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    Partisans sculpts limestone facade for Rolex boutique in Toronto

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    Toronto architecture studio Partisans has used parametric modelling to create an undulating stone storefront for luxury watch brand Rolex.

    Partisans’ latest application of its digital modelling and fabrication technique resulted in a sculptural facade that wraps the ground floor of a high-rise on Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto.
    The flowing lines of the Rolex store’s limestone facade emanate from the building’s existing architectural featuresThe studio worked with Italian architect Arturo Tedeschi on the project, which is intended to give the store presence and allow it to stand out from others in the busy shopping district, as well as reflect the high-precision of Rolex timepieces.
    Limestone panels affixed to the building’s exterior are shaped to echo the forms and textures of the brand’s watches.
    The stone panels are shaped to curve around windows and emulate the brand’s watch designsThe material was chosen for its luxurious appearance and longevity, according to Partisans founder Josephson, who said: “Stone is future heritage, it’s having a renaissance.”

    The panels continue the geometry of the existing building features, such as the rigid vertical mullions, but flow into softer shapes that curve around large windows and over the entrance awning.
    More stone appears in the boutique’s interior. Photo by Robert Lowdon Photography”Each stone bay was cut according to measurements found through 3D scans of the existing building,” said Partisans designer Ian Pica-Limbaseanu.
    Niches are integrated into the stonework to house cove lighting that washes over the curvaceous forms at night, yet the junctions between the stone and the glass were trickiest to detail, according to Pica-Limbaseanu.
    Dark green seating matches a glass artwork, while walnut panelling and furniture contrast the paler stone. Photo by Robert Lowdon Photography”The window detailing, specifically, had a tall order of requirements to satisfy,” he said.
    “Not only did it need to meet the exterior stonework at exact locations accurate to within a quarter of an inch, but it also needed to allow for easy maintenance and proper energy performance for what was otherwise an utterly unprecedented look to glazing on Bloor Street.”

    Partisans creates pixelated brick facade for Toronto house

    Tedeschi applied his computational design skills to create an algorithm for the parametric compositions etched into the limestone across the east facade.
    These forms follow the geometries of engravings seen on watch-face dials while also responding to the unique qualities of the structure’s elevation.
    Niches in the limestone facade house cove lights that wash over the facade at nightThe store interiors feature plenty more stone, whose creamy tone is contrasted with dark walnut panelling and furniture.
    Dark green seating matches a glass wall artwork that bears the Rolex logo, which separates the main shop floor with a more intimate lounge area tucked behind.
    The facade was designed to reflect the high-precision of Rolex timepieces and to stand out on Toronto’s high-end Bloor StreetPartisans has previously used parametric design tools to create a rolling, pixellated brick facade for a single-family home, and a high-rise informed by architectural “revision clouds” – both in Toronto.
    The firm was founded by Josephson in 2012, and has since completed a pool house in Ontario with an undulating timber roof and a lakeside sauna designed as a cavernous wooden grotto.
    The photography is by Doublespace Photography, unless stated otherwise.

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      Reflect Architecture balances “contemporary art with family life” in Toronto house

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      Canadian studio Reflect Architecture has renovated a home in Toronto for a new generation of the same family, while incorporating an extensive art collection.

      North Drive House was the childhood home of one of the owners. After stints living abroad and in Downtown Toronto, the couple were lured back to the two-acre property for the space to raise their young family.
      The home’s hallways and living spaces were renovated to feel like a gallery for the couple’s art collectionHowever, the residence’s traditional interiors were not to their taste, so Reflect Architecture principal Trevor Wallace was called in to undertake an extensive renovation.
      His approach was to create a deliberate “tension” between the need to display an extensive contemporary art collection – which includes pieces by Robert Mapplethorpe and Erik Madigan Heck – and fulfilling the needs of a family home.
      A sculptural staircase features layered bannisters, stepped profiles and curved forms”The idea of living in a gallery was always important to the owners, but the critical distinction is that they didn’t want to live in a museum,” said Wallace.

      “This is a family home above all. The owners have always imagined that their kids would one day look back on living here and think it was pretty cool that they were playing soccer or running around inside what felt like an art gallery.”
      The living room includes contemporary furniture and a ribbon-like fireplace by Brooklyn designer Leyden LewisThe team retained the existing layout and circulation while updating the spaces with fresh materials, colours and forms.
      Most in line with the gallery-like aesthetic, the living spaces, hallways and corridors feature stark white walls and minimalist detailing such as flush doors and entryways.
      A different approach is taken in the dining room, where the walls are painted dark tealAt the centre of the home is a staircase designed as if a piece of sculpture itself, comprising layered bannisters, stepped profiles and curvaceous forms.
      A similarly playful tactic was applied in the living room, which features a rippling, ribbon-like fireplace designed by Brooklyn-based designer Leyden Lewis.
      Doors and entryways throughout the home are designed to be flush with the walls”We had a lot of fun exploring and playing with the staircase’s shapes and orientations,” Wallace said. “We wanted it to feel organic and fluid, and that required being playful. That was true for the entire house from start to finish, it was important that we didn’t take the whole thing too seriously.”
      The spareness of these spaces is swapped in the cooking and eating areas, which feature darker, richer colours like the teal dining room.

      Blue slide is centrepiece of Walker house renovation by Reflect Architecture

      A knotted light fixture by Lindsey Adelman hangs over the large stone dining table, accompanied by chairs with ochre velvet upholstery.
      In the kitchen, tone-on-tone travertine cabinetry and surfaces include a new 15-foot-long (4.5-metre) kitchen island.
      Tone-on-tone travertine cabinetry and surfaces were added in the kitchenAn existing gabled skylight overhead was maintained, but its beams were updated with a copper hue to “complement the travertine”.
      The room is oriented towards a glass wall facing a Japanese maple tree in the garden, under which sits a large dining table by local furniture designer Mary Ratcliffe.
      A 15-foot-long (4.5-metre) island was also added beneath an existing skylightWallace founded Reflect Architecture in 2016, and the studio’s previous work includes a Toronto home renovation with a blue slide as its centrepiece.
      Other recently completed residential overhauls in the city include a residence connected by asymmetric brass-lined portals and a house where built-in storage volumes were added.
      The photography is by Doublespace Photography.

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      Portal House by Svima features brass details and curved oak ribbons

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      Brass ribbons line the asymmetric portals that connect the kitchen and dining room of this Toronto residence, renovated by local architecture and art studio Svima.

      The Portal House was designed for a couple who had wanted to refresh their home for 10 years, but have very different aesthetic tastes.
      Two portals connect the renovated kitchen and dining areas of this Toronto homeToronto-based studio Svima found a compromise by combining his desire for “tenebrous minimalism” and her love of “bright French country kitchens” into the design.
      The resulting “denlike cosiness” pairs dark oak across the lower half of the ground-floor spaces and clean white surfaces on the upper half.
      The curved, asymmetric portal over the deep counter acts as a pass-throughThe snaked kitchen layout is tight, so Svima curved the corners of cabinetry and counter surfaces to steal extra space for circulation.

      This theme continues to the living room millwork: a bookcase is filleted at the corner and meets the wall at an angle, while a built-in sofa beneath the window also softly angles inward.
      The other portal, mirrored in shape, forms a doorway between the two spaces”The design hinges on ‘ribbons’ flowing through the space, guiding the motion through the rooms,” said Svima.
      “The ribbons curve in areas where sharp corners would not fit, or would stop the flow of movement.”
      Brass edges around the portals were artfully installed to perfectly fit the curved drywallIn the kitchen, the curved oak doors were handmade by a cabinetmaker who created a special jig to kerf-bend the oak into a radius.
      Tiles that offer a contemporary take on Dutch Delft porcelain form the backsplash, adding small touches of blue to the otherwise neutral space.
      To add touches of colour to the dark oak and bright white palette, tiles influenced by Delft porcelain were added to the backsplashTwo portals provide connections between the kitchen and adjacent dining room, both with a mirrored asymmetric shape and edged in brass.
      One acts as a doorway, while the other over the deep counter is used as a pass-through for food, drinks and tableware.

      Studio Vaaro reconfigures House M using built-in storage volumes

      “It was an artful process for the contractor to lay the brass into the wall, as it had to fit into the curved drywall perfectly with no tolerance for error,” the architects said.
      The living room, located at the front of the house, was furnished with mid-century pieces such as a chair, a coffee table and a media console.
      Dark oak flooring throughout the home’s ground floor matches the other millworkThe closed and open shelving unit organises the family’s books and possessions, and its shape allows more light to enter from a side window.
      Opposite, the built-in sofa helps to resolve an awkward space under a bay window and orients the sitter towards the TV to one side.
      In the living room, the curved kitchen cabinetry is translated as a storage unit with a filleted side”The custom sofa sweeps into the space to provide seating at precisely the right sideways angle for viewing the media unit, for lounge reading, and for gathering,” Svima said.
      The floors throughout the home match the other millwork, grounding the spaces with a rich dark hue.
      A built-in sofa under the living room’s bay window similarly features softly curved anglesSvima, founded by architects Anamarija Korolj and Leon Lai, is not the only studio that’s had to get creative with a tight Toronto floor plan.
      When Studio Vaaro overhauled a house in the city, the firm created a series of volumes with minimally detailed millwork to form kitchen cabinetry, the staircase and a feature bookcase in the living room.
      The photography is by Scott Norsworthy.

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      Studio Paolo Ferrari designs Toronto restaurant as a “world unto itself”

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      Toronto-based Studio Paolo Ferrari has created cinematic interiors for a restaurant in the city’s Downtown area, combining influences from filmmakers that range from Stanley Kubrick to Nancy Meyers.

      Unlike a typical restaurant layout, Daphne unfolds as a series of rooms with distinct identities, each borrowing references from different cinema styles.
      Daphne is laid out across several spaces, including a Great Room designed to feel like Nancy Meyers movieStudio Paolo Ferrari intended each space to offer a different experience for guests, and custom-designed all of the furniture and lighting for the restaurant to make it feel even more unique.
      “Daphne is an elevated and exceedingly creative take on the American bistro, fusing the nostalgia of New England prep with wonder and eccentricity,” said Studio Paolo Ferrari. “At once intimate and grand, eccentric and sculptural, convivial and experimental, the deeply imaginative space is reminiscent of a great residence that’s evolved over time.”
      Studio Paolo Ferrari designed custom furniture and lighting throughout the restaurantGuests arrive into an intimate space that features a transparent full-height wine cabinet, which offers glimpses of the dining area beyond.

      They then move through to the Great Room, a cavernous room framed by a dramatic vaulted ceiling and decorated in a warm neutral palette.
      The Drawing Room is fully enveloped in a burnt orange hueThrough the centre is a line of dining tables, each paired with a rounded striped sofa and two boucle-covered chairs.
      The open kitchen is fully visible through the arches on one side, while a darker, cosier dining area coloured a burnt orange hue runs along the other.
      A mirrored corridor with a hand-painted landscape mural leads to a separate bar area”The grand space is reminiscent of the warmly luxurious spirit of a Nancy Meyers film, with custom furnishings that are deeply residential in feel and varsity-inspired checkerboard tiling,” said Studio Paolo Ferrari.
      The Drawing Room beyond continues the burnt orange colour, fully enveloping the walls, ceiling and seating upholstery to create a monochromatic space.
      The mural continues across the wavy walls of the bar room and green banquette seating follow the curvesCove lighting is installed behind louvres that cover the upper walls, adding texture and shadows as well as hint of “Cape Cod Americana”.
      The bar area is reached via a long corridor that’s mirrored from floor to ceiling along one wall, and is lined with a hand-painted landscape mural across the opposite side.
      The glass bar countertop is illuminated from within, while the counter front is flutedThis verdant rural scene continues across the wavy surfaces in the bar room, above green banquettes that follow the flow of the wall.
      “Daphne is a world unto itself, awaiting discovery,” the studio said. “Stepping into the bar is almost akin to stepping into an exquisitely-designed film set.”

      Omar Gandhi designs a “light-filled wood cathedral” for Toronto restaurant

      The snaking glass-topped bar counter is illuminated from within, as a nod to the bar in the fictional Overlook Hotel from Stanley Kubrick’s movie The Shining.
      The counter front is fluted in reverence to Beaux-Arts architect Henry Bacon, while reflective stainless steel across the back bar matches the circular tables and chair feet in the room.
      An adjacent dilapidated building was razed to create an expansive outdoor terraceA dilapidated building adjacent to the restaurant was demolished to make way for an expansive outdoor Garden Terrace with a dining area and bar.
      Sandwiched between two brick structures, this exterior space features comfy yellow and white-striped seating surrounded by plants, and a row of tall trees in the centre – continuing the botanical theme from inside.
      Plants behind the yellow and white-striped seating continue the botanical theme from insideA separate entrance from the street leads guests between tall columns clad in dark blue-purple iridescent tiles into the alley-like space.
      “It was important that the space had depth and a quality of experimentation,” said Paolo Ferrari, founder of his eponymous firm. “Daphne is truly an active experience of discovery, where guests can uncover thoughtful and innovative details throughout.”
      Columns of blue-purple iridescent tiles form a gateway from the street into the alley-like outdoor terraceThe designer’s earlier projects in Canada have included a lake house with wood and granite interiors, and a showroom for a development in Ottawa that appears more like a home than a sales gallery.
      Other recent additions to Toronto’s dining scene include Prime Seafood Palace, which features a vaulted-wood interior by Omar Gandhi Architect.
      The photography is by Joel Esposito.

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      Studio Author models Toronto dental clinic on a hotel lounge

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      Rich materials, ambient lighting and a waiter-serviced aftercare lounge are among the hotel-informed features that interiors firm Studio Author has incorporated into this dental practice in Toronto to help patients feel more at ease.

      Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, Paste Dental uses digital technology such as 3D-printing to make everything from night guards to permanent dental crowns in the hopes of providing a quicker and more stress-free dentist experience.
      Studio Author has designed the interior of Paste Dental in TorontoIn this spirit, Studio Author eschewed the sterile design elements that are typically associated with medical interiors in favour of those more commonly found in the city’s nearby hotel lounges.
      “Paste showcases a new attitude to dental care to make patients feel comfortable and shatters the usual preconception of a visit to the dentist,” said the studio.
      Velvet-upholstered seating boots provide a place to rest in the lobby”Our challenge was to separate the patient from both the expected sterile, white, clinical experience and the bustle of the city beyond,” the practice continued.

      To create an “elevated atmosphere” inside the boutique dental clinic, Studio Author clad the practice’s interior walls in limestone.
      A wood-lined corridor leads to the treatment roomsThis also served to block views from the street and foster a greater sense of privacy for patients.
      The circular lobby with its mohair upholstered walls and warm burl wood reception desk was designed to create a homey, welcoming atmosphere. The scheme is rounded off with an oversized, tiered paper pendant light and a colourful mix of marble tiles on the floor.

      Seven dental clinics designed to take the pain out of check ups

      Two individual gold velvet booth seats are recessed into the upholstered walls of the lobby to provide a private moment for customers upon arrival.
      A gently curved, wood-lined corridor with low-level lighting connects the reception to the treatment and consultation areas beyond.
      Dental equipment is concealed behind oversized doors”The spatial planning was thoughtfully carved to guide the guest through a controlled journey from arriving into the plush private reception area, resplendent with fresh flowers, through consultation, treatment and waiter-serviced aftercare,” Studio Author said.
      The material palette of warm wood and marble paired with soft lighting is continued in the treatment rooms, where dental equipment is deliberately concealed behind oversized doors.
      Each treatment room has a custom marble vanityEach room has a large mirror positioned above a custom marble vanity with an integrated sink and oak panelling.
      Finally, Paste Dental’s aftercare lounge is wrapped in velvet and wood panelling and furnished with lounge seating to provide a space for patients to rest after their appointment.
      Patients can unwind in the aftercare loungeThe project has been shortlisted in the health and wellbeing interior category of this year’s Dezeen Award alongside a Hong Kong gym informed by space travel and a dusty-pink welfare centre at an all-boys school in Melbourne.
      The photography is by Niamh Barry.

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      Mason Studio reimagines its Toronto workspace “for the greater good”

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      Toronto interiors firm Mason Studio has redesigned its offices to offer community programming like exhibitions, events and other public-facing activities.

      Mason Studio relaunched its workspace as a new hybrid office and cultural hub to serve “the greater good” during the DesignTO festival earlier this year.
      Mason Studio has redesigned its two-storey office building to serve as both a workspace and a cultural community hubAs well as an office for the studio’s team members, the building in Pelham Park now operates as a gallery space, community library, fabrication hub, experimentation space for non-profits and a coffee bar to name a few.
      “Today’s office is no longer just a place for work, but rather a space for conversation and discourse, a space for inspiration and rejuvenation, and a space for community to get involved, and gather and share knowledge,” said the team.
      The space hosts a variety of exhibitions, installations and events, including An Optimistic Future pictured hereThe two-storey, industrial style building is largely decorated white, with curtains used to divide the various spaces and functions.

      A double-height atrium can house artworks and installations, which are able to be suspended from the ceiling beams.
      A materials library is open to local architects and designersAmong the areas within the building is a plant-filled study garden upstairs, where stools and chairs are placed around mossy tables that sprout foliage from their centres.
      “The greenery and natural elements of the garden create a sense of tranquility, which helps reduce stress and improve overall well-being,” said Mason Studio.
      The study garden allows team and community members to work and read among the greeneryAn open materials library can be utilised by local architects and designers, and a “give-one-take-one” book library is open to all community members.
      Mason Studio also hosts storytime sessions for the children of their team and other community members. “This experiment was a reminder of how vital play is as a tool to socialize, learn and focus — even in the workplace,” the team said.
      White curtains are used to divide the building’s various functions and areasDuring the annual Toronto design festival DesignTO, Mason Studio hosted a series of installations and activations to create a space where visitors “could experience an optimistic vision of the future”.
      For example, a temporary pay-what-you-want cafe donated any funds collected to local non-profit organisations.

      Mason Studio designs Kimpton Saint George hotel as “homage to Toronto”

      “These types of new amenities not only stimulate local economies but also contribute to the cultural vitality of the community,” said Mason Studio.
      The inaugural art installation in The Gallery at Mason Studio, a collaborative effort named Full Moon Reflected On The Ocean At 01:34, comprised a giant glowing orb that was reflected on sheets of fan-blown mylar fabric.
      A community library and workspace is offered as a resourceIn March 2023, the studio partnered with Toronto-based contemporary art gallery Cooper Cole Gallery to present works by emerging BIPOC and marginalised artists in the space.
      Then in April, The Gallery at Mason Studio hosted Canadian artist Kadrah Mensah’s exhibition titled Surely, You’re Joking, which included video, sculpture, and installations intended to normalise digital body manipulation.
      The Gallery at Mason Studio’s inaugural installation comprised a large glowing sphere reflected in fan-blown mylar sheets belowMason Studio was founded over a decade ago by Stanley Sun and Ashley Rumsey, who have since completed projects that range from a cloud-like installation to the interiors of the Kimpton Saint George hotel.
      The most recent edition of DesignTO, Toronto’s citywide celebration of design, took place from 20-29 January 2023. Find more design events, talks and installations on the Dezeen Events Guide.
      The photography is by Scott Norsworthy.

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      Studio Vaaro reconfigures House M using built-in storage volumes

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      For the renovation of a house in Toronto’s West End, local firm Studio Vaaro added minimally detailed millwork to form kitchen cabinetry, the staircase and a feature bookcase in the living room.

      Studio Vaaro’s overhaul of House M, a three-storey detached property that had been renovated and extended multiple times over the years, involved reconfiguring the layout to remove the awkward subdivided spaces.
      The ground floor of House M is partitioned by storage volumes laid out in a diamond formation”Our clients were a professional couple with two young children, who were looking for flexible and resilient spaces that could accommodate their home offices, overnight guests, and the changing needs of their growing children,” said the studio.
      “We, therefore, developed a spatial concept based on ‘functional volumes’, in which well-proportioned spaces are partitioned by blocks of storage and service functions.”
      The pale blue-grey volumes provide additional storage space for the kitchenThese built-in storage blocks partially partition four rooms on the ground floor while keeping an open flow between them.

      Laid out in a diamond formation, all are coloured pale blue-grey to highlight their function against the otherwise white walls.
      In the kitchen, oak cabinetry contrasts with the marble countertops”The large amount of built-in storage ensures the rooms themselves are free of clutter and ready for use,” said Studio Vaaro. “In line with the family’s personalities, colour and playful details abound.”
      In the entryway is a coat closet that hides the view of the living room behind, where an oak bookcase sat atop a teal powder-coated fireplace covers almost an entire wall.
      Bleachers are built into the oak staircase, offering a display area or extra seatingA powder room is placed between this space and the kitchen, also forming additional cabinet and counter space within its volume.
      Further kitchen storage sits in front of the dining room, and another closet is tucked under the doglegging staircase.
      On the first floor, the bedrooms are accessed through deep portal doorways”A ‘mixing bowl’ at the centre of the plan, at the base of the stairs, visually and physically connects all four spaces,” the studio said.
      Both the entry and the dining room volumes are pulled away from the home’s exterior walls, allowing additional views between rooms.
      The portals are coloured dusty pink and the kids rooms are also colourfulThe remaining built-in furniture is oak to match the flooring that runs throughout, including kitchen millwork and the staircase, which incorporates oversized bleachers for displaying kids’ artwork or creating extra seating during a party.
      A white metal “picket” guardrail, softened with rounded details, allows light to pass down from the upper levels.

      Long wooden cabinet runs through slender Borden house by StudioAC

      On the first floor, two parallel volumes separate the children’s rooms at the front of the house and the primary suite at the back from the central corridor.
      These create both storage for the rooms, and deep doorway portals that are highlighted in dusty pink.
      Skylights in the stepped angled roofs bring extra light into rooms at the rear, including the primary bathroomCarefully considered details include recesses for the door handles, allowing the doors to open the full 90 degrees without banging into the wall.
      Work and study spaces in the attic are minimally furnished, though feature built-in desks that step up to form shelves behind.
      Study spaces in the attic also feature built-in furnitureSkylights in the stepped, angled roof planes on all three floors bring extra light into the dining room, primary bathroom, and the stairwell.
      Other Toronto homes that have undergone extensive renovations to make them better suited for their occupants include a 14-foot-wide house where pale woodwork forms storage to make more space, and another “disguised as a gallery” – both designed by StudioAC.
      The photography is by Scott Norsworthy.
      Project credits:
      Team: Aleris Rodgers, Francesco Valente-Gorjup, Shengjie Qiu.

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      Superkül renovates reading room at Toronto's brutalist Robarts Library

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      Canadian studio Superkül has updated the reading room at the University of Toronto’s Robarts Library, a notable example of brutalist architecture.

      The project involved renovating the cavernous concrete space on the building’s fourth floor, as part of the university’s larger initiative to revitalise the Robarts Library, which Superkül described as “one of North America’s most significant examples of brutalist architecture”.
      The Brutalist concrete Robarts Library was built in 1973Completed in 1973, the John P Robarts Research Library was designed by local architecture studio Mathers & Haldenby.
      It is both the largest individual library at the University of Toronto and the largest academic library building in Canada.
      Superkül updated the spaces to better serve contemporary learning needsAs an important facility for students and faculty, the reading and study spaces required upgrades to meet contemporary learning styles and equipment, while remaining respectful to the heritage-listed architecture.

      The project also needed to connect the original brutalist structure with the adjacent Robarts Common extension, completed by Diamond Schmitt Architects in September 2022.
      A variety of individual study stations were added to the double-height space”We were tasked with an ambitious goal: to convert the space into a superior contemporary environment for quiet study, collaboration, and digital scholarship in a manner that complements the building’s exalted architectural language and supports accessibility, diversity, and wellness,” said Superkül.
      Spread throughout the 20,300-square-foot (1,886-square-metre), double-height space are individual study areas, new digital stations, consultation rooms and two light therapy zones.
      Natural materials were chosen to bring warmth to the concrete buildingParticular attention was paid to accessibility, through the addition of inclusive study spots that allow users to adjust desk heights, seating configurations and lighting for their needs.
      “We also emphasised clear sightlines and intuitive wayfinding in a symmetrical layout to promote easy navigation,” said Superkül.

      Upgrades to historic Toronto university building include an elevator clad in copper scales

      The studio worked with a team of acoustic specialists to create a sound-dampening system using perforated wood and metal panelling, designed to blend in with the interior architecture.
      This scheme allows communal study groups to converse without disturbing other students.
      Particular attention was paid to accessibility, through the addition of inclusive study spotsFor the new elements, a variety of natural materials were chosen to add warmth to the concrete building, including custom-designed bronze screens and details that play on existing motifs.
      “To honour the distinctive geometry and materiality that make Robarts Library such a prodigious icon, we hewed closely to an overarching objective: create a robust and respectful design that honours the existing architecture and complements the library’s other spaces,” the studio said.
      An acoustic-dampening system was created to prevent communal study sessions distracting from quiet workAlso at the University of Toronto, studios Kohn Shnier and ERA Architects recently renovated the historic University College building to make it more accessible.
      Superkül’s previous projects have included an all-white vacation home in the Ontario countryside.
      The photography is by Doublespace.
      Project credits:
      Architect: SuperkülStructural engineer: EntuitiveMechanical and electrical engineer: HH AngusAcoustics: AercousticsCost: Marshall & MurrayCode and safety: LRI

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      Dramatic gestures define Gallery Residence in Toronto by Burdifilek

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      Carved French limestone and rolling glass doors were used by Toronto interiors studio Burdifilek to create theatrical effects in this house that frequently hosts events, concerts and dinner parties.

      Burdifilek was tasked with creating the interiors of a 25,000-square-foot (2,300-square-metre) home for a family who regularly entertain large numbers of guests to support a variety of charities.
      In this house designed for entertaining, cast glass doors are rolled back to signal the start of dinnerSpilt over three levels, the sprawling Gallery Residence is named for its large art collection.
      Sourced from galleries and furniture showrooms in London, Paris and New York, the works include originals and limited editions by artists including Donald Judd and Vincent Dubourg.
      Padded silk walls help to dampen ambient sounds in the dining roomBurdifilek co-founder Diego Burdi, who travelled with his clients to source these pieces, then needed to find ways to integrate them into the home without it feeling sterile and lifeless.

      “One of the main challenges was ensuring the home maintained a level of warmth and comfort with or without guests,” said the studio.
      A sinuous limestone staircase spirals around a vertical glass light fixture that hangs nine metres from the ceilingOf the different beige-toned materials combined throughout the residence, the most prominent is French limestone.
      It covers the hallway floors and several walls and forms a variety of sculptural architectural features.
      Limestone continues through the home and is carved to form other architectural features, including a minimalist fireplaceThese include a pared-back fireplace with curved edges, which are echoed in the base moulding, and a staircase that spirals up to connect all three floors.
      Hardwood flooring in a slightly darker hue was laid in the main living room, where the walls are lined with cashmere and seating is configured to spark casual conversations.
      In the “great room”, seating is arranged to encourage casual conversation”When moving between rooms, a visual fluidity is revealed through a harmonizing palette of natural woods, quarried stone, milky hues and soft textures, many of which derive from the world of fashion,” said Burdifilek.
      A conservatory with a fully glazed front and roof is used as a reception area for welcoming guests, where large potted trees bookend seating areas.
      Burdifilek co-founder Diego Burdi travelled to London, Paris and New York with his clients to source the artworks for the homeCustom-made glass doors by Jeff Goodman Studio that glow at night are rolled back to reveal the dining room.
      In this space, padded silk walls help to dampen ambient sounds and high-gloss furniture pieces include four china cabinets placed in each corner.
      Blackened bronze doorways are aligned to create sightlines through the residenceAt one end of the dining table, an opening frames a view of the sinuous staircase and the cut-glass pendant light by designer Matthew McCormick that descends 30 feet (nine metres) through the central void.
      “The craftsmanship behind each piece of convex glass enables the fixture to cast dazzling patterns of refracted light,” Burdifilek said.

      StudioAC designs Toronto house “disguised as a gallery”

      Tall portal doorways and full-height windows are trimmed in blackened bronze, adding dark accents to contrast the expanses of beige.
      “Understated tones are countered with dramatic sightlines that lead toward particular works of art, and custom finishes give each room its own mood and uniqueness,” the studio said.
      The kitchen is designed for large-volume catering, and includes four sinks and quartzite countertopsThe kitchen is set up for large-volume catering, with four sinks and space for up to 40 platings on translucent quartzite countertops.
      The home’s private areas are spread across its three storeys, and include an indoor lap pool, a family room clad in black-stained pine panels, and a primary bedroom decorated with French blue walls, seating and linens.
      The home’s private areas include a den clad in blackened pine panelsBurdifilek was founded by Diego Burdi and Paul Filek, and the studio has completed a variety of interior projects in its home city, and internationally.
      In Toronto, these encompass stores for outwear brand Moose Knuckles and oil specialist TA-ZE, while projects abroad include the vast Hyundai Seoul shopping mall.
      The photography is by Doublespace.
      Project credits:
      Interior design firm: BurdifilekFounder and creative director: Diego BurdiFounder and managing partner: Paul FilekProject manager and studio director: Tom YipDesign team: Michael Del Priore, senior concept designer; John Seo, senior concept designer; Sean Li, intermediate designer; Tom Yip, design development; Anna Nomerovsky, senior CAD specialist and production; Anna Jurkiewicz, senior CAD specialist and production; Yoonah Lee, CAD and material library specialistArchitect and builder: Brennan Custom HomesStone fabricator: EDM CanadaMillwork: Erik’s CabinetsLighting consultant: Marcel Dion Lighting DesignArt consultant: Jane Corkin of Corkin Gallery

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