent Cockspur Building has been integrated with the original Canada House to consolidate all the High Commission’s employees and services into one central location. Reflecting state-of-the-art office design, its completely rebuilt interior introduces open, flexible working spaces with lots of light and a generous mix of richly textured and coloured collaborative “nooks.”
51
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
scene
3
2
1 2
Spring party hopes eternal Text and photos by David Lasker
4
Lab Studio Design showroom launch
Lab Studio Design’s 4,000-sq.-ft. showroom, a recent addition to the King Street East design district in Toronto, features furniture, lighting, artwork and accessories. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1—LSD sales associate Michael Yantzi; co-owner Robin De Groot, who was interior designer for Toronto’s bE SixFifty boutique hotel; and LSD sales associates Victor Krush and Gui Gomez. 2—Mike Noonan, senior business analyst at financial software firm Fidessa Canada, and wife, Kathy Janules, sales and design, Hollace Cluny; Kelly “Cupcake” Caplette, LSD creative director and store manager, with his partner, actor Alex Delio, who was appearing in the musical Kinky Boots at the Royal Alex, enroute to his Broadway debut in Wicked. 3—Artist Zoe Pawlak, standing in front of her hand-knotted carpet Coastal Shift; interiors and fashion stylist Paul Semkuley of Re:Source Lifestyles; residential interior designer Svetlana Tryaskina; Ontario crown prosecutor Michael Malleson; and Jeff Forrest, managing partner at furniture design and fabrication firm Stacklab, whose pieces are repped at the store. 4—Drag queen entertainer Juice Box; Rola Osseiran, Beirut and Toronto-based freelance art curator who calls her company Floukart; sculptor and designer Djuna Day, who created the Delaunay-meets-Nevelson wall-mounted assemblage behind her; and marketing consultant Richard Brightling of Jigsaw architectural products.
2
1
Hotel Le Germain redux
Le Groupe Germain, known for its stylish Canadian boutique hotels, made its Toronto debut in 2003 with the launch of its 11-storey Hotel Le Germain on Mercer Street in the Entertainment District; the project also marked the Ontario debut of Quebec’s Lemay Michaud Architecture Design. This May, the hotel celebrated the re-think and renovation of its 122 guestrooms. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1—Hotel co-owner Christiane Germain with Barkas Productions partners Ann Bartok and Olena Kassian, who created sculptural artworks for the guest rooms, corridors and the wall behind the reception desk. 2—Reno mastermind Louise Dupont, designer and partner at Lemay Michaud; Nicolas Lazarou, hotel general manager; and Clarah Germain, social media manager at Groupe Germain. 3—Michael Sullivan, partner, and Lanny MacLeod, executive chef, at the hotel’s Victor restaurant and lounge; and Aminata Diop, national sales director, Hotel Le Germain.
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
52
3
at
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building
on
Wed.Nov.30-Thu.Dec.1
connect
#iidex16
2016
iidexcanada.com
scene
4
2 3
1 2
2
3
1
2
1
3
6 7
5
Photography by Haley Ma and Brian Simon
1
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
2
54
3
4
Simons opening
High-end design and mid-market prices make the latest branch of the Quebec-based fashion department store a delightful addition (and clothes-hound must-see) to Mississauga’s Square One. The latest Simons iteration is by Toronto’s Figure3, whose version for the Montreal suburb of Anjou was a Best of Canada competition winner. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----------------------------------------------------------------------1—Simons head honchos Peter Simons, president, and Bernard Leblanc, VP operations, who are happy clients of Christopher Wright, partner at Mississauga store designer Figure3. 2—Andrew Gallici, principal Designstead, and Seamus Dixon, food service director, Simons. 3—From the Quebec office of Lemay Michaud, architects of the new store: architects Marie-Christine Baillargeon and Jérôme Henné, and partners Katrine Beaudry, designer, and Alexi Lemay, partner. 4— Interior designer trio: Figure3’s Steve Tsai, senior team leader; Erin Neufeglise, project designer; and Janice Kee-Son, project manager at the retail division of non-profit organization Me to We. 5— From Govan Brown, the store’s construction managers: David Hodgson, design manager; Matt Piry, account executive; Michael Chou, project manager; Andy Kohler, partner; Sophia Yilmaz, project co-ordinator; and Hany Younan, project manager.
5
Thermador goes Luxe
To celebrate its centennial, Thermador threw a foodie party at Luxe Appliance Studio on King Street East in Toronto with teams of designer chefs battling it out for charity at the presentation cooking stations. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------------------------------------------------------------
5
4
1—Steve Preiner, director of marketing, and Dale Elliott, general manager and CEO from party sponsor BSH Home Appliances Group, owner of the Thermador brand. 2—Joshua Breau, merchandiser, Peloso Alexander Interiors; Peter Brooks, principal designer at interior design firm Bedford Brooks; and certified master kitchen and bath designer Anastasia Rentzos of Anastasia Interior Design. 3—Designer-chef team members Matt Dean Pettit, chef and owner, Rock Lobster restaurant; Shai DeLuca-Tamasi, who heads his eponymous residential interior design firm; and Jamie Alexander, partner at Peloso Alexander Interiors. 4—Regal Security’s Nicola Vetere, CEO, Regal Security, and Carrie Cowton, director, operations, flank Kate Davidson of her self-named interior design firm. 5—Hypnotist Asad Mecci; Melissa Davis of her eponymous interior design firm and host of HGTV’s Income Property; and Mike Ward, event judge and food editor-in-chief at Canadian Living.
Quadrangle’s 30th
Designer of the year? Who knows? Party of the year? I know. Already, in May, it seems a safe bet that Quadrangle Architects’ 30th-anniversary bash will take the palm. Its vast Liberty Village venue boasted a Glenfiddich Scotch tasting station with 14- and 15-year-old whiskeys (what a difference a year makes!); charcuterie and dim sum stations, multiple bars and at the exit, a Tiny Tom Donuts truck offering dainty goody bags with the fresh, hot treats. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----------------------------------------------------------------------
4
1—Quadrangle’s Roxanne Huang, architect; Panyada Wangpongpipat, interior designer; and architects Lida Arbabi and Jessica Thather. 12—Ricky Mugford, design review specialist, capital projects group, Metrolinx; the Ontario Arts Council’s Loree Lawrence, multi-inter and community-engaged arts officer, and Peter Caldwell, director and CEO; Elaine Brodie, digital media artist and Sheridan College professor; and her husband, designer artist Gord Peteran, who represented Canada at the 2015 Beijing Biennale. 3—Interior designer Enid MacIntosh; Quadrangle principal and architect Leslie Klein; Don Manlapaz, VP development at private equity firm Forgestone Capital; and event designer Laurence Heartz, owner of Heartz Event Creation. 4—Quadrangle’s Sylvia Richmond, junior interior designer; Tor McGlade, designer; junior interior designers Diana Smiciklas and Sarah Choi; and Lindsay Brown, intermediate interior designer. 5—Quadrangle’s Vera Gisarov, senior associate; Caroline Robbie, principal; Lana Ivanchuk, interior designer; Andrea Hall, designer, and Julie Mroczkowski, interior designer. 6—Quadrangle’s Ted Shore, principal and architect; and George Foussias, senior associate and interior designer. 7—Partisans Design co-founder Pooya Baktash and senior designer Betty Vuong flank Tracy Bowie, VP, Informa Canada.
Ryerson School of Interior Design year end show: Dialogue IN[SID]
The Ryerson School of Interior Design (RSID) held their annual student exhibition, entitled Dialogue IN[SID]. Along with showcasing final products, this year’s event explored the physical representation and the unique processes that each student artist undertakes in completing their work. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------•
5
1—Brett Patychuk, student at Ryerson School of Interior Design (RSID), admires student sketchbooks. 2—RSID professors Joanne Lam with son Jacques Martin, and Ruth Spitzer, enjoying the display of wooden utensils. 3—RSID Chair, Lois Weinthal, gives a speech to guests. Background: Roberto Manias from SoundXent; and sponsorship director Tulika Datta. 4—Kayley Mullings, RSID student, admires her own installation completed with fellow RSID student and Graphics associate, Sidney Tsao. 5—Paul Rowan, co-founder and VP Inspiration, and Umbra product designer Laura Carwardine, hand out the Umbra design challenge award to one of the three winners, RSID student and Year End Show Graphics Associate, Justine Houseley.
55
5/6 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS
Photo by Knoll
over & out
The Century Mark
Jens Risom – the first and arguably most important designer for Knoll – turns 100
The first true Knoll designer, Jens Risom joined the young Hans Knoll Furniture Company in the early 1940s as the sole designer of interiors and furniture. Born in Denmark on May 8, 1916, to the well-known architect Sven Risom, Jens worked in Stockholm for one year before graduating from the prestigious Kundstandvaerkerskolen in Copenhagen. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Risom left Denmark for the United States in 1938 and, for two years, served as Director of Interior Design at the studio of Dan Cooper, Inc. in New York before starting a freelance career specializing in furniture and textiles. It was during this time that he met Hans Knoll. The pair collaborated on an exhibition for the New York World’s Fair. Knoll asked Risom, who had been searching for a promoter and manufacturer, to help him design interiors for clients around New York. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------With Hans handling client relations and Jens planning interiors and
designing furniture when needed, the pair began to take on more design projects. In 1942 they printed the first Knoll Catalog, which included 15 pieces designed by Risom — the very first furniture to be commissioned specifically by Knoll. Working ingeniously within the constraints of wartime material shortages, Risom developed several chairs and tables using essentially scraps of wood and rejected nylon straps from parachute production. Despite these constraints, Risom was able to design innovative and truly modern pieces of furniture, a selection of which were reintroduced by Knoll in 1994. - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------In 1943, Risom left Knoll to join the U.S. Army. He returned to the United States in 1946 to launch his own design firm Jens Risom Design, which he ran until the early 1970s. After selling his company, Risom relocated to Connecticut and started a design consultancy firm. He is a trustee of the Rhode Island School of Design and was knighted by Queen Margrethe of Denmark in 1996. - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------•
CANADIAN INTERIORS 5/6 2016
56
12 O&O.indd 51
16-05-16 12:03 PM
a quiet harbor Bring people together in a place where ideas, insight and inspiration can be shared. River supports an endless array of curvilinear and rectilinear configurations with three back heights and benches. Seating and tables can be specified with power and USB outlets for mobile devices. An
RIVER SEATING.
optional HT construction lets River overachieve in high traffic, high demand environments such as airports and universities. 1.877.4 46.2251 CAN
16.0067 CND-INT-MayJune_River_03FA.indd 1 12 O&O.indd 52
1.800.220.1900 USA
GLOBALFURNITUREGROUP.COM
2016-04-29 3:55 PM 16-05-16 12:03 PM