Canadian Interiors September October 2019

CDN $8.95 september october 2019

That Human Touch Connecting with

people through retail

The best in new office products

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Designed to facilitate conversation, Heartbeat suggests sharing a “heart to heart� with your fellow human being.

heartbeat Design: Karim Rashid

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Say hi to Clip A chair that exemplifies choice.

From base and finish options to an abundance of color combinations, its expressive canvas fits every designer’s needs.

studiotk.com

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09/102019 Features

31 SHOW ME Toronto’s contract furniture displays are designed for designers – and their clients. By Leslie C. Smith

37 RAISE A GLASS Two retail establishments prove there is such a thing as spirited liquor store design. By Martha Uniacke Breen

40 WET YOUR WISTLE Within a current landscape that has mushroomed to nearly

a thousand microbreweries nationally, having a unique space is essential to attracting beer lovers in a competitive market. By Peter Sobchak

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THAT’S GROW BIZ Cannabis users rejoiced when legalization came into effect, but designers of cannabis retail spaces aren’t exactly feeling the high. By Peter Sobchak

Regulars

15 CAUGHT OUR EYE 19 THE GOODS Minimalist, modular and malleable designs are top of mind in today’s office furniture market. 22 SEEN Highlights and insights from NeoCon in Chicago; and MIFF in Kuala Lampur. 50 SCENE 54 OVER & OUT Unitfive’s Cherry Blossom Sculpture Shimmers at Kips Bay Decorator Show Home.

COVER – Railway artifacts and old maps of the Junction are integrated into the interior of Junction Craft Brewery

by Plant Architect. Photo by Steven Evans.

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Next time in

The Home Issue

The people, projects and products that push home experiences to the next level!

Mackage Montréal Burdifilek re-examines every touchpoint in the development of this outerwear brand’s first freestanding flagship store.

Ryerson University Centre for Urban Innovation Moriyama & Teshima Architects create a new facility where research labs, fabrication, incubation, assembly and commercial spaces come together.

ErinoakKids Designers from Stantec discuss how to inject whimsical touches into everyday design features.

Buffo Dialog delivers a new restaurant for the Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality group in Calgary’s Saks Fifth Avenue.

www.canadianinteriors.com

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9/10 2019 CANADIAN INTERIORS

September| October 2019 / V56 #5

Senior Publisher

Martin Spreer

416-441-2085 x108 Editor in Chief

Peter Sobchak Art Director

Roy Gaiot Design Shown: Flux™ Sound Absorption w/LED Ceiling Tiles ©2019 modularArts, Inc. U.S. Patent 9,175,473

Contributing Editors

David Lasker, Rhys Phillips, Leslie C. Smith Contributors

Martha Uniacke Breen, Shannon Moore Online Editor

Christiane Beya Customer Service / Production

Laura Moffatt

416-441-2085 x104 Circulation Manager

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

Alex Papanou

Design Shown: Scatter™ Sound Diffusion Ceiling Tiles ©2019 modularArts, Inc. U.S. Patent 9,175,473

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Canadian Interiors magazine is published by iQ Business Media Inc. 101 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 302 Toronto ON M3B 1Z3 Telephone 416-441-2085 e-mail: info@canadianinteriors.com website: www.canadianinteriors.com Canadian Interiors publishes six issues, plus a source guide, per year. Printed in Canada. The content of this publication is the property of Canadian Interiors and cannot be reproduced without permission from the publisher.

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Please send payment to: Canadian Interiors, 101 Duncan Mill Road, Suite 302 Toronto ON M3B 1Z3 or order online www.canadianinteriors.com For subscription and back issues inquiries please call 416-441-2085 x104 e-mail: circulation@canadianinteriors.com, or go to our website at: www.canadianinteriors.com Canadian Interiors is indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index by Micromedia ProQuest Company, Toronto (www.micromedia.com) and National Archive Publishing Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan (www.napubco.com).

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ISSN 1923-3329 (Online), ISSN 0008-3887 (Print) H.S.T. # 80456 2965 RT0001

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inside

Shop On

Retail sector analysts are a skittish bunch. When ripples appear on the horizon they suddenly spout apocalyptic prognostications.

Yes, a number of high profile bankruptcies and closures such as Sears and Target left big holes to fill, especially in mall formats; and yes, e-commerce has significantly changed the retail landscape.

But looking out our windows we’re not seeing a pock-marked terrain of smoking craters reminiscent of WWI footage.

What we are seeing is more retailers and shopping centres reinventing their spaces into “destination” and “convenience” type retail. “Food halls in particular have become a major draw for shopping centres, driving foot traffic and boosting overall mall productivity,” says CBRE’s 2019 Canadian Retail Mid-Year Report.

“Not exclusively an urban trend, the addition of this restaurant format has become a popular option to backfill vacant space and turned several centres into destinations. Expect this trend to continue as landlords look to inject more experience-based concepts that diversify their centres’ tenant mix as traditional fashion retailers continue to slow down.”

Which is where designers need to step in. According to Altus Group in a new blog post, a retail store is supposed to “push the product branding to the customer and offer them a unique and immersive experience, a trend which is transforming several shopping centres and retail stores and moving them to integrate these types of experiences into their spaces.” And who do you think retail stores turn to when they want to do that? “Going forward, owners and tenants are going to need more effective and collaborative partnerships to create strategies to attract and retain customers,” says Altus Group.

Read: work with designers. As we see in this issue, some segments of the retail world are inherently experiential – such as drinking and smoking weed – while others – like the office furniture sector – may not seem so on the surface, yet buyers still want an “experience.”

The numbers are solid for this sector, with retail sales in Canada experiencing strong growth in the past decade. According to Statistics Canada, unadjusted retail sales in Canada was worth $605 billion in 2018, up 2.7 per cent from 2017. Everyone just needs to stop holding their breath while they wait for assumed dust to settle. “Sprinkle in the adoption of digital and technological advancements,” says Altus Group, “and we see this sector entering a new evolutionary phase and gaining new heights, rather than becoming a disappearing act.”

Peter Sobchak

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psobchak@canadianinteriors.com

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Extraordinary moments happen on ordinary days.

Let’s set the stage for the extraordinary to happen every day.

Bulthaup Toronto Inc. 280 King Street East Toronto ON M5A 1K7 phone +1 416 361 9005 toronto.bulthaup.com

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caught our eye

Marc-Antoine Hallé, Icône

Up on the Roof This summer, building on the success of last year, the International Garden Festival in collaboration with the Musée de la civilisation in Québec City renewed the Roof Line Garden installation by Buffalo, New York-based Canadian artists Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster on the Museum’s roof terrace. Roof Line Garden II itself is a reinterpretation of Line Garden, which has been repeatedly installed at the Reford Gardens in Grand-Métis since 2014. This year, the artists were inspired by the colour contrasts of poisonous frogs hiding in plant foliage and the theme of natural science.

Made of barricade tape, the installation’s colours are linked to Venenum: A Poisonous World and Curiosities of the Natural World, the two main exhibitions at the Museum.

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caught our eye

Roped In Given a modest budget with which to renovate a 21,500-sq.-ft. office space for a robotics start-up firm, Calgary-based Modern Office of Design + Architecture wanted to use off-the-shelf materials, and became enamoured with the possibilities of simple polyester rope, not just for the tactile qualities but also the loose parabolic forms created when hung. A series of pavilions were created using a parametric script that serve different collaborative spaces: a board room, a café, meeting rooms and game rooms.

Meet by the Clock New York-based architecture and design studio Rockwell Group has put the finishing touches on renovations of the Fairmont Royal York (formerly the Royal York) in downtown Toronto, originally designed by Ross and Macdonald (with Sproatt and Rolph) in 1929. Given the hotel’s connection to the railway and Toronto’s Union Station, Rockwell Group took material, form, and detail cues from train cars and railroads, embracing and highlighting the building’s rich patina while adding a contemporary layer to the hotel restaurant, meeting and event rooms and public spaces like the lobby clock.

CANADIAN INTERIORS 9/10 2019

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the goods 1 Framery 2Q | Framery Acoustics A well-known player in the privacy booths and collaborative pods game, Framery unveiled enhancements to its Framery Q model. The energy efficient 2Q is bigger, accommodating four to six people, and is available in furnished or unfurnished options. Wheelchair accessible and soundproof, the 2Q pod is made from sustainably-sourced materials. www.frameryacoustics.com

The Right Fit

2 Intra 295 Range | Wilkhahn German manufacturer Wilkhahn has partnered with Phoenix Design to develop a dynamic office chair for lounging, conference rooms or personal workspaces. The Intra 295 Range has a special motion-stimulating mechanism that adjusts the chair according to the weight of the user. The upholstered seat and backrest pair well with the die-cast aluminum base, and are fully customizable with Wilkhahn’s own fabric and leather collection. www.wilkhahn.com

By Shannon Moore

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3 DNA | Boss Design Constructed using both robotic welding technology and traditional foam techniques, the new DNA lounge chair is cited as the company’s most accomplished upholstery project to date. The chair is available with wooden or metal legs, or with a full base. With multiple finishes and fabric options, including two-toned leather and upholstery, users can create their own unique DNA.

Minimalist, modular and malleable designs are top of mind in today’s office furniture market.

www.bossdesign.com

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4 Bene Box | Teknion Teknion has teamed up with European furnishings company Bene to launch the Bene Box, a collection of minimalist building blocks meant to support flexibility in the office space. Made entirely of pine plywood, the 360x360x381 mm blocks can be easily moved and stacked to create modular stools, benches, desks, tables, lecterns and shelving units. Seating pads, storage slots and carrying handles can also be added. www.teknion.com

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the goods 1 Portus Lounge Collection | ICF Group Three simple elements, five separate products. The Portus Lounge Collection reconfigures the same sculptural bench, ergonomic cushion and shapely back in different ways to bring individual yet complementary seating options for reception areas and meeting rooms. The collection includes a long bench, two- or three-seat sofa, and a low- or highback chair, all available in different fabrics and colours. www.icfsource.com

2 Lagunitas Focus Nook | Coalesse Toan Nguyen and Coalesse have designed a single-user office nook for focused work sessions. More stylish than your standard cubicle, the nooks have high screens in knit or fabric upholstery, with veneer or laminate work surfaces and built-in power modules.

These nooks are perfect on their own, or are easily combined to establish multiple defined stations. www.coalesse.com

3 Biometric Secured Drawer | Diamond Cabinets With technology from Master Lock, these new self-locking drawers are equipped with sensor block that can store up to 100 fingerprints which are used to unlock and access what’s stored safely inside. Great for individual workstations, or for common areas in need of shared filing, they are available in three sizes and with an optional back-up manual key lock.

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4 Grid | Established & Sons A raw shell forms the basis for this modular furniture system designed by heavyweights Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. Sofas, shelves, side tables, desks and screens can be integrated into endless configurations to create a multifunctional meeting space. The Grid is available as an L-shaped, U-shaped, or straight partition module, in different colours, upholstery options and a powder-coated steel frame. www.establishedandsons.com

5 Recharge | Allsteel Created in partner-­ ship with designer Chris Adamick, this new modular furniture collection provides a feeling of enclosure and privacy in otherwise open environments. The benches, seats, poufs and tables can be arranged into custom 29-inch modules. The Recharge kit features power capabilities, concealed wiring and optional privacy screens made from 3D printed fabric. www.allsteeloffice.com

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Fast Installation On average, a two-person team can install 2,000 – 2,500 ft² of Gerflor GTI or Attraction tiles per 8 hours of installation.

Fast Flooring Renovation in a Snap No need to comprise on style and durability for your next flooring renovation. Gerflor’s patented GTI and Attraction tiles can resist the toughest commercial and retail traffic, and install over existing subfloors, for quick renovations without having to close the premises. Renovations can be done after hours which means no loss of productivity and revenue. Discover our newest collections inspired by concrete and terrazo looks at www.gerflorcanada.com.

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seen Compiled by Peter Sobchak

NeoCon turned 51, and this commercial interiors industry diva is hitting middleage at full stride.

Wittefini

Taking Care of Business

Greeting attendees with sangfroid evocative of a Kennedy scion lounging in the Hamptons, the NeoCon Plaza was an experiential outdoor environment designed by Gensler Chicago in collaboration with Forward Fruit Branded Environments and outfitted by Haworth, Sunbrella Contract and Econyl by Aquafil. An undeniable hit, giving the throngs a place to relax, recharge and enjoy the beautiful Chicago June weather, it was also an example of the movement of incorporating the outdoors into the workplace.

Pax Collection | Integra This range of chairs, settees, sofas, tables and poufs reflects the trend toward residentially inspired products intended for corporate, education or healthcare environments.

The chair, for example, is defined by a subtly rounded seat back, sleek arms and legs that are nested on the outside of the arm. Intentionally set forward from the seat’s back, the hard maple wood legs can come partially enclosed with a powder coated steel sleeve. www.integraseating.com

CANADIAN INTERIORS 9/10 2019

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Hub/Bub | Three H Designed through a very artisanal, fashion-forward lens, these pieces have a solid sculptural feel to them. Hub is an asymmetrical side table, using parabolic curves to produce an organic shape and offset double thick and thin legs to allow for easy movement towards and under sofas. Bub is an indoor stool made of selected solid oak, stained in a matte or clear finish with optional paint colours. www.three-h.com

Summa | Humanscale Designed in collaboration with Gensler, this is Humanscale’s first executive furniture product for today’s C-Suite leaders.

A sleek supportive chair with height-adjustment lever sculpted into the seat, like all Humanscale chairs, recline tension instantly accommodates each sitter by automatically adjusting to their weight. But hold off on getting your office manager to click “Order now,” since it won’t be available until Q4. www.humanscale.com

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Xorel Artform Baffles | Carnegie These high-performance acoustic panels rain down design statements from above. Instead of being limited to monolithic materials or colours, these baffles are fully upholstered and offer the freedom to design unique compositions. Available in five shapes including Circle, Hex, Diamond, and the new Flip and Ripple, all these shapes are also available as wall panels, to enable a seamless look from walls to ceilings. www.carnegiefabrics.com

iD Mixonomi | Tarkett Inspired by the hexagon, the Red Dot Award winning iD Mixonomi LVT free-interprets shapes and colours from tender pastels to deep jewel tones to achieve spatial harmonies. Intended for hospitality, retail, higher education and corporate environments, the palette is inspired by global travel, and comes in eight graphic shapes and three mini-shapes that can be mixed and matched in a variety of layouts. www.tarkett.com

FourLikes | Hightower Designed by Anders Nørgaard of Scandinavian-based Four Design, this seating/working modules family is based on cubes, with pieces styled to create organic shapes and ideally envisioned in larger seating arrangements that activate underused areas. A variety of accessories provide acoustic and visual privacy. www.hightoweraccess.com

Glow | Chilewich The New York-based woven fabric outfit is climbing the walls – literally, and for the first time. Their debut printed wall textile is named for its translucent base material, and features a direct print ombré pattern striking in both tone and scale. Made using TerraStrand, this extruded yarn has a polyester core encased in phthalate-free vinyl and contains a minimum of 18 per cent renewable vegetable content. www.chilewichcontract.com

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Hocus Collection | Mannington Commercial Designed in collaboration with Larry Bell, a minimalist artist whose 60-year career focuses primarily on the interaction between light and surfaces, this modular carpet collection brings to the floor what Bell’s large Standing Walls installations of glass panels did for space: reveal complex shapes of transparency, reflectivity and colour that change as the observer walks through or around them. www.manningtoncommercial.com

Look Both Ways | Interface Created by vice president of Product Design Kari Pei and her team, this flooring system in four carpet tile and four LVT designs reimagines concrete textures and terrazzo aesthetics, achieving layered patterns on a smooth surface. It includes both hard surface and soft materials while balancing mineral-based colours with vibrant hues. www.interface.com

Heartbeat | Nienkämper If one look at this piece of sculpture masquerading as a sofa doesn’t immediately scream Karim Rashid, you must be new. Ostensibly addressing what he calls “the social alienation that contract design can impose on public spaces,” Rashid designed Heartbeat “as a pulsating, alive respite to stagnation.” Totally reconfigurable and scalable, Heartbeat’s three elements (Straight, Concave, and Convex) keep people from being seated back to back. www.nienkamper.com

Mantra | Allseating “Soft launching” this executive chair at NeoCon implies changes may still come, to which we say “no!” It’s great the way it is. Conceptualized by in-house industrial designer Nita Chakravarty, the chair’s dominant feature is a “mid-century infinite loop” (their words) that connects the seat, back and arms and is available in solid oak or polished aluminum. Mechanical considerations like adjustable back heights, upholstered inlays and a knee-tilt mechanism come standard. www.allseating.com CANADIAN INTERIORS 9/10 2019

Soft Work | Vita London-based Barber & Osgerby are all in on the idea that the sofa is the new desk: and why not? Showrooms at NeoCon are bursting with products that bring the home to the office and vice versa. This modular system packs table surfaces, power outlets, wireless charging stations, partition panels and practically the kitchen sink into a seating platform you may, or may not, want to work at. www.vitra.com

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Inscape Inspired by today.

Built for tomorrow.

www.myinscape.com/rockit

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Rover collection | Merryfair Rover is the tool that will cross boundaries of “immobile” classrooms, enabling educators to provide a modern and effective arena for learning. Designed to be mobile and adaptable in limited spaces, the injectionmoulded polypropylene chair and seats shells are fully recyclable, and can be paired with square or tripod bases and two different pad sizes. www.merryfair.com

Mogoo collection | Merryfair A semi-sitting stool specially designed to promote dynamic and active seating. The support surface and rounded base allows the user to tilt and swivel in all directions. Designed for spaces such as classrooms, studios and waiting areas, Mogoo users range from kids to fun-loving adults, with four different sizes. The structure is available in pure white and grey, with cushion colours in many different combinations. www.merryfair.com

By Enrico G. Cleva & Sara Viarengo Cleva

The Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) turned 25 years old in 2019, and the industry’s largest marketplace in Southeast Asia continues to bring international buyers and designers furniture of excellent quality and competitive pricing from a talented and growing local design scene.

Bian sofa | Aerey “Bian,” which means “weave” in Chinese, is made of merpauh, a Malaysian FSC-certified forest hardwood, and paired with rattan, a material designer Dan Chua wants to reintroduce into contemporary spaces.

At MIFF an interesting mix of locally manufactured and designed pieces, created by Malaysian emerging talents, appear alongside products made by Malaysian and internationally established companies interested in growing their export to a consistent global buyer community who visits the show yearly. And this edition showed real growth in that area: not only are sales over $1 billion for the first time, with an international buyers increase of four per cent, but the quality and design of the products are getting better year by year.

Due to fantastic Malaysian hospitality, MIFF is not only a show, it is an experience. Buyers love this event as they are driven through two venues and multiple events by an outstanding organization, enriched in the last two years by the addition of Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC), a modern and comfortable new venue, this year at full capacity.

Lun | Aerey A coffee table in dark wood with a circular rattan inlay designed by Dan Chua, the simple, unembellished rounded form allowed the beautiful wood grain and rattan weaving pattern to stand out, giving a Malaysian colonial taste to a piece of contemporary furniture.

CANADIAN INTERIORS 9/10 2019

MIFF: an Asian design experience

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For the second year, a group of Canadian interior designers led by IDC were invited as guest buyers to visit the show and source new products. The mission was a success and will be surely replicated in 2020 for the third time, to build a durable business exchange between the two countries.•

BSCL collection: Peobble | Basicology Designed to give a soft touch to a modern urban interior with their relaxed shape and inspired by nature, the smooth pebble-like design by Zi Wei exudes a sense of soothing comfort. The lounge chairs are soft yet well-defined thanks to the quality of the foam material. https://basicology.wixsite.com/basicologymy

Kid2Youth ergo workstation | TCT Nanotec A professional office for kids could be frightening: youngsters do not work! But they often have to sit: be for creative drawing or simply doing their homework. Those activities deserve good seating.

Taiwanese company Kid2Youth has over 30 years of experience in the field of kid’s ergonomic furniture, and this set protects “working” kids from sideeffects associated with long sitting and incorrect postures. www.kid2youth.com.tw

Laborra collection | Oasis Designed by Sujak Hasbollah, this agile modular furniture fits into any environment and supports various kind of activities with integrated functions such as projector box, power box as well as media wall for better data sharing. www.oasis.com.my

Daybed | Kian Swee Seng Sarah Moi created this daybed with a Scandinavian-inspired minimalist urban living space in mind, where spaces are limited and furniture has to be smart and flexible. A platinum winner in the Household Furniture category at MIFF, the simple shape lets the materials and colours take center stage with wood being the main actor. www.kiansweeseng.com

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Mix&Match collection | Pattern Banyak by Element Furniture Made of matte black powder-coated SS frame and PU wicker and suitable for outdoor use, this series, designed by Wen Yee Kok, encourages users to shuffle components around and create their own clusters of furniture settings.

By being skeletal and solid, polished and textured, opaque and transparent, monochromatic and vibrant, the furniture showcases the juxtaposition of traditional Southeast Asian craft. www.elementfurniture.net

HabituĂŠ collection: Canopy Lounge Seating | Oasis This modular sofa allows you to choose your own privacy level by selecting the number of screens to be placed on the seating. Designed by Jasper Jian Lee and b.o.design, this simple yet stylish lounge seating solution allows various configurations or island sizing for group discussion. www.oasis.com.my

Rica Rejuvenate & Rica Swivel | Oasis Rica Rejuvenate and Rica Swivel aim to provide a respite from a busy and stressful office environment. Being alone in the semi-private pod could mean inner peace and getting some light tasks done. Rica Rejuvenate is wellintegrated with USD charger supply, a writing surface and storage, as well as lighting and power. Oasis was a Platinum award winner for the Office Furniture category at MIFF. www.oasis.com.my

HabituĂŠ collection: Caveman Private Pod | Oasis Designed by Jasper Jian Lee and b.o.design, this sculptural pod supports various private activities while also commanding attention in the office. www.oasis.com.my

CANADIAN INTERIORS 9/10 2019

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Ximu collection: Pango Swing | IDT The Pango swing has a soft seat cushion that helps create a comfortable sitting position, and the natural colour of the rope and the wood beam are typical for a traditional hammock. www.idt.my

Ximu collection: Somerset Lounge Chair | IDT Made with rattan and a curved metal frame, this light and stylish lounge is suited for both indoor and outdoor use. The shape and loose weave allow for good air flow, making it comfortable even in a very hot weather. www.idt.my

Ximu collection: Aloha Lounge Chair | IDT An attractive fishbone pattern and elegant combination of natural materials representative of traditional Malaysian weaving, this lounge chair has an authentic look that is also modern thanks to its light and open structure that can be easily used indoors and out. www.idt.my

Anya collection | Basicology This natural rattan collection derives its name from the Malay word “anyaman” which means weaving.

Inspired by the Malaysian traditional lifestyle where people are accustomed to using straw mats in their daily lives, Anya is handcrafted in Kuala Lumpur. https://basicology.wixsite.com/basicologymy

Tulip Stool | Chair Meister This stool features a patented wave tilt spring system that allows for a 360° movement with minimal effort while maintaining stability. With its playful shape and colours, it fits well in a workplace, school or home environment.

The curved seat cushion adapts itself to the user’s body. Made in Korea, it will soon be available on international markets. www.chairmeister.com

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Steve Tsai

Show Me

Above Inscape’s flagship showroom and engagement centre includes a private break/meditation room called the Jewel Box and wrapped in an ever-changing dichroic glass film.

Toronto’s contract furniture displays are designed for designers – and their clients

By Leslie C. Smith

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Above Biophilic elements were incorporated throughout the showroom, including natural daylight and views, natural analogues such as wood and stone, and the colour of as well as actual flora.

universal principles that underlie great design. Their winning trifecta is “human performance, organizational performance and facility.”

Call them “client engagement centres” — it’s much more to the point than mere “showrooms.” The three major contract furniture display spaces we toured in downtown Toronto are in accord with this, and just about every other office design direction today. All three agree that the primary purpose of their centres is experiential, visually demonstrating concepts to the clients of their clients, the designers.

Think of it like a retailer who, rather than simply hanging items on a rack, dresses forms in suits with coordinating furnishings to give the viewer the full effect.

At Haworth’s recently reno’d 13,000-sq.-ft. client engagement studio, Canadian regional director Yoel Berznoger says this is another reason why such studios dot their “showrooms” with real live employees.

Clients can get an up-close-and-personal idea of how people interact in various office settings. It works so well that customers occasionally decide they want to buy an entire grouping, just as presented.

Like the other firms we visited, Haworth prides itself on its workplace studies, which involve constantly assessing future work trends and adjusting their product accordingly. More than simple trendwatching though, says Berznoger, his 60-year-old, U.S.-based company sees what they do as a continual refinement centred on the CANADIAN INTERIORS 9/10 2019

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That versatility extends to many of Haworth’s office furnishings and settings. But prevailing over these individualized things is the familyowned company’s brand image of warmth and comfort that happens

Steve Tsai

Haworth’s new show space walks that talk. Reformatted for greater collection visibility and improved navigation sightlines, it features a stunning open staircase connecting its main ground floor to a second storey. Full glass walls bring the city’s bustling ebb and flow to eye level while eschewing the attendant noise and fumes. The brain takes this all in upon entry. What it doesn’t see right away is the reception desk, because that has been shifted back to make room up front for a residential-style lounge and café complete with an extended “kitchen” island. Only when a client has absorbed this relaxed atmosphere is the reception area noticeable beyond. A high ceiling at the entrance way shifts to a lowered ceiling at reception and in several of the show spaces. This gradually pulls clients inwards, at the same time reducing tension and instilling a sense of human dimension and tranquility.

Though the area is not all that quiet at times, when necessary, it can be rejigged into a large seminar space or an event party room.

This page Haworth’s two-storey space features a welcome centre that is multi-functional as a work area, event space, guest reception and meeting space. This collaborative, co-working area also features Haworth’s secure virtual collaborative workspace, Bluescape, allowing on demand, connected and real time innovation among staff, customers and all key stakeholders.

to mesh perfectly with the modern idea of the office as a home away from home. “Finishes for sure help support that experience,” Berznoger comments, pointing to accessories such as throw pillows, plants, a scattering of books and objets d’art which help create that sensibility.

Eric Laignel

Even subtler semaphore is employed to speak to the user’s subconscious in various display settings. A “restorative zone,” for instance, has been carefully crafted using affordance, or small sensual cues, to create the twin effect of relaxation and concentration. Comfy armchairs and a coffee table flank a high-backed couch that forms its own barrier to the rest of the engagement centre. This silences ambient noise and focuses attention forwards, towards a wall with side whiteboards and a TV set at standing height: a signal that, while this all looks and feels like home, there’s still work-related things to be done, whether a casual creative think session or a refresh break away from the computer screen.

It’s all part of the WELL movement that is essentially LEED for human beings, offering employee surroundings designed to reduce stress and welcome restorative air, light and healthy lifestyle choices, adding in biophilic elements — hints of wood, vegetation and organic shapes — that reflect the nourishing power of nature.

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tate on demand” workstations that can be wheeled about and reconfigured in a matter of seconds, the thoughtful list goes on.

Not far from the Haworth site sits the Inscape engagement centre, a 6,000-sq.-ft. showcase designed by Figure3 situated high above in the tower of a Bay Street office building. Although founded way back in 1888, this Canadian firm has certainly kept up with the times, to judge from its new display area that opened last February.

There is a definite wow factor on entering the space. Completely column-free, proffering spectacular vistas of the city core, it nonetheless gives off an intimate and inviting vibe. Figure3’s lead designer, Nicole Hoppe, says the threshold experience is one of “immediate decompression” meant to welcome visitors rather than overwhelm them. A dropped ceiling, acoustical dampening and pebbled carpet tiling give the small seating area that faces the entryway a human scale and sense of quiet reflection. Behind this grouping, a warm gray reception wall subtly angles right to usher customers towards the centre’s café. Here, relaxed preliminary discussions can take place over a beverage while the client’s eye wanders over various office concepts.

Hoppe says it was important that the show space employ the same workmanship, elegant simplicity and versatility the company builds into their contract furniture, allowing the attention to detail to speak for itself. Ergonomic seating, adjustable desks, and flexible “real esCANADIAN INTERIORS 9/10 2019

Here and elsewhere throughout the engagement centre, displayed art was commissioned from Art Lifting, a creative consortium for the homeless and disabled. By way of thanks, the organization donated the black-and-white street-grid mural that spans Inscape’s elevator entrance wall. These pieces, along with the centre’s NetEffects carpeting derived from plastic fishing nets discarded in our oceans, are symbolic reminders of ways companies can strive for the greater good.

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A commitment to sustainability is also a driving force for Teknion, the

Steve Tsai

Arguably, the best part of the showroom are its veranda window-seats, where the humaneness behind biophilic design really shines through.

Cushioned, wood-veneer storage cabinets run in a low line along the south-facing curtain wall. Sandwiched between wood-veneer pillars, spiced at intervals with throw pillows, original artwork and potted plants, the benches beckon viewers to rest a bit and enjoy the view.

Those in need of more personal space – another trend in open offices these days – can always move on to the studio’s “Jewel Box,” a private, glassed-in room coated in colour-shifting dichroic wrapping.

This spread Teknion’s expanded and redesigned Collaboration Hub, with Vanderbyl Design and PearsonLloyd acted as design consultants and the former serving as lead designer, occupies the entire 20th floor of the Bremner Tower in downtown Toronto. Three distinct areas demonstrate approaches to planning for diverse styles of work. Each has a unique look and feel, colour palette and materiality.

The Astute area is designed for calmness and quiet, supporting focused, heads-down tasks through permanent desking, slightly higher privacy barriers, fabrics and furnishings rendered in a muted tonal range, subdued lighting, and established private offices and boardrooms. The Aligned area features a fresh, energetic palette with benching and low-to-no-panelled hotelling workstations mixed with soft seating and casual tables to create a multi-purpose space perfect for individual and team-based work, impromptu meetings or relaxed social gatherings. Finally, Agile offers an open-plan setting with a fluid flow. Colours are bright and stimulating, tables and other furnishings are capable of being repositioned at will, meeting places consist of casual couch-and-armchair groupings or a small series of diner booths that speak to the “Starbucks effect” of coffeeshop laptopping.

Canadian family firm that started less than 40 years ago and is now positioned as a global leader in office furnishings. The company leads the way too in promoting the WELL doctrine. Cristina Harnden, regional VP of central sales, says Teknion’s newly expanded 19,000-sq.ft. Collaboration Hub, which takes up the entire 20th floor of a downtown tower (likely the largest client engagement centre in Canada), is not only LEED Gold certified but “the first showroom to be WELL certified, with a Silver.” Wellness, she continues, is a creative approach “that we can share with designers.” In addition to a library of privately published books on this and other aspects of design, Teknion also hosts informational seminars on everything from problem-solving to employee engagement, and holds an eight-week prep course for WELL certification, all at no charge to the design community.

The engagement centre entryway boasts no formal reception desk.

Instead, a modern harvest table intersects two distinct lounge areas beyond which lie the office show spaces. A&D market manager Danealla Khoshabeh says the company makes “multiple furniture changeovers in a year” to the company’s three main office settings predicated on distinct work cultures. Each has its own unique look and feel, courtesy of the colour palette, materials and furnishings used, yet all mesh well under Teknion’s umbrella of contemporary versatility.

That “plug in and go” sensibility is now the new norm for our workforces, a trend that will only increase with further advances in technology. Not surprisingly, the Big Five tech companies — Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft — have also been trend-setters when it comes to design for employee engagement and retention. The casual, homey feel of today’s office spaces, their dynamic energy and multi-functionality, their promotion of wellness and biophilia, even the occasional games-filled playroom have all influenced even the stodgiest of corporations. It seems everybody wants that start-up vibe, complete with co-working collaboration and social interaction.

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This is no passing fancy. No one wants to return to the bad old days of bland lobbies, window-hogging private offices and soul-sucking cubicles. All of us want a workspace that makes us happy and inspired. So be it. As Teknion’s Cristina Harnden says: “Our overarching phrase is ‘The true measure of a space is the way it makes you feel.’”

Our tour of Toronto’s client engagement centres demonstrates that not only are we “feeling” all these new office spaces, but that the future of contract furniture appears to be resting in highly capable hands.

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Toronto 267 Niagara Street / 416.745.5656 / toronto@lightform.ca Vancouver #2 425 Carrall Street / 604.688.7022 / vancouver@lightform.ca Edmonton 10545 124 Street / 780.413.9898 / edmonton@lightform.ca Calgary 701-11th Ave. S.W. / 403.508.9980 / calgary@lightform.ca MontrĂŠal / 514.600.9272 / montreal@lightform.ca lightform.ca

ph. Kasia Gatkowska

Spokes Garcia Cumini

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Raise a Glass

Joshua Lawrence Studios

This page The concept for the Tudor House Liquor Store building massing is two interlocking volumes: an elongated glass box for the main retail space; and a faceted opaque block that houses the storage area and service rooms.

Two retail establishments prove there is such a thing as spirited liquor store design.

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This spread The building form for Lakeview Wine Company’s tasting and retail pavilion is a striking wedge shape with an exterior of Japanese ‘Shou Sugi Ban’ charred cedar, with natural cedar accents used for emphasis and contrast. A glass cube lounge at the end of the tasting room is a focal point, drawing the eye and the visitor though the building. The cube offers panoramic views into the vines and can function as a private tasting room.

Artfully designed display shelves, several seating areas for tasting, and the abundance of light through those big windows and attractive circular skylights spanning the length of the space, give it an open and welcoming feeling. You don’t notice that the finishes are fairly quotidian: from the warm-tinted polished concrete floor to the plain painted-steel structural beams. What you do feel is light and space, and even a bit of art, in the light fixtures by Propeller Design (one of them featuring vintage gas-station beer glasses from the ‘60s) and LZF, and a fireplace lined in glass mosaic tiles. Particularly striking is the ceiling lined in Douglas fir plywood, cut in random widths and lengths to play up the contrasts in the colour and grain of the boards. “It may be just plywood, but it looks like much more than it is,” says Curran.

In Esquimalt, B.C., outside of Victoria, the goals of the owners of Tudor House Liquor Store were broader than just revitalizing the business itself. The part of the small city where the store was to be located hadn’t been improved much in the last few years, and they wanted to create something that would bring attention not just to their business, but the neighbourhood.

By Martha Uniacke Breen

In the hierarchy of retail design, liquor stores rarely rank high on the list. Since the product is often seen as fairly demand-driven, usually cost triumphs over aesthetics; most liquor retail outlets are little more than utilitarian boxes, equipped with gondolas and shelves for bottles and not much else. But a couple of recent projects have bucked that trend, and earned a bountiful harvest for their owners.

Owners of several area pubs and restaurants, the clients had admired GBL Architects’ design for a theatre lobby built as part of the Vancouver Olympics. “They asked us to come up with something that was visually playful and would create some dynamism in the neighbourhood,” principal architect Andrew Emmerson explains.

Taking their cue from the Pacific Ocean shore just a few blocks away, the team came up with a design that is, in essence, an interpretation of a rocky, wooded coastline. Tall, deeply angled planes of glass suggest ocean waves; glulam and natural-wood surfaces and structural posts are trees, and concrete stands in for rocks. There’s even a green wall extending along one side, a metaphor for mossy outcrops.

The new owners of Lakeview Wine Company’s tasting and retail pavilion, just outside Niagara-on-the-Lake, had bought it out of bankruptcy, along with the adjoining vineyard and the doublewide trailer that had been the original store. They approached principal architect Bill Curran of TCA Architects in Hamilton, Ont. “They wanted a significant design to signal the turnaround [from bankruptcy] to people.

But they were burdened with a very low capital budget.” The goal was to use humble materials in surprisingly effective ways.

The angular lines and planes repeat in small and large ways inside and out: the edges of the roof overhangs, extensions on either side of the building clad in weathered cedar boards, even the concrete bollards that line the forecourt. Despite its clean open design, there’s a feeling of motion about all the angles that’s accessible, even fun.

Doublespace

First up was to re-site the building at the edge of the vineyard, creating a sense of arrival as you approach. “Because it’s set back, we wanted a very simple form that would be striking and impactful from a distance. We were inspired by the simple architecture of the area: sheds, barns, and other low buildings.”

From the parking lot, the store has an almost cottagey look. A wooden footbridge over a small stream leads to a cloistered entry porch, with small benches and a pivoting entry door in brilliantly striped zebrawood. The building itself is an elongated wedge, low at the entry and rising to a grand two-storey-high glass cube at the far end that houses a private tasting area. Most of the side walls are taken up with wide, irregularly spaced windows, guiding the eye towards a dramatic view of the vineyard and the Niagara Escarpment in the distance.

In both cases, the designs have produced successful results far beyond their initial costs. According to Emmerson, “They could have located their store in the midst of Victoria, but they wanted to put it in Esquimalt to revitalize the area, and it’s become a bit of a destination.”

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At Lakeview Wine Company, public response to the new store has been so strong that there’s already talk of raising a second building for group tastings and events. “It’s a good problem to have,” says Curran, “to be so busy you need new space. It proves that good design is good business.”

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Wet your whistle Within a current landscape that has mushroomed to nearly a thousand microbreweries nationally, having a unique space is essential to attracting beer lovers in a competitive market.

This spread When Junction Craft Brewing launched in 2011, it was tiny and one of only 60 Ontario microbreweries. Its new space in the rebranded Ale Yards district (two other breweries are within a stone’s throw away) provides a well-organized and visually animated space for producing, drinking, and selling beer and gear, and does double duty as an events venue. Leaving marks on the walls, including graffiti acquired during the building’s derelict years as an illegal rave venue, helped keep costs down and suited the clients’ brief for informal and easily adaptable space.

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By Peter Sobchak

Steven Evans

To say that Canadians love beer is a keg-sized understatement. In fact, that love has been a defining part of our international identity, for better or worse — think Bob and Doug McKenzie from SCTV. Although we may not like being associated with those flannel-wearing hosers anymore, we sure do like a good pint. What’s changed, however, is what we consider good: no longer those brown “stubby” bottles of Labatt’s Blue and Molson Canadian strewn around the Great White North set of the McKenzie brothers; we prefer “craft.”

“Craft beer as a term is one that most people would tell you they understand but would then have a hard time defining. There is no bright line test that distinguishes a craft brewery from any other type of brewery.

For our purposes we view craft breweries as being artisanal as opposed to commercial,” say the authors from Vancouver-based CCC Investment Banking in their 2018 report The Craft Brewing Industry.

“The term originates, no doubt, from the concept of being “hand crafted” implying smaller batch runs as opposed to large process runs.

While not every small brewery is a craft brewery, size certainly does matter, and is a main defining point for the industry. 15,000 hectolitres (hl) of annual production is a useful benchmark in Canada as statisticians tend to use this number as a category marker. Under 15,000 hl

per year of production defines the majority of craft brewing participants and they can be thought of as the small craft breweries.”

Small, maybe, but these upstarts have been making waves in the industry in recent years. “The number of brewing facilities increased by 21.8 per cent from 817 in 2017 to an all-time high of 995,” says industry association Beer Canada. “Most of Canada’s breweries are small, local operations with 93 per cent producing less than 15,000 hl in 2018.” This is in stark contrast to circa 1985, when the number of breweries in Canada was just 10, and owned by three companies, according to the 2018 report The Canadian Craft Beer Sector.

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Government incentives are one of the reasons cited for the dramatic growth in the number of craft brewers, but another more visible reason appears to be a demographic evolution that sees whole cohorts who define themselves by their cravings for locally anchored food experiences. In effect, we are talking about the beer-drinking equivalent of the “foodie.” “The more successful craft brewers are building their brand around catering to a more discerning consumer; one to whom quality of ingredients and flavour matters most,” says CCC Investment Banking.

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Above In the bathrooms, Art Deco meets industrial with round windows, an arced stainless counter and a giant circle hole in the ceiling to look up into the raw industrial space.

Above The newest addition to Calgary’s Barley Belt district, Establishment Brewing Company was founded by a group of friends who have made the jump from home brewing to the pro leagues.

And this is where designers are coming in. Eschewing the age-old lifestyle stereotypes of sports and partying embraced by megabrewers, craft brewers want to project a more sophisticated, urban feel without turning their backs on the industrial underpinning upon which their businesses are based. For example, at Establishment Brewing Co. in Calgary, form followed function for their new space, which opened in January of this year. From the onset, the primary goal was an efficient brewery, followed by a beautiful taproom. Inspired by their client’s branding, Calgary-based Fort Architecture created a design with a subtle nod to the Bauhaus movement. A play on simple geometric forms and color blocking, their design intentionally exposes the craft of beer making by using active barrels as a screen between the production space and tap room.

Where breweries tend to be vast and large, “we utilized a central bar to create a feeling of coziness with an intimate lounge at the back,” say the designers.

tion Craft Brewing’s new 14,600-sq.-ft. all-in-one space containing a brewery, canning/bottling operations, tap room, retail, event and head office space, and designed by Toronto-based Plant Architect and housed in an historic Art Deco “destructor” building.

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The industrial processes, from brewing to packaging, is squarely in the foreground, fronted by a light-flooded bar and retail space dominated by the word “JUNCTION” emblazoned on the wall in 14-ft.high letters, reminiscent of advertising signage painted on old brick warehouses. Fully visible from the tap room but generally closed off from it during the brewers’ workday, the production area can be opened up for after-hours events. In its first year these have included concerts, more than 30 weddings, and a Bootcamp & Beer fitness

Steven Evans

Modest finishes are highlighted throughout the design. From birch plywood to epoxy flooring, Fort Architecture took otherwise “back of house” materials and utilized them as featured elements in the brewery, exposing the honesty in the materials, which itself is a mantra of the microbrew industry and a rallying cry for its target market. “Honesty in materials” is on display three provinces to the east with Junc-

Subjected to vandalism, used for illegal parties and set on fire several times, the former incinerator building had become a safety hazard and concern for the neighbourhood and declared surplus by the City of Toronto in 2009. Plant Architect’s first task when taking on this project was to rehabilitate and transform the building while appreciating its derelict history. The project preserves the original Art Deco and industrial character, as well as the palimpsest of additions from its latter days like graffiti, while repurposing and adapting the space for a technically demanding manufacturing system, retail and social space.

class. These year-round rental revenues are a critical aspect of the programme, as they offset seasonal variance in brewery revenue: after all, people consume more beer in hot weather than cold.

Jamie Anholt

With its 25-ft. skylight-pierced ceilings, large windows, and timescarred brick walls, the base building is ruggedly gorgeous. The rhythm of the existing tall deco windows is mirrored in backlight panels in the face of the bar, and further emphasized by strips of epoxy floor coating matching to the width of the windows. Railway artefacts and old maps of the Junction are integrated into the interior, which has integrated such symbolism into its brand with beer names like Conductor’s Craft Ale and Stationmaster’s Stout. Retail space and the tap room occupy the light-flooded zone near the main entrance with a 40-ft.-long recycled wood and galvanized metal bar. Moving into the more prosaic spaces like the bathrooms, Art Deco meets industrial with round windows, arced stainless counter and a giant circle hole in the ceiling to look up into the raw industrial space.

The interior designs of these breweries not only mixes the crafts of architecture, beer and making into an approachable and unique drinking experience, but also embody each client brands’ ethos: a passion for quality raw materials, and seeing beauty in the brewing process.

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This page To reflect their attitudes, Establishment wanted a space that was bright and welcoming, which Fort Architecture provided in a tap room that seats around 50 people.

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That’s That’

Grow Biz Cannabis users rejoiced when legalization came into effect, but designers of cannabis retail spaces aren’t exactly feeling the high.

Joaquim Santos

By Peter Sobchak

This Spread Hunny Pot, Toronto’s first legal cannabis shop, was outfit by Seven Point Interiors. The clean, modern 3,500-sq.-ft. three-level space certainly eschews a Bob Marley flavour many might expect from a cannabis shop, while still navigating the thicket of restrictions. Everything cannabis related that is visible is under lock and key (although accessories such as pipes and rolling papers can be displayed normally), and brand exposure on packaging is very limited and generic.

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Ontario doesn’t exactly have a great history when it comes to the legalization of things previously illegal. The early iterations of LCBO stores 70 years ago were known for resembling banks, with clerks stationed behind wire grills and orders made on slips of paper. The scene now is entirely different, at least for the liquor industry. But as you heard, cannabis is now legal (sort of), so the question many are asking is whether that same enlightenment will be afforded to the cannabis retail industry, now that the province is overseeing everything.

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Left Seven Point partnered with Edmonton-based Spiritleaf to create a nationwide chain of stores.

Between 2018 and 2019, Seven Point has manufactured 84 stores for the cannabis market, with even more in the works for 2020. Below Surterra Wellness has rolled out additional dispensaries since Figure3’s initial design and is replicating elements of it in their franchises.

Seven Point Interiors was founded in 2016 as a division of Visual Elements, a retail design and manufacturing company with clients that include Coach and Louis Vuitton. In the cannabis space, half of SevenPoint’s business is working directly with cannabis retailers, the other half is bringing on a design firm (usually that Seven Point hires) to execute the plan. “Normally our experience is clients have a design and construction team, and then designs get thrown at us and we make it work,” says Seven Point principal Robert Turk. “In the cannabis space, they don’t, and they are coming to us to provide a turnkey solution for them. 90 per cent [of cannabis retails] don’t know what they’re doing.”

A year into legalization it appears the short answer is: not really. “There are plenty of restrictions on the visibility and access to product that drives store planning and product interaction in the overall design of stores. You are not allowed to promote marketing or lifestyle messages, product display has to be under lock and key, and store windows must be concealed from pedestrian view,” says Mardi Najafi, director of retail design at Toronto-based Figure3. This concealment means vinyl on the windows, or screens blocking the view, in addition to a security guard at the front door checking IDs and a “reception” desk just inside the door. And that’s before you even get to the product.

For now, because the rules change so quickly, the key thing is design flexibility. “If tomorrow we can have edibles, how are we going to display them; if tomorrow we can have clothing with our logos on it, how will we display it? How can we remain flexible in our space, but also, right now, have a big open space with generic packaging and make it look good?” says Simmen, echoing retailers’ primary questions. The solution is to create a space that is comfortable and enjoyable to be in, with warm, approachable, neutral tones and natural elements such as wood, bio-walls, and earth tones like bronzes and soft greens.

“Everybody says the same thing: we want to have a learning centre, we want to be environmentally friendly, but no one knows how to merchandise because the rules and regulations are so stringent right now, you can’t brand, you can’t have clothing, you can’t promote your brand,” says John Simmen, a principal at Toronto-based Seven Point Interiors. “This is probably the most difficult retail problem to solve that we’ve had, and we’ve been doing this for over 40 years.”

For the time being, it’s about trying to appeal to every consumer slice: those who are already experts and want to get in and get out, as well as those who want to hang out and be educated, which is why some retailers are even integrating lounging elements. The design dictates may be imprecise, but there is a consensus on what it is not supposed to look like: specifically the bright whites of a Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy or Apple store.

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Spiritleaf : photo courtesy of Spiritleaf

How could they, in a retail landscape so opaque? And if restrictions seem Draconian right now, there is room for it to get worse, cautions Najafi. “We could potentially see the same restrictions that packaging has—no branding, neutral and educational messages only, warning labels—applied to the store experience itself if more conservative measures come into play.”

Above Impenetrable sensory jars are the only way customers can interact with cannabis. While ubiquitous, a flawed design leads to significant product loss. Since customers must manually reset the cap, which they never do, the buds dry out too quickly, and coupled with shaking to get a scent, which breaks the bud, the product must be changed every day. Seven Point Interiors is working on a design to correct this.

C45 Coffee Table

This new table by COFO Design is intended to “change how Canadians safely use and store cannabis in our homes,” say its designers. Made with hot rolled steel, Canadian maple and Melton wool, the table also comes with four aluminum coasters, with one doubling as a key into the storage compartment. A magnet embedded in the coaster releases a safety pin hidden below the surface of the table and a small lever is pulled from beneath the edge of the top, activating pneumatic springs and custom-made guides that bring the storage compartment up from the centre of the table.

“As the mad rush settles down, eventually retailers will have to differentiate themselves, and focus on a key customer segment to reflect their core values and what they are aiming to represent through branding, product focus, education, and the overall store and website design,” says Najafi. Figure3 found success with Surterra Wellness in Tampa, Florida, where the design impressed the local landlords so much that “the lease agreements were moved from low-traffic strip malls to main street shopping districts,” says Najafi.

“Design will be immensely important in the future as the market becomes more competitive. Experience will be key, not just pure consumerism, but exploration, education, and creating a social connection based on brand values will play a major role in the design of stores,” says Najafi. “Strategy and design will begin to impact the legal acceptance of cannabis by landlords and individual municipalities that currently are not open to allowing stores based on its ‘seedy’ reputation. We are hoping that informed design can educate legislators and push the boundaries of the current extreme requirements for cannabis stores.”

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Let the Good Times Roll Text and photos by David Lasker

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DesignAgency Block Party DesignAgency (DA) hosted its seventh annual summer block party in and around its west-end Toronto office The creators of award-winning hospitality projects here and abroad invited friends, family and clients to the lively event where, by tradition, it doesn’t rain. This year they partnered up with neighbour byMinistry and took over both sides of Adelaide Street West.

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1—DA’s Ariana Paul, business development manager; Shauna Sullivan, intermediate designer; and Caity Cohen, project designer. 2—Aislin MacDonald, project designer, DA; Anjelika Matniyazova, A&D rep, Suite22 Contract; Maria Whiteside, project manager, DA; Arfa Akhtar, interior designer, Bo Concept; and DA’s Sabrina Mable, intern; and Liz Mollon, project designer. 3— DA’s Asli Kilinç, interior designer; Eva Kweiar, designer; Abby Cheung, intermediate designer; and Matthew Henning, project manager. 4— DA’s Adil Sebbar, 3D artist; and Angéline Buck, graphic designer, Lightform. 5— Matthew Gillard, senior project manager, project and development services at commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield; and Jeff McKinnon, director of business development at construction manager Govan Brown. 6— DA’s trio of founding principals Allen Chan, Anwar Mekhayech and Matt Davis. 7—Klaus by Nienkamper sales associates Chad Graham and Simona Taroni; and Maharam’s Oliver and Jasper Baijings, sales rep and sales ambassador respectively. 8—Brett Johnson, account manager, SCI Interiors; and Amanda Radji, store manager, Bo Concept.

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ErgoCentric bonds with Bondar ErgoCentric celebrated the opening of its new Toronto showroom, located on the ground floor of the historic King Edward Hotel, with a cocktail party featuring an address by Dr. Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut. She’s also a neurologist, author, photographer and impressively lively speaker.

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1—Astronaut Dr. Roberta Bondar and ErgoCentric founder Terry Cassaday. 2—ErgoCentric’s Sandy Lombardo, controller; Julia Teoli, inside sales; and Dan Childerhose, strategic pricing manager. 3— ErgoCentric’s Greg Stevens, sales associate, and Emerson Cassaday, director, furniture and accessories division; and industrial designer Miles Keller, owner of design firm Dystil and creator of ErgoCentric’s airCentric and tCentric chairs. 4—ErgoCentric’s Sam Dunkley, operations manager; Seema Mistry, inside sales; Remy Miraflor, finance manager; and Nancy Almeida, director of customer service and procurement. 5— ErgoCentric’s David Selwah, purchasing co-ordinator; Lori Skulj, marketing co-ordinator; Denis Parenteau and Lisa Jones, inside sales; Siby Baby, order processing; and Alison Byrne, VP marketing.

DX banks on emerging designers The Design Exchange, in partnership with the RBC Foundation, fêted the winner and runners-up in this year’s RBC Canadian Emerging Designer Competition in a ceremony at the DX’s historic Trading Floor. Toronto-based Studio for Architecture and Collaboration, led by Andrew Hill and Jennifer Kudlats, won the $20,000 cash prize, a customized mentorship program and an exhibition at DX. The other finalists were Kfir Gluzberg of Toronto’s Kilogram; Thom Fougere, creative director at Winnipeg home-furnishings manufacturer and retailer EQ3; Toronto landscape and architecture design firm Office Ou; Toronto womenswear designer Avyn of Avyn Studio; and Montréal’s Simon Laliberté, art director, screen printer and founder of BangBang design studio.

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1—Lucas Stanois, industrial designer, Studio Munge; Jon Miura, intern architect, and Matthew Firestone, architectural designer at Studio for Architecture and Collaboration (Studio AC). 2—Yaser Rahmanian, partner, +VG Architects; Andrew Hill, co-founder, Studio AC; and Thomas Payne, founding partner at his namesake architecture firm. 3—Divia Kueber, client success specialist at job-board firm Indeed; Matei Rau, intern architect, Studio AC; Curtis Harrison, fourth-year design student at OCAD University; Mo Soroor, senior associate, and Kiran Dharni, intern, Studio AC; and Shayan Hamdani, financial advisor, Manulife Securities. 4—Office Ou’s Uros Novakovic, partner; Sophia Szagala, associate; and partners Sebastian Bartnicki and Nicolas Koff. 5—Emily Woudenberg, creative director, Strike Design Studio; Jordan Armstrong, Toronto host at CreativeMornings, a breakfast lecture series for the creative community; and David Nuff, principal at his graphic design and installation firm Nuff. 6—Ofer and Emma Shahar, designer and co-owners of the Tel Aviv- and Toronto-based interior design and green wall firm Craft & Bloom, and their one-month-old son, Dezzy. 7—Nelson Stoker, graphic designer, Elevate Tech Fest; Ivanna Hreshchuk, graphic designer, DX and Elevate Tech fest; Michaela Halpern, designer at cannabis agency MoCanna; and Mariolya Maksymiw, media freelancer.

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Hubbub at Teknion’s Hub Teknion invited the A&D community, as the invitation said, “to see, sample, connect and play in our expanded showroom,” known as their downtown Collaboration Hub. Partygoers were duly impressed by the views of the downtown financial core and Lake Ontario wrapping around three sides of the 20th floor of the Bremner Tower in downtown Toronto.

1—Teknion’s Lindsay Dales, regional manager, architectural interiors; Celine Ruffett, territory manager, Canadian sales; and Cristina Harnden, regional VP, central Canada.

2—Filomena Monteiro, manager, interior design, IBI Group; Jillian Warren, director, workplace, Figure3; Lisa Fulford-Roy, managing director, workplace strategy, national occupier services group, CBRE; and Monika Sarkisian, partner, SGH Design Partners. 3—Teknion’s Jeff Ball, director, corporate marketing; Oona Walsh, director, U.S. marketing communications; and Tracy Backus, director, sustainable programs. 4—Teknion’s Scott Bond, CFO (retired); Joe Regan, senior VP, design and marketing; Jeff Wilson, SVP, manufacturing; and Terry McAllister, president, international markets. 5—Teknion’s Scott Deugo, chief sales and sustainability officer; and David Feldberg, president and CEO, flank CBRE’s Lisa Fulford-Roy. 6—Maria Ropotyn, sales director, IDS Contract, Informa; Pamela Mason, director, Canadian marketing, Teknion; the eponymous head and (former Informa VP) of Tracy Bowie Projects; Karen Kang, managing director, IDS Toronto, Informa; and Canadian Interiors publisher Martin Spreer.

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RAW Wear An abandoned auto body shop in Toronto’s West End was the venue for RAW Design’s annual party, which draws a mix of design types and hipsters.

This past June’s installment, titled RAW Wear, saw fashionistas as well. RAW partnered with local fashion house Hoax Couture in creating interactive installations that invited guest participation.

1—Hoax Couture partners Jim Searle and Chris Tyrell make a choreographed fashion statement. 2—David Bronskill, partner at law firm Goodmans; architect Roland Rom Colthoff, founding partner, RAW Design; and high-end home builder Derek Nicholson. 3—RAW staff members Jacob Riehl, architectural designer; Carsten Liesenberg, project architect; and Briana Zitella, architectural designer. 4—Jordan Galuppi, interior designer at design-build firm ANC; and RAW’s Luke O’Brien, architectural technologist; and architect Kristiana Schuchmann. 5—Informa’s Katie Telford, conference and account executive; and Catia Varricchio, sales and strategic partnerships; with product designer Mani Mani.

CANADIAN INTERIORS 9/10 2019

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In Bloom

Unitfive’s Cherry Blossom Sculpture Shimmers at Kips Bay Decorator Show Home

Falling in a shimmering cascade down through the grand spiral staircase at this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show Home, Toronto-based Unitfive Design’s metalwork Cherry Blossom mobile was one of the most remarked-upon installations at the event.

is that it was conceived almost instantly, over the course of the initial phone call with Gluckstein. “We only had about three weeks from the phone call to the installation, so there was no time to do prototypes or wait for inspiration,” says Santana. “But with a four-storey spiral stairwell, we wanted something that unwinds as you rise. So the concept was inspired by that – and that fast.”

By Martha Uniacke Breen

The Kips Bay Decorator Show Home, held this year from May 2-9, is one of the interior design world’s marquee events, housed in a grand Upper East Side New York mansion once owned by the former head of J.P. Morgan. Canadian designer Brian Gluckstein commissioned Unitfive to create the sculpture as part of his overall concept for the mansion’s imposing, four-storey staircase.

It wasn’t the design that took the time, Goddard adds, so much as the execution. “Each blossom was individually laser-cut, to give us the accuracy we wanted. Then each one was textured by hand, and hand-curved; it gives it a much softer texture than if you stamped them on a machine. Brass, when you hammer it by hand, changes slightly in grain and in colour, so each one has a more organic feel.

It takes away some of the yellowness of the metal and gives it a softer, more matte finish.”

The piece consisted of over 4,000 brass “blossoms,” each individually handcrafted in varying shapes and sizes, strung on 40 separate wires and interspersed with crystal beads. The 34- to 36-ft.-long strands were then suspended on a frame under the leaded-glass oculus window in the roof high above. Sunlight from the oculus caught the blossoms and crystals and made them sparkle, as the mobile moved softly in air currents created as people walked up and down the stairs.

Lisa Santana, who with partner and husband Kelvin Goddard heads the Unitfive team, says the mobile was inspired by the cherry blossoms that fill the air in Central Park every spring. What’s remarkable CANADIAN INTERIORS 9/10 2019

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The partners credit Gluckstein with creating an overall concept for the staircase that caught their imaginations. “Brian was great,” says Santana. “What captured our attention in that first phone call was that he said he didn’t want to just put fabric on the walls and carpet on the stairs, but to have something truly customized. So the fabric was handpainted, with beautiful artistic watercolours and finishing details. I love that feeling, of materials that have a soul.”

Design: IA Interior Architects Client: McMillan LLP Scope: Large-scale contour-cut vinyl with knit textured laminate

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