Creating a space that uniquely brings to life what a brand represents – energy, pushing boundaries, and going beyond the ordinary – without explicit over-branding was our latest challenge with a new workspace in Liberty Village.
Category: WORK
Interior Designers: Guy Painchaud, ARIDO; Heidi Painchaud, ARIDO Design Firm: iN STUDIO Design Team: Carl Jo, Intern, ARIDO
Photographer: Ben Rahn / A-Frame Inc.
The central concept became a simple path – the journey, dubbed “the vortex,” a reciprocal effect of a kinetic movement or action. This concept was fitting to the essence of the brand, representing energy and thinking big, beyond the ordinary. The vortex was to be the connection point to all the various program elements – a spine to which all other members were connected. A place of movement and interaction. An ever-changing and evolving experience like a journey. This key feature envelopes the user in a three-dimensional experience through the movement of floor, wall, and ceiling elements.
The elevator lobby greets guests with a modest, almost raw environment with a key feature perforated metal wall inclusive of a simple brand message, and content screens. Directly adjacent, the ceiling and flooring guide visitors onwards to reception. A dynamic reception desk gives way to the adjacent guest pantry area. Mixtures of raw metal, butcher black wood, and lacquer surfaces create a contrast of finishes that speak to both a refined palette as well as the necessity to maintain the raw element.
Along the vortex, one can engage with the open office environment, wellness, multi-purpose and conference spaces, as well as informal booths and access water/pantry stations. The team created a unique lighting solution for the articulated space. There was not a typical ceiling area to host a patterned array of lighting, so LED channels were incorporated into the dynamic, angled moves of both the wall and floor – creating a side light / uplight to the entire corridor.
Conference spaces are self walled smaller components that are adjacent to the vortex. All contain technology that is future adaptable and is designed to be optimal to the requirement of the various team sets, along with complementary smaller meeting rooms and phone rooms.
The main staff pantry is a galley-style kitchen with links to the vortex and the main staff lounge area. It can also support events. In fact, a black box venue can house various signature events, small concerts, performances, festivities, or simple staff gatherings. A purpose-designed beverage bar with all required equipment and services is directly connected to the terrace to allow for additional festivity outdoors.
Dynamic finishes created in the vortex area continue in the open office area and ripple through the entire environment. The project was given a healthy workplace audit given the recent pandemic impact, and material cleanability, as well as hygiene-focused resources, was adapted into the work environment via inherent materiality as selected.
The brand for this client is high performance. The designer’s solution needed to exceed that bar aesthetically, functionally, financially, and creatively. All expectations were exceeded and a new bar has been set.
Project Details:
Project Location: Toronto, ON Project Completion Date: July 2020 Project Square Footage: 14,000 square feet
Growing up in the surrounding region, we have fond memories of visiting the McMichael Canadian Art Collection on school trips. My great grandfather studied painting under Group of Seven artist A.J. Casson; which provided a personal connection to the Gallery’s original focus. This emotional investment was the departure point to redesign the café into a meaningful, empathetic space.
Category: EAT STAY
Interior Designer: Dyonne Fashina, ARIDO Design Firm: Denizens Of Design Inc.
Photographer: Scott Norsworthy
What are empathetic spaces? It’s partly about being empathetic to the space in the way we redesign; while renewing the space in a way that makes it empathetic to its intended users. Reinventing the café space at the hearth of the Gallery’s entrance hall required a respectful and deeply researched approach; considerate of the heritage architecture and mindful of the indigenous land it sits on. Rejecting the Eurocentric preferences among global design elite, the space is a showcase of Canadian-made products; celebrating Canadian craftsmanship, local materials, and time-honoured tradition.
The design solution is characterized by the legacy of the Gallery’s original founders, Signe and Robert McMichael. The building itself literally grew out of their home and personal art collection. The heritage architecture remains untouched, while new pieces are integrated into the design to give the feeling of a fixed-in place restaurant and the flexibility of a multi-purpose space.
Inspired by the founder’s vision, the interior design takes inspiration from the artwork inside and outside the gallery. Prior to the renovation, the café space felt like an afterthought; with worn out tables and chairs that were only useful during restaurant service. The new design considered the vast expanse of hard surfaces within the gallery, integrating flexible soft seating and modular felt partitions to divide the space into zones and address acoustic comfort. In the restaurant configuration, the space has a clearly defined boundary through the positioning of the banquettes and divider screens; allowing visibility from within the café to the rest of the gallery, but defining a path for traffic through it, as to not disturb restaurant guests.
The modularity of the individual elements is aesthetically appealing and useful for event setup; creating a new revenue stream for the gallery. Prior to the renovation, third-party rental companies outfitted events. Furnished with a new kit of parts, the gallery will be able to benefit from the ease of turning over the space between services and an increased venue fee, accommodating in-house rentals, which will provide additional funds after renovation costs are recuperated. The increase also benefits the patron who will no longer have to pay double for outside furnishings. Once events can pick up again, they will see the profitability benefits of the design; in the meantime, the flexibility has come in handy with pandemic uncertainty and the ability to reconfigure on the fly.
The kit of parts includes Canadian-made modular furniture and moveable screens. The existing Corian counter, was re-clad in walnut and white oak and then expanded with two new modular service bars that can be used together as one continuous service counter for the restaurant; or individually as three separate food and drink stations for events.
It was very important for this project to celebrate the traditions of Canadian craftsmanship by focusing on local makers, products, and materials. The slatted divider screens are inspired by Indigenous architecture, gathering circles, and the concept of placemaking. Their undulating inner layers incorporate felt design that references the artistic language seen in Group of Seven landscapes. Each piece has a different maker, and each bringing the maker’s individual story to the design intent. The idea was to create a collection of Canadian-made objects that are independently beautiful but collectively meaningful.
Prior to the renovation, the space was completely open; set up with individual chairs and tables set on a diagonal. It created a large area with no defined pathways for diners, staff, or gallery visitors. The new design uses modular furniture, positioned carefully to offer glimpses of the gallery’s collection while providing a physical barrier to define boundaries without impacting the views and vistas through the space. The divider screens have a slatted structure with the top portion remaining open so that visitors can see through at standing height, but diners can benefit from some privacy at seated height.
A mix of dining tables, lounge seating, and bar height furnishings create different zones to accommodate more patrons. At the front of the restaurant, bar seating is useful for patrons that just want a quick coffee and pastry; while still providing views outside, over the heads of full-service diners seated closer to the windows. Most importantly, these pieces give the appearance of a permanent restaurant but are creatively designed to quickly reconfigure in various event setups. This is the unique approach to the space, in that nothing is completely fixed to the structure; and the space can evolve as needed.
For this project, like all of our projects, we start with empathy. Empathy for the users, the staff, the stakeholders, and empathy for the physical structure (its past, its founders, and the indigenous people who had inhabited the land). We worked with the gallery team to ensure the space was welcoming and accessible for its members, many of whom are older adults.
As mentioned, the divider screens were a key element of the design, they define the boundaries of the café space, but remain open both in position and in the slatted structure, to create definition without being oppressive. They offer privacy within the space, while their inner layers of felt dampen sounds bouncing. But most importantly, their form and positioning reflects indigenous placemaking structures of the past, to respectfully acknowledge the design ideals of the Ojibwe Anishinaabe people and their land on which the gallery sits. Unlike many restaurants that cram seats in, the space has large tables and a wide central path of travel with furniture that can easily adapt to patrons with mobility aids, giving them opportunity to sit in multiple locations within the space and not relegating them to a hidden or forgotten area.
By working with local suppliers from small-batch furniture makers to large Canadian manufacturers, we not only celebrate the vast talent our country has to offer; but we also reduce the environmental impact of transporting items from overseas. Many of the pieces were made from locally sourced materials, such as wood products native to the area, including a tree felled just outside the property.
In today’s world, the meaning of wellness has expanded to include concepts of identity, cultural sensitivity, and inclusivity. The new McMichael café embodies empathy for the comfort of its users, consideration for the heritage architecture, and remains mindful of the indigenous land it sits on. We took great care to ensure the new design offered views from all vantage points within the cafe to both the landscape outside and the Gallery’s collection of Canadian art inside.
In a statement from Ian Dejardin, the Executive Director indicated, “The McMichael Canadian Art Collection markets itself as ‘Home to the Art of Canada’, a phrase that we feel captures a dual truth about the place: on the one hand, it is literally the only major museum mandated to celebrate solely Canadian art, and on the other, the building grew out of, and retains much of the feel of, the home of its founders, Robert and Signe McMichael. And not just any home – the Gallery is a huge statement about Canada in itself, a vast modernist take on the log cabin idea built of huge recycled logs and fieldstone, with direct views of the unspoiled Humber River with its 12,000 years of history as the location of the Carrying Place Trail. Designing a café for such a place, in the Gallery’s massive and imposing Entrance Hall, had to reflect all of that. The design team came up with the perfect response, a mix of natural materials, blending tradition, comfort, and modernity. Carefully avoiding a mass-produced, one-size-fits-all approach, they instead commissioned individual and brilliant Canadian artisans to design to produce a series of beautiful one-off pieces of furniture in natural wood in a layout that is welcoming, with home-like touches, and comfortable for our visitors, while also being clean-lined and modern in feel. The McMichaels would have been proud – and we are delighted.”
The DS-09 Subway Design Standard designed for the Metrolinx Ontario Line was purposely built on a future forward mindset, starting from the development of the Customer Journey Map which distilled the various journey stages, challenges encountered, and human emotions identified at each point along a customer’s journey.
The standard was designed so the customer experience is seamless, intuitive, inclusive, safe, thoughtful, and reliable throughout. The human-centric approach considers many touchpoints such as payment experience, transferring, navigation, platform boarding and disembarking, as well as spatial adjacencies and sensory aspects such as noise, smells, and sight lines which may impact the quality of a customer’s experience.
Variable design elements include feature walls and ceilings and are strategically introduced to provide differentiation across stations and become regional focal points. These elements can promote placemaking and express a community’s unique identity.
The implementation of Platform Edge Doors will significantly enhance the customer experience while ensuring customer safety. Used to separate the platform from the tracks, the framed glass wall partition system can improve passenger safety in multiple ways: preventing accidents from people or objects falling on tracks, as well as improving air quality, and climate control within stations.
The implementation of the Standard will have a profound positive effect on local residents and customers, connecting communities across Toronto and the GTA and deliver more accessible, equitable, and inclusive transit.
Located in an endcap of a busy shopping centre in Lanham, Maryland the Nando’s Woodmore location was a great location to place what would become a busy restaurant and takeout spot. The design brief was to create an intimate environment and sense of place; a celebration of South African colour and craft. The existing space was devoid of character.
Category: EAT+STAY
Interior Designer: Sarah Stafford, ARIDO Design Firm: stré studio Photographer: Greg Powers
The space feels like a jaunt to Johannesburg, with a constant play between raw textural finishes and saturated hits of colour and pattern. Taking inspiration from the raw earthiness found in the South African landscape and the rich colour and pattern of local fashion and design trends.
The client was clear that the eclectic and vibrant brand was front and centre, provide ample room for circulation as well as 90 seats for in-person dining. With over a thousand locations in 35 countries, we needed to create a one-of-a-kind identity while still maintaining the Nando’s soul and brand. It also needed to attract shoppers from the adjacent mall, drawing the attention from the outside without impacting the view for customers sitting inside – all while adhering to strict tenant guidelines.
In order to complete all this, while respecting a firm budget, the interior design team selected a few feature elements to maximize their impact. Custom window screens, a custom patterned brick layout on the walls, and custom beaded light fixtures overhead draw the eye while in a carefully planned restaurant space.
The intimate sit-down setting is integrated with the potential capacity of a busy take-out location. Seating areas are located along the windows to showcase the energetic dining experience and encourage patrons to come inside.
The interior design team created a deliberate arrival path and lineup area along the rear of the main dining area banquette which leads to an open takeout waiting area and bench. Take-out patrons can exit through the secondary exit door or, if dining in, can access the main dining areas from the order counter area. As much as possible, the main circulation does not flow through dining zones, but remains integrated with the restaurant experience.
The condiments counter and hand wash areas are visible and easily accessible, without creating too much traffic through the dining areas. To avoid congestion at the main order counter, we also introduced an online order pickup shelf at the secondary access point for delivery companies to gain access quickly.
Playful African-inspired textiles, colours, and textures were layered over these three elements to celebrate the richness found in South African design. These finishes were offset against the exposed brick, natural leathers, contemporary styled furnishings and bespoke details and accents.
Supporting and promoting the work of designers and fabricators from South Africa is extremely important to Nando’s. An online portal of artisans and artists provides eases the sourcing process and utilize their specialties as much as possible given the distance constraints.
Alongside the materiality, collaborations with these fabricators enabled us to create a space with authenticity at the forefront. Handmade screens line the windows, a fresh take on traditional African weaving and referencing the decorative metalwork found in the streetscapes of Mozambique. It was the reinterpretation of this craft and pattern, by using modern scale and materials, that drove the concept; reinterpreting rather than reproducing was key. A collaboration between the interior design team and fabricators The Urbanative from South Africa yielded this eye-catching element.
The custom beaded light fixtures were a design collaboration with mashT design studio, based in South Africa. This studio supports a network of artisans, and the owner of the studio is a previous winner of a Nando’s design contest held every year which helps expose up and coming designers. Each lampshade is handmade by one of the studio’s artisans, this method of manufacturing introduces the artisan’s hand making each shade slightly unique.
In addition to the online sourcing portal, Nando’s has an extensive inventory of furniture and lighting from project relocations, renovations, and closures. It is mandated to access this inventory before specifying anything new for furniture and lighting, which promotes reusing these resource-intensive elements before purchasing new.
Creating this Nando’s experience was not about achieving one uniform story. Instead, the challenge was to create multiple experiences in the space through unique dining zones defined by furniture, lighting and subtle finish changes.
The new Brian Mulroney Institute of Government is a dynamic nexus of academic and social life on the highly picturesque St. Francis Xavier University campus. The 88,460 SF building features flexible and modern learning spaces, large tiered classrooms, a 300-person auditorium, administrative offices and meeting spaces, exhibition spaces, and an open atrium fondly named “The Forum”.
The grand, warm, and inviting Lobby space provides direct access to the main artery of the building, aptly named “Scholar’s Walk”. A truly unique aspect of this academic building is the incorporation of exhibition spaces, including a replica of Mr. Mulroney’s Office during his tenure as Prime Minister, as well as various exhibit spaces highlighting the former Prime Minister’s career.
St. Francis Xavier University, founded 1853, is located in the beautiful and historic town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia and is one of Canada’s oldest universities. The setting is a picturesque hillside site with historic academic buildings forming the heart of the campus. Through the vision and aspirations of both the University and former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, $52 million dollars were raised to help establish this dynamic epicentre of academic and social life.
With Mulroney Hall – Brian Mulroney Institute of Government aims to cultivate the next generation of leaders in Canadian policy, politics, social and planetary leadership, and to establish a tangible relation between the study and practice of government. The newly established Institute combines and augments existing programs and departments on campus into a synergistic academic and research body.
The first challenge that presented itself was the need for a new approach to academic learning environments. Most of the University’s buildings were quite dated and lacked flexible, agile learning spaces that would support the diverse needs of students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, and perhaps the most unique challenge to the project, was the need to design and incorporate exhibit spaces that would highlight the former Prime Minister’s career in a cohesive and thoughtful manner throughout the building.
The new building integrates itself into the existing topography and establishes a strong relationship with the campus’ adjacent main library. Endowed with wonderful, elevated vantage points across the Lower Campus, the Western edge of the building is assigned the most prominent public/social programmed space in the Institute, named “the Forum”.
As a major new student destination on campus, the Forum acts as a “campus living room” linking the school’s Upper and Lower Campus zones. The dynamic, double-height space benefits from beautiful views, natural light, and acts as the hub for the University. The space provides various settings for both socializing and learning through the use of modular flexible soft-seating arrangements, large communal tables that support technology, and quiet student touch-down spaces that allow for contemplative work. The Forum also has the ability to entirely transform into a large town hall space for important events and functions.
Overall, the planning for the building results in a very simple and intuitive layout that allows users to easily navigate the various spaces within the facility. The north lobby connects users through a main circulation artery and was specifically designed to showcase exhibition pods so that users of the building or individuals that traverse through Mulroney Hall on their way to an adjacent building have opportunities to access the exhibition spaces.
Bright and varied learning spaces include lecture halls, labs, active learning classrooms, and most importantly, informal social spaces that support collaboration and synergy. Given the rapid pace of change in learning environments, future proofing strategies such as standardization, modularity, flexibility, and generous circulation routes that can allow spaces to be reconfigured both in short and long term as pedagogy, programs, and technology change shaped the approach to all of the classrooms. Technology was also introduced in strategic ways so that students have ample access to power and content sharing which also contributed to the success of the University supporting online and hybrid learning during the pandemic.
Beyond introducing technology support within the classrooms, the building incorporated inclusive strategies for both students and faculty. Height adjustable tables and teaching lecterns are present in each classroom, faculty offices were designed for ease of movement with height adjustable desks and common serveries are accessible. Universal washrooms and lactation rooms are located throughout the building. To support the culturally and diverse needs of the university body, a multi-faith prayer room with fully accessible ablution room is located near the Forum – the main hub of the building.
Lastly, the incorporation of the exhibit spaces were key in guiding users throughout the building while highlighting an important narrative and history of the former Prime Minister’s story from early childhood, to his time at St. Francis Xavier University, and through his political life. The exhibition spaces are dispersed throughout Mulroney Hall which allows for visitors to immerse themselves in stories, artifacts, images and speeches related to Mr. Mulroney’s early years at St. Francis Xavier University and his career as Prime Minister. These exhibits are located on all four levels and are a mix of traditional and technological installations. The second floor showcases a replica Prime Minister’s office of oak paneled walls, and donated furnishings from the 1980s to allow students and visitors a glimpse of a space seldom seen first-hand.
St. Francis Xavier University recognizes that they are stronger as an academic institution when they honour everyone’s differences. Valuing and promoting equity, diversity and inclusion creates a campus community and supports the needs and aspirations of their students, faculty and staff. Honouring the differences that are both visible (e.g., physical ability, gender expression, age) and less visible (e.g., cognitive, culture, ancestry) and include different world views and experiences is key in creating an inclusive, welcoming, and safe learning environment.
An understanding of the needs of all users – equitable access to various student touch-down and collaboration areas, universal and barrier-free washrooms, lactation rooms, quiet rooms for users needing respite, a multi-faith room with ablution spaces for cultural and religious practices, and accessible classrooms that enhance the learning and teaching environment for both students and faculty.
Continuous dialogue between the interior design and architecture teams, along with the mechanical and electrical engineers resulted in a cohesive design that was developed and optimized through the energy modelling for the building in targeting LEED Gold energy efficiency targets. The interior materials and finishes were also strategically selected to help reduce the building’s environmental impact through the selection of low-emitting and local materials.
Careful planning and design yielded a learning environment that equally supports the diversity, safety, accessibility, health, and future needs of the University.
Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE) showcases Seneca’s commitment to entrepreneurial innovation as well as a sustainable vision for the future inspired by an Indigenous worldview. The design, which evolved through extensive consultation with Seneca’s executive leadership, academic stakeholders, and The Aboriginal College Council, brings together applied research, commercialization, specialized training, and an entrepreneurial incubator for both students and industry leaders.
The schedule for this project was accelerated with programming, design, and construction completed in just 30 months. However, the inteirior design team needed to develop a nimble concept that would support hi-tech labs and workshops as well as softer spaces to support collaboration and ideation. Adaptability was key for the future as well as for inevitable changes during a fast-tracked design and construction project.
Students, faculty, the Indigenous council and community, college leadership and industry partners were all involved with the planning process. This close collaboration yielded an interdisciplinary interpretive program, “The Manifesto for Making” that employs architectural elements, integrated artwork, and large-scale graphics to communicate the importance of an Indigenous worldview to shape a sustainable future.
The building’s focus on academic STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) programs is balanced with expression of Seneca’s commitment to recognizing Indigenous history and vibrant living culture in Canada. Two clear zones were established, a forward facing gallery that features complex finishes and details, which could be delivered later if necessary, and second, a highly modular and rational planning container for the core program spaces. The modular bays of the building feature exposed services, demountable partitions, and simple robust finishes that support adaptation and heavy use.
As the design evolved, senior administration began to realize the prominence of the site and the opportunities it presented. The mandate for the project expanded to include event space and event support to be integrated into what would be known as the Innovation Gallery.
The Innovation Gallery, an animated atrium space supporting collaboration, displays, and events, creates a new, vibrant presence for the College on Toronto’s busy Finch Avenue corridor. Connecting a set of flexible, modular spaces that house digital fabrication suites, high-tech labs, and flexible classrooms, CITE also offers a state-of-the-art workplace for Seneca’s administrative departments.
The Innovation Gallery engages the sloping topography of the site with a gently terracing ground floor that provides accessible platforms at three levels for day-to-day student lounge and study space, and convert to display platforms or events spaces as needed. It also provides a display and event space, from which industry sponsored high-tech fabrication spaces can be viewed.
The site also includes Seneca’s incubator, Helix, bringing industry, community, and students together to develop and launch new business ventures. The lab and classroom wing is adjacent to a series of light filled student lounges that facilitate breakout sessions and group work between classes and which organize CITE into a series of collaborative neighbourhoods.
The building is conceived as a universal container of modular space for teaching, learning, and making that are connected by a linear atrium on the building’s south edge—the Innovation Gallery. The modular bays of the building feature exposed services, demountable partitions, and simple, robust finishes that support adaptation and heavy use. The relatively large footprint of the lab and classroom wing is relieved by a series of light-filled student lounges that facilitate breakouts sessions and group work between classes.
Spaces for gathering, socializing, and food distribution throughout the building creates a welcoming environment, with warmth and team spirit. Clear and logical organization of wayfinding assists students and visitors find spaces with ease throughout the building. Robust natural light in learning and collaboration environments throughout the building create an uplifting spirit with strong use of colour, art, graphics, and visibility. Gender neutral washrooms, integration of Indigenous culture into the experience of building, clear pathways and ramps embed accessible, inclusive design into the building.
Under guidance from the school’s Indigenous Education Council (IEC) several architectural elements were designed to tell Indigenous stories within a contemporary architectural framework. 13 columns reflect the Anishnabe lunar cycle, three program containers evoke birchbark “memory chests”, and a series of integrated artworks feature the living culture of Seneca’s Indigenous community including the award-winning terrazzo medallion called the “Circle of Indigenous Knowledge” designed by Indigenous artist Joseph Sagaj.
The project’s sustainability strategies include an advanced selection process of materials for innovative levels of regional and recycled content, with a focus on health and wellness of occupants that considered use of low emitting materials, ample access to daylight, increased use of FSC wood finishes to lower embodied carbon, and design phase parametric analysis to optimize design and lower energy use. Low flow and flush fixtures are installed, achieving a potable water savings of 40%.
Outdoors, native and adaptive plants are utilized for the landscaping, drastically reducing any potential need for potable water. A cistern collects rainwater which is then used as cooling tower make up and the balance for landscape irrigation when needed. Seneca is pursuing LEED Gold certification for the CITE project with a focus on conservation, waste reduction, energy and climate change, transportation, water, and green building practices and operations.
Project Details:
Project Location: Toronto, ON Project Completion Date: December 2018 Project Square Footage: 275,230 square feet
Balancing the needs of “Our People” with the reality of client sales and customer needs presented an interesting design challenge. From early collaboration with McCrum’s, the project focus was ‘our people’, meaning the McCrum’s staff team, clients and suppliers. Although a working furniture showroom, the space was built on the sense of family and community through exploration of various non-workplace environments.
All employees were interviewed at the onset of the project, ensuring their thoughts and opinions were heard. After compiling this information, five common themes emerged: collaborative, family, quiet, proximity, and a good story.
Several settings were selected, patio/pergola, dining room, café/restaurant, away niches and living rooms. The common element was to promote interaction, collaboration, and encourage spontaneous conversations. WELL methodology, though not formalized, was layered through the integration of lighting, fitness, and mind, further emphasizing a sense of belonging and wellbeing.
Previously, staff teams were spaced out drastically over a large square footage and could go days if not weeks without seeing each other. In order to promote interaction, employees were grouped in one area. This space is large enough for not only those who work in the showroom but also field staff who are encouraged to use the space when they can. The café and social stairs were placed together to allow for larger gatherings between employees.
Some existing elements were quite dated which made it difficult to incorporate within the solution. The existing water mains were front and centre to the entry doors which was addressed through an angled entry that echoes the walls of the water closed. The reception area, custom screen, and the water closet create a ‘peek’ into the Client Care area, enticing clients to move through the space.
At reception, the custom welcome desk resembles a dining room table and allows for the ‘welcomer’ to sit, perch, or stand. Visitors are greeted at eye level instead of looking down at the receptionist. Branding is not the forefront of the reception, but a sense of comfort and calmness is encompassed by various textures through the richness of the wood panelling, the softness of the area rug and the gentle glow of the decorative pendants.
The team addressed the reduction in dedicated showroom space by providing versatile solutions that can be adapted based on activities of the modern office. With products changing regularly, product neighbourhoods were created allowing McCrum’s to swap product in the same way a stage changes with each production.
These neighbourhoods were planned based on the narrative of how McCrum’s walks visitors through the space, with the variety of product colour offerings interwoven throughout. For example, a pass-through meeting space showcases product colour on the pulls of white demountable doors. This type of application with colour is seen through the workstations, ancillary furniture, and demountable partitions. A special area for mockup reveals enables that special “Wow!” reveal moment for these products, and lets the sales rep prepare a client before the reveal.
Two existing skylights were challenges, which became inspiration for the location of the pergola space to provide a biophilic boost from above during harsh prarie winters, and enabling all staff to have access to natural light. The pergola’s roof and integration of green high pile carpet mimicking grass enhances the intimacy of the space.
With the owner of McCrum’s being part Métis, equity, diversity, and inclusion was a focus from the outset. The movement through the space and how that translated to their narrative, the interaction between people, and the input of all employees during the pre-design phase resulted in ‘our people’ as the driving principle for the project. The inclusion of all employees allowed for the input of various cultures, perspectives, and beliefs to be heard and reflected in the design.
For example, one individual in particular has an extreme sensitivity to noise, and the interior design team wanted to accommodate this need while integrating the employee within their team and office culture. Locating this individual away from the main corridor next to a demountable partition, and increasing the surrounding acoustic treatments addressed this issue. These are the types of concerns and inclusions that were explored throughout the project.
When speaking about ‘our people’, McCrum’s focus was not on one specific grouping. They considered their showroom to be a destination for all – employees, clients, designers, and community members.
Upon occupancy, McCrum’s was eager to welcome the community into their space to host various events at no cost. With the flexibility of the space built in, multi-functional areas provide a functional venue to host these events including award nights, educational workshops, and student functions.
Supporting the local community and Canadian companies through specifications, fabrication and décor strengthened the community connection. A Calgary based artist was selected for the art in the client welcome area and integration of heirloom pieces were displayed throughout the rest of the space.
As a provider of office furnishings for over 50 years in Alberta, the new space reflects who McCrum’s is today and has been well received by all occupants. What was once a disconnected, sprawling showroom, with designated support spaces spanning 50,000 square feet, became a place of connection and collaboration, creating a closeness among all users.
Project Details:
Project Location: Calgary, AB Project Completion Date: October 2018 Project Square Footage: 17,500 square feet
On the western edge of Peterborough, an hour and a half east of Toronto, Fleming College’s Sutherland Campus was established in 1973 with a collection of buildings designed by Ron Thom in collaboration with Thompson Berwick and Pratt and Partners within a 200-acre, terraced, park-like setting. Almost 50 years later, the college commissioned our team to revitalize the outdated 76,000 sf A-Wing, which serves as a campus gateway and classroom facility.
The design strategy was to transform the dark, heavy, and inefficient building into a contemporary one that meets the standards of 21st century learning, sustainability and accessibility. This all needed to be delivered without demolishing and rebuilding at the same time as it was fully occupied.
We began by shedding the building’s dark brown aluminum envelope back to its steel frame, and recladding it with alpolic aluminum panels(LINK) – a readily available and lightweight material conventionally found on gas stations that instantly gives the building a modern, clean and luminous appearance. Arranging bright coloured panels in one of the College’s brand colours at various angles captured natural light in different conditions, giving the illusion of a deeper colour palette. The colour palette continues inside the building, with interior finishes carefully selected to complement the exterior of the building. Lighting, furniture, and fixtures enhance the modern expression of the A-Wing.
The white and yellow panels that transform the existing facade were carefully chosen to integrate the space with the original brown campus buildings and a new Corten-clad neighbour. To break down the A-Wing’s solidity, we re-crafted the building’s form by applying some panels with “accordion folds”, and adding perforated versions over the windows. The overall effect is uplifting and playful.
Each entrance and key circulation space is demarcated with a glass pavilion and a transparent central hub that serves as a meeting space for socializing and informal learning. This node also includes a skylight that draws light downwards over multiple storeys.
A new roof, energy efficient glazing, LED light fixtures with occupancy sensors, and building components made of recycled materials provided a much needed updated to the building. Several accessibility upgrades helped establish a more inclusive space. In particular, barrier-free washrooms feature wall-mounted, floating sinks for wheelchair access, sensor operated dispensers and hand dryers as well as the appropriate spacing turning space in stalls and enclosures. We also introduced gender-neutral washrooms that can be used by all students, regardless of identity.
As a design team with extensive experience in hands-on learning environments we introduced several upgrades to the classrooms for the Health and Wellness, and Justice and Community Development programs which simulate contemporary hospitals, ambulances, and courtrooms. Replacing solid classroom and office walls with glazing, the design invites light to further permeate the interior, while also treating passersby to glimpses of the learning taking place within.
Renovations to the A-Wing took place while the building was fully occupied. We worked closely with Fleming College to design the project to phase construction in a sequence that would allow continuous delivery of some programs with minimal disruption. A portion of the construction work such as sprinkler work, took place after hours, the remaining renovations were delivered in two phases by area.
The original bold, 1970s graphics which denote each building wing has been retained as a tribute to the building’s original architect, Ron Thom – who was influential in shaping the design of Canadian post-secondary buildings. Our appreciation for this bold branding inspired us to select tile in complementary yellow and orange colours, which are used throughout the A-Wing for additional passive wayfinding. Bold colours, dynamic geometric shapes, and oversize typography animate the space, creating progressive differentiation between various areas of use.
Design features include flexibly patterned wall and floor tiles that create abstract wayfinding within public corridors. The tiles were used to cleverly and intuitively define zones separating student lounge areas from the corridors without the use of wall. Elongated wall tiles were patterned to form a bright mosaic featuring warm yellow, grey and white tones. The tile mosaic creates an uplifting look – brightening a space that was deep in the building floorplate, with relatively low ceilings and limited natural light.
One change we facilitated was the move to shared faculty offices. The design team developed a strategy for the layout and planning of this space to meet the client’s objectives. Over the course of several presentations the design team was able to underscore the virtues of minimizing private space and optimizing shared space. The solution is completely unique to this College and the Faculty were pleased with the results.
The project is a continuation of the energy conscious revitalization of Fleming College’s Sutherland Campus. By inventively working within the building’s original steel frame – breathing new life into the A-Wing, instead of rebuilding – we were able to achieve a modern building for a fraction of the cost to the College, and a lower environmental footprint. This adaptive reuse approach was a sustainable choice as it minimizes the adverse environmental effects of new construction, by reducing waste and energy consumption from demolition, and resources used during construction.
We also performed life-cycle costing to measure the lifetime costs of operating the A-Wing. This analysis allowed us to identify necessary performance upgrades that would sustainably extend the building’s life cycle. Supporting Fleming College’s goal of improving its energy efficiency, the design team outfitted the A-Wing with performance upgrades including new roofing, energy efficient glazing, LED light fixtures with occupancy sensors, low-flush plumbing fixtures, and building components with low environmental impact and recycled content.
Equity, diversity and inclusion was incorporated into the project as both a directive from the client and an expression of our firm’s core values. Fleming College promotes a welcoming and inclusive environment for students, staff and guests from the community. The A-Wing revitalization demonstrates commitment on an on-going basis to removing barriers and actively evolving a culture of respect, recognition, accommodation and celebration of each other’s unique contributions to Fleming’s learning and working environment.
Project Details:
Project Location: Peterborough, ON Project Completion Date: November 2018 Project Square Footage: 56,000 square feet
The first residential building leading a new phase of Church St. in Toronto, the interior design for 411 Church brings an upscale brand experience to the bustling Church and Wellesley neighbourhood. The developer, CentreCourt, wanted this project and its lobby experience to set the tone for its future work.
Category: CRAFT
Interior Designers: Dominic De Freitas, ARIDO; Suzanne Wilkinson, ARIDO; Bonnie Leung, ARIDO Design Firm: Figure3 Joint Venture: Urban Art & Metal Works Inc.
Photographer: Steve Tsai Photography
With a narrow, tall lobby at 411 Church, Figure3 wanted to activate the volume of negative space with a beautiful custom ceiling sculpture to draw the attention of visitors and passersby, and to evoke a feeling of wonder.
Inspiration came a few years earlier as Figure3 Principal and Residential Studio Lead was in Paris. Luxury retail shops such as Prada and Louis Vuitton along the Champs-Élysées all had beautiful sculptural elements in their atria, which evoked a powerful, emotional response.
A geometric and artful sculpture with intertwined rods expressing movement was the selected concept.
With elegance and luxury top of mind, no welds, seams, or fastening screws were to be visible, however, which was quite a challenge. Taking advantage of the sharp, crisp edges that can be created in a mill, solid aluminum bars were chosen as the material in square, flat and rectangular shapes. Round aluminum dowel pins connect each piece together, ensuring no joins or fastenings are visible.
In order to understand the size and proportions of the sculptural elements, Figure3 created several iterations of the sculpture in a 3D format. The designs were then sent to the fabricator, Urban Art & Metal Works (UAMW), to determine how the imagined concept could be realized. The fabricator and interior design team evaluated several materials for weight and cost considerations before selecting aluminum. Every horizontal and vertical piece was cut to size, its dowel pins hand-cut, with matching holes drilled to create a press-fit for secure assembly. Using their shop’s ceiling height, UAMW recreated a false wood ceiling containing the light fixture cut-outs from 411 Church in order to begin the assembly of the vertical support flat bars and spacing layout process.
It took four skilled employees five weeks in the shop to execute the design and assembly. With the preassembly completed and approved, they then had to disassemble each piece, engraving each piece with its connecting location. Once all bars were identified, they were sent for gold powder coating. With 368 bars and 800 hand-cut dowels, the sculpture is 29 feet long, 21 feet wide, and 7 feet tall, weighing a total of 1,900 pounds.
At 411 Church, a team of four assembled the sculpture over three weeks; first securing the vertical flat bars and their connections to the ceiling, then, carefully adding each piece one at a time.
With the calm backdrop of white marble, a luxurious gold-colored ceiling sculpture makes for a brilliant and striking contrast. Gold bars are inlaid within the marble that lines the lobby as if parts of the sculpture are integrated into the lobby walls. This component demarcates the lobby area from the adjacent elevators and divides the space.
With the condo located in Toronto’s most prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood and a bustling university community, it was very important for the art piece to reflect the diversity of the area. The intersection of the pieces is like the intersection of communities, separate and united at once, and greater than the sum of its parts. Its simplicity impresses, and its perceived undulating pieces dazzle. It’s public art for all to see and admire.
Suspended over the reception desk, the beautiful sculpture completes the space, accenting the height of the lobby. Viewed from the double story window outside, or inside the space, this one-of-a-kind art piece dazzles.
Still Light, the custom ceiling sculpture suspended in the lobby of The Selby is intended to remind residents of the storied history of the site and the presence of the historic Gooderham home. One of the client directives was to create an art piece that is visually accessible and engaging to viewers. Following this, we created a timeless, hybrid aesthetic that is at once traditional and modern, literal and abstract, conceived as a means of seamlessly blending old and new.
Category: CRAFT
Interior Designer: Johnson Chou, ARIDO Design Firm: Johnson Chou Inc. Photographer: Rajeshta Julatum, Designstor
Still Light is an abstraction or reinterpretation of a distillery still, which pays homage to the history of the site as a distillery and to the Gooderham’s as the original occupants of the historic mansion and co-founders of Gooderham and Worts Distillery, which was once the largest distillery in the world.
Suspended from the ceiling and hovering over the Lobby, Still Light is a material and symbolic reference to the stills once used in the production of spirit: constructed of sheets of copper wrapped around an aluminum structure. The interior of the ‘still’ is gently illuminated suggesting the fermenting process.
The ceiling sculpture is an abstraction or reinterpretation of a distillery still, the livelihood of the Gooderham family, in what is currently known to many as Toronto’s Distillery District. By deconstructing the common still, the result is a new, abstracted form that inspires wonder through its complexity and detail, adding another dimension that exposes the exterior and interior of the still simultaneously.
The warmth of the copper is heightened against the cool white marble of the lobby, while the overlapping layers, reflections, and illumination from within draw the viewer closer and create a dynamic visual and sensory experience. Steeped in history and lore, the historic mansion located at the foot of a new 50-story residential development was once the residence of the Gooderham family. Built in 1884, the mansion had a number of incarnations, more recently, a period when it functioned as a hotel, where a yet unknown writer named Ernest Hemingway resided in the 1920s during his stint with the local newspaper The Toronto Star.
The historic mansion inspired the design concepts for the interiors of the project, both aesthetically and as a point of reference for details within the mansion and the new residential tower. As designers of the development, we were able to ensure the two were harmonious.
Featuring 20 sheets of mirror polished, laser-cut, solid 22 gauge copper, riveted to a ribbed aluminum frame and LED lights the 25-foot long ceiling sculpture that engages the viewer through its metaphorical form, inspiring a narrative that resonates with the history of the storied family and their legacy within the city.
Still Light is intended to be accessible to all, engaging viewers on intellectual, emotional, and physiological levels of experience. The concierge at the building has relayed that there have been numerous inquiries about the piece, inspiring conversation, connection, and building a sense of community around the history of the building and the Gooderham family.
“We worked very hard to give [the designers] a profound understanding of what Tricon House meant and [they] successfully translated our brand aesthetic in design,” says Chief Marketing Officer at Tricon House, Alexandra Blum. “For The Selby, it was a mixture of the vibrant geographical area, honouring the past and incorporating a very layered interior design, like rich caramel leather sofas in the mansion, cow-hide back chairs, and a stunning copper chandelier in the lobby.”
Project Details:
Project Location: Toronto, ON Project Completion Date: July 2019 Project Square Footage: 6’ diameter X 25’ long
