Canadian Interiors March/April 2017

CANADIAN INTERIORS

CDN $6.95 MARCH APRIL 2017

Pair of Aces

Burdifilek reflects on a portfolio that has garnered the most Best of Canada awards

+ March April 2017

Finds in Cologne, Hannover & Toronto

www.canadianinteriors.com CI MarApr 17 FIN.indd 1

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Luxury Carpets 1330 Castlefield Ave, Toronto ON | wstudio.ca | 416-929-9290 | info@wstudio.ca

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Š2017 California Closet Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Franchises independently owned and operated.

Experience the before and after

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Š2017 California Closet Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Franchises independently owned and operated.

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03/042017 Features

33 FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES When entering a new space the floor is the first thing we notice, even before walls, ceilings or furniture. Which means floors can have the biggest impact on the overall atmosphere of a room. Compiled by Peter Sobchak

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20/20 This year, Canadian Interiors celebrates the 20th anniversary of our Best of Canada Awards, and we thought if fitting to honour Burdifilek, the firm that has won the most awards in the competition’s history—20 (a symmetry too perfect to ignore)! By David Lasker

44 THE ART OF QUILTING Textile designer Libs Elliott uses digital technology to transform traditionally handcrafted products into modern-day art. By Shannon Moore

46 DESERT HEAT Design Days Dubai straddles a mandate of bringing modern Western design to Middle Eastern enthusiasts while also promoting the region’s emerging studios and solo designers. Compiled by Peter Sobchak

Regulars

17 CAUGHT OUR EYE 22 SEEN Highlights and insights from IDS17 in Toronto, Orgatec 2016 in Cologne, and Domotex 2017 in Hannover. 52 SCENE 56 OVER &

OUT Menkes and Johnson Chou at once save a Banksy from Toronto’s relentless condo-ification while underscoring the ephemerality of street art.

COVER – Diego Burdi and Paul Filek of Burdifilek in the men’s department of Holt Renfrew in Toronto, a 2004 Best of Canada Award winner. Photo by Stacey Brandford

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Calling all Designers! Get ready for the 20th annual Best of Canada Design Competition Online submission portal opens

Monday, April 3rd

Be part of the country’s only design competition to focus on interior design projects and products without regard to size, budget or location.

For information, criteria and entry form, visit www.canadianinteriors.com/best20th

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Next time in

IMM 2017

Judging by a record-setting number this past January of more than 150,000 visitors at IMM in Cologne, 2017 should be an excellent year for the interior dĂŠcor industry.

The 7th Room In a Swedish landscape that could easily be transplanted to almost any Canadian wilderness, Snøhetta adds a soaring addition to its memorable Treehotel.

Scotiabank Digital Factory Interiors Architects designs a space for Scotiabank in which to develop new mobile and digital banking technology.

Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver MCM Interiors Ltd. leads a lengthy guest room redesign project on the top three floors of the Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver.

Inter Pipeline Ltd. The planning and design of a 195,000-sq.-ft. workplace by MartensGroup complements Vancouver city and mountain views and capitalizes on an abundance of natural light.

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3/4 2016 CANADIAN INTERIORS

March| April 2017 / V54 #2

Publisher

Martin Spreer

416-441-2085 x108 Editor

Peter Sobchak Art Director

Roy Gaiot

Assistant Editor

Shannon Moore ®

Associate Editors

David Lasker, Rhys Phillips, Leslie C. Smith Zephyr™ BLOCK ©2012 modularArts, Inc.

Customer Service / Production

Laura Moffatt

416-441-2085 x104 Circulation Manager

circulation@canadianinteriors.com U.S. Patent 8,375,665

President of iQ Business Media Inc.

Alex Papanou

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

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.

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

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with

creating better environments

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www.forboflooringNA.com | +800 842 7839

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Brand loyalty

To a large degree, what makes Burdifilek so successful in designing retail spaces (and therefore in such demand) is their ability to let the client’s brand, which typically means its products, do the talking. Not some misguided attempt to turn a retail space into a theme park of attention-grabbing gimmicks and cutesy “experience” generators in the hopes of attracting passers-by, like a circus sideshow barker. Instead, Diego and Paul know how to make every aspect of the design work together in concert while simultaneously taking cues from the products, collections and, by extension, the brand itself. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - And understanding the brand is itself quite a skill, because a “brand” is a sticky concept. I heard it said once that a brand is everything that everyone says about you after you leave the room. But I also like the flip side to that assertion: a brand is also what people think of you before they enter the room and, in the case of retail design, see your logo. It is no surprise that many of Burdifilek’s clients are the types who eschew in-store graphics meant to elicit Pavlovian-style brand recognition,

and instead want their space to reflect the quality, sensibility, and performance of the products. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ironically (and whether they want to admit it or not), this mastery has meant that Burdifilek itself now has a brand. I know this because of our Best of Canada Awards competition, which I have been involved with for nearly two-thirds of its existence. During the judging process, projects are assessed anonymously, meaning any indicators of the firm name have been removed.

But even so, I’ve witnessed more than one occasion where a judge has said “Oh, that must be a Burdifilek project!” and what they are looking at is a retail or hospitality project where every surface is appointed with a rich, textural materiality, and there is a seamless integration of beauty and functionality. The store delivers a sophisticated atmosphere: a variety of lighting techniques enhances the dramatic effect and sets the tone for the space; moments of pause emphasize the product; and the store becomes an “immersive platform” for the brand where every element builds the brand identity, rather than relying solely on graphics to do the storytelling. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A thoughtful balance of simplicity and refinement is evident throughout Burdifilek’s portfolio, and this type of “brand” is one I am sure many firms aspire to. I am equally sure it is why so many of their projects have been awarded a Best of Canada, and why I have no doubt I will be shaking their hands onstage and passing them more plaques in the near future. - -------------------------------------------------•

14 Peter Sobchak

psobchak@canadianinteriors.com

Photo by Stacey Brandford

inside

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2018 source guide Product Guide for Interior and Architectural Specifications The product guide is distributed to all readers of Canadian Interiors and Canadian Architect magazines. Your listing will be seen by 8,450 interior designers and 12,000 architects in Canada.

The Design Source Guide is also distributed at trade shows such as IIDEXCanada, Construct Canada and the Interior Design Show (Total circulation: 26,577 plus 5,000 trade show copies).

In addition, the online listings attract upwards of 30,000 unique visitors per month.

If you want to put your products in front of the A&D community, reserve your space in 2018 Design Source Guide today. www.canadianinteriors.com/design-source-guide-listing/

CANADIAN INTERIORS / CANADIAN ARCHITECT

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caught our eye A Tribe Called Jamie Surfaces manufacturer Caesarstone unveiled the first instalment of a year-long collaboration with designer Jaime Hayon at the Interior Design Show in Toronto.

Called Stone Age Folk, seven new pieces including “face cabinets,” “bird-like dining tables” and smaller coffee tables featuring animated characters alongside a mirror mask were all built using Caesarstone quartz in traditional stone marquetry.

Photo by: Vicky Lam

www.hayonstudio.com

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Photo by Nina Teixeira

caught our eye

A River Runs Through It A dramatic anchor at the Come Up to My Room (CUTMR) exhibition, Missisquoi Alcove by Simon Johns transplanted materials from rural East-Bolton, Québec (where the designer lives) such as reeds and stones from the Missisquoi River, and a table made from black ash trees in the area, to Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel. www.comeuptomyroom.com

CANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2017

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Don’t Thread on Me Any decent carpet maker should be interested in all forms of fabric, not just what lies underfoot. Such is the case with Jan Kath. Already exploring antique Japanese patchwork in his Boro collection, Kath takes it a step further, melding historic textiles from various epochs to create floor and wall art in Dresses. Inspiration comes from a Persian silk dress, or a hanten, a Japanese winter jacket from the late 19th century in which rags are woven together with thick cotton threads. www.jan-kath.com

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everlasting trends marble stone granite onyx ceramic quartz mosaic montreal quebec brossard toronto vaughan mississauga detroit new york ciot.com

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Inside IDS A deep dive into what’s new in interiors.

by Leslie C. Smith

Every January, 53,200 seekers of style that inspires descend for four days on Toronto’s Interior Design Show. This year’s exhibition, held as usual at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, offered an intriguing blend of revisited classics, current trends, and fresh ideas from emerging designers. - - - - - - - •

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Se a t s w i t h Le gs

In the Prototype Section, Peruvian fashion and furniture designer Elfer Castro displayed his kicky S-3 stool (1) that looked like half a daddy-longlegs scuttling across the floor.

Seating also took centre-stage in the Ontario Wood exhibit. Of note was Vienna, Ont.’s Martin C. Vendryes Woodworking’s Modern Ming Chair (2) with its strong Asian/ Canadian aesthetic.

Loll Designs, from Duluth, Minn., presented its Lollygagger Line of outdoor chairs, tables, ottomans, loungers, picnic tables and benches made entirely from recycled milk jugs.

These high-density polyurethane pieces are comfortable, easy to clean and weatherproof for year-round use.

They are also quite heavy – a plus if you’re looking for furniture that won’t blow into your pool or off your dock. One surprising factoid: over 450 milk jugs go into making just a single Adirondack Chair (3). Here’s another: the furniture itself is completely recyclable, giving it the enviable credit of sustainable zero-waste manufacturing.

It i s – b u t i t i sn’t

Several displays reminded me forcibly of Rene Magritte’s famous surrealist painting of a pipe, under which he wrote: Ceci n’est pas une pipe (“This is not a pipe”). In other words it was a painted representation of an object, not the real thing. In the same vein, Montréal’s MuralUnique showcased pre-pasted wall murals (4) that you had to touch to discover they were not the distressed wood, riveted metal or poured concrete they appeared to be, but rather high-resolution photos printed on polyester-reinforced paper.

Toronto-based iNTILE WORKS specializes in PVC wall tiles (5) that look, feel and mount exactly like porcelain, yet are extremely lightweight and virtually unbreakable. They, too, can be digitally printed with any picture to create unique wall art for home and, pending imminent flame-and-smoke rating approval, commercial use.

TORLYS Smart Floors combines high-def digitally printed hardwood laminates with the comfort and acoustic benefits of cork in its new CorkWood, CorkWood Designer and CorkWood Elite lines (6). Durable, FSC-certified, microbe-resistant, and boasting a high décor count, TORLYS’s planks and tiles come with four-sided joins for easy installation, replacement or reformation.

Fi r e i n t h e Hole

Town & Country Luxury Fireplaces, based in Duncan, B.C., presented its new Architectural Series of elegant gas-flamers that came CANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2017

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in a variety of long and low styles, from single cool-touch glass panels to see-through panes wrapping around three sides of the firebox. The non-combustible finish, right down to the glass and power-vent airflow system, are designed to keep things heat-safe, so no worries about damage to overhead artwork or TV screens. But for sheer drama nothing can top the HeliFire 360 (7), a towering jet of flame encased in one’s choice of single-sided or see-through vertical box. It’s not so much a fireplace as a live art installation.

B a t h r o o m B e a u ts

The stand-alone tub represents the focal point of many a bathroom.

However, what separated Repentigny, Que.’s Zitta (8) collection from the rest – besides the sexy curves and sturdy all-acrylic construction – was a single tub whose exterior was decorated in hand-painted, kiln-dried “pearlized plaster.” The process, a unique specialty of the company, turns ordinary white tubs into dynamic bathing beauties.

Montréal’s WetStyle showed off its new Collection Deco prototype, consisting of attenuated wallmounted cabinets and vessel sinks with rounded edges, Blum hardware, and a fascinating veneer of torchified eucalyptus. The C2 Collection (9) prototype for a small powder-room caught the eye as well. Beneath a mirror lit with integrated LED strips sat a white matte integral sink fitted with a black matte Dornbracht faucet.

These nested on a cube stand of steel rods, the black trap assembly proudly exposed in homage to industrial open-concept. Both lines are at present being fine-tuned, with their official debut taking place this spring at New York’s ICFF fair.

No r the r n L i g h ts

Gweilo architectural lights (10), designed by Toronto’s Partisans and manufactured in Ontario, have been around for a couple of years so they are not precisely new. But the collection, now available in sizes ranging from tabletop accent pieces to large room dividers, is really so revolutionary that it deserves a prolonged close-up. Here is light in semi-solid form; sculptural, airy folds of illuminated acrylic that bend and twist like light rays themselves.

Optical-grade sheets of transparent plastic are laser-etched in a mini-grid, heated to just under 400°C, and manipulated by hand into unique, draped shapes. An LED strip at one edge sends light shooting through each tiny groove, amplifying its effect into a cascading curtain of radiance.

Cool to the touch and amazingly cool to look at, the lights are dimmable and likely available soon in RGB colour change technology.

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At any design trade show the hunt for themes is intense, but nowhere was this more evident than at Orgatec 2016, the preeminent meeting point for the international office furniture industry.

When just a few years ago many exhibitors focused primarily on height adjustable solutions, it seems this year attendees and exhibitors alike could not stop talking about sound absorption.

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Compiled by Martin Spreer

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Koleksiyon | Boccaporto Milan-based outfit Metrica designed this simple, practical and sound-abating meeting and seating arrangement for Turkish manufacturer Koleksiyon, which has already dabbled in interesting decibel-reducing solutions such as Oblivion.

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www.koleksiyoninternational.com TOOtheZOO | TOOtheLOUNGE With a name like TOOtheZOO, this

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product has to be creative, fun and quirky — and it does not disappoint. Somewhat hidden inside the thought-provoking Orgatec exhibit titled The Smart Co-working Lobby, this simple, comfortable seating arrangement with a hight-adjustable table and built-in lighting makes for a perfect personal retreat option for a busy office. www.toothezoo.nl

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DeVorm | AK2 Adding a partition privacy element, lighting option and sound dampening technology into one aesthetically pleasing and cleverly constructed felt product by Dutch designers Ivan Kasner and Uli Budde, made this one of the standouts at Orgatec. To further an eco-conscious appeal, the AK2 is made from recycled PET plastic bottles. www.devorm.nl

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BuzziSpace | BuzziCane Taking retro to new level, Dutch designers DUM have borrowed an Art Deco sensibility and created a fresh look for the everincreasing uniformity of the modern office. This comfortable lounge seat, combined with a decorative natural woven cane back and wood base frame, make it a visually interesting and relaxing seating arrangement for the non-conformist hipster office. www.buzzi.space.com Molo | Cloud Mast Designed by Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen, the simplicity of the Cloud Mast design adds a beautiful architectural element to the Molo Cloud lighting collection. The sparse design of the freestanding structure, counterbalanced by a hanging weight, allows it to be unobtrusive in any environment yet permit movement of the suspended cloud-like lighting canopy.

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Andreu World | Flex Executive Extending the Flex line, Italian design superstar Piergiorgio Cazzaniga created a beautiful new range of lounge chairs combining effortless lines and exceptional comfort with a classic walnut finish high back. Two distinct backrest heights make this lounge chair a comfortable option to suit any workspace. www.andreuworld.com

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Kokuyo | Rolling Workspaces An interesting concept space installation entitled Rolling Workspaces by Nendo for Japanese manufacturer Kokuyo certainly grabbed attention at the show. Whiteboards transformed into circular shapes can be rolled around the office and connected to desks and tables to create partitions and a fun sense of privacy. www.nendo.jp

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Allermuir | Baudot Baudot is an interesting range of products that strongly resemble pool noodles, but which also offer clever room dividing options that come with the benefits of an acoustic dampening layer that diffuses reverberation and noise. www.allermuir.com

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UniFor | Teamer The unconventional “floating” nature of this large task table, designed by Michele De Lucchi, will make any workspace appear uncluttered thanks to an ingenious centre suspension unit. www.unifor.it

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Fritz Hansen | VIA57 Initially intended for Bjarke Ingels Group’s VIA 57 West residential building in New York City and designed by Danish design group KiBiSi, the Via57 chair, like so many Fritz Hansen classics, first considers contextual needs (in this case American comfort) and then refines it with Scandinavian sensibilities. www.fritzhansen.com

www.molodesign.com

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BASF & Interstuhl | Team Up A very innovative, flexible and adaptable concept chair solution designed by ITO Design for BASF and Interstuhl, showcases the use of performance materials that enhance mobility, functionality, sound absorption and easy configuration for group settings. www.basf.com Inclass | Lapse Designed by Carlos Tíscar, fluid lines define this fully modular lounge system, which offers public buildings, offices and hotels endless possible compositions of seating and side units, as well as connectivity accessories and privacy panels. www.inclass.es

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Walter Knoll | Conference-X A highlight of Orgatec 2016 was a clever, cost-effective and ingenious table system, designed by EOOS, offering flexibly for reconfiguring board rooms, conference and work areas with ease. The Easy Handle connection technology, designed with simplicity in mind, enables users to rearrange the table system in minutes to accommodate multiple purposes. www.walterknoll.de

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Tom Dixon | Slab The Slab Desk and Table is designer-extraordinaire Tom Dixon’s first attempt to break into the office furniture market. Clearly intended to be applicable as both a home office as well as traditional workplace product, the Table (shown) offers beautifully crafted and clean designed lines, whereas the Desk version sports a more throwback look. www.tomdixon.net Wilkhahn | mAx An unfortunate side effect of open-everything modern offices is an absence of storage. The mAx folding table system, designed by Andreas StÜriko, might be the perfect solution to deal with temporary table needs for meetings and conferences: the compact design allows for easy transport, quick stow away, and connectivity options for variable configurations. www.wilkhahn.com

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ZilenZio | Focus Designed by the Swedish firm Note Design Studio, this ultra-light and portable floor standing textile screen offers the ability to transform offices within seconds. Quickly foldable for easy storage, Focus is a tool to quickly rearrange an office while still keeping ambient sound levels under control. www.zilenzio.com

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17-03-13 11:12 AM

Take a walk Over a thousand exhibitors from more than 60 countries showcased their latest flooring innovations at Domotex 2017 to a global audience scouting for creative ideas, new materials and smart solutions in floor covering applications at the Hannover Exhibition Center.

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1 Floorify | Rigid Vinyl Floorify introduced its Rigid Vinyl Planks & Tiles collection at the trade fair, purporting to be the first to combine the properties of vinyl with a shock-resistant foundation and an ultra-strength click connection system. Floorify is quiet, warm to the touch, waterproof, extremely strong and impact resistant, dimensionally stable and very thin. www.floorify.com 2 Unilin | Quick-Step Majestic Laminate Majestic Laminate is a new addition to Unilin’s successful Quick-Step collection and is unique in its unusual dimensions: 205cm in length by 24cm in width.

The line’s faux-oak design has flower-like graining, fissures and knots that make it a remarkably realistic wood imitator. www.unilin.com 3 Dural | Duofloor LVT Unveiled at Domotex, Dural’s newest development is an aluminum-based system designed to accommodate low installation heights. The screwable, extra-flat structure can be used for covering heights starting at 3mm, helping to create smooth transitions between floor coverings of the same height. www.dural.de 4 Forbo Flooring | Flotex Planks One product that is particularly quick to lay are the Flotex Planks from Dutch supplier Forbo Flooring.

The 100cm by 25cm planks are densely woven, waterproof, easy to maintain and bacteria resistant, making them suitable for floors where hygiene requirements are high, such as homes for senior citizens. www.forbo-flooring.com

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5 Rug Art | Allure Sigal Sasson, the artistic brains behind all of Rug Art’s creations, took inspiration from the patterns of distressed stucco on the walls of a medieval castle in the French city of Sarlat, which have been softened by weather and age. For her rug, the effect is rendered in lustrous silk and matka. www.rug-art.net 6 Jaipur Rugs | Unstring by Kavi Unstring, designed by Kavi for Jaipur Rugs, is described as a play of a million coloured threads. Each rug in the collection has nearly 200,000 asymmetric knots of hand-spun wool and bamboo silk in every square metre. www.jaipurrugsco.com 7 Hossein Rezvani | Shiraz Sabz Persian carpet designer Hossein Rezvani took the Iranian city of Shiraz for inspiration, where patterns tend to be big medallions in strong reds and browns. Rezvani gave this traditional design a contemporary twist by adding a vibrant turquoise. www.hosseinrezvani.com

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8 Rug Star | Intimacy Berlin J & M Republic, known for colour-blasted one-of-a-kind rugs, has partnered with JĂźrgen Dahlmanns of Rug Star, an equally colourful personality, on new, exclusive designs. They also paired up recently to open the first North American Rug Star showroom in Vancouver. www.jmrepublic.com

9 Aquafil | Metallic Long-Space Old nylon fishing nets and other Nylon 6 waste are harvested and re-engineered to create ECONYL yarn for Aquafil from Italy.

It is then processed to make a metalliclooking surface that shimmers in shades of silver and gold and lends a high-quality appearance to carpets. www.aquafil.com 10 Fletco Carpets | Stony Beach Thanks to new tufting technology with a structured loop, four-colour patterns can be made without printing. Stony Beach carpet tiles have no repeat pattern, which results in less waste. Their special TEXtiles backing dispenses with PVC and bitumen.

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www.fletco.com

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noraplan lona IMAGINE YOUR FLOOR AS A WORK OF ART. ®

Harness the momentum of artistic expression with new noraplan® lona. A unique pattern with a lasting design, captured in a range of rich tones, pairs the energy of an artist’s studio with the comfort and durability of premium rubber flooring.

Be inspired. www.nora.com/us/lona

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the goods

Friends

Mirage | Peppermint Québec-based Mirage has added two new colours, Gelato and Peppermint, to its Sweet Memories Collection. The company’s exclusive brushing and staining process imparts a look reminiscent of well-aged hardwood floors, while the colours — Gelato is beige-gray; Peppermint (shown) is a pure ash gray — brings a touch of minerality to minimalist modern décors. www.miragefloors.com

Nora Systems | lona Nora has introduced the new Noraplan lona rubber floor covering that offers a silk-matte finish and features splashes and droplets in a range of colours and accents. Continuing to serve the needs of healthcare and learning spaces, Iona is naturally bacteriostatic and fungistatic, uses no waxes, sealants, harsh cleaners, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), plasticizers (phthalates) or halogens (e.g., chlorine), thereby achieving Greenguard Gold Certified for low VOC emissions. www.nora.com

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low places Bentley | Disruptor The name of the latest carpet tile collection from Bentley signals their intent: to interrupt staid, structured commercial interiors. The main tool for this is their proprietary Colorcast technology, which matches colour from any source, including paint chips and fabric swatches. In addition, tightly twisted

by Peter Sobchak yarnCompiled bundles create the illusion of folded pleats as it rises to the surface of each design. www.bentleymills.com

When entering a new space the floor is the first thing we notice, even before walls, ceilings or furniture. Which means floors can have the biggest impact on the overall atmosphere of a room. In the case of wood flooring, “used” and grainy patterns and finishes are in vogue, and for carpets, vibrant colours and sophisticated patterns continue to grow in popularity.

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the goods Jan Kath | Boro Casting his eyes to the Far East, German carpet designer Jan Kath found inspiration in ancient Japanese patchwork art. The Boro design involves sewing together long strips of worn materials to form bespoke floor ornamentation or, even better, wall hangings. Hand-combed and hand-spun Tibetan highland wool, Chinese silk, and stinging-nettle fibers create varying light reflections, giving the carpets an almost transparent depth. www.jan-kath.com Gerflor USA | Creation Living The latest collection from Gerflor USA combines residential and commercial features. Creation Living is a 2mm thick, low-traffic vinyl tile with microbeveled edges available in both plank and tile options, and the collection’s realistic wood and stone designs are printed in high definition on tear-resistant film and protected by a transparent wearlayer. www.gerflorusa.com

Kinetex | Foundry Foundry from Kinetex (part of the J+J Flooring Group) is an industrious-looking modular product that comes in 13 colorways set against a complementing neutral palette. Evoking the imperfections of aged concrete surfaces, the line is made with 55 per cent recycled content and comes standard with PreFix, J+J’s pre-applied releasable adhesive. www.jjflooringgroup.com Henzel Studio Heritage | Marilyn Monroe Henzel Studio is collabo­ rating with The Andy Warhol Foundation of Visual Arts on a collection of handmade art rugs and pillows that focus on one of his favourite muses: Marilyn Monroe. The collection comes from a maquette Warhol created for an unrealized book of 38 octagonal pages, each a die-cut detail from Warhol’s print edition set of Monroe dated 1967 that includes 10 variations of the star. Each page has been re-appropriated and turned into a Pop Art fans dream rug. www.henzelstudio.com CANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2017

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Strength in beauty.

© 2017 Shaw, A Berkshire Hathaway Company

reThink LVT collection

SHAWCONTRACT.COM / @SHAWCONTRACT / #MADEBYDESIGN

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Wed. Nov. 29 Thurs. Nov. 30 2017 Product Innovation.

Design Trends.

Thought Leadership.

Practice Insights.

Be informed and stay connected with stimulating keynotes, summits, seminars and tours.

#iidex17

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Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building

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By David Lasker

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This year, Canadian Interiors celebrates the 20th anniversary of our Best of Canada Awards, and we thought if fitting to honour Burdifilek, the firm that has won the most awards in the competition’s history—20 (a symmetry too perfect to ignore)!

The mid-rise premises at Bathurst and Queen Streets in downtown Toronto that Diego Burdi and Paul Filek have called home since the late 1990s has two characteristic features: first, the conspicuous absence of a customary trophy wall. Evidently, these guys win so many awards they can’t keep track of them. Indeed, they were charmingly surprised to hear that they had won so many from our magazine. “I can’t believe we won 20 Best of Canadas!” Diego exclaimed. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Second, the vaguely Japanese-style glazed pocket doors fronting a meeting room near the entrance evoke the tall, ripple-glass sliding barn doors in a design office in a galaxy long ago and far away—well, okay, on the other side of town: Yabu Pushelberg, where Burdifilek partners Diego Burdi and Paul Filek met. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Burdi was born in Toronto; Filek in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Both studied at Ryerson University (then known as Ryerson Polytechnical Institute) , but Paul was two years ahead and the pair didn’t connect until their five-year stint at Yabu Pushelberg. “It was a great launching point for young designers such as ourselves,” says Diego. “The biggest take-away from them is learning to look at everything for its totality, making sure you don’t have a missed opportunity.”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The two left to start their own company in 1992; Diego as creative partner and Paul managing partner, though the roles are fluid. “A lot of the breakaway firms that originated at Yabu Pushelberg were a flash in the pan,” says Paul. “25 years later, Burdifilek has its own brand.”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Still, one can trace the Yabu Pushelberg genealogy in the refinement, subtle wit and attenCANADIAN INTERIORS 3/4 2017

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Previous page: At Dublin’s Brown Thomas department store (Best of Canada, 2010 winner), slender polished-nickel rods inspired by the wire sculptures of artist and furniture designer Harry Bertoia add glinting vertical accents to the piazzalike Luxury Hall. Opposite left: The shimmering iridescence of semi-reflective gold-tinted dichroic glass sheaths the shop-in-shops; floating display vitrines are lit with power wires mysteriously concealed. Honed marble flooring in mottled taupe, cream and café-au-lait adds a textural complement to the slick surfaces. Who needs a store directory at Galleria luxury department store in Seoul when there are wayfinding devices like the built-out, articulated, geometric focal drywall sector (left) and fitting rooms (above) whose amorphic shape evokes a squashed hard-boiled egg, thereby making high drama out of the low ceiling height. Right: Faced with landmarked Ionic columns running down the middle of the Club Monaco store on Prince Street in Manhattan’s Soho district (Best of Canada, 1999 winner) that would detract from the envisioned crisp, clean minimalist interior, Burdifilek created a budget-savvy drywall envelope-withinthe-envelope that lets the columns pop out while hiding their busy curlicue capitals.

Photography by Ben Rahn / A-Frame Studio

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tion to editing out potentially distracting details, on Burdifilek projects, so that the retail or hospitality guest’s eye always knows where to go.

“What are you focusing on? The products,” Diego says. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The two take scouting trips together, yet lead different lives away from work. Paul, a family man, enjoys downtime in his Muskoka cottage and finds that some of his eight-year-old son’s interests, like street hockey, are becoming his own. Diego is busy buying art and furniture for his new house in Toronto, which he designed with help from architect Kelly Buffey of Toronto-based AKB - Atelier Kastelic Buffey (another Best of Canada winner, from 2011).- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gazing into the crystal ball, the launch of a Burdifilek product line is an enticing prospect. “We are constantly designing specialty pieces for all our projects and it’s about time we did something we can share with the general public,” Diego says.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “We get phone calls on that,” says Paul. “It’s a natural progression for us.”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Burdifilek’s crew counts rise and fall to meet the demands of the projects on deck, but generally hover at 35. Notwithstanding monthly visits to meet with clients in New York, the partners have no plans to open a satellite office in the Big Apple. “There’s not an extreme need to do something of that nature. We’ve been very fortunate to have a large global presence with a Toronto office,” says Diego. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Indeed, global ethnic diversity pervades the office. “[Our] people come from all over the world. They bring a different point of view to projects. Because culturally, the way they experience a space is different from how you would in North America.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “For instance, we’re doing quite a bit of work in Korea [where] in retail space, especially in the department store world, a sense of animation is brought forward using food. It’s not unusual to see a champagne bar

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beside the shoe department. They’re mixing uses. And not only that, it’s the way you sit in an environment. In North America, everyone is in their own ‘Don’t sit beside me!’ bubble.”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Korean clients include the high-end department store Galleria. And thereby hangs a tale of how Burdifilek often gets gigs. “We did not market towards them,” Diego recalls. “This is a good example of how you really have no idea of who is looking at your work. One day, we received an email saying they would like us to respond to an RFP. We didn’t know who they were and we responded, ‘How do you know about us?’ They sent us an email with several years of work and photographs: ‘We’ve been following you for a long time and we have a project that we think may be the right fit for you.’”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In turn, the Galleria project caught the attention of Shinsegae, “the highest-ranking luxury department store in Korea, owned by the Samsung family,” Diego says. “Our client is a dream client because she is most design-aware. She works with major architects and designers all over the world, like Peter Marino, and has amazing projects to play with.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - “We’ve had the privilege of traveling globally. We’ve been to Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong several times. When you land in Hong Kong, you can tell that it was colonized. There’s an architectural sophistication to the design, an aesthetic value you can see right away.

When you land in Seoul, you can see and feel the energy.”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Certainly, buying window-seat tickets has paid off. The vantage point proved crucial to Burdifilek acquiring their very first hotel project, W Hotel’s Atlanta flagship (what became a Best of Canada 2009 winner). One day, Diego recalled, he and Paul had decided “‘Oh, maybe we should get into the hotel world,’ and just put our feelers out there, and sent our portfolio out. W called us for a meeting in New York and, like, ‘We don’t know what it is, but you guys have something. We want to work with you.’”

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Left: The main-floor makeover at Holt Renfrew’s Toronto flagship (Best of Canada, 2004 winner) exploited intriguing sightlines and custom finishes—such as birch bark and alabaster in the fine-jewelry department and exotic imbuya and macassar woods in the men’s department—to convey the retailer’s high-end brand message. Above: Custom carpet with a stepping-stone pattern and a wall-sized display case with a jazzy Mondrian-esque montage of flat-bar rod sculptures set a suitably luxe tone for the store’s exclusive Personal Shopping Suites (Best of Canada, 2007 winner).

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---------------------------------------------------The hotelier’s signature was a living-room-like public area that conveyed the spirit of the host city. But the partners had never set foot in Georgia’s capital city and they didn’t have much time to figure out its essence. “As we commenced landing, we serendipitously circled the city,” Diego remembers. “I looked out and thought, this is really, really green. They have skyscrapers, but it’s very lush. That was the ‘a ha’ moment: How do I create an urban oasis? I wanted the space to be like a secret garden, sitting underneath the tree canopy.” To that end, steambent wood represents vines wrapping trees and the water feature’s polished aluminum blades evoke waterlily pads.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Do the partners admit to career lowlights? “You mean my hair low lights?” Diego asks between guffaws. “Unrealized projects,” Paul says of designs that, for one reason or other, never got built, which happens to every practitioner at some point.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Looking back at Burdifilek retail projects over the years, it’s fascinating to see how the firm gradually wrested control of the ceiling. The ceiling at Club Monaco on Prince Street in New York (their first Best of Canada winner, in 1999), has so many lumps, bumps and holes it looks like someone went at it with the proverbial pogo stick. In fairness, this reflects the then-current, pre-LED-lighting state of technology. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subsequent projects minimize visual distractions for the mechanical services such as lighting, fire alarm and HVAC. “We’re known for that because we hide it all. We just want people to appreciate the space,” Diego says. Cases in point: at Galleria in Seoul, he worked with Korean engineers to create a lighting trough system that incorporates the air return “so you only see one air slot. The ceiling’s not peppered with crap.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Holt Renfrew (a Best of Canada 2004 winner) boasts segmental ceiling slot lighting using custom-made neon bulbs made only by one factory in Germany. “We had to make sure we lensed everything because we didn’t want you to see the hotspots.” Glare is a bummer. Its absence, moreover, lends a mysterious luminous quality to the space.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Brown Thomas Luxury Hall in Dublin (a Best of Canada 2010 winner) is a technological tour de force, with electrical conduits concealed, if not utterly invisible, within lamination layers of the dichroic mirror glass display panels. “A German company built this for us. I flew back and forth to Hamburg several times going through mock-ups of this design. We’ve had emails from several architects and designers globally, asking, ‘How did you do this?’” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Burdifilek have created a thriving practice by knowing exactly what to include and what to leave out, and have done so in a segment not often known for subtlety. “You can see retail environments where they designed for the sake of design; the product becomes tertiary,” says Diego, and Paul immediately adds, “You can’t find the product because the environment overpowers it.

Our work complements the product. It sits behind the shirt, the shoe or whatever we’re trying to display and frames it in a meaningful way.”

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Above left: In Toronto jeweler Mark Lash’s flagship prototype store (Best of Canada, 2016 winner), wall surfaces of bronzed mirror and triple-layered, variously patterned silver- and bronze-toned glass lend an ethereal quality while conjuring a distinctive brand identity. Lighting emanates primarily from the vitrines, focusing attention on the product. Left: The doubleheight ground-floor Living Room in the W Hotel Atlanta Downtown (Best of Canada, 2009 winner) boasts a screen of steam-bent walnut screen representing trees and the heavy vines wrapping round them crowding the city’s lushly forested perimeter. The screen in turn wraps around curved banquettes and seating enclaves. Far left: The hotel’s Wow Suite, where a curving polished-metal screen separates lounge from dining room.

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Textile designer Libs Elliott uses digital technology to transform traditionally handcrafted products into modern-day art.

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By Shannon Moore

Growing up with an antique-dealer father, Toronto-based textile designer Libs Elliott learned to appreciate the beauty of the traditional from a young age. Today, she specializes in quilt making, turning timetreasured heirlooms into modern-day crafts. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - After studying photography and woven textiles at the Ontario College of Art and Design, Elliott began working as a project manager in the advertiseing industry. “I was managing teams, so I didn’t have a real outlet for my own creativity,” she says. “Eventually, I decided to take up a hobby to get out my ideas.”

Elliott signed up for a quilting class at Toronto’s newly opened Workroom and was instantly hooked. “I’ve been quilting full-time for four years now,” she says. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Exploring the intersection of technology and tradition, Elliott has spearheaded an inventive and entirely unique approach to the quilting practice. In 2012, she collaborated with designer and technologist Joshua Davis, who introduced her to a coding

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process that could generate compositions for her quilts. Today, the process is intrinsic to her work. “I use a programming language called Processing, where I insert a code into the computer and a random geometric pattern is generated on the screen,” she says. “You can control the patterns to a degree, but it’s mostly random. You never know what you’re going to get.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Once the pattern is revealed, Elliott manipulates the shapes and colours in Illustrator, pulling inspiration from her photographs of urban settings like Toronto and New York. The resulting quilt — which is typically assembled using a domestic machine — is three layers thick, combining the patterned front with a cotton or bamboo centre and a solid back. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - While unconventional from traditional quilting methods, Elliott’s process delicately balances a love for the old with a passion for the new. “Because I grew up around a lot of antiques, I have an appreciation for old things, including traditional crafts, but I’ve also

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Clockwise from opposite: Libs Elliott’s Rebel Quilt; Delaunay Style Triangles, a patchwork test using a triangle grid from Joshua Davis; and Unity Quilt, a crowd-generated quilt made at Industry City Brooklyn as part of WantedDesign in 2016; Elliott leads a quilting workshop.

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Photos courtesy of Libs Elliott

always loved modern and minimalist aesthetics,” she says. “This approach to quilting was a great way to bridge the gap for me, to combine my love of these two worlds.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Her unique process has also allowed her to embrace her educational background in photography. Not only do her photographs inspire the shapes and colours of her quilts, but the way in which they are realized mirrors the art of quilting itself. “I always liked the idea of taking a snapshot and capturing a moment in time that will never be repeated,” she says. “This plays out in my quilting work.

When I’m generating these digital compositions, they’re different every single time. And just like a photograph, I’m using a digital piece to create something physical that will last.” - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In addition to her commissioned work, Elliott has a fabric line with Andover Fabrics, and will launch a second collection with the New York-based company this spring. She also writes code that she sells to quilters, allowing other creatives to

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experiment with and manipulate her work. “It’s a beautiful thing to see people using my patterns and putting their own spin on it, depending on what fabrics and colours they choose,” she says. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - When she isn’t generating codes, Elliott speaks at workshops in Canada and the United States. Here, she demonstrates her process from beginning to end, and encourages her audience — which consists of both technical groups and quilters — to play with the code itself. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ultimately, Elliott seeks to inspire these individuals to embrace the tradition of quilting and experience the joys that can accompany the production of something timeless and unique. “I like when my quilts get people thinking about the history of the craft. The tradition of quilting and the meaning of making something by hand, as opposed to buying something in a shop that’s been mass produced.” she says. “Quilting isn’t an old practice that’s long gone. It’s alive and well, and I like for people to see it in a new light.” - - • 3/4 2017 CANADIAN INTERIORS

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DesertHeat Compiled by Peter Sobchak

Stelios Mousarris | Wave City Coffee Table Clearly someone is a big fan of Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending 2010 film Inception.

The Wave City table by Cypriot conceptual designer Stelios Mousarris depicts a city skyline transformed into functional design, created with the use of 3D printing technology. www.mousarris.com

Pierre Renars | Mobius Desk In partnership with Maison Parisienne, the Territoire (s) exhibit brought examples of French contemporary design to the Middle East, including both French heritage brands and emerging artists experimenting with said brands, such as Renars’s Mobius Desk and Geraldine Gonzales’s sparkling, over-sized Flying Chair (see page 50).

Promoted as a “fair of discovery” and with a primary focus on contemporary creations, Design Days Dubai straddles a mandate of bringing modern Western design to Middle Eastern enthusiasts while also promoting the region’s emerging studios and solo designers.

Philip Michael Wolfson | Eruption Part of the Twisted Series collection that Wolfson displayed in conjunction with the grander Britain Takes Shape exhibit, the Eruption table is made of white acrylic stone. Wolfson is an American ex-pat who was “discovered” by Zaha Hadid while studying in England, after which he spent the next 10 years as head of design with her. www.wolfsondesign.com

Coalesce Design Studio | JorJuk The JorJuk glass coffee table by Hassan Feroze Lakdawala, part of the Pakistan-based Coalesce Design Studio collective, cleverly challenges ideas of tension and stability by placing an oversized powder-coated steel lattice on the tip of a rosewood pyramid. www.coalesce.pk

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Vezzini & Chen | Close Up Part of a larger U.K. Crafts Council exhibit, the Close Up lamp (available in both table and pendant versions) is inspired by Vezzini’s fascination with seeds, natural forms and their interaction with light. Here that interaction is explored using bone china “seeds” encapsulated within a blown glass container. www.vezziniandchen.com

Os & Oos | Primary Fluorescents Oskar Peet and Sophie Mensen experimented with ways to blend light and Styrofoam while studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven, and after graduating in 2011 started the firm Os & Oos to turn those experiments into actual products. www.osandoos.com

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Apercu Designs | Sky Drops Jordanian designers Farah Kayyal and Tarek Hreish split the focus of their firm Apercu Dsigns between interior and product design. Sky Drops is part of a larger furniture collection composed of a set of side tables, lighting fixtures, and a stool made from wood, resin, and supported by steel. www.apercudesigns.com

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Geraldine Gonzales | Flying Chair Sculptress Geraldine Gonzales’ sparkling, over-sized Flying Chair (or Ceci N’est Pas Une Chaise) light installation headlined an exhibition of limited-edition French collectibles curated by Territoire(s).

Made in Ratio | Cowrie Trio An award-winning, Londonbased Australian designer, Brodie Neill founded contemporary furniture and lighting brand Made in Ratio in 2013 to create custom-made chairs, tables and storage solutions imbued with the spirit of innovation. www.brodieneill.com

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Dahr | Qaws Qaws, from the Arabic word of “arch,” is an attempt to illustrate what would happen if a stool got into a fight with a table — it starts off with being a seat rotated to be a high table, rotated again to be a coffee table. www.dahrdesign.com

Kas Oosterhuis | Body Chair The Dutch Creative Industry presented three versions of the Body Chair designed by Kas Oosterhuis, one in metal, one in wood, and the other upholstered in fabric designed by Ilona Lénárd.

The chair itself consists of 28 pairs of 56 triangular base components, parametrically designed as to allow for endless geometric variations. www.dutchcreativeindustry.nl

Fredrikson Stallard | Species IV chaise An ongoing study, Species puts at odds ideas of furniture design with those of comfort or human contact. The pieces — hand-carved polyurethane supported by raw steel elements — are amorphous structures at once inviting by the nature of its materials, yet repellent in its aesthetic. www.fredriksonstallard.com

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IDS17: The Party

At the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, over 5,500 design makers, mavens and media members mingled as Canada’s largest contemporary design fair kicked off with its annual opening-night party.

------------------------------------------------------------------------1—John Tong, whose interior design firm, +tongtong, is working on Stockholm’s Nordic Light Hotel; interior designer and Quadrangle Architects principal Caroline Robbie; photographer George Whiteside; and graphic designer Karen Simpson. 2—At the Cosentino booth: interior designer Elaine Cecconi, partner at Cecconi Simone; Patty Dominguez, VP A&D sales at Cosentino, whose Silestone quartz countertop surfaces graced the booth; and Paula Fleck, principal at Cecconi Simone’s furnishings arm, Oni One. 3—In the furnishings biz: Jessica Touma, sales, Klaus; Italinteriors’s Michael Cunningham, A&D sales; balloon-hatted Valerie Kay, sales; and Jessica Chieffallo, designer; and Paul Sidi, manager at Kiosk Design. 4—At the EQ3 booth: the Winnipeg-based home-furniture maker’s Kim Jeremic, president; Pablo Perez, regional manager; Peter Tieleman, CEO; and fashion model Paul Mason. 5—At the Surfaces Céragrès booth, where visitors could enjoy a bag of popcorn: John Brodrick, North American sales manager; Simon Lefebvre, Montréal sales rep; and Claude Roy, general manager. 6—Abby Worthington, senior director at ad agency Dentsu Aegis Network; Roman Cholasta, owner, Minotti Toronto; Lisa Barnes, director, sales and business development, Interior Design Show; her husband, Nathan Barnes, VP, Wynford (event management); and Maryse Fafard, business development, Minotti. 7—Knoll’s Ben Findlay, sales rep; Fabiana Stubrich, national director, business development; and Tara Whittington, sales rep; with Keilhauer sales rep Edwin Ocampo. 8—Anatolia Tile and Stone’s Andrew Campoli, business development manager, and Maurizio Silvestri, director, business development; with Sugo Kitchens president and owner Sebastian Iwaniuk. 9—At Tapis Rugs and Carpet’s Adriatic carpet: Ian Chodikoff, director of marketing and programming, IIDEXCanada; Cindy Grenke, marketing director; Dezign Market; Samantha Sannella, marketing consultant and former Design Exchange president; Lars Dressler of furniture-design duo Brothers Dressler, who are introducing handmade, locally sourced wood Twisted Hoop Lighting; and Dorota Jackowski, interior designer at Altius Architecture. 10—Tapis Rugs and Carpet’s Bijan Dehghan, founder and CEO, and daughter Sara, VP, sales and marketing; photographer and creative director Alen Palander; Terry Becker, senior manager operations, BMO; Doug Wilton, customer relations manager, Ricoh Canada; and Tim Dunn, VDI investments.

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DX Evolution

Nature as inspiration for innovation is the subject of Evolution, an exhibit showcasing biomimicry, “the design of products, services and systems that imitate nature’s models.” Opened at the Design Exchange as part of the Toronto Design Offsite Festiva (TO DO), the exhibit runs until April 28.

------------------------------------------------------------------------1—Scott Durno, physiotherapist at University Health Network; Karim Karsan, board member, Ontario Arts Council; and Grant Hill, director of store design, Indigo Books and Music. 2—Kalen Hayman, founder of media production firm Channel 18; Louise Heggie, principal designer at her firm LHDT; Jacqueline Kendall, head of marketing and communications at St. Joseph Communications; and exhibitor Brent Cordner, director of Fly Technologies. 3—Textile artist Tania Love; the Design Exchange’s president and CEO, Shauna Levy; Alex James, CFO, and Natasha Peterson, assistant curator of EDIT: Expo for Design Innovation and Technology; architect Shane Williamson, principal at architecture firm WilliamsonWilliamson and DX’s Elizabeth Pagliacolo, EDIT programming director. 4—Art collector Sylvia Kwan, who fancies the kinetic, biomorphic sculpture of DX exhibitor Philip Beesley, who is currently collaborating with Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen and planning installations in Basel, Beirut and Boston; Sandra Lester, who calls herself an “architectural interventionalist” at green-building strategy firm Affecting Change; and her son, eighth-grader Jasper Stronghill. 5—Mani Mobin, equity researcher at TD Securities; Mahtab Oskuee, intern architect at Sweeney&Co; and exhibit curator Sanam Samanian.

They’re standing in front of Ms. Oskuee’s intricately crocheted curtain embedded with responsive sensors. 6—DX staffers Monique Bynoe, finance and admin supervisor; Pam Smith, education and program supervisor; and Brigitte Huard, programs manager.

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Lightform Partisanship

Lightform threw open its warehouse showroom for the launch party of Gweilo, its exclusive new lighting collection by Toronto architecture firm Partisans.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1—Alfredo Valero, co-founder of Barcelona-based Parachilna, whose lighting is repped by Lightform; architect and Partisans partner Alex Josephson; Parachilna co-founder and creative director Roman Riera; and Lightform president Richard Assaly. 2—Interior design firm II By IV’s Natasha Popek-Konieczko, senior designer; Katie Runnalls, junior designer; Jose Navarrete, senior designer; with Rachel Cox, junior designer at BiglarKinyan Design Planning. 3—Ceramic artist Shakeel Rehemtulla; Lindsay Konio, principal designer, Qanuk Interiors; and Anthony Scarfone, project designer, Bullock + Wood Design. 4—From Herman Miller’s Workplace Resource: Shawn Popovich, small and medium business sales rep; Nicole Lowe and Nikki Edwards, project designers; Ivy Thompson, sales coordinator; and Maggie Chau, account manager. 5—Alea Rei and Deanna Jones, students at Ryerson School of Interior Design; and Jim Bravo, mural and public-art installation artist. 6—Modeling Partisan’s Gweilo light: Partisan co-founder Pooya Baktash; Lightform communications manager Cheryl Wilkinson, Partisan co-founder Alexander Josephson; and Lightform’s Paris Tulish, certifications; Eric Grima, graphic design; Alexandra Greer, showroom sales; and Alexandra Hartford, project co-ordinator.

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TO DO Opener

In the historic Trinity Church adjoining the Eaton Centre, the 2017 Toronto Design Offsite Festival (TO DO) held its official launch party on hallowed ground.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------• 1—BMO social media director Julian Mills; Toronto Offsite Design Festival executive director Jeremy Vandermeij; and Steven Green, president, Tembo Social, which, Green says, “brings social collaboration tools into companies to make them more human.” 2—Interior design firm Bartlett & Associates’s Michelle Lam, associate, Sara Dagovic, designer, the eponymous Inger, president; and Therese Gould, senior designer. 3—Keilhauer’s Jackie Maze, VP sales and marketing; and president Mike Keilhauer. 4—Kathryn Walter of Felt Studio, creator of felt wall installations; architects Leslie Jen, marketing director at Superkul; and Betsy Williamson.

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Interior Design by SSDG Interiors Inc. Photography by Ema Peter Photography

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Exit Through the Mixed-Use

By Peter Sobchak

Menkes and Johnson Chou at once save a Banksy from Toronto’s relentless condo-ification while underscoring the ephemerality of street art.

One weekend in May 2010, the anonymous British stencil artist known as Banksy blew through Toronto and left behind seven of his trademark graffiti art installations (along with a tornado of excitement within the city’s art intelligentsia). One of the pieces, referred to as Guard with Balloon Dog, was applied to the rear façade of a vacant Art Moderne building at 90 Harbour Street. Purchased in 2011 by Menkes Developments, the site was subsequently redeveloped into mixed-use residential and commercial space over two condominium towers, known as Harbour Plaza and the One York office building, both situated on a four-storey retail podium directly connected to the PATH system. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Redevelopment invariably means demolition, but obviously the fate of this weighty (both in material and value) artpiece-slash-tourist-attraction would not be left to the wrecker’s ball.

Instead, crews had the limestone slabs on which the art was applied carefully removed, preserved and restored. Then the question became “What to do with it?”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The answer: a design competition issued by Menkes in 2015 sought ideas to both protect the piece and display it in a publicly accessible way. Enter Johnson Chou, whose winning pro-

posal not only accomplished that, but took it a step further by including a companion piece that would, according to the designer, serve as “a critique of the act of viewing art, that of an apparition of the original.”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Named Speculum (Latin for “an instrument to behold”), it is “an apparatus for viewing, created to evoke the past, define views and movement and create an immersive and interpretive installation,” says Chou. “As one walks west along the PATH, one sees a mirrored, polished stainless steel cantilevered form, that not only guides one past the underside of the escalator, but reflects what is to come around the corner.”- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Around said corner sits the three limestone slabs containing the Banksy work, in its raw form. “The slabs are set off from the marble-clad wall that not only evokes the lobby and horizontality of the original building, but draws passersby around to the back of the work, creating a space away from the flow of pedestrian traffic,” says Chou.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Banksy rose to fame by subverting the traditional methods of viewing art, and here is Chou subverting how a Banksy is viewed. How very Banksy. - - ----------------------------------------------•

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Photo by Paul Casselman

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