Canadian Interiors September October

Layer Cake

How are the generations getting along in new office design paradigms?

The AI Revolution in the Design Industry

Regulars

23 TALKIN’ ‘BOUT MY GENERATION In the post-pandemic workplace, employees of all ages are learning to comfortably co-exist within thoughtfully designed office spaces. By Shannon Moore

32 PIECES IN A CHANGING PUZZLE With the relationship shifting between work and the office, workplace strategy and design will play a major role in navigating the future of offices. By Andrew Volz and Rob Ramsay

34 SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS The new Windsor Catholic Central High School is a lesson in adroit project management, value engineering and space-saving design. By David Lasker

37 HOW TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE AI Ultimately, the future of AI will drive improved collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking in both construction and design. By Ian

Chodikoff

42 THE BEST SIDE HUSTLES ARE DRIVEN BY PASSION The time is right and tools are available to turn passion projects into primary income streams. By Kat Velez-O’Neill

10 CAUGHT OUR EYE 12 THE GOODS Users say they want touchless design elements in commercial and public restroom spaces; plus, intentionality and authenticity are as key factors in designing for the younger generations, especially in the office. 44 OVER & OUT A dynamic feature stair bridges LinkedIn’s new headquarters.

COVER – BDP Quadrangle’s new Toronto studio opens in The Well. Photo by Adrien Williams

SCENE

Jerusalem Design Week 2023

Exhibits by more than 200 Israeli and international designers explored issues of illusion, disclosure, and honesty under the theme “Lies & Falsehoods.”

Trendy Transformation: Moulton Hill

1628 Inc. completed the transformation of a 1960s residence in Lennoxville, Québec to anchor it in the 21st century.

Chic Shopping: Lim Goldsmiths

Bold Interior Design Inc. create a unique jewellery shopping experience where the goldsmith room is visible to all.

Toronto Holocaust Museum

The city’s only museum dedicated to Holocaust remembrance and education houses four themed galleries and a learning lab designed by Reich&Petch.

On a Mission: Jalon

Québec-based STGM Design (IDEA) focused on socialization, concentration, collaboration, learning and relaxation to guide their concept.

Clerkenwell Design Week 2023

The U.K.’s largest free design festival returned to EC1 London with its most extensive programme yet, featuring more than 600 events.

Side Hustles

Dor Kedmi

Sam Frost

Vionaro V8 Slim Drawer System.

Everything. Except ordinary .

Until recently, the very idea of reducing a drawer side to 8 millimetres and, above all, making industrial production commercially viable would have been unthinkable. The new slim drawer system not only offers the only 8-millimetre one-piece steel drawer side in the world – Vionaro V8 is also the first pure-metal drawer side with no plastic elements. All parts are made of steel and joined using cutting-edge laser welding technology. That produces maximum stability plus longevity and ensures an almost 100 per cent recycling rate.

September | October 2023 / V60 #5

Editor in Chief Peter Sobchak

Art Director Roy Gaiot

Contributors

Ian Chodikoff, David Lasker

Shannon Moore, Rob Ramsay, Kat Velez-O’Neill

Andrew Volz

Online Editor Lucy Mazzucco

Senior Publisher Martin Spreer 416-441-2085 x4 mspreer@canadianinteriors.com

Associate Publisher Faria Ahmed fahmed@canadianinteriors.com

Circulation Manager circulation@canadianinteriors.com

President of iQ Business Media Inc. Alex Papanou

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Loop the Loop

I know most of you reading this are a mix of architects, interior designers and a few industrial designers with keen interests in systems, processes and practices. But if you want to think about eco-design in any meaningful way, you must spend some time understanding the product manufacturing ecosystem. Because put simply, economies are based on people buying products; and products use materials, and materials use resources.

Not all product categories are created equally, and I’m not going to do an exhaustive overview of them all. But neither am I going to be categorizing good or bad materials; it’s not like natural is good and synthetic is bad. Often, for example, plastics get disparaged, but plastic is not a bad material, because it has the capability to be infinitely melted and remade. With any material, any decent designer should think about is where it comes from, the process of transformation, and where it can go at the end of life. I still remember hearing Caroline Till, co-founder of the U.K. agency FranklinTill, speak at an

event where she was urging designers to celebrate zero waste, keep low impact at the front of mind and look at closed loop production approaches that allow materials to remain in completely closed loops to be made again and again.

As I said in my previous column, the taking of raw materials, making things and then disposing of them: this archaic self-destruction needs to be replaced with a circular approach, where everything from interior products to buildings and beyond are designed with reusable components that can be repurposed and serve multiple functions beyond their time in a single building. Quoting from Bruce King and Chris Magwood’s book Build Beyond Zero again: “Circular systems minimize waste, pollution, and carbon emissions by employing reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling.”

But to achieve this transition to circularity requires a shift in mindset, “where everyone sees their place in the linear economy and actively forms and develops connections within the system to create closed-loop systems.” This demands the full participation of everyone connected by the loop, from the harvesters of raw materials to manufacturers, designers, builders, specifiers, and the clients that hire them all. “A circular economy isn’t just one big loop; small circular systems can be nested within larger ones. There are roles for everybody in the system.”

Peter Sobchak psobchak @canadianinteriors.com

Bevel is the podcast series where lovers and practitioners of design speak openly about their thoughts and experiences in the industry and ignite dialogue about a discipline always interested in making things better.

caught our eye

Urban Canvas “Dark Tide” by French artist Baptiste Debombourg is part of a vast array of pieces on display during Passages Insolites, Québec City’s city-wide public art celebration. Here, Debombourg imagines an open-plan office engulfed by molten black glass, like a volcanic eruption of trendy building materials.

Stéphane Bourgeois

Molding Technology At the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, seven academic institutions were invited to showcase novel robotically fabricated architectural ceramics for an exhibition titled Robotic Clay: New Methods in Architectural Ceramics, where technological advances in manufacturing brought about by the digital revolution were highlighted. For example, Acoustic Resonator Vases (shown) utilized a complex geometric structure for both acoustic absorption and robotic clay fabrication.

Up By the Roots Organizers of the 24th International Garden Festival at GrandMétis, Québec asked artists to combine traditional construction with an eye to ecological, economic, and cultural responsibility. The results are 22 in situ contemporary gardens, including five brand-new ones such as “Maillage” (shown) by Québec-based landscape architecture firm Friche Atelier, which “explores on a metaphorical level the relation between two worlds, that of the textile, and that of the vegetal.”

James Clarke-Hicks

Martin Bond

ATouchy Subject

Compiled by Peter Sobchak

Face masks and six-foot distancing may be in the rearview mirror, but not every impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has passed. It is 2023, but most people continue to be in an elevated state of germ consciousness and don’t like touching things in public restroom spaces, often going out of their way to avoid surfaces in these shared spaces.

According to the Healthy Handwashing Survey from Bradley Corporation, 62 per cent of respondents use a paper towel as a barrier to avoid touching flushers, faucets and doors. Women are even more likely to use the “paper towel as a glove” approach, with 67 per

cent taking this evasive measure. Others employ sheer physicality to steer clear of germs. 43 per cent of respondents use their foot to flush toilets, 31 per cent hover over the toilet seat, and 27 per cent open and close doors with their backside in hopes of avoiding germy contact. Women are significantly more likely than men to employ these actions.

“For many, restrooms carry a certain ‘ick factor’ that impacts how they view — and use — these public facilities,” said Jon Dommisse, vice president of marketing and corporate communication, Bradley Corpo-

More and more, users say they want touchless design elements in commercial and public restroom spaces, proving we are still in an elevated state of germ consciousness.

Ultima Selectronic Touchless Flush Valve | American Standard

Advanced electronics gives this flush valve a 10-year battery life to reduce the downtime and maintenance costs associated with changing batteries. The Pressure Compensation feature ensures accurate flush volume regardless of inlet water pressure, and the Selectronic Proximity System provides “hands free” operation while preventing ghost flushing. www.americanstandard.ca

Evero Matte | Bradley Corp.

A new option with a stone-like appearance for commercial handwashing basins, this highly resilient natural quartz will resist stains and cracks and is also non-porous and seamless, inhibiting mold and bacteria growth. GreenGuard Gold certified, it requires no external finishing operations, showcasing a palette of eight organic colours in a natural finish that will not show fingerprints. www.bradleycorp.com

Greenbrook Top Spud Urinal | American Standard

A large footprint vitreous china urinal with optimized surface contours and water flushing spreader that rinses inverted back wall for superior splash protection. The patented EverClean antimicrobial surface inhibits the growth of stain and odourcausing bacteria, mold and mildew on the surface. www.americanstandard.ca

Top Fill Multi-feed Soap System | Bradley Corp.

Available with all WashBar models, this new top fill soap system features a large capacity 1.3-gallon (5.0 L) tank that can supply soap to up to three WashBars at once. A smart sense system with LED indicator on the fill port illuminates to indicate when the tank begins to run low on soap or battery power, taking the guesswork out of maintenance. Smart sensors also provide audible and visual indicators to prevent overfilling and mess. www.bradleycorp.com

Proximity | Delta Commercial

Automatic faucet and soap dispenser sensors malfunction for all sorts of reasons: clothing colour, reflections, skin texture or damage to the sensor (from misuse or even cleaning). Proximity with H2Optics technology turns the whole faucet into an advanced infrared sensor system using the principles of triangulation to measure the angle of the returned beam to detect the user, resulting in reliable performance. www.deltafaucet.ca

ration. “Understandably, people don’t want to touch things after somebody else touched them, especially right after they used the toilet.”

With so much effort going into avoiding germs, it’s no wonder that 82 per cent of respondents believe it is important to have touchless fixtures in a public restroom, a percentage that has remained high in the survey since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. As for the most desired restroom improvements, having touchless fixtures is once again among the topmost requests, along with keeping restrooms cleaner and better stocked, and always providing paper towels, even if there are hand dryers.

The survey found that the restroom features considered most important to be touchless are faucets, flushers, soap dispensers and

paper towel dispensers, in that order. “The good news for restroom users and providers is that in just the past few years, the mechanicals used in sensor technology have improved significantly, relieving some of the frustration of false or spotty soap, water and flushing activations,” he said.

Germ trepidation in public bathrooms and demand for touchless fixtures have likely been intensified by COVID. “For 14 years, our survey has consistently shown that people have always placed importance on clean restrooms but now there’s elevated and ongoing demand for increased hygiene and the use of touchless fixtures,” Dommisse added. “Similar to how the iPod changed music and 9/11 changed air travel, COVID has forever changed public bathroom expectations and design.”

Purity by Design: Dyson Technology Improves Air Quality in High Style

The Dyson HEPA Big+Quiet Formaldehyde purifier combines exceptional filtration with quiet performance and streamlined design.

The air we breathe has a profound impact on our health and wellness. With Canadians spending 90 per cent of their time indoors, prioritizing safe and healthy environments is long overdue. Enter Dyson, internationally recognized for designdriven innovations and established as a global leader in indoor air purification. For commercial settings, the new Dyson HEPA Big+Quiet Formaldehyde purifier is a game-changer.

Designed for a wide range of professional environments — including offices, classrooms and hotels — the Dyson HEPA Big+Quiet Formaldehyde purifier is equally well-suited to small businesses and larger organizations. Combining a sleek contemporary presence with a versatile (and highly mobile) design, the purifier offers an exceptionally streamlined and efficient complement to any HVAC system.

Engineered to evenly purify large spaces of up to 100 square metres, the Dyson HEPA Big+Quiet Formaldehyde purifier integrates exceptional performance into a discreet, elegant form. Each unit is equipped with a large HEPA H13 grade filter that captures 99.97 per cent of pollutants, allergens, bacteria, smoke, mold spores and gases, including particles as small as 0.3 microns.

While the purifier's clean and carefully contoured form makes for an aesthetically refined addition to any indoor space, it also offers serious peace of mind. The Dyson HEPA Big+Quiet Formaldehyde purifier is true to its name. It works quietly and it makes a big difference. In other words, it's a breath of fresh air.

In it Together

With Gen Z projected to make up a third of the workforce by 2025 (Manpower Group, 2023 Workforce Trends Report), and older generations retiring later, designers, facility managers, and other specifiers must cater to an expanding community with diverse needs and expectations. Human connection, well-being, and consistent comfort have emerged as priorities for both younger generations looking to establish smart habits and older generations seeking physical longevity as well as a vibrant and active career. As a result, there is a demand for spaces and products that offer opportunities to connect and collaborate while also allowing users to accommodate their personal wellness goals and feel more balanced.

Gather ‘Round

“When the two concepts of intentionality and authenticity are applied to workplace design, the result is an environment that encourages meaningful collaboration, camaraderie, and the organization’s key values, as well as the unique identities of its employees,” says Laura Leung, WELL AP and Designer at IA Architects. “Intentionality and authenticity are catalysts for each other at the heart of an organization.”

Intentionality and authenticity are appearing as key factors in designing for the younger generations, especially in the office. The same will hold true for the furniture that will fill those spaces.

Compiled by Peter Sobchak

1 La Duna | Martin Brattrud

The distinctive privacy screen mounted to the back of this new upholstered banquette and lounge series is made from natural caning and gently diffuses light while obscuring the view, creating a bit of intimacy. The screen can also be customized with perforated metal and a variety of powder coat colours. www.martinbrattrud.com

2 Flote | Hightower

Inspired by both the comfort and memories of a classic pool float, this seating collection nabbed the Best of Competition distinction at this year’s Best of NeoCon Awards and caught the jury’s attention for features like chunky zipper detailing, double-needle stitching options, and ‘hotdog’ welting. www.hightoweraccess.com

3 Beam | Nienkämper

Designed by Kenny Ngyen, the fully upholstered rounded seating elements rest on an exposed wood beam through the center (hence the name). Available as a single lounge chair or two and three-seater, with the option of adding table elements, the low, compact footprint is well-suited to lobbies, breakout rooms, and lounges. www.nienkamper.com

4 Res | Allseating

Designed in partnership with modus ID for offices, collaborative spaces, educational institutions or any space looking to support active learning, Res comes with a lower shelf that helps to free up the work surface, hooks for coats and bags, a cup holder and a front access storage in the base of the unit that provides a secure location for personal belongings. www.allseating.com

5 Lumber | Mizetto

Designed by ADDI, the Swedish firm’s upholstered debut is a versatile soft beam for leaning, lingering or loitering: any place where conventional seating falls short. Upholstered with flame retardant wool and featuring removable, repairable, and exchangeable covers, Lumber’s dynamic design suits various spaces and functions, offering mobility, adaptability, and functionality. www.mizetto.se

6 Vida Collection | Davis Furniture

Notably the first female designer to release a collection with the U.S.-based furniture manufacturer, Hanne Willmann’s table series features a distinctive solid-steel powder-coated base contrasted against a thin profile top available in ash, oak and walnut veneers, standard laminates as well as Fenix Innovative Materials in a range of hues. www.davisfurniture.com

Safe and Sound

Studies also indicate that individual space is just as important to Gen Z as a community focus in the workplace. For these emerging generations, the desire for more privacy-driven products is on the rise.

1 Gather Acoustical | Wolf Gordon A host of design options are available in this sound absorption panel kit of parts: from colour-saturated patterns and digitally printed, engraved, precision cut, layered, folded or woven textures, they’re all here. But the important details are the “by the numbers” ones: formatted as ¼” thick, 4’ x 10’ lightweight semi-rigid panels and constructed from a PET formulation in 100 per cent recycled polyester, with NRC values ranging from 0.25 to 0.9 depending on the layering. www.wolfgordon.com

2 Dash Tile | Kirei Part of the Tessellate Collection, the exaggerated diagonal design and 24mm thickness provides added surface area to improve acoustic control. The Class A Fire Rated felt panels made from 60 per cent post-consumer recycled PET can also be custom printed using colours or graphics of the designers’ choosing. www.kireiusa.com

3 BuzziPebl Light | BuzziSpace An LED light strip on the back provides accent lighting while the pebbleshaped ceiling-mounted, ceiling-suspended, or wall-mounted panel absorbs sound waves. www.buzzi.space/

4 Asari Chair | Herman Miller Designed by Tokyo-based Naoto Fukasawa and inspired by organic forms, Asari’s name translates to “clam” in Japanese and serves as a metaphor for the shape of the chair’s back. “My goal was to inspire joy and create a new form, ultimately becoming the next upholstered icon,” says Fukasawa. “A core part of my design ethos is to simplify the way we live, imbuing each creation with an attraction that makes people feel dear to it, a timelessness and longevity that enhances a human process.” www.hermanmiller.com

5 Focus Quiet Rooms | Schiavello These engineered booths are fully powered, ventilated, acoustically tight and integrated with customizable finishes. Ranging from Phone Booth to Meeting Room sizes, the larger rooms provide integrated video conferencing technology and best-practice accessibility, and all rooms are equipped with Nura Space, a workplace management software platform that allows employees to book desks, lockers and meeting rooms via a mobile app. www.schiavello.com

6 Co.Lok Lockers | Groupe Lacasse Mountable or adaptable in a 360-degree configuration, meaning these locker combinations can also work as space dividers. A variety of locks, doors, and sizes are available, and in collaborative spaces they can even come with an add-on whiteboard. www.groupelacasse.com

Keep it Green

Any poll of Gen Z’s core concerns will put the environment at or near the top of the list, and they want that reflected in the ethos of the companies they work for. As such, that demographic wants their employers to emphasize sustainability as a value guiding their purchasing choices, even if it means being willing to pay a premium for products that reflect that value.

1 EarthyPly | Mantra Inspired Furniture What makes this collection of conference and meeting room tabletops and legs notable is the materials: FSC plywood sandwiched between two layers of recycled paper composite. Good looking and checks a lot of green boxes: contributes to LEED points; FSC, HPD, EPD, GreenGuard and Declare certifications; and is Living Building Challenge Red List-approved. www.mantrainspiredfurniture.com

2 Dappled Light | Shaw Contract Created using bio-based resources such as rapeseed, canola and castor oils, the results are a high-performing PVC-free resilient flooring. This low-maintenance option doesn’t require waxing and is hand sanitizer, bleach, and peroxide friendly, making it an ideal choice for healthcare settings. Available in two styles — Woodland Veil, a muted nature-inspired pattern; and a subtle mosaic pattern for Forest Mosaic — with an intentional tile size design that reduces waste in installations with a traditional healthcare corridor width. www.shawcontract.com

3 Mycelium Collection of SRP | HTMX Industries

The company’s SRP TPU is a new non-vinyl, circular multilayer flooring system that upcycles two PET bottles into each square foot of SRP flooring, using PET as the top layer, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) as core layer, and a crosslinked polyurethane foam back layer. SRP flooring can be ground up and transformed into an engineered TPU, making the ability to recycle each plank into new planks, hence the circularity. The connected nature of mycelium is represented in the digital printed patterns (not used as an actual ingredient). https://hmtx.global/

4 Vale | KFI Studios Designed by Brit hot-shot, Benjamin Hubert of Layer, the chair shells are created with PET felt made from recycled plastic bottles. “The name ‘Vale’ stems from the unique design feature of the rolled edge that gives it a friendly feel and is both very warm and inviting,” explains Chris Smith, CEO of KFI Studios. “Vale is the Middle English word for ‘valley,’ which is what the rolled edge creates on the chair shell.” www.kfistudios.com

our motto “never say it can’t be done” was born from over 65 years of pushing the limits of designers creations. with a strong team, we always ensure our clients expectations are exceeded.

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Designer > iN STUDIO Project > Canaccord Genuity

Photo > A-Frame Studio Ben Rhan

By Shannon Moore

In the post-pandemic workplace, employees of all ages are learning to comfortably co-exist within thoughtfully designed office spaces.

Adrien Williams

It’s the proverbial narrative we’ve all heard before: Baby Boomers and Gen X thrive on the nine to five, while Millennials and the emerging Gen Z can’t help but shake up conventional office cultures. From an increased interest in work-life balance to collaborative layouts, high-tech upgrades, and hybrid arrangements, these new generations have pushed the traditional workplace into a modern era. And while these realities existed long before COVID-19, the pandemic brought changing needs and preferences to light. Companies had to quickly pivot to accommodate remote work; but as life gets back to normal, employers are now seeking ways to entice people of all ages back to the office. Workplace redesign is top of mind.

Generational Preferences

As designers map out plans for renewed office spaces, an obvious question comes to mind: do proclivities differ across generations?

The research is clear. For Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, the concept of the corporate ladder meant that employees

typically remained faithful to one employer over the course of their careers, seeking opportunities for advancement through tried-and-true displays of a hard work ethic, such as daily on-site visibility and long hours, including overtime. Entering the workforce in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, Baby Boomers became accustomed to offices that favoured space-saving cubicles, large corner offices for executives, cookie-cutter conference rooms, and kitchens that doubled as social spaces during morning coffee and lunchtime hours.

Gen X was not far behind. Born between 1965 and 1980, these individuals are typically just as independent and hard working as Baby Boomers, albeit more technologically adept and prone to embracing opportunities for career advancement wherever they present themselves. For Millennials, the same rings true, although this group, born between 1981 and 1997, tend to value employers that encourage personal and professional development, as well as collaboration and a strong sense of workplace culture. The influence

of Millennials can be seen in the fun, functional, and for-

Opposite page and this spread BDP Quadrangle intends their studio to be a model on how to design for behaviour and provide better space to facilitate a successful hybrid working environment. Workplace “neighbourhoods” act as the organizing mechanism for the main collaborative workspaces in the studio. Initially planned to act as a ‘home’ for people

to work out of, they have since been reimagined to a ‘nest’ structure of different spaces depending on the type of work being done and proximity to others. The new studio is based on core democratic principles, such as no one owns a window, view or a specific space.

Adrien Williams

ward-thinking designs of many offices pre-pandemic, like Shopify’s Ottawa and Montréal headquarters, where themed meeting spaces, indoor go-kart tracks, colourful game rooms, and cafés demonstrated a clear shift from the drab office spaces occupied by generations prior.

The youngest generation, Gen Z, is arguably the most intriguing to today’s employers. Born between 1998 and 2010, these individuals will comprise the dominant percentage of the total global workforce by 2025, and in order to attract and retain talent within this bracket, companies are transforming their offerings, from greater opportunities for mentorship and face-to-face interaction to completely reimagined hybrid workplaces. Highly researched and surveyed, this generation has, on average, expressed an interest in authenticity and intentionality, both in workplace culture and office design; and according to research conducted by the global design brand Steelcase, Gen Zers surprisingly work in the office more than any other generation. They understand and appreciate the benefits of remote work, but simultaneously crave on-site experiences as well.

The Destination Workplace

So how have these generational preferences influenced post-pandemic office paradigms? And are employees of different age groups comfortably co-existing in these settings?

To better understand their varied personnel, companies are undertaking research to tap into their employees’ wants and needs. In Toronto, BDP Quadrangle’s new two-storey studio on Front Street is a case in point. After outgrowing its previous office space on King Street, the firm saw an opportunity to improve its office culture by embracing a bigger, more modern space: a “destination workplace” that would inspire employees to come back together at the office, with a fresh design that would meet their present-day needs. “We were bursting at the seams,” said Caroline Robbie, principal at BDP Quadrangle. “There was no sense of community to the firm anymore.”

The team embarked on an eight-month period of internal engagement and data research, consisting of employee surveys, manage-

ment retreats, town halls, site visits, group charrettes and more. The goal was to learn more about what employees of all ages wanted out of their new office space which, conveniently, would be located within The Well, a mixed-use office, retail, living and dining complex with spaces already designed by BDP. “Before we put pen to paper, we looked inward at our company: what we had done historically, what happened at the onset of COVID, and where we could go with it,” said Andrea McCann, associate and lead interior designer on the new studio project. “We never came to a conclusion of ‘one size fits all.’ Everybody wants something different, and that was our key to the spaces. Every area needed to perform double or triple duty, and there had to be a space for everybody.”

The solution was workplace neighbourhoods: seven individual studio spaces, each with unique offerings, that would encourage either collaborative or independent work. “We weren’t thinking, ‘this is going to be a nice area where a Boomer or Gen X is going

Above One of the standout features of BDP’s studio is its incredible view from the 21st and 20th floor of The Well. Overlooking the skyline and full of sunlight and plant life, the Oasis is a quiet zone with the best view in the office.

Adrien Williams

Above M Moser’s office design for Zynga’s newly renovated Toronto headquarters unabashedly emphasizes fun, excitement and collaboration. The reception area communicates Zynga’s branding and the Toronto skyline with bold, positive colour schemes coupled with accent lighting.

Gillian Jackson

to be most comfortable,’” said Robbie. “It was more about ‘are we providing the right variety? Do people have enough choices?’”

In the Oasis neighbourhood, for example, users are treated to a Zen zone complete with plants, soft furnishings, ample natural light, and clear views of the CN Tower, Financial District, Fort York, and Lake Ontario. “It feels like an updated Victorian conservatory. You’re in a beautiful glass box,” said Robbie. “This is where you come when you need a little bit of inspiration and some restoration.” In contrast stands the Black Box neighbourhood, where a lack of colour and visual distraction encourage deep work and focused discussion. Sustainability and accessibility were also integrated throughout the design, surpassing provincial accessibility regulations and pushing the firm closer towards meeting its 2025 net carbon neutral goal.

Human-Centered Approach

Two blocks over, inside Toronto’s historic CBC building, Vancouverbased M Moser Architects recently designed a new head office for the video game developer, Zynga. Mandated to salvage and repurpose as

much of the existing infrastructure as possible, the design team undertook planning exercises to assess how they could maximize the existing partitions, meeting rooms, furniture and spaces, to limit the amount of architectural intervention while still supporting Zynga’s brand.

The same planning exercises were used to study the behaviours of employees, and, like BDP Quadrangle, design neighbourhoods to support them. The Moser team similarly found no division or set preferences among generations, but instead, unique needs among employees of all ages that varied day by day.

“At Zynga, there’s a shared experience that spans multi-generations. When you look at their workflows, it’s very agile and collaborative, but there are unique needs within those groups that we wanted to cater to,” said Chantal Frenette, director at M Moser Architects. “Everybody needs to focus; we all just focus differently. Everybody needs to collaborate; we may just collaborate differently. So, by giving choice to people, you’re not boxing anyone into a certain type of work setting.”

This spread By employing a “Behavior Based Design” approach, M Moser was able to focus on connecting employee behaviours with what would enable a team’s best work in hybrid mode. The new space features updated AV technology for virtual meeting connectivity and a flexible mix of collaboration areas, meeting rooms and phonebooth-style spaces for individual work.

Gillian Jackson

In addition to building AV into every corner of the multi-level office in support of remote connectivity and hybrid work, the Moser team embraced colour to establish moods and support behaviours in each space: orange for energy; yellow for playfulness; red for stimulation; blue for focus and so on.

Local art was also incorporated throughout the office for stimulation and inspiration, while toned down spaces were designed to support concentration and quiet contemplation. “We needed to think of the unique needs of people who might be more introverted, or maybe have anxiety about coming into work, or maybe have challenges focusing, or might be neurodivergent,” said Frenette. “It’s a very human-centered approach.”

The Takeaway

While generational stereotypes certainly exist and, to some degree, continue to ring true, when it comes to post-pandemic office design, companies will not succeed by typecasting employees into

clear-cut age groups, nor by assuming that these individuals cannot easily co-exist. “That’s the takeaway,” said Robbie. “Generational clichés should not be applying at all anymore, because let’s face it, we’re living through a seismic change in workplace thinking that hasn’t happened since the 1960s.”

Instead, the key to drawing people of all ages back to the office, and to encouraging a shared experience, is through a variety of thoughtfully planned and inspiring spaces. “We don’t look at it from a generational perspective or a demographic perspective,” said Frenette. “It comes down to the culture of that organization. It comes down to what they want to achieve.”

With a focus on community and ample opportunities for independent and collaborative work, companies can support their own corporate endeavours and those of the unique individuals they engage. As Caroline Robbie said, “People aren’t going to love where they work if they don’t feel that it’s got something of them in it.”

Above Throughout this office design, M Moser’s team focused its strategy on changes to IT infrastructure, furniture, equipment and AV while using Zynga’s playful brand to completely reimagine the space. Personalized elements and local art are flexed throughout the office, connecting team members to their work environment.

Gillian Jackson

SCHOLARSHIP

Created in 2018, the Gary Hewson Scholarship is awarded in memory of an individual with a big personality and even bigger heart, who touched the lives of many in Ontario’s interior design community.

Gary Hewson, ARIDO was an Interior Designer and former President of ARIDO (2005/6) who was awarded the title of "Fellow" based on his volunteerism. Gary worked tirelessly during his time as ARIDO President and was a driving force in advancing the recognition of the Interior Design profession. His dedication to volunteerism and mentoring peers in the profession is the inspiration for this scholarship which seeks to encourage students throughout the province.

The scholarship is awarded each year to one interior design student from every ARIDO-recognized school who has shown exemplary peer leadership and volunteerism in their community, or the interior design industry.

Mélissa Marchand Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology

Madalynne Bouwmeester Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning

Victoria Newman Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology

Brooke Hebner Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology

Rozlyn Mead Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning

Kirpa Channa Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) University

Jenny Yoon Joo Bae Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning

Feiga Werner Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University)

Dhvani Savaliya Yorkville University

Pieces in a Changing Puzzle

Fit Out Costs by Category

This chart represents an average breakdown of different categories for a moderate style medium quality office.

Soft costs

FF&E

Tenant factors

By Andrew Volz and Rob Ramsay

While other sectors of commercial real estate have been invigorated in the process of adapting to a post-pandemic reality, offices have been fundamentally disrupted by demographic movements and cultural changes in the way we work. With lagging office utilization and more leases than ever facing renewal, there is an opportunity to critically engage with how the office supports new ways of work. Modifying the built environment can make the office a more focused, purposeful place: a well-designed post-pandemic office enhances unique collaboration opportunities, provides a healthy and inclusive environment, adapts to hybrid or other work cadences, and supports both owner and occupier sustainability initiatives. As such, workplace strategy and design will play a major role in successfully charting the future of offices.

JLL’s 2023 US and Canada Office Fit Out Guide explores the trends in design that address these aims and provides baseline construction costs across a range of styles and qualities of office fit outs, all ready to work in the post-COVID era. The guide focuses on the average costs of specific forward-looking designs drawn from JLL’s vast experience in the sector. The data is sourced from thousands of recently completed fit outs managed by JLL and the extensive expertise of

JLL Design backed by our Cost Consulting group. The trends share common underlying themes: each is forward looking, efficient, and human focused. More specifically, this translates to offices that are smaller, greener, more open, and more sophisticated.

Smaller

After three years of navigating work from home and now negotiating return to office, occupiers are continuing to right size their space. For the vast majority, this has meant shedding square footage. The average size of a JLL-managed fit out in North America decreased by 11 per cent over the past two years. Lower daily head counts and more efficient, denser uses of space have brought required footprints down for most occupiers. In Canada, the cost saving exercise of balancing lease obligations by renegotiation, demising, or subleasing is occurring in parallel with new models of use that go beyond financial concerns. Occupiers have embraced a flattening of hierarchies with respect to private office and workspace size, and are planning for better, more consistent utilization of all spaces and programs. The guide addresses this trend by shrinking our U.S. and Canada test fit’s floor plate to 20,000 square feet and details three levels of quality and three styles.

With the relationship shifting between work and the office, workplace strategy and design will play a major role in navigating the future of offices.

More Open and Sophisticated

Baseline amenities and tech requirements have increased significantly over the past two years. In 2021, offices across all quality and style categories increased their baseline tech infrastructure, adding significant IT and AV capacity to support hybrid work. Lower tier fit outs that had not incorporated these features prior to the pandemic saw a disproportionate increase in costs that has been maintained to present. In 2022, health and wellness amenities saw similar baseline expectation growth. Non-gendered bathrooms, wellness spaces, and community areas once reserved for high-end progressive builds are now appearing across all qualities and styles of office fit outs. A focus on the employee is holistically emerging from introspection on how to best support performance under new ways of working, leading to an increasingly common pursuit of health-focused WELL certifications. Occupiers and owners must provide a variety of settings to satisfy different modalities of work that are now a part of many knowledge workers’ everyday life to encourage better utilization and occupancy. These settings take many forms, from tenant lounges and lower-level retail offerings to arboretums and IT bars. The prevalence and complexity of this need across Canadian firms has made it necessary to integrate change assistance right into initial workplace strategy offerings. The guide addresses this trend by incorporating these features into the test fits as standard, as well as providing pricing for several specialized amenities.

Greener

Beyond reimagining employee engagement and support, occupiers and owners are recognizing the unique opportunity to achieve their environmental goals. With many leases expiring and a need for tenants to right size and revamp, new forms of collaboration for the greener good are taking off. Green leasing adoption is rapidly growing under a new Green Leasing 2.0 paradigm that embraces the whole building cycle rather than a single leasing event. Supported by new options to earn LEED energy points through green leases and a strong embrace by the REIT community — with four REITS achieving a gold level in the Green Lease Leaders program in 2022 — recognition of the effectiveness and opportunities is more widespread than ever and global adoption is expected to more than double by 2025. However, LEED is becoming a “standard basis of design” in Canada regardless of final certifications.

Of course, these trends carry costs, and, across the board, the costs have increased. In Canada, strong demand in other commercial real estate sectors will keep costs moving in a largely uniform direction: up (albeit at a much slower rate than the past two years). In 2022, office fit out prices grew by roughly 10 per cent, mostly due to hard cost increases, and continue to rise overall.

There is a skilled labour shortage in major markets that, coupled with supply chain backlogs, extend project schedules, and increase both carrying costs and interim solution costs. Heightened costs make purposeful workplace strategy and design even more necessary; a critical evaluation of every aspect of most occupiers’ space needs and performance requirements is in store for the next five years. This is an opportunity for the best workplace strategies and designs to advance more than just a return to office and, at this critical juncture in the office using world, planning, strategy, and design can illuminate a path through uncertainty.

Fit Out Cost Breakdown by City

Fit out costs vary from market to market. This chart shows average fit out costs per rentable square foot for four major Canadian markets.

Quality

Base: Designed on a simple budget. Space contains basic technology and aesthetic design.

Medium: Increased project complexity, considering upgraded finishes and materials.

High: Complex project design with emphasis placed on top quality finishes and space improvements.

Style

Progressive: Open office floor plan with 100 per cent bench-style space and no enclosed offices. 50/50 split (or less) between office/ workstations seats and collaborative space.

Moderate: Predominantly open office floor plan with small to medium size workstations. Less than 20 per cent offices. 70/30 split between office/workstations seats and collaborative space.

Traditional: Office heavy plan with larger workstations and may have varying sizes based on role hierarchy. 1:1 seating for all employees with little open collaboration space and lower conference room ratio.

Andrew Volz is Construction Research Lead and Rob Ramsay is executive vice president and National Lead of Project & Development Services at JLL.

School of Hard Knocks

By David Lasker

Above View of the lobby, with the main office at left. The entrance and vestibule align, when viewed from the centre of the lobby, to create a crucifix, albeit a Greek cross (with four arms of equal length). The space where the principal corridors intersect and the commons overlaps the lobby serves as a multifunctional room: lounge, impromptu collaboration space and cafeteria spillover. Above right The breakout lounge in the science area where students can work collaboratively, in a more relaxed setting than the classroom, features the school’s official maroon colour.

The new Windsor Catholic Central High School is a lesson in adroit project management, value engineering and spacesaving design.

Among the dignitaries attending the official opening and blessing of the new Catholic Central High School (WCCHS) in Windsor, Ont., none could have been more relieved than its designer, Paul Sapounzi, president and managing principal at +VG Architects. “The story here is that we prevailed through inflation, COVID, supply chain challenges and the Ministry of Education’s changing guidelines,” he says. “We delivered an architecturally ambitious school that met the ministry’s funding model.”

“This is a success story because +VG Architects was able to source material,” said Matthew Rae, Member of Provincial Parliament for Perth-Wellington. “Supply chain is the biggest issue governmentwide, as well as the challenges of inflation. Every quarter, the cost of raw materials goes up. Education is the second-biggest line item after health. Sure, the Ministry of Education is a mass purchaser, but we’re still affected by inflation. We’re going to have to figure out how to get schools built or upgraded in the current environment.”

+VG Architects “figured it out” by applying adroit project management, contract administration and value engineering to the 102,000 square feet, 900-student facility. Built on an 11-acre downtown property between Ouellette Avenue and McDougall Street, the new school site was fraught with challenges. “This is the poster child for building a school on a dirty brownfield site,” says Ed Bourdeau, +VG Architects principal and project manager. Although the Windsor-Essex Catholic District

School Board had undertaken environmental testing prior to construction, the ministry’s regulations subsequently changed, requiring an unbudgeted $500,000 for retesting the soil and moving much of it off site.

An additional $700,000 was required to build a 13-ft. berm-topped concrete barrier along the site’s northern boundary to provide safety and acoustic separation from the adjacent railway tracks. “We advocated for our client and got extra funding from the ministry for these extraordinary costs,” Bourdeau says. The ministry’s original budget figure of $27 million eventually rose to $30 million. After the closing of tender, +VG negotiated with the low bidder for general contractor to reduce their fee by $1 million.

With careful value engineering, +VG found ways to further cut costs. Changing the roof specification from modified bitumen to TPO (thermoplastic olefin) single-ply roofing membrane shaved $150,000 from the final bill; concrete-block veneer was substituted for the originally intended brick, saving $200,000. Inside, the gleaming, polishedconcrete corridor flooring, incorporating pebbles into the cement mix, closely resembles more-costly terrazzo.

Shortly before construction, to compensate for COVID-induced inflation, the ministry changed its standards governing the size of classrooms and other spaces such as the gym and cafeteria. “Their

David Lasker Photography

revised marching orders called for a building with nine per cent less area,” Bourdeau recalls. “But with the inflation we were seeing, we told the client that we’d have to cut more deeply, to 20 per cent.”

During construction, the ministry changed typical classroom loading from 21 to 23 students, resulting in four surplus classrooms. “We didn’t put in ceilings and floors; we just shelled those classrooms, saving more money off the top,” Bourdeau recalls.

+VG’s efficient multi-use design, such as the two-sided open stage sandwiched between the commons and gym, contributed to cost savings. “Rather than building another 1,500-sq.-ft. music room, we triple-used the 1,500-sq.-ft. stage as the media arts, music and theatre arts room; it has acoustically separated partitions.” Similarly, the cosmetology shop doubles as the health sciences classroom.

Another +VG space-saving idea for public schools, eliminating corridors, was implemented here by treating the commons as a town square with the chapel centrally located adjacent to the commons, just as a church adjoins the main square in a town.

Another example of space saving is the ambiguous zone where the lobby intersects the transverse corridor in front of the commons. It

functions as lounge, impromptu collaboration space and cafeteria spillover. “This is very area-efficient because what would have been a corridor now becomes a little-bigger cafeteria, giving space for another 30 or 40 kids in the lobby,” Bourdeau says. Indeed, he sees a trend. “School boards are asking for what they call ‘21st-century learning spaces,’ little breakout areas where they can put their best kids outside the classroom because they’ll work unsupervised. We’ve used that same idea of collaboration space stolen from the corridor on several of our recent school designs.”

With reduced need for bookshelves, now that students do most of their research online, the 2,200-sq.-ft library is half the size of a comparable library in the recent past. Instead, it acts as a collaborative space and resource room where students can work together on projects. Again, the saved space was harvested to enlarge the footprint of the commons.

“Ontario business confidence has dropped to a record low in 2023,” said Rocco Rossi, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, citing inflation and supply chain issues as top sources of pessimism about the economy, in a recent BNN Bloomberg story. In such times, it’s reassuring to see educational projects not just get a passing grade but achieve top marks.

Left Views of the commons and the flanking chapel and two-sided stage, which also opens to the gym. Top The double gymnasium, emphasizing maroon, the school colour, shares its two-sided stage with the commons. Above This informal collaboration space overlooking the commons, one of several in the building that extend the class outside the formal classroom, evokes a treehouse in its intimacy and views through the butt-joined glass.

David Lasker Photography

By Ian Chodikoff

How to Stop Worrying, and Love Love AI

The architecture profession has much to gain from the evolution of artificial intelligence. Ultimately, the future of AI will drive improved collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking in both construction and design.

Artificial intelligence will increase “specific opportunities for architects to leverage data and analysis toward more robust and predictable results. Rather than a threat, maybe this is an opportunity to offer more valuable services to those clients and keep the robots at bay,” writes Phil Bernstein, associate dean at the Yale School of Architecture and author of Machine Learning: Architecture in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. So, what does artificial intelligence (AI) signify for our profession, and how will it impact the creation of buildings and cities?

AI has been part of our lives through algorithms and computer programs for decades. We are already familiar with Facebook, Alexa and Siri. We have AI algorithms to find our partners, suggest Netflix shows to watch or make book and clothing suggestions. But the release of DALL-E and ChatGPT in the fall of 2022 cracked open a new discussion about creativity, the authenticity of thought and the future viability of a profession seemingly constantly in a state of existential crisis. While we envision a typical architectural office to include more computer programmers, those offices will enable junior staff to spend more time managing projects and building relationships with the construction industry than collecting design precedents, optimizing material selection,

or verifying building code compliance with Passive House standards. AI will make for more compelling client presentations and enable designs to quickly develop feasibility studies or energy modelling while liberating the critical skills of more senior practitioners.

Increasingly, architecture offices are incorporating AI-based processes. Global firms like Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) are taking on AI-generated images with vigour where firm principal Patrik Schumacher accepts text-to-image results into his firm’s body of work, noting in a recent roundtable that “Any of what comes out of this, I claim authorship for it in terms of validating, selecting, elaborating,” adding, “For me, it’s always been very similar to verbal-prompting teams, referencing prior projects and ideas and gesticulating with my hands.”

In an ever more litigious world, architects must ensure that AI will not “hallucinate,” a term popularized in 2022 when specific large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT began to create plausible-sounding falsehoods. After all, AI only makes sense of a world based on the data it draws from. Neil Leach points out in his Architecture in the Age of Artificial Intelligence that similar hallucinations can occur when we “Ask any architect what a ‘functionalist’ building looks like, [and] chances are they would describe a white building on pilotis with a flat roof, even though flat roofs are not very functional in most countries because they tend to leak.”

Leach makes clear that architects are conditioned to see the world in a certain way, and this falls into the theory of “predictive perception,” a way of seeing that does not significantly differ from how

artificial neural networks are trained. Leach refers to this phenomenon as “architecturalizations,” a process “where architects tend to ‘architecturalize’ whatever they see and read the world in architectural terms.” This process describes Jørn Utzon’s inspiration for the Sydney Opera House after observing the billowing sails of yachts in the harbour, or architects’ near-clichéd misinterpretations of Gilles Deleuze’s philosophical concept of the “fold.” As Leach ruefully declares, “Whether we understand this conditioned outlook...as a form of ‘controlled hallucination’...or as being constituted through ‘fantasy,’ it is clear that architects see the world not as it is but as they are trained to see it.” So then, should we be afraid of AI if it already processes information a bit too much like an architect?

Automation of Design Progressions

Expect to see all kinds of software innovations triggered by the expansion of AI. Autodesk is now beginning to integrate AI into their software, like Project Dreamcatcher, a generative design platform

mitted for commercial use.” The language here is worth commenting on because the laws surrounding copyright, intellectual property and legal liabilities surrounding AI-generated solutions in architecture still need clarification, even in heavily manipulated imagery.

Ambitious software startups like Xkool are creating new opportunities for less ambitious designers when it comes to writing their AIrelated code, which is becoming simpler to achieve. Architecture offices are beginning to develop their proprietary plug-ins using programs like Grasshopper or Rhino to help them measure building performance criteria. Or they can also use Rhinovault as an AI-like algorithmic design technique. Ameba is yet another program using a Rhino-Grasshopper platform which can apply different loading and boundary conditions to an initial design, then evolve into various shapes to achieve structurally efficient organic forms.

But software tools are just that: tools. It’s never the technology but how humans use it. We’ve witnessed this before when CAD replaced drafting boards, and BIM began to shift how we reconceptualize the construction process.

The world of construction is undoubtedly changing too. Torontobased Promise Robotics is using AI to advance robotic fabrication technologies and improve the cost and efficiency of building construction. It’s adopting dumb robotics from the automotive sector with additional sensors and cameras to engage in dynamic construction capabilities while attracting financial support from the federal government and venture capitalists interested in developing product and service innovations across the construction sector.

where designers can input performance criteria, cost restrictions, and other constraints. Adobe PhotoShop’s content-aware fill is no longer sufficient for market demands, and it is beta-testing its AI-generated fill powered by Adobe Firefly to insert more creative backgrounds into designers’ image files. According to Adobe’s website, it is “a family of generative Al models designed to be safe for commercial use and trained on Adobe Stock imagery, openly licensed work, and public domain content where the copyright has expired. Content generated by Adobe Firefly in the Photoshop (beta) app is not per-

In broader technology-based sectors like ClimateTech, GreenTech, and ConTech, incubators across the country like Foresight Canada and MaRS — and indeed worldwide — are helping entrepreneurs adopt AI to make better buildings faster and more efficient. Architects should be well-advised to capture these human and financial capital investments.

Another area of AI influence is in the evolution of digital twins, which continue to gain popularity on both the level of an individual building or a city. A digital twin effectively allows a performance simulator to

The laws surrounding copyright, intellectual property and legal liabilities surrounding AI-generated solutions in architecture still need clarification, even in heavily manipulated imagery.

Opposite Using Epic Games Unreal Engine 5, Squint/Opera created a finely detailed immersive 3D replica of the Delancey innovation campus in East London, U.K. which is experienced online in real-time. Called Here East, the platform allows potential tenants, investors and communities to experience the virtual Digital Twin campus without leaving their computers.

occur and is constantly being updated in real-time using sensors in building columns, roads, or objects connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) to anticipate everything from pothole repairs to flooding. To this end, construction and construction-related companies like Pillar have been pushing for designers to anticipate the need to install sensors in their buildings to help collect data. Their investors include insurance companies wanting buildings to be more intelligent and dialled into better generative design decisions while anticipating more robust AI-related monitoring.

Found in Translation

We should consider AI as a continuum of how we are already conceptualizing our buildings. Terence Tourangeau, director of Digital Practice at SvN Architects + Planners, graduated from Carleton University roughly 15 years ago, where collecting precedents was not part of his design pedagogy. In contrast, other architecture schools

Mark Cichy, principal and director of Design Technology at HOK in Toronto, is working on a lot of internal testing at his firm to fully grasp just how abrupt and significant a change AI will bring to the practice of architecture. He’s optimistic about the potential for AI to help senior practitioners and junior architects alike. Cichy is also very much aware of how intellectual property developed within a single office might get lost or absorbed into the LLM-based world of AI. He also doesn’t see how loading an HOK-produced sketch into a trained

used precedent study as a core teaching tool. In most offices today, collecting precedents for a client presentation is standard practice where the junior staffer assembles images of projects, layouts or materials from built work around the world. AI could instantly achieve this process, drawing from millions of images online. However, “An image of a precedent is never as good as having experienced a space that you’ve kept in your memory bank,” says Tourangeau, adding, “Cobbling together images creates a collage that can miss a lot of variables. But AI lets you become the editor.” AI design tools can quicken the design process, notes Tourangeau, creating elements for your renderings like trees or usable silhouettes of people.

When it comes to those fantastic and instantly created renderings from Midjourney or DALL-E, let’s consider the potential falsehoods and manipulations of the rendered image. Many firms can produce photorealistic renders in-house, while others gladly farm out the job to specialized renderers living in other time zones. We are already creating imagery using text prompts through frustrating back-andforth emails with contract renderers attempting to translate design intentions. How is this process dramatically different than prompting an AI-fuelled image generator? To this point, technology and design are about translation. Tourangeau cites his old mentor and teacher, Marco Frascari, who reminded him, “The best translators are not bilingual but bi-cultural where the ideas go beyond language.” We can similarly include architectural photography in our toolbox, where a project’s merit is either gained or lost in translation by visually narrating (i.e., marketing) its purpose to the outside world.

AI model is significantly different in terms of previous design processes, only much faster than manual drawing, preparing concept boards or precedent decks. “It will be faster, like 50 times faster and will create new variables and design relationships. This is one of those prolific moments in history,” says Cichy. “We have 25 to 30 years before AI is fully autonomous, but the creatives stand to gain the most. And the older practitioners have the experience to make them the smartest and most capable to tweak the process.”

Not to be dismissive of individual design talent, but most firms can produce relatively good designs. While AI might help lift all boats regarding design acumen, the true winners will be the firms that manage design well. And this includes finding a better way to work in groups. After all, Cichy notes, “People hang around for a long time. Critical thought and understanding are cornerstones of what we do.”

Thinkers Need Apply

To this end, how will architectural schools — or universities in general — respond to the impacts of AI over time. Architectural theory taught in university is essential but needs to teach us how to build. Meanwhile, colleges are teaching increasingly automated technology and need more critical assessment of its applications. Cichy suspects our traditional educational models will require rethinking and reverse-engineering for the current university-college symbiotic relationship to adapt to the changes ahead. What might change in the future for architecture practice? You will have one architect on a

Gathering precedents efficiently and quickly will help a junior designer to build more essential skills, like building trusted relationships with contractors and consultants.

project team with a computer programmer, a game developer, engineers and an architectural technologist. In essence, he sees how this transformation has already begun.

Beyond thinking about seductive renderings, the future of AI will undoubtedly assist us in better decision-making when designing complex buildings. Understanding all the complex variables that go into architecture will make us better understand the drivers of affordable housing, for example, which can look at financial drivers in addition to site constraints. This belief is what Azam Khan, founder and CEO of Trax, calls “systems thinking.” In a recent paper, Khan writes, “Just as architects who begin to adopt parametric design software tools begin to think parametrically, those who adopt systems modelling tools will ideally begin to think holistically in terms of systems and sub-systems and reinforcing and balancing processes.”

Khan is a computer scientist leading the development of Trax, a cloud-based building code and standards platform with enough flexibility to input building codes into an easy-to-use compliance platform cross-referenced with accessibility, sustainability and other guidelines like Passive House, BOMA, Toronto Green Standards or the BC Step Code. Trax has already inputted mandatory building codes across Canada and is now in the process of uploading the voluntary codes often related to sustainability. Most of its current customer base comprises building code officials often overwhelmed by the volume, complexity and even contradictory nature of building codes. They also include consulting as part of its business, working with clients like the University of Southern California on building a digital twin to run and automate their building compliance reporting.

Trax realizes the power of linking OpenAI to help with queries and ensure accuracy, realizing that translating natural language to output accurate answers is an evolving challenge. With room for improvement regarding AI-generated responses, at least the company software’s links to building codes and their amendments are correct. Trax

has written automation scripts and machine-learning tools to help access specific building code sections, automate unit conversions for users, or produce responses in English, French and parametric-ready versions. Increasingly combining statistical and natural language computational processing, Trax and other companies are achieving easy-to-use results that were unrealizable just a few years ago. While building code compliance is a complex challenge to resolve, with so many permutations such as programmatic adjacencies or materiality configurations, it represents the kinds of industry-wide problems that urgently need to be addressed: the requirement to think holistically. As one of Khan’s building official customers noted, he doesn’t need a BIM model, just a compliance one. Eventually, services like Trax will facilitate and expedite the decision-making processes supporting every building, not just from a code perspective but a sustainability or accessibility one. Trax is already planning to incorporate ANSI standards and life-cycle costing, further building its appeal to a widening customer base.

In its relative infancy, AI is a crude tool in the design profession. Its results are often seemingly random, revealing its sensitivities and unexpected outcomes. But we’re just beginning a significant upheaval in designing and building tomorrow’s cities. Architects should be excited as the evolution of AI will give us more opportunities to collaborate and invent in ever-more dynamic and innovative ways, spending more time strengthening our relationships with clients, consultants and contractors. This revolution is no hallucination.

Ian Chodikoff is an architect currently based in Toronto.

The Best Side Hustles Are Driven by Passion

The time is right and tools are available to turn passion projects into primary income streams.

By Kat Velez-O’Neill

In 2023, side hustles are like a must-have trending accessory: it seems like everybody has one, or wants one, these days. The good news is that the field is not as crowded as it may seem on Instagram and Pinterest. In fact, there has never been a better time to have a side hustle. Take it from me, someone who has been “hustling” since she can remember.

I’m a mom of three young boys, which is enough on most days. I also coach skating and teach an interior design class at my local college on top of my full-time job at a hospitality investment company. My side hustle is running the interior design side of 2LS Design Inc., a full service architectural and interior design firm that my husband, Cameron O’Neill, started and I jumped on board during my maternity leave in 2018.

Today, my side hustle has never felt more successful and more essential. I strongly believe that this success is because the best side hustles are driven by passion, mine being helping people create homes and spaces they love.

Plus, for many side hustlers today, they make it work because they must. In today’s fast-paced world, where financial challenges loom large, more and more Canadians like me are turning to side hustles to supplement their income and pursue their passions. I know I’m not alone in my hustle, and not just because I see it everywhere on social media. Findings from a recent GoDaddy survey prove side hustles are alive and well and have emerged as a vital source of additional income for many, particularly in the design industry. For myself, this path began as a passion project, a common starting point

for over one-third of entrepreneurs venturing into the world of side hustles. The pursuit of one’s passion can be a powerful catalyst, leading to creative ideas and innovative business ventures.

By investing time and effort in their side hustle, designers not only achieve financial stability but also experience the fulfillment of creating something they truly love. Plus, the starting costs and time commitment are often feasible for many. The GoDaddy survey found that starting costs were under $1,000 overall, and the majority spend under 10 hours a week on their side hustle, leaving time for other life commitments and priorities.

Use your passion as your fuel

A good starting point for a side hustle is your passion. Interior design has long been a passion of my own, and I knew that it would be a good basis for a business and be the fuel I needed to push forward with my side hustle goals. I love interior design because I get to do a bit of everything. I’m an extremely outgoing and social person, but I also love sitting at my desk researching and designing.

It’s important to think about what you enjoy, what you’re good at, and how this can work toward a successful side hustle that will keep you inspired. We — particularly women — tend to underestimate ourselves when, in fact, we are more skilled and creative than we give ourselves credit for. I have seen so many entrepreneurs go farther with their passion than they ever thought they would.

This spread 43 Elizabeth Grove was a full-scope architectural and interior design project that took a 1970s bungalow side split and converted it to a modern, 2,500-sq.-ft. side split with vast open concept interior spaces and a functional entertaining space. The interior focuses on clean lines with a mod farmhouse flair, and the kitchen design intent was to make it appear as if the home was built around it; the millwork and drywall was all designed to sit completely flush and integrated.

Every side hustle needs a website

Just because a business is a “side hustle” doesn’t make it any less worthy of the building blocks of any business, side or not.

Key to the side hustle game today is online presence, and I don’t just mean Instagram and TikTok, which are of course valuable tools in the era of social media and e-commerce. But a good website is essential in its own unique ways: it is resistant to social media trends and fads and will remain core to good business even as the app of the moment changes.

A website may seem more daunting than your average click-and-go social media app, but website management today is easier than ever. Just five years ago, if you told me that I would be designing, launching, and managing a website I would have told you that you were mistaking me for someone more tech savvy.

I was initially intimidated by the thought of building a website for my side hustle. After all, I know interior design, not web design. But with a website builder, I feel like my tech-savvy alter ego. In fact, I recently launched architecture and design consultations through the 2LS Design website, and plan to launch an online storefront soon to sell interior staging, décor pieces and accessories to make putting final touches on your space more easily accessible.

The proof is in the stats: 11 per cent of side hustlers like me said they set their website up in a day while 13 per cent boasted that it took them less than four hours to launch their website from scratch, according to the GoDaddy survey.

Turning the ‘side’ into the centre

For me, having a side hustle isn’t the end goal. Like most Canadian entrepreneurs, I hope to turn my side hustle into my full-time hustle. Indeed, more than 70 per cent of entrepreneurs surveyed have similar goals of the side becoming centre. In this way, it is a means to an end. As that end materializes and 2LS Design is no longer a side gig, I know that I will be grateful for the time that I committed to setting the side hustle up for success.

What I will be most grateful for is the trust that I put in myself, in knowing that I have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Remember: you have more skills and creativity than you think. Put yourself out there and you might surprise yourself with how far it’ll take you.

Kat Velez-O’Neill is the co-owner of 2LS Design, a full-service architectural and interior design firm based in Nobleton, Ontario.

las fir that gradually transitions into water jet aluminum and con crete, culminating in heat-bent frosted acrylic at the pinnacle.

pand, traversing a ceiling adorned with a felt lining, elegantly em bracing LinkedIn’s iconic corporate blue hue.