Tag: interior design

• New Squarespace HQ

  I am a big fan of the company Squarespace. They have a great and beautiful product. I use them for globizen.com.

  Recently they moved into a new office in Lower Manhattan (98,000 sf), which was a consolidation of 4 distributed offices. The interiors were designed by New York-based A+I.

  Not surprisingly, it’s a beautiful space:

  

  (Photography by Magda Biernat via Contemporist)

  But two other things stood out for me. 

  One: The amount of informal working/meeting spaces. I really had to look for the conventional office seating.

  Two: The ground floor presence and the lobby which doubles as a possible event space.

  For consumer-facing companies, I am really attracted to having a street presence and having spaces that can be programmed. It’s a way to engage and plug in to what’s happening beyond the office. Here’s a related example.

  I’m not sure if their narrative is the same as mine, but regardless: cool space.

  2016.10.06

• Fun Friday: Saltz, Zurich

  Earlier this month a new restaurant – called Saltz – opened up in Zurich’s historic Dolder Grand Hotel. (The building was originally built in the late 19th century, but an extension was added in 2008 by architecture firm Foster + Partners.) 

  Designed by artist Rolf Sachs, the 280 square meter restaurant is fitted out with an eclectic mix of unusual materials: neon, salt, rock, climbing rope, felt, and so on. And everything is intended to relate back to Swiss culture in some way.

  The interiors caught my attention as I was browsing through the press release this morning, so I have decided to post a few photos. All of the photography is by Nico Schaerer, courtesy of The Dolder Grand and artist Rolf Sachs.

  

  2016.03.18

• City-to-country colonization

  

  Lately I’ve been feeling that we’ve been having some pretty serious conversations here on Architect This City. Everything from condominium reserve funds to housing/tax policy. So today I thought we could change it up and talk about something a bit more fun: farmhouses.

  Last weekend when I was in Prince Edward County, one of the places that I visited was the Drake Devonshire Inn. It’s been on my list for awhile, so I’m glad I finally got to experience it. It’s an outpost of the Toronto-based Drake Hotel (no relationship to Hotline Bling Drake) and they refer to it as their “contemporary farmhouse.” 

  It was stunning.

  As soon as I walked on the grounds, I couldn’t stop looking around, taking pictures, and examining all the art that they have sprinkled around the inn. Those are the sorts of things I do when I get excited by a building or place. I’m like a kid in a candy store.

  I was so impressed that after I left I had to message my friend – who worked on the project and who I went to architecture school with – to tell her that she did an amazing job. Want to see for yourself? Click here for photos of the farmhouse. And click here for information on the design firm behind the farmhouse (+tongtong).

  But beyond just a great space, the Drake Devonshire is also symbolic of something greater than seems to be taking place. Almost everybody I met in PEC seemed to be a Toronto transplant. They were done with life in the city and decided take off for the country. But along with them is coming pieces of the city. (The Hayloft Dancehall is another example.)

  I used to think that this kind of city-to-country colonization was bound to happen in Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is only about an hour west of the city. But it turns out I was wrong. It seems to be happening to the east of the city in Prince Edward County.

  2015.10.31

• Project Profile: Fashion House in Toronto by CORE Architects

  

  As Architect This City continues to grow in readership, I’m starting to get pitched more and more. People email me with something they want promoted and they try and convince me to write about it. Everybody is looking for distribution. I get it.

  I have no qualms about people and companies reaching out. In fact, I welcome the suggestions. But the vast majority of these “pitches” don’t make it onto ATC. 

  When it comes to these sorts of things, I have two simple rules: (1) I have to like it myself. If I don’t think what you’re pitching is interesting or cool, I’m not going to write about it – even if you’re offering up money. (2) I need to be able to be transparent about it. More on this second point in the coming weeks.

  Recently I was asked to do a post about the Fashion House Condos in Toronto’s King West neighborhood. 

  Here’s why I decided to do it:

  I like that the existing Silverplate heritage building was preserved and integrated into the base of the condo. It’s now tenanted to The Keg, which has gone into the base of a number of new condo buildings in the city. They’re a successful chain.

  

  Each elevator lobby within the building has a unique mural designed by a different fashion designer – most of which are Canadian. The whole Fashion House theme is meant to speak to the area’s history as Toronto’s Garment District.

  

  Many of the residential suites have red curtains (which are white on the interior). They form a “common element” and have to stay in the condo. It gives the building a dramatic and unique feel, though it means you have to be a fan of curtains.

  

  My good friend designed the Mexican restaurant at the base of the building (Wilbur Mexicana). His firm is called Reflect Architecture.

  It’s also an example of cool startup businesses going into the base of a new development. As far as I know, Wilbur Mexicana is the group’s first venture.

  

  There’s a rooftop pool that I’m hoping somebody will invite me to this summer.

  

  And finally, because I think the King West neighborhood is such a great example of urban renewal.

  

  To end off, here are some stats on the project:

  • Address: 560 King Street West, Toronto
  • Developer: Freed Developments
  • Architect: CORE Architects
  • Project Timeline: 2008-2014
  • Construction Costs: $60M (estimate)
  • Site Area: 4,887 square meters / 52,603 square feet
  • Gross Floor Area: 27,107 square meters / 291,777 square feet
  • Floors: 11 and 12 storeys
  • Building Heights: 33m and 39.7m
  • Residential Suites: 334

  And here are the fashion designers responsible for each elevator lobby mural:

  • 2nd Floor – Beckermans
  • 3rd Floor – Dean Davidson
  • 4th Floor – Jeremy Laing
  • 5th Floor – Adrian Wu
  • 6th Floor – Jenny Bird
  • 7th Floor – Ashtiani
  • 8th Floor – Peach Berserk
  • 9th Floor – Smythe
  • 10th Floor – Jay Godfrey
  • 11th Floor – Bustle
  • Penthouse – Greta Constantine

  What do you think of Fashion House?

  Images: CORE Architects

  2015.03.14

• Firm Profile: ASH NYC

  

  A friend of mine recently introduced me to a young real estate company out of New York called ASH NYC (the founders are around 30). 

  But in reality, calling them just a real estate company is an oversimplification. They’re actually a vertically integrated firm that brings interior design, real estate development, property management, hospitality, and a few other disciplines all under one roof. The way they talk about it is in terms of “joining historically compatible disciplines” and “creating both aesthetic and economic value” – which is a pretty neat approach.

  I’ve written a few times before about the future of the architecture profession and so I think it’s really interesting to see yet another example of design being completely integrated with real estate. And I’m certain we’re going to see more of these kinds of hybrid and integrated business models across many other industries.

  In my own career, I’ve been (somewhat similarly) fascinated by the intersection of design, real estate, and technology. And I suspect that many of you also feel like you’re operating in some kind of overlap. Is that true?

  Image: ASH NYC

  2015.02.06