ShadowBox is an exploration of the essence of architecture: to enable the witnessing of the passage of time by capturing the elusive play of light and shadow; and to engender a heightened sense of movement through varying spatial scales and experiences.
This includes the expansion and compression of single, double and triple height spaces, and through one’s engagement of interior elements such as bridges and stairs. The house is configured to capture the ever-changing light and shadow effects in various areas of the residence. The shadows cast in the interior reveal the juxtaposition between the permanence of the architecture and the ephemeral of the natural.
The clients leased a 2100 sq ft, 3 Bedroom Condo suite with an option-to-buy clause which they executed after they arranged to buy the adjacent 720 sq ft, 1 Bedroom Condo Suite. The plan was to give the 3 Bedroom suite to the triplets and create a master suite ‘oasis’ for the parents with an internal connection.
We needed to internally connect the units developed a scheme for the projects totality, the project was split into two phases: Phase 1 was to totally renovate the 3 Bedroom Suite to be consistent with Phase 2. And Phase 2 was the complete transformation of a 1 Bedroom Suite into the Master Suite, worthy of a 2800 sq ft, 4 Bedroom Suite.
The Woodsy Park pavilion in Toronto, Ontario features artwork by Studio Kimiis called “Droplet”. The work consists of wall coverings on the pavilion, an extending canopy, a snow wall and seating. Steven Beites, principal of Studio Kimiis, declares in his artist’s statement that the work will “form a varied yet uniform waterscape across the pavilion. It pays tribute to the area’s most distinguishing feature: the ravine system, and the community activities in and around the pavilion. The work highlights the important connection with the site’s history and its natural setting, and its role in shaping both the physical and social fabrics of the region.” The pavilion was designed in collaboration with DTAH and Spring Valley Corp of Ancaster, Ontario to create a series of ultra high-performance concrete panels across the exterior. The panels were created by using a proprietary ultra-high performance concrete mixture and titanium dioxide to achieve the brilliant white finish.
A concept house that celebrates and holistically engages the five human senses was on display from January 16 – 19, 2020 as this year’s feature exhibit at IDS Toronto by VFA Architecture + Design in creative collaboration with Hummingbird Hill Homes + Construction and Victoria Taylor Landscape Architect.
Drawing from ideas inherently examined within VFA’s existing repertoire of work, the exhibit entitled Reset Home, borrows from the most essential qualities of each project to bring together all the ideals of home design for an elevated user experience.
Twosome House is a two-storey, 540-square-metre Etobicoke home designed for a family of five. Following in the tradition of Louis I. Kahn, floor plans are defined by precise regulating lines. Two axes divide the property into distinct zones, with rooms plotted according to their program. This organization of “public/private” & “servant/served” spaces establishes a clear sense of order throughout the home.
KPMB Architect’s new offices transcribe the warmth of its former timber loft studios on King Street West in its new offices in the Globe and Mail building. Located on the 12th floor, the panoramic views of the city and Lake Ontario inspired a democratic plan with a continuous, and fully accessible perimeter. Four, large open work zones are organized around a central, wood-lined pavilion containing the communal spaces of meeting and gathering, including a staff lounge and town hall. East-west avenues and north-south streets intersect the wood pavilion to connect people and projects. The minimal palette combines white oak, exposed concrete and glass walls, with sustainable carpet tile and project pin-up surfaces made from recycled plastic to give the space a raw yet sophisticated edge.
Located at the heart of the city centre campus, and designed in collaboration with Toronto based practice, Montgomery Sisam Architects, the Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship (MCEIE) serves the University’s wide range of engineering disciplines, from heavy mechanical engineering through to computer engineering.
The Centre signals a new era for engineering education through a design that encourages group work outside the traditional seminar room, providing dynamic and fl exible environments that break down artifi cial barriers between people, foster collaboration, encourage active learning and accelerate innovation.
Occupying the last unbuilt site along the University’s historic St George Street, the building acknowledges its signifi cant position as a building in the round, providing a transparent and permeable ground fl oor that creates both physical and visual connections to its surroundings.
Artjail is a new space in Toronto for an award-winning New York based creative visual effects boutique. Located within an existing historic industrial building in the west end of Toronto the goal was to insert a number of new spaces within an open plan that would house facilities for High-End VFX work in the advertising, social, film, music video and art world.
The concept revolved programmatically around the creation of three VFX suites which house editing equipment and client presentation capabilities. As these spaces had the most intense requirements technically the design response proposed to elevate these as interior architectural elements.
In the initial conversations with Chan Han Goh, the director of Goh Ballet Academy, she identifies that ‘dance is not about luxury, it is about the work, and what is done in the studio,’ and that is why the architecture of the Goh Ballet Academy is stripped back and minimal, creating a focus on the technical aspects of dance. The former principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada had begun her training in her parent’s basement and wanted her studio to reflect the modest necessities for training in ballet.
Cell phones have become as ubiquitous on our tabletops as our plates and cutlery. Perched amongst our meals and utensils, they relentlessly pull towards other people and places, interrupting the delight and the ritual of sharing a meal with company.
The concept for Sara Restaurant in Toronto’s Entertainment District imagined a more intimate setting, where guests could abandon their devices and be more present in the act of dining together. For emerging design studio Odami, it was important to provide a profound sense of place on one hand and a sense of calm on the other. This was achieved with a dedicated focus on texture, materiality, and atmosphere, offering a tangibility that the material-less and place-less realm of the Web can not.
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