Canadian Interiors November December 2015

CANADIAN INTERIORS

Art in offices, lobbies and train stations Showstoppers at Maison+Objet

November December 2015

Reworking Work

www.canadianinteriors.com NOVEMBER DECEMBER • 2015

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11/122015 Features

32 QUOD ERAT DEMONSTRANDUM Teknion’s new downtown Toronto space uses its own staff to showcase product lines.

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RAY WORKS HERE A change of command entails a complete rebrand that sees Toronto’s RCA become Ray.

41 A LIGHT SHOW OF ORDERED CHAOS Jean de Lessard generates an ap-

propriately informal, seemingly anarchic vibe for a company enmeshed in the helter-skelter of night time crowds.

48 LOOK. LOOK AGAIN. AND AGAIN. Forward-thinking companies look beyond the walls as just places to hang investments masquerading as art. Instead, they use it as a canvass to energize a workforce and spread the brand gospel.

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Regulars

GIVE AWESOMELY Ideas for giving.

17 CAUGHT OUR EYE 22 HOW IT’S MADE Zones of Immersion, by Stuart Reid.

25 SEEN Maison & Objet turns 20! 66 SCENE 70 OVER & OUT Montrealbased ceramicist Pascale Girardin discusses the art of making an entrance.

COVER – Made Visible, Public Health Ontario headquarters, by Diamond Schmitt Architects. Photo by Lisa Logan.

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Large and small squares, planks and skinny planks.

EM551, EM552 and EM553 in Broad

A G AT E WAY T O C R E AT I VI T Y Nature shows us how to enliven the spirit and awaken our senses from the ground up. It is the very root of creativity.

Invite it inside and witness the beauty of possibility. Introducing the Equal Measure™ Collection.

A Foundation For Beautiful Thinking. interface.com

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Digital Edition extra

Shhh no more

With the new Bibliothèque Saul-Bellow, Montréal-based Chevalier Morales Architectes envisioned a 21st century community anchor that is attractive, luminous, stimulates conversation and embraces all types of uses.

Give Awesomely!

This year, don’t give ugly Christmas sweaters, or a fruitcake. They’re not funny, and no one wants them. Instead, give good design to those on your list. And we’re here to help with killer gift ideas.

that highlights projects from a decade of work and illustrates the philosophy and design approach that define the firm’s award-winning practice and its role in the evolving creative landscape of Canada and abroad.

Visit the expanded digital edition of

Bits ‘n P ieces

Montreal-based Daily tous les jours, creators of large scale public art installations such as The Swings, recently launched The littleBits Store in New York City, a new project aiming to “democratize hardware” by empowering people to create their own electronic objects using a platform of easy-to-use building blocks.

to see our roundup!

Powers of Ten

On the Books

Toronto-based superkül has released Rain, Gravity, Heat, Cold, a 160-page monograph

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To begin its second decade of existence, Vancouverbased Bocci has extended its reach and opened its first European studio in Berlin.

Housed in an abandoned 2,200-sq.-m.historic courthouse, Bocci’s second home at Kantstrasse 79 will be a working laboratory, production hub, studio and archive.

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November| December 2015 / V52 #6

Publisher

Martin Spreer

GIS

416-510-6766

GUARANTEE & INSPECTION SERVICE

Editor

Peter Sobchak Art Director

Roy Gaiot

Associate Editors

David Lasker, Rhys Phillips, Leslie C. Smith Contributor

Sarah Fletcher Senior Circulation Manager

Diane Rakoff

416-510-5216 Reader Services

Silva Telian 416-442-5600 x3636 Production

Steve Hofmann 416-510-5194

Senior Publisher

Tom Arkell

President of iQ Business Media Inc.

Alex Papanou Head Office

80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Telephone 416-442-5600 • Facsimile 416-510-5140 Canadian Interiors magazine is published by iQ Business Media Inc. Tel: 416-442-5600, Fax: 416-510-6875 e-mail: info@canadianinteriors.com website: www.canadianinteriors.com Canadian Interiors publishes six issues, plus a source guide, per year. Printed in Canada. The content of this publication is the property of Canadian Interiors and cannot be reproduced without permission from the publisher.

Subscription rates > Canada $38.95 per year; plastic wrapped $41.95 per year (plus taxes) U.S.A. $71.95 US per year, Overseas $98.95 US per year.

Back issues > Back copies are available for $10 for delivery in Canada, $15 US for delivery in U.S.A. and $20 overseas. Please send payment to: Canadian Interiors, 80 Valley brook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 or order online www.canadianinteriors.com For subscription and back issues inquiries please call 416-442-5600 ext.3636, 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).

Member of Canadian Business Press • Member of the Alliance for Audited Media

ISSN 1923-3329 (Online), ISSN 0008-3887 (Print), H.S.T. # 815380985 RT0001

iQ Business Media Inc. Canada Post Sales Product Agreement No. 43005526 “We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage”.

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DESIGN IS RENEWAL

© 2015 Shaw, A Berkshire Hathaway Company

VISIT OUR BOOTH AT IIDEX • December 2-3, 2015 • Toronto • booth #5115 THE PARK IS DESIGNED TO REDEFINE BOUNDARIES, ENHANCE OUR MOOD AND OPEN OUR MINDS. TRANSITION FROM COMMUNAL ENERGY, TO A QUIET, SINGULAR MOMENT. ALONE. TOGETHER. SHAWCONTRACTGROUP.COM

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caught our eye

Seasons Change Part of Festival des Architectures Vives, an annual event that takes place within the inner courtyards of selected townhouses in Montpellier, France, A Tenth Spring was inspired by O-Hanami, a Japanese custom of admiring the ephemeral beauty of cherry blossoms. 4,000 balloons were used to evoke the imagery of petals gently detaching themselves one by one.

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caught our eye

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Beyond the Blackness Parisian artist Baptiste Debombourg explores the little-known (but sci-fi staple) cosmic element known as dark matter in a solo show exhibited at la Chaufferie à Strasbourg as part of a glass biennale.

Visitors are encouraged to walk on a mass of black glass, punctuated by a white shard, which together highlight the unreliable nature of reflections. baptistedebombourg.com

Object Lesson We Go to the Gallery, by Miriam Elia (Dung Beetle Ltd.), is a hilarious send-up of contemporary art, told as a children’s learning book.

Funny enough, the limited edition ver­sion was threatened with a lawsuit

by Penguin UK (owners of the Ladybird imprint), which was withdrawn following a recent change in U.K. copyright law allowing for parody and satire. artbook.com

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Sounds Like Fashion Helsinki is the newest sibling to Danish manufacturer Vifa’s series of wireless loudspeakers (also named after Scandinavian capitals).

Among its Nordic features are a unique textile cover from Kvadrat that lets sound pass through its woollen threads; a leather strap from Swedish manufacturer Tärnsjö Garveri; and a solid aluminum frame, molded in one piece in order to avoid assembly marks or frail spots. vifa.dk

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how it’s made

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1—Reid began by riding the subway and observing fellow passengers, sketching people and writing poems about the commuter experience.

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2—These images and text were reworked onto 166 glass panels, most of which are 3.5 feet wide by 7 feet tall with an average weight of 200 lbs.

To jazz up the subway platforms of Union Station in time for the Pan Am Games this past summer, the TTC held an open international competition in 2007. Canadian artist Stuart Reid’s winning bid, called “Zones of Immersion,” is a 7-foot high by 500-foot long translucent wall mural featuring 166 silver-stained, enameled, engraved and laminated glass panels with original imagery and text that captures the blurred rhythms of a city in transit. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • stuartreid.ca

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4—Reid hand-worked every single sheet of glass, including painting ‘resists’ for sandblasting and drawing or painting on the glass sheets.

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3—Each panel is made of laminated layers of glass with a minimum thickness for each composite panel of 21mm.

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One of the largest permanent public art projects in Toronto, Stuart Reid portrays in glass the people who “ride the rocket” every day.

Photography by Stuart Reid / Peters Studio

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Zones of Immersion

Above More than seven years in the making, the artwork runs the entire length of the Union Station subway platform.

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for the love of home

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Baristas Rejoice When you need luxury, Tom Dixon is your man. He showed several new collections at Maison+Objet that elevate common tasks to new levels of indulgence, for example Brew, a tribute to the mysteries of the modern-day coffee ceremony. Comprising caddy, scoop, cafetiere, stovetop, milk pan, espresso cups, biscuit tin and serving tray, the range includes a totem to worship every stage of the coffee ritual. Each product is stainless steel with a high-gloss finish, achieved by applying a film of vaporized copper. tomdixon.net

oaring

By Peter Sobchak

into its Twenties

It may only be 20 years, but it feels like Maison+Objet has been around forever. That permanence is a testament to the ongoing yet evolving validity of this show as a place to celebrate creativity and lifestyle.

For five days in September, more than 69,000 visitors thronged the aisles of the Parc des Expositions Paris Nord Villepinte, and other signs of two decades of growth are evident everywhere: the expansion of M&O Projets throughout Hall 8; the growing value of Now! Le Off, a satellite springboard for up-andcoming international designers; and the overlapping buzz of activity surrounding Paris Design Week, which was further bolstered by 50 new participants and the addition of new districts between Barbès and Stalingrad. Having shed its ungainly teen years, Maison+Objet is looking bright and ready to face the world.

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Shuffle Up and Deal Gaël Manes, the creator and founder of Paris-based Minimalist Editions, has expanded in 2015 his exceptional Playing Cards furniture collection with several new items, including the sober yet inviting Canapé Kerloas, with a solid oak base in natural varnish. minimalist-editions.fr

Toe the Line Most of Kristina Dam Studio’s product portfolio consists of furniture, sculptures, decoration items and illustrations that carry a strong rectilinear quality. Which makes sense, since Dam’s initial training was as an architect, and architectural elements such as balance and form characterize products like the oak Sculptural Chair. kristinadamstudio.dk

CANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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Get in Gear The wonderfully ironic Italian design brand Seletti came to Maison+Objet with tongue firmly in cheek and debuted several new collections including Industry Garden Furniture

by Antwerp duo Studio Job. The set, consisting of a round table, oval table and chairs, evokes the style of the classic garden sets but integrates mechanical graphics. Made of light and recyclable cast aluminum, Industry can be completely disassembled. seletti.it

Slide on In There The new Easer chair from Dutch-based firm Lonc, is a sleek, sturdy yet comfortable minimalist combination of molded polypropylene and stainless steel. Designed

by Rogier Waaijer, it seems perfectly at home in almost any setting, and thanks to weatherresistant materials and a drainage slit integrated into the seat, that setting can be indoors or out. lonc.nl

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Go Big! The suitably named Ultrasofa is an XXL piece of outdoor furniture from Fermob that will dominate your patio, like it or not (hopefully the former). Designed by Frédéric Sofia, its single-piece frame and seat are water-repellent, and measuring a full three metres in length means guests won’t be stuck standing at your next garden party. fermob.com

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Life Support With a surrounding wooden frame that looks sturdy enough to store a bowling ball collection, Scaffold, designed by André Teoman Studio for Portuguese furniture brand Wewood, transcends being just a sofa, and demands multiple parts in your life as a side table, bookshelf and even room divider. wewood.eu

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The Circus Comes to Town French designer Marc Venot has created the ingenious Acrobat table lamp for Normann Copenhagen that can be placed both vertically and horizontally in any number of positions. This is because the lamp consists of two parts: a cone-shaped base and an oblong LED light source that are held together by magnets only. normann-copenhagen.com Back In Black At Maison+Objet, Vitra previewed its new Black Collection, an assortment of new design objects along with new editions of classic pieces in shades of black. Highlights include several Eames products, such as the Eames Elephant in black, which Charles and Ray developed back in 1945 but never put into production. Vitra launched a plastic version several years ago, and has now developed a black version to emphasise the silhouette and give it a more subdued character. vitra.com

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Grab Hold Jeux d’Anses, by Jeanne Bonnefoy-Mercuriali for TH Manufacture, is a modern reinterpretation of antique water pots native to Palestine and the surrounding region. What is historically purely utilitarian has now been rendered both playful and sculptural. And with a name that translates to Dancing Handles, how does it not put a smile on your face? thmanufacture.com

Mix n’ Match Drawing inspiration from Alexander Calder’s kinetic sculptures, Spanish artist and designer Jaime Hayon merged disparate sizes, shapes and colours into one cohesive design for the Palette series of three multi-tiered tables for &Tradition. The mixing even extends into materials, which include white Bianco Carrara marble, ash or pink stained oak veneer, brass and satin brushed stainless steel. andtradition.com

Coming Home Vitra chose Maison+Objet — a show for and about the home — to debut its expanded range of Home Complements, a collection of design objects, accessories and textiles featuring classic patterns and objects by such luminaries as Alexander Girard, George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames.

One of the items is Little Devil, decorative wooden dolls designed and made by Girard for his own home in Santa Fe and inspired by his extensive personal collection of folk art. vitra.com

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Pub Cana

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Teknion’s new downtown Toronto space uses its own staff to showcase product lines

Quod erat demonstrandum Clockwise The new Teknion Collaboration Hub offers abundant natural lighting, spectacular vistas of downtown Toronto, and comfortable, home-away-from-home lounges and chairs. The Stratus Wine Bar is not such a bad touch, either…. Exiting off an elevator bank so high-tech that you might require directions for its use, clients, suppliers and staff enter through the Hub’s main doors. Like most of the column-free, glasswalled interior, physical transparency acts as a visual metaphor for the company’s work ethic. A long “harvest table” running through the centre indicates both community and collaboration…. The office’s fluid flow allows staff a daily choice between different work stations – every one of them with a view.

By Leslie C. Smith

CANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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Photography by Patrick St-Arnaud

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The view is amazing – the breadth of office systems that meets the eye in Teknion’s new 10,750-sq.-ft. showroom in downtown Toronto. Oh yeah, and the three-quarters vista of the city’s Financial District from the Bremner Tower’s 20th floor is pretty spectacular as well. - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------Created for the Canadian contract furniture manufacturer by San Francisco-based Vanderbyl Design, the space comes across not so much showroom as showcase, a live-action display of 21st century work environments. For instance, there’s no lobby per se off the hightech elevator banks but rather the Hub, a large common area complete with a centrally placed, new-age harvest table suitable for everything from staff luncheons to client meetings. (That is not to mention the occasional wine tastings hosted by company president and CEO, David Feldberg, who also happens to be a principal of Niagara-on-theLake’s Stratus Wines.) Built-in library shelves with cushioned banquettes bookend the entryway, while on either side of the communal

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Below A south-facing lounge surrounded by exterior and interior glass walls acts as a casual meeting place, a space for quiet conferences or just relaxing. The fact that you are experiencing the company’s contract furniture the way it was designed for seems almost incidental.

table, grouped lounge chairs and side tables scatter across a warm expanse of white-oak flooring. Bracketing but not completely enclosing the Hub, two freestanding walls house a large video screen and a coffee/wine bar, respectively. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------“We wanted,” says Candace Samuel, Teknion’s design services manager, “something that reflects our company culture and our corporate brand. The harvest table, the comfortable armchairs, the soft colours all feel like we’re welcoming you into our home.”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------A well-published corporate researcher into the future of working life, Teknion takes its outcomes literally. Staff have no assigned desks, which leaves them open to shifting fluidly through the Hub to slightly more formal workstations on the north side (signalled by a conventional layout, acoustically hushed meeting rooms and dark walnut veneers) to the more relaxed sales area to the south (an open plan filled with blond maplewood veneers and modular office systems with punches of primary colours). Here, a wall of textile samples and finishes blends into the workspace, allowing clients to consult effortlessly with employees. Each workstation is flexible enough to allow tailored adjustments to an individual’s needs, while personal items and files repose in digital lockers concealed behind huge closet doors. - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------These doors, painted in washable white so they can double as a writing surface for collaborative notation, are like the rest of the space’s datum CANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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line. They stand a full nine feet tall, lending expansive-but-still-human dimensions to the office’s 12-foot ceiling height with its faux-warehouse finish (the actual building mechanicals run beneath the floor).

But they are also an anomaly, being among the few solid obstructions to the gaze that passes through a column-free interior filled with open workstation features and glass-walled meeting rooms to a floor-toceiling skyscape beyond. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------Even the staff kitchen and photocopier room have laminated, electrified glass walls that can turn from opaque to clear at the flick of a switch. Teknion must be aware of studies that demonstrate how access to natural light tends to produce healthier, more creative workplaces. Certainly, its aim of maintaining “a sense of transparency and accessibility that is consonant with the Teknion brand” has been skillfully achieved. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------This collegial office, built for creativity and common-ground interaction, assuredly fits in with modern-day management mantras. Yet one must not forget that this is, at the core, a showcase for office systems.

With its three annually scheduled product launches, Teknion’s initial offerings – Upstage, Interpret, Teknion Studio and Expansion Desking in its southern section; District, Leverage, Journal and Cluster to the north – may well make way as many times a year for fresh-off-theline contemporary design. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------•

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A change of command entails a complete rebrand that sees Toronto’s R CA become Ray

Photography by David Whittaker

By Leslie C. Smith

Things change. Organizations evolve. Sometimes, a firm requires repositioning to meet new demands or to refresh a brand. Or it may face transitional concerns as its founders reach retirement age. - - - -------------------------------------------------Design firms are particularly vulnerable to the latter challenge. Often, a company’s reputation is inexorably linked to that of its originator.

Remove the literal name brand and everything can tumble like a house of cards. New companies may spin off from the ensuing debris yet still, they must build again from the ground up. - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Such was the situation with Toronto’s Raymond Chiappetta Associates. Founded in 1987 by Joanne Raymond and Mario Chiappetta, RCA existed for many years as a well-respected company with a specialty niche in commercial interiors. Its principals, having recently transferred company ownership to two former partners, designer Isabelle Talbot and project manager Joe Trozzo, now work part-time as conversion to the new business entity takes effect. Pursuant to mutual agreement, the company’s name needed to be changed. - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------CANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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Talbot and Trozzo had already decided to start over in a new space, shifting from RCA’s old Queen Street West offices to the main floor of a renovated factory in the upwardly trending Junction Triangle neighbourhood. The question next became how to maintain the industry goodwill and reputation of their former firm while establishing their own unique identity, as well as charting a path towards the future. - -------------------------------------------------“We had a debate,” Talbot recalls of the rebranding initiative that began earlier this year. “We said, ‘We’re in the design business – should we be doing this ourselves?’ We finally decided to leave it to the professionals. We are always telling our clients to hire experts. So we did.” - -------------------------------------------------A friend recommended Toronto brand-strategy group Parcel Design, led by partners Erin Brand, Julie Mitchell and Gary Beelik. Because of the tight turn-around connected to the new firm’s physical move, the entire strategic procedure of conducting research, formulating strategy and creating an identity would have to be done in just two months, half its normal time. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------------------------------------------

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Opposite Principals Isabelle Talbot and Joe Trozzo. Above The main work area is expressed in an open floorplan simply fitted up in black and white with a few punches of colour. All central facilities – copy room, sample room and kitchen – meet in the middle. Note the practical reuse of lighting fixtures salvaged from a bank building teardown and the amusing plastic lawn furniture lounge.

Parcel kicked things off with some conversational research, one-onone interviews with past and present RCA clients and other stakeholders. Their collective comments were then boiled down and plotted out on a tree-shaped chart called the Brand Map, which allows at-a-glance evaluation of how the brand is perceived. At this point, Talbot and Trozzo entered the core decision-making process. - - - - -------------------------------------------------“Some of the info we knew,” says Trozzo, “and some was hard to hear.

We started brainstorming. What were our strengths and weaknesses? Our goals and values? What did we want the company to be?” --------------------------------------------------

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One of the take-aways uncovered in this joint exercise was that the existing brand didn’t accurately portray the type of relationship that Trozzo and Talbot’s clients had come to expect. “It was almost like the existing brand was doing them a disservice,” Erin Brand remembers in a recent phone interview. “It felt traditional, a bit dated, not very design driven, whereas the actual experience with Joe and Isabelle was quite different.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Research showed that the design duo excelled in building personal connections with their clients, in carefully listening and responding to needs, in coming up with relevant design solutions that were as 11/12 2015 CANADIAN INTERIORS

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practical as they were attractive. Brand tags their approach Pragmatic by Design. Given this feedback, Parcel proposed a handful of potential names that would speak to the firm’s “value proposition,” marketing-speak for its uniqueness. Of the handful of choices, one instantly stood out – Ray. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------The new name gives a nod to the past yet implies a more accessible, contemporary persona. According to Talbot, people would frequently call Raymond Chiappetta and ask to “speak to Ray.” Her partner Joe also uses a friendly, shortened form of his more formal birth name, and all their own work is conducted on a first-name basis. As an added bonus, “Ray” possesses welcome connotations of illumination and energy. Even the materials sent out to announce the name change, headlined “Ray Creates Anything,” dovetailed neatly into the firm’s SEO-rich rca.on.ca domain name. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------It’s fascinating how those three little letters have already done so much for the firm. The new word-mark logo, set in traditional serif type with a distinctive modern fade, is stencilled in bold black and white – Ray Works Here – over their reception desk. The new office CANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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itself balances white walls with black furnishings. And, like the typeface, the space showcases Ray’s open, approachable design semiotics. Trozzo and Talbot, along with their 14-member staff, have fully embraced the We Are Ray brand experience, best described as a yin-yang of right-brain creativity matched with left-brain project management skills. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Feedback from clients and the design community after the June, 2015 launch of both the new office and the new name has been highly positive. “Ray is still a boutique firm,” says Talbot, “but the rebranding pushes it up in category and in profile.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Parcel’s Erin Brand remarks that, thanks to the support and collaboration of Ray’s partners: “Our whole team thoroughly enjoyed the process. We’re so proud of the outcome. They trusted us to do our best work, and allowed us to do our best work. The results speak for themselves.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------And when they do speak, we bet they do it on a first-name basis. - - -------------------------------------------------•

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Left Joe Trozzo and Isabelle Talbot share a combined office space removed but not isolated from the rest of the Ray work team by a floor-to-ceiling glass wall that signals accessibility. Above Ray’s repurposed building combines old pine floors and supports, exposed brick walls and a vintage vestibule with such modern elements as a dramatic spiral chandelier by Toronto’s Artimede Lighting. Right The new Ray office was relocated to a converted pickle factory in Toronto’s trendy, post-industrial Junction Triangle. Instead of working on multiple floors, as they did in their Queen St. W. past, staff members can now liaise across one large, dynamic expanse.

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a light show of ordered chaos Jean de Lessard generates an appropriately informal, seemingly anarchic vibe for a company enmeshed in the helter-skelter of night time crowds.

By Rhys Phillips

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From the exterior, Montreal-based PixMob’s new head office, technology studio and warehouse appears hardly auspicious. It is lodged in the middle of a plain, single-storey red brick structure of indeterminate mid-20th century vintage sitting among other aging industrial buildings and warehouses north of the city’s crosstown Metropolitan freeway. Only a few signs suggest this gritty area may be getting a new lease on life with conversions into the type of industrial lofts much coveted by the new creative economy. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------Inside, however, the approximately 6,000-sq.-ft. office/studio designed

by Jean de Lessard first appears as a tightly compacted but chaotic landscape populated with abstracted black boulders, a rich yellow shard and angled pine-board sheds. The light level is relatively low but comfortably mellow and streaked by beams of natural light from two skylights. Stout, original structural wood columns supporting an exposed wood roof deck have been stripped back to their natural state.

This, along with the yellowy-white chipped paint left untouched as a raw, tactile patina on the interior brick walls only reinforces the idea of a techno-landscape tucked beneath a unifying tree canopy. - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------Unlike in newer office buildings, de Lessard believed an “interesting story” resonated; so, he says, “we kept the details on the walls, we removed little to retain the existing incredible mood.” He eschews, however, a geological reading of the space although not its sense of chaos, albeit an oxymoronic “ordered chaos” that ensures considerable functionality in the plan. “It is the spirit, the energy, the feeling for what goes on at PixMob” he says, that he has sought to infuse in his design. - - - ----------------------------------------------------

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3 PixMob is a globally successful firm, established in 2003 as ESKI and renamed in 2014. It is the brainchild of CEO David Parent and MITtrained Vincent Leclerc, the firm’s Chief Technology Officer. The firm “connects crowds,” particularly those attending large events such as concerts or sporting matches, by supplying each audience member with a LED embedded wristband or neck pendant whose colour is remotely controlled through computers programmed by the company. Other products include light balls that bounce around a crowd morphing from colour to colour in sync with live music, light shows and physical hits; and Helicos, firefly-like swarms dropped into audiences. The Sochi Winter Games, Super Bowl 2014, the NBA All-star Break 2015, Microsoft Xbox, and musical acts like Coldplay and Taylor Swift are but a few of PixMob’s clients. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------On entry, a black box collaboration room, sculpted like an irregularly cut jewel but opened up with large glazed doors on two sides, blocks the way forward sending one either right or left. To the left, an open area (replete with staff bicycles) accommodates steel stairs leading to one of two side mezzanines housing the two partners’ offices. It then narrows to pass between the black boardroom and a row of closed offices along the west wall. To the right, a dynamically angled yellow fragment wraps

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7 behind and over the reception desk and defines one side of the corridor leading to a large open area hosting technicians and programmers. In this space another tall freestanding black monolith encloses two small meeting rooms. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------Stretching across the back of the office’s front section is an interior brick wall with its aging paint still in place and punctured by original doorways and glassless window openings. In the middle of its span, this partition appears to bisect another angled volume, this one clad in unstained pine boards. On the wall’s front south side, the enclosed space is an office while on the north it provides storage. But most importantly, the wood “shed” also frames a kitchen/eating area, an active central piazza washed with natural light from a skylight. To its east is another open workstation area tucked under the second mezzanine while on the west is a second row of enclosed offices. A last black box is pushed back to the rear with corridors on either side connecting to the warehouse. Both in its literal colour, inside and out, and in its function this irregular pentagon-shaped room is a “black box” theatre dedicated to testing company products in sync with lasers used in the shows. - - - - ---------------------------------------------------De Lessard wanted to avoid creating a chic white office laid out in a nice rational grid. Instead, he opted for dense black, mottled wood

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hues and low light to reflect the night but with a slash of eye-popping yellow. When the partners suggested near the end of the design process to replace yellow with white, he responded “you are not accountants, you are not engineers, you are PixMob. The space needs to reflect the feeling of a party, a bar, a creative workshop.” - - - - - - - - ---------------------------------------------------Working mainly through the night with techno music and flashing event videos from PixMob’s website pulsing away, he set out to massage the audio beat into a spatial plan “that reflects their feeling, their energy.” To illustrate, he draws quickly on tracing paper a random pattern of connected lines while an event video blasts in the background. The result is a series of patterns appearing something between a gyrating stick figure and a Japanese character. “When I am satisfied that a shape gives me the kind of general feeling I want in the space, I massage it into functioning circulation space and then install the different enclosed shapes and open spaces,” he says. - - - ---------------------------------------------------De Lessard’s PixMob office/lab generates an appropriately informal, seemingly anarchic vibe for a company enmeshed in the helter-skelter of night time crowds. At the same time it delivers a high functioning, efficient work space for a growing creative company. - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------• 11/12 2015 CANADIAN INTERIORS

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Loo k.

By Peter Sobchak

CANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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Photography by Lisa Logan

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There are as many ways of defining art’s “function” as there are its styles. But when seen in a corporate setting, the definitions begin to crystalize, and we tend to agree that the role of corporate art is the expression and management of corporate identity. Admittedly, the dominant stereotype that springs to mind when using the words “corporate” and “art” in the same sentence is of companies building a personal gallery for the office: banks and law firms lining their hallways and vaults with paintings by famous (read: valuable), artists, seen mostly by partners and clients. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------While it may be true that there are still many companies that see art as an “investment,” there are many more that have become aware of what corporate art can do: function as a motivator for workers and a source of creativity. And when set against the backdrop of a growing cohort of employees for whom this kind of environment is not only appreciated but expected, smart companies focused on talent attrac-

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Forward-thinking companies look beyond the walls as just places to hang investments masquerading as art. Instead, they use it as a canvass to energize a workforce and spread the brand gospel. tion and retention are realizing the office walls are not just places to post internal memos or WHMIS posters. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------For 30 years American Express (Amex) had been operating its Canadian business from a drab, lifeless corporate environment in an equally drab, lifeless industrial quadrant in the Toronto suburb of Markham. But in April of this year, the company moved its 2,000 employees to a shiny new campus in North York that not-unintentionally

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Above Located within the new Public Health Ontario headquarters, Made Visible is a multi-storey wall installation derived from images of the SARS virus, which was chosen because it was in response to this outbreak in 2003 that PHO was established. Above Left Located within an infectious disease laboratory setting, the installation is constructed of 8,000 durable, non-porous, brushed stainless steel cylinders and coloured matte acrylic Lucite disks.

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And agai n. evokes a Silicon Valley feel: traditional cubicles and assigned desks have been abandoned in favour of an open environment based on hoteling, desk booking, modular spaces and systems that support a mobile workforce (a corporate mental shift Amex calls BlueWork, already being used in other global offices such as New York, London and Taiwan). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------With business casual dress, a Montessori school, Tim Hortons, dry cleaner and convenient store all on site, every decision made about the new headquarters was focused on building a positive corporate culture. “We didn’t want to build a headquarters for a bank: we wanted to build a space that houses and cultivates youthful, creative, ambitious people,” says David Barnes, VP of Advertising and Communications at Amex Canada. And this extended to a desire to animate the space through art. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Amex sees itself as a “service” company, with credit cards just a product that facilitates the desires and lifestyles of their customers. Many of the services are centred on “life-affirming” experiences — travel, music, shopping, what Barnes calls “passion points” — that were to be reflected in the subject matter of the art. And while the primary audience for this art is employees, Amex also sees employees as cardholders, and the cardholder experience is what they wanted represented through the art. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------CANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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Left Four images of the SARS virus at different magnifications were deployed to ascend along with the stair, arriving at the highest magnification on the top floor. Right The relatively confined context dictated that the installation needed to be effective from a range of viewpoints and would often be visible only as a fragment or from an oblique angle. The shallow relief of the wall produces an ambiguous effect, not entirely image nor object, but serving as both from different vantage points.

This was the basic brief that landed on the desk of OgilvyOne, a firm whose name should be familiar to many: they are the advertising agency that has produced many award-winning campaigns for Amex. Yet the firm shrewdly eschewed the idea of just putting up old ads on the walls: while acknowledging past triumphs, “that just looks back, and they want to look forward,” says Alex Furrer, Chief Creative Officer at OgilvyOne Toronto. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------They understood the brief, but they had to know their physical limitations too: with much of the working spaces given over to whiteboards and other display technologies intended for mobile collaborative work groups, their canvass was the spaces in front of the elevators, and some small spaces in public areas like reception. Using mostly modified stock photography, the results are a riot of colour and form that explode in front of you as you exit the elevators, with feelings of movement and adventure and intrigue permeating the space. - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Barnes admits that Amex could have gone to an art consultant, as many firms do when looking to integrate art into an office environment, but instead decided to go to their advertising agency. “We have a long-standing relationship with the agency and trust in collaboration is already there,” he says. “But also mainly because this is an exercise that represents and reflects the brand and OgilvyOne is the brand agency, so they understand that very well.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------While many companies spend significant sums of money hiring firms whose skill is in carefully tailoring a brand, in some cases brand creation comes from the most unexpected places. Such was the case for Public Health Ontario (PHO), a Crown corporation charged with the responsibility of studying, preventing and controlling infectious dis-

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Above Cardmembers’ passions and experiences inspired the artwork that appears in elevator lobbies and other public spaces in the new headquarters for Amex Canada, including references to travel, music and adventure.

ease. For years, toiling in nondescript laboratory facilities not far from Pearson airport, brand was not really on PHO’s mind. But with the SARS virus epidemic of 2003, PHO (which at that time was operating under a different name) was thrust into the public spotlight.

Along with it came governmental funding and expansion, which ultimately resulted in relocating this year to state-of-the-art facilities along “Hospital Row” in downtown Toronto. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------The new headquarters, designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, a firm with plenty of health care project experience, are housed over four floors in the new MaRS Phase 2 building. Since the guts of this complex, like the sci-fi sounding “containment level 3” labs, are out of sight, a four-storey interconnecting stair became the central spine.

This staircase, along with adjacent lounge and meeting spaces, was meant to encourage informal collaboration and interaction among scientists, staff and visitors. A continuous wall adjacent to the stair offered the architects both a headache and a blank canvas, who saw it as potential to “animate and reinforce the unity of the space,” says Joshua Cohen from Diamond Schmitt. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Originally, ideas about integrating volumetric pieces of millwork were explored (a Diamond Schmitt hallmark), but the wall and the space did not lend itself to that. In fact, the wall did not lend itself to many things, including a simple rendition of two-dimensional portraits of the institute’s founders, which was also considered. Ultimately, working in concert with the scientists, the architects devised CANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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a multi-storey wall installation comprised of almost 8,000 stainless steel rods and tubes derived from images of the SARS virus across four microscopic scales, magnifying them from 20,000x magnification, which shows hundreds of viruses on the surface of a cell, to a simulated 650,000x magnification of a single virus. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------The architects were fascinated by the transformational potential of scaling tiny microbial organisms to a monumental architectural surface (hence the name, Made Visible), but wanted to make sure it still speaks to the intended audience: researchers who stare at viruses all day. Abstraction was achieved using a custom algorithm that converts pixilated digital images into a three-dimensional array of brushed stainless steel cylinders and tubes (which loosely represent racks of clinical test tubes) on a bright Hi-Macs surface. Coloured Lucite disks recessed into the tips of the larger tubes highlight the viruses against the surrounding context. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------The success of the installation was immediate. “It resonates deeply with the staff, as it refers directly to the mission and daily work of the institution, which in many cases is about magnification and identification,” says Clive Kessel, facilities executive director at PHO. “It’s really about the story that it is telling.” And in both a literal and symbolic way, that sentiment echoes what art – even corporate art – should be all about: make us look at something in new ways, not just be another profit item on the bottom line. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------•

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Be Inspired

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Wednesday, November 30 – Thursday, December 1

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IIDEXCanada is part of The Buildings Show, North America’s largest exposition, networking and educational event for design, construction and real estate, including:

0/0 2015 CANADIAN INTERIORS

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Takes a lickin’ For those friends of yours that like to carry their smartphone through the Amazon jungle, the rugged Nanuknano by Plasticase is just the item for them. These small handheld cases hold personal belongings in shock-resistant polycarbonate resin shells that come with a PowerClaw latch, a valve for pressure control and elastomer over moulding providing both internal protection and exterior shock absorption, making them practically indestructible. plasticase.com

Giveawe Compiled by Peter Sobchak

This year, don’t give ugly Christmas sweaters, or a fruitcak Instead, give good design to those on your list. And we’r

CANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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I want to ride my bicycle The VELLO bike, a handmade, high-performance compact urban bicycle designed especially for urban commuting

by Valentin Vodev, was the recipient of Red Dot: Best of the Best 2015. Its magnetic folding system enables the rear wheel to be brought forward with a rotary movement - within a second and without needing to bend. A patented foldable mudguard protects clothing, and to prevent theft, the bike is branded with a personal codification system that is linked to the profile of the owner on the VELLO website.

esomey l valentinvodev.com

ke. They’re not funny, and no one wants them. re here to help with these killer gift ideas.

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Countdown is on Normann Copenhagen has launched a Christmas candle designed by the Danish designer Anne Lehmann. This simple and minimalist look is highlighted by a motif of rows of numbers where the font alone forms the pattern. The Christmas candle burns for a total of 88 hours, allowing for plenty of pleasant time counting down the days until Christmas Eve. normann-copenhagen. com

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Industry comes to the table Steel Vessels by Max Lipsey for TH Manufacture are made from steel rests on a geometrical stand made of wrought iron, meant to look like a salvaged industrial tank. thmanufacture.com

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It happens in threes With Tripod Glasses for TH Manufacture, designer Maarten Baptist has rejected the bother of a single stem. The “tripod� collection of threefooted glasses in borosilicate is seditious. In the hand, they force the fingers to work. At rest they seem to dance.

As troublemakers of the dinner table, tripod glasses play with the tradition of the placed goblet. thmanufacture.com

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C’est Chic!

With around 20 contemporary designers and craftsmen from Quebec available on its online store, Chic & Basta creates a link between lovers of beautiful objects and those who make them. Among the roster of designers are exclusives from madebyild, MarieJosé Gustave, Materia Prima, S. Chapados, Sainte Marie design textile, and Toma glassware (shown). en.chicbasta.com

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No halfcaf here!

High-end Italian coffee machine maker Lelit has introduced the new MARA PL62 espresso machine, which boasts a 1.5 litre – 53 oz copper boiler with heat exchanger and thermo-siphon on the legendary grouphead E61 of 58 mm; a double manometer to check the boiler’s pressure; separate pilot lights; water level control in the tank; anti-burn steam and water wands, and other features that allow aficionados to prepare superior quality espressos and cappuccinos in the comfort of their own home or office. Available at Montréal-based EDIKA Inc. edika.com

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Soul food A lover of jazz, designer Eric Hibelot has adapted the early graphic codes of the Blue Note label designed by Paul Rans – the circle and the hyphen – into contemporary dishware for TH Manufacture. thmanufacture.com

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Now you see me The clever folks at molo have come up with a new felt tote to accompany their fanning paper stools. Made from grey wool felt, the tote fits a compressed fanning paper stool to be carried off the shoulder and go wherever you go. molodesign.com

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Turn the page Folio, a new range of storage tins, is the latest collection by homewares company, Jay. Designed to mimic the appearance of outsized reference books, distinctive 1950s typography has been combined with a bold snapshot graphic to illustrate each tin’s intended purpose. lifeofjay.com

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Proper prose Inspired by the analogue pleasures of manual processes, the Ink stationery range by Tom Dixon is a tribute to the creation of the written word and the hand-drawn image.

A collection of bright, bold blank notebooks for writing, sketching and general jotting, Ink products comprise crisp, gold-edged papers in a hardback binding, with a geometrically patterned cover. tomdixon.net

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Herman Miller refreshed

Herman Miller held a press preview and reception for the A&D community to launch its renovated Toronto showroom on Wellington Street West. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------------------------------------------------

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1—From Herman Miller’s world HQ in Zeeland, Mich.: Kimberly Oliver, senior manager, communications and media, global marketing; Matthew Buccilla, global presence marketing; and Timothy Straker, VP, global customer experience. 2— David Tallo, projects manage­ment lead; Kathy McLaughlin, facilities co-ordinator; and Zul Bidin, production assistant, Ontario College of Teachers. 3— Xdesign project manager Elizabeth Beninger; project designers Lee Photovath and Jennifer Fouquette; and Yuritza Rodriquez, associate, interior design. 4— Ella Mamiche, principal, ZAS Architects + Interiors; Roma Kozinska, career counsellor, York University Career Centre; Janusz Kozinski (seated), dean, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University; and Paul Stevens, senior principal, ZAS. 5— Herman Miller Toronto’s Sabrina Ash, A&D associate; Jeff Barrett, business development manager; Katya Filippetti, marketing manager; John Roberts, A&D director; Stephanie McPhee, A&D rep.

Ray Design’s new digs

New name, new location. Ray Design, formerly Raymond Chiappetta Associates, held a housewarming party to open its new digs in Toronto’s west end. - - ---------------------------------------------------------1—Ray’s Kate Thomson Curcio, designer; Tulin Artan, associate and design director; Dana Barbetta, designer; Joe Trozzo, principal; Isabelle Talbot, principal; and Jessica Primok, junior architectural technologist. 2— Ray’s Nicky Chan, CAD and 3D specialist; Alberto Cimini, project co-ordinator; Shawn Pinto, systems administrator; Matthew Bruk, project manager; and Johnny Dang, project co-ordinator. 3— Erin Brand, partner at brand strategists Parcel Design; Humanscale’s Fay Paterson, A&D rep, and Nicole Powell, account development rep; and Kori Garcia, project manager, Parcel Design.

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superkül at Steelcase

The cool architecture firm superkül designed Steelcase’s showroom, known as the Worklife Centre, atop the Sun Life Centre. So where better to launch the firm’s new coffee-table book? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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1— superkül principals Meg Graham and Andre D’Elia. 2— superkül’s Shea Gallagher, project manager; Kenneth Wong, architectural designer; Larry Silva, project manager; Wendy Wisbrun, associate; Ian Douglas, associate; Joanne Myers, senior architectural designer; Deborah Wang, senior architectural designer; Mark Ross, architectural designer; and Gil Komet, senior architectural designer. 3— superkül client couple Peter Schneider, VP business and legal affairs at entertainment media producer and distributor Cineflix, and Richard Almonte, English professor at George Brown College; and Rowley Mossop, principal at Innovia (management consulting for architects and engineers). 4— Lighting designer Suzanne Powadiuk; Glenn MacMullin, associate, Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB); and Heather Dubbledam and Drew Mandel of their respective self-named architecture firms.

Gilad at Molteni

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Israel-born, New York-based product designer Ron Gilad, whose clients include Molteni, was in town to lecture at the Design Exchange and then be feted at a reception at the Molteni and Dada store. - - - - - -------------------------------------1— Hariri Pontarini Architects’ Alan Wong, senior designer, and Eric Truong, designer; Jessica Nicholson, designer at commercial design firm Launch by Design; portrait painter Parastoo Mahmoudi; and Kasra Eslahchi, architectural designer at Core Architects. 2— Diane Abrera, intern architect at Core Architects; Naim Siyoufi, residential interior designer; Jessica DeFrancesca, director, Nardinis spa; and Joseph Ng, CEO and co-founder at Umoro, makers of health and wellness products. 3—Anne Vos, owner, Super Orange (which holds Canadian distribution rights for high-end furnishings companies including Molteni and Dada); his wife, Shauna Levy, Design Exchange president and CEO; Italy’s Andrea Molteni, representing the family firm; and Ron Gilad. 4— Jenny Francis of her self-named architecture and design firm; Molteni Toronto’s Roman Cholasta, business development; Maryse Fafard, sales and marketing; and Roman’s father Milan Cholasta, director.

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Hariri Pontarini at Rye Hi

Ryerson University’s Paul H. Cocker Gallery kicked off its exhibit Embodied Light: The Bahá’í Temple of South America, with a standing-room-only lecture by temple designer Siamak Hariri of Toronto’s Hariri Pontarini Architects (HPA), followed by a cocktail party. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1—Cassandra Pollack, owner of marketing firm Crimson Design; and Hariri Pontarini staff members Vanessa Guillen, communications director, and architects Lindsay Hochman, Miren Etxezarreta-Aranburu and Alejandra Martinez. 2— HPA founding partner David Pontarini and Tahir Mohammed, who was principal client rep for York University’s HP-designed Schulich School of Business and now retired.

3— Andrew Davies, executive director, Number Nine, which uses art and design to bring awareness to environmental issues; and Luigi Ferrara, dean, Centre for Arts, Design and Information Technology, and director, Institute Without Boundaries at George Brown College. 4— Ryerson department of architectural science interim chair Jurij Leshchyshyn; Marco Polo, professor and undergraduate program director; HPA founding partner Siamak Hariri; and Ryerson architecture professor Masha Etkind.Miller.

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La Boite Concept

The Spoke Club hosted the Canadian launch of France-based La Boite Concept’s LD series. This is a compact integrated hi-fi system contained within the work surface of a small side table or writing desk. The loudspeaker component doesn’t hide its true nature: midrange-driver cones and tweeter domes are proudly on view, without a camouflaging grille cloth, to enhance the wide dispersion of sound and add a tech-y visual appeal. - - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1— Furniture designer/maker Derek McLeod; architect Steven Casey, associate at KPMB; Mark Haagsma, co-principal at L2 Design Studio, La Boite’s Canadian importer and distributor; and Roland Ulfig, owner of residential and small-scale commercial firm Rub Design. 2— Interior designer Lilly Liaukus, co-principal at L2 Design Studio and Haagsma’s wife; Philippe Genty de la Sagne, Paris-based export manager at La Boite Concept; and Cityline interior design expert Shai Deluca and his Cityline producer, Fiona Clark. 3— Marjan Hekmati, architectural assistant at Emami Design; Roksena Nikolova, interior designer at Figure3; and Elahe Karimnia, architect and visiting scholar at University of Toronto. images courtesy of Faulhaber Communications

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A yA | A VAN I Kitchens + Monogram

The future of kitchen innovations was discussed, cabinetry displayed and wine enjoyed at the AyA Showroom and Monogram Design Centre in Toronto’s Castlefield Design District, hosted by Designlines. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• 1— Designers Amy Dillon and Heather Raininger of AyA Kitchens and Baths. 2— Esther Benaim, owner, Great Cooks. 3— Nicole Clark and Rachel Finamore of Faulhaber Communications. 4— Scott Eunson of Scott Eunson Studios, Dave Marcus of AyA Kitchens and Baths and Philippe Meyersohn, general manager of marketing and training at GE Appliances.

CANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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PARIS / JANUARY 22-26, 2016 / SEPTEMBER 2-6, 2016 PARIS NORD VILLEPINTE

BE HIGHLY INSPIRED IN PARIS

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PROMOSALONS - CHRISTELLE REY - TEL : + 1 514 861 5668 / 1 800 387 2566 - CANADA@PROMOSALONS.COM SAFI ORGANISATION, A SUBSIDIARY OF ATELIERS D’ART DE FRANCE AND REED EXPOSITIONS FRANCE / TRADE ONLY / DESIGN © BE-POLES - IMAGE © DR - ZIMINDMITRY

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The art of making an entrance

By Sarah Fletcher

In her Montreal studio, Pascale Girardin creates luxury dishware and award-winning architectural design pieces for the hospitality industry, including large-scale installations at the Printemps Hausman in Paris and the Four Seasons Place in Pudong, Shanghai.

Tell us about how you started out. In six months I’ll be celebrating 20 years in the art profession as a ceramicist. I did a Bachelor in Fine Arts and eventually switched to ceramics — I needed to learn the technical skills because all of my formal training has been in fine arts. I decided that functional dishware was a very pragmatic way of doing art and realized that if I wanted to make a living out of it I needed to get the right clientele. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------When you say artwork dishware, do you mean not for use? It’s dishware, but I do still consider it a form of art. So after that I started doing dishware for chefs in Montreal, particularly a Japanese restaurant called Soto. The Japanese have a culture of chefs working with a potter in a lifelong relationship. If you develop that relationship, it stays, and I just really like that. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------You’ve also done decorative ceramics for interiors. How did that start? Yes, that really started in 2000. It had been four years since I’d opened my studio and I was getting a little antsy. I felt like I needed to do larger pieces and I was thinking of muralists like Jordi Bonet. So I actually showed my mural at SIDIM. I didn’t have a client yet, but they had lots of texture and expression. I think it was someCANADIAN INTERIORS 11/12 2015

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thing that was easy to translate into luxury interiors. So I got my first backsplash that I did for a Japanese restaurant. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------Where did the idea for suspension ceramics come from?

I thought, “Okay, I’ve covered the walls, where should I go next?” and thought “I haven’t done water yet,” so I put ceramics in a reflective pool at a trade show [and discovered] I can make ceramics float as well. I was doing the design shows, which has always been very good for me, and I started working on suspensions. I thought I would suspend some ceramic pieces in mid-air. That got me some contracts. I never showed products, I always showed conceptual spaces that were a little more difficult for the common person to understand immediately what you are selling; but it definitely triggered the right reactions for the right kind of client who were saying “I like the way you think, I like your universe. Let’s discuss something, I have this space.” They got it, they were like “Okay, you understand space and you want to work within it, so you know lobbies, atriums and things like that.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------------The good thing is having a competitive edge from the experience, and now I know how to install all sorts of things in complicated spaces. The sky’s the limit. We did a Revel casino in Atlantic City with a 90-foot drop and huge platforms, 20,000 aluminum pieces, because the pieces were much too big for the weight of ceramics; they would have been breakable and a massive headache. That’s the kind of thing that I can do because of the years I’ve had ahead of the game. It’s good because it is reassuring for clients: they know that whatever the complexity of a space, we can work things out. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • — full interview canadianinteriors.com

Four Seasons Place lobby chandelier, Pudong, Shanghai. (Photo by Lulin Chen)

over & out

Europtimum_SeptOct2015.pdf 1 2015-09-16 8:44:21 AM

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Š 2015 All Rights Reserved. Global Design Center 15.0170 Lite seating shown in Vue Mesh, White (VU20) and Allante, Dark Pewter (A38E).

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