This happened earlier in the week: And it got me thinking about how much I love Lisbon: But the important story here is that these tweets made it abundantly clear to me that (1) people from all over want far more from their parks and… Read More
All posts filed under “design”
We love you
I was in New York today for meetings. Our office is next to the 9/11 memorial pools and so I walked over with a colleague during lunch. It was my first time visiting the completed memorials and it was hard not to feel things as… Read More
Does off-site construction equal more compromises?
We have been talking about prefabricated and modular buildings for so long that it’s easy to think it might never happen. (Here’s a related post that I wrote back in 2015.) There are also lots of groups that have tried and failed. Perhaps the most… Read More
Toilet seat heights in Amsterdam
I am in Amsterdam right now for the very first time. And after I took in all the bicycles, the beautifully tilting buildings, and its iconic canals, the first thing that struck me was — get this — the height of its toilet seats. Now… Read More
Project Profile: Social housing in Vienna by trans_city architecture
I stumbled upon this multi-unit housing project in Vienna because I thought it looked beautiful and I started thinking about the solid wall-to-window ratio on its facades. But it turns out that this project is far more than just a pretty face. It’s actually a… Read More
Margolese National Design for Living Prize
This landed in my inbox earlier in the week. And since I think it’s important to support Canadian talent and I think it’s important for us to continually nurture a Canadian cultural identity, I’m sharing this design prize with all of you today. Hosted by… Read More
Brand-specific vs. property-specific signage
Here is an example of retail signage on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. The interior signage (behind the glass above the doors) is specific to the brand Osklen (which is a great sustainable fashion company from Brazil). And the exterior soffit signage is specific to… Read More
Good design is about caring
I was in a “design charrette” meeting earlier today where the topic of good architecture and why some cities do better than others came up. It got me thinking about my recent post about the quality of Canadian architecture and so I’d like to revisit… Read More
Robotic furniture startup Ori partners with Marriott Hotels
Space-saving transformational furniture isn’t necessarily a new thing. We’ve all seen a murphy bed. And people like Graham Hill (of LifeEdited) have been designing and building out small urban apartments that magically transform for what seems like a decade. Perhaps it’s even longer than that.… Read More
Slate proposes new mixed-use development in midtown Toronto
This week the team submitted a rezoning application for the southwest corner of Yonge & St. Clair (1 St. Clair Avenue West). More of the details can be found over here on Urban Toronto, but so far the response has been overwhelmingly positive. People seem… Read More