Category: Design

• Junction House featured in the Toronto Star

  

  This morning the Toronto Star published a profile piece on one of Junction House’s earliest purchasers: Barbara Martinez. Barbara downsized from a house to a 1-bedroom condominium in Roncesvalles, but then realized that she still wanted space to entertain and have guests over. So she decided to buy a 3-bedroom penthouse at Junction House with an approximately 350 square foot terrace. That’ll work. It is truly one of the nicest suites in the building, and will come equipped with a view of the Toronto skyline that looks something like this (see background projection below):

  

  I am quoted in the article as saying that mid-rise condominiums in Toronto’s neighborhoods naturally tend to attract a different set of buyers compared to, say, a downtown tower. That is true and we are seeing it play out at Junction House. Yes, we have 1-bedroom suites that are perfect for young professionals and/or investors, but we also have some spectacular 2-storey suites (the House Collection) and larger single-storey suites for people just like Barbara. Congratulations on your new home purchase!

  Photos: Steve Russell for the Toronto Star

  2019.04.06

• Barcelona from above

  Barcelona is one of the densest cities in Europe. And Márton Mogyorósy’s recent photo series, called Barcelona from above, does an excellent job of demonstrating that. My favorite photo is this one here, showing La Barceloneta neighborhood adjacent to the beach:

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  A post shared by Marton Mogyorosy (@martonmogyorosy)

  None of the buildings are particularly tall (maybe 6 or 7 storeys at the most), but the streets are probably only about 6m wide, including sidewalks. This is one way that you can achieve density without height and it is a good example of what I was getting at in my post, European-style height, but not density.

  2019.04.03

• London is piloting its first ever 3D zebra crossing

  London is currently running a 12-month pilot on its first ever 3D zebra crossing. The objective is to improve pedestrian safety by making the crossing more visible to drivers. A 3D zebra crossing stands out by appearing to float above the road.

  Here’s a photo (image credit to Gusti Productions):

  

  While this is the first of its kind in the UK, similar crossings have already been installed in Iceland, India, Taiwan, and other countries. According to the trials in India, they do appear to have a meaningful impact on vehicular speeds. They also feel like public art.

  If this first one proves to be successful, the plan is to roll out these 3D crossings across the entire borough of Westminster. Assuming they do actually work, I’m surprised there hasn’t been more noise around them here in Toronto.

  A London-based software company is also working to completely rethink the zebra crossing for today’s smartphone world. Their system imagines LEDs embedded into the street so that a crosswalk can be triggered basically anywhere.

  Perhaps this is something that might work with the street paving that Sidewalk Toronto is piloting.

  2019.03.25

• Junction House is a finalist in the 39th Annual BILD Awards

  

  I am excited to announce that Junction House is a 2019 finalist in the 39th Annual BILD Awards. The project is up for the following 4 awards:

  1. Best Signage (it was probably the neon that did it)
  2. Best Suite Design (large suite)
  3. Best Innovative Suite Design (it’s a suite from our unique 2-storey House Collection)
  4. Best Mid-Rise Building Design

  This last one is a “Pinnacle” award, but I’ll be honest in that I don’t know what that means. It sounds impressive though.

  BILD received some 850 submissions this year, so kudos to the project team: Superkül, Dialogue 38, Vanderbrand, Unique Urban Homes, DTAH, WND Associates, and others.

  We spend an inordinate amount of time on our floor plans — they are people’s eventual homes. So it’s nice to see a bit of that effort reflected above.

  2019.03.22