Indholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2024 i AZURE

Sometimes, stage productions require a few runs to finally earn their standing ovations. Houston’s Jones Plaza is a good example. Situated atop a 60-year-old underground parking garage in the middle of the city’s downtown Theater District, the 0.77-hectare space long featured a cluttered design defined by too much bare concrete and clunky shade structures. Now, the park is back with a new look and a new moniker: Lynn Wyatt Square for the Performing Arts, named after the socialite and philanthropist who partially funded its revamp. Suddenly, it’s the hottest act in town. Back when L.A.-based firm RIOS won the design competition for the project in 2019, Houston’s direction called for something more contemporary to draw residents downtown — all while better tying in with the local ecology. But greening the top…

With all the hallmarks of a laid-back beach house — whitewashed walls, pale wood furniture, creamy upholstery — the apartment is a moment of calm in the Podil district of Kyiv. But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, when interior designer Yana Molodykh first visited the location at the behest of its owners, a recently retired couple wanting a weekend pied-à-terre in the culturally rich neighbourhood, her initial thought was “How can I make something decent out of this?” Located on the eighth floor, the 50-square-metre apartment was originally intended as the attic level of a new-build multi-unit residence, until the developer decided to add on five more storeys. While the building grew skyward, the unit retained its strong lofty elements, like pitched walls and exposed steel I-beams and…

IT that long ago that co-working spaces were riding what seemed like a massive wave that would never break. New brands were launching every few months (East Room in Canada, Second Home in Europe and NeueHouse in the U.S. were just some of the more interesting iterations from a design perspective), while established co-working companies like WeWork were opening spaces at warp speed. Then WeWork started to teeter and eventually collapsed in the face of insurmountable debt and crippling losses, COVID-19 reared its disruptive head, and much of the planet was ordered to work from home. Suddenly, the future of co-working seemed anything but certain. A few years on and co-working has survived, largely due to corporate employees who find themselves without an office to go back to post-lockdown. Many…

MAKE the workspace a landscape. That was the essential brief that Nvidia put forward to Hood Design Studio, best known as the firm behind the landscape architecture at Crosstown Memphis, the new de Young Museum in San Francisco and the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina. The A.I. giant (currently valued at over two trillion dollars) selected HDS, led by Walter Hood, in an invited competition to create new office spaces for its Santa Clara headquarters — outdoors. Being able to take your laptop outside might be a year-round perk in perpetually sunny and mild California, but Nvidia sought to introduce something much more substantial than a casual space to accommodate this natural inclination. “The idea was that they didn’t want a series of areas for employees to…

Conference Tables 1 Frank Finding a “formal synthesis” between straight and curved lines, the Frank table by Robin Rizzini features two slightly curved and tapered legs that support a slim rectangular surface with rounded corners. Materials Die-cast aluminum in multiple colours; Fenix, solid laminate, glass or lacquered MDF Dimensions 72.5 H × 240, 300 or 360 W × 70 D Manufacturer Pedrali, pedrali.com 2 Kynde With Kynde, designer Lee Fletcher opted for a steel and laminate combination to reduce its carbon footprint without compromising on comfort or style. Solo and dual pedestal bases can each be paired with multiple top formats, and a rounded table edge eliminates sharp corners.  Materials Steel, laminate or techknit fabric  Dimensions Multiple  Manufacturer Three H, three-h.com 3 Firma Designed by Travis Clifton, the Firma series…

In the steep, forested nook, a narrow and winding driveway offers the only hint of a human habitation. Atop a rocky incline, the thicket of trees finally gives way to a clearing, revealing a striking open vista of the Gaspereau River Valley. Here, the White Rock residence quietly emerges from the earth, its weathering-steel form appearing almost weightlessly suspended above the similarly reddish soil. Designed by acclaimed Canadian architect Omar Gandhi, it sits lightly on the land. The project posed a uniquely intimate challenge for Gandhi. Envisioned as a private retreat for the Halifax- and Toronto-based architect — as well as close friends and extended family — the house is a tranquil haven from the urban bustle. And, like the best Omar Gandhi Architects designs, it exhibits a rare harmony…

With any celebrity business, a famous face only gets you so far. It takes a skilled behind-the-scenes team to translate star power into compelling products. And in the case of Houseplant, the weed paraphernalia brand led by actor Seth Rogen, credit for many of the company’s early launches goes to Castor Design. The Toronto- and (lately) Detroit-based studio’s A-list clientele doesn’t stop there, either: It’s also the gang cooking up handsome kitchen gear for Matheson, a venture from chef (not to mention producer and cast member of The Bear) Matty Matheson. How did a 15-year-old design team otherwise best known for its lighting become the king of celebrity side hustles? To some degree, Castor has always been part of the in crowd. Long before Matty Matheson was on the red…

Called on to create a private retreat in Niagara-ont-he-Lake, Toronto interior design firm ACDO had the opportunity to subvert the conventional waterfront getaway. The client had a clear vision for his home situated on a sandy stretch of Lake Ontario — “Canadian beach house meets Asian resort,” says ACDO founding partner Abraham Chan, one that not only invoked the surrounding natural environment but also incorporated elements inspired by his global travels. The space itself was unconventional: 929 square metres spanning the fifth and sixth floors (the penthouse units, which the client had combined) of a mid-construction condominium. A vast blank slate with striking views of the lake, it presented a unique situation, but also a challenge to create intimacy in such a sprawling footprint. The resulting interior finds equilibrium by…

LOGOS Low-slung and sophisticated, the Logos system by Vincent Van Duysen for Molteni&C can be customized for composition and finish. Sleek vertical dividers break up the mix-and-match horizontal modules, which include open compartments, drawers and cabinets with doors, and range in height from 36 to 125 centimetres. A refined palette of wood, lacquer, glass or metal can be selected with the option for bronze mirror or fabric back panels; interior LEDs run along the tops and create dynamic reflections against the materials. Logos can be placed directly on the floor, anchored to the wall or set upon a trestle base. RELIEF Equally attractive from all sides thanks to the meticulous attention to detail paid by Stockholm-based TAF Studio, the Relief modular storage system for String Furniture can do double duty…

Atumultuous history of development has characterized Hunts Point Peninsula over the past century. Located along the southeastern edge of the Bronx and bounded by New York City’s East River, Bronx River and the Bruckner Expressway, the largely industrial neighbourhood was once a retreat for Manhattan’s elite — the likes of which included members of the Tiffany & Co. family — lined with sprawling estates and waterfront mansions. After the First World War, its ample space and strategic rail access to the tri-state area spurred a flurry of commercial and industrial activity, paving the way for its transformation into a thriving economic zone. Developers capitalized on this opportunity, building out apartment blocks to house the growing workforce. The introduction of the produce market (1967) and meat market (1974) led to the…

01 RADICAL RE-USE When the building is a relic, a ruin, a shell of its former self, an adaptation that links past and future can be just as audacious as it is sustainable and functional Domino Sugar Refinery /NEW YORK The Domino Sugar Refinery in Brooklyn was once the largest such operation in the world. Today, it accommodates 15 storeys of office, retail and event spaces — all inside a glass volume inserted within the original facade. This new structure culminates in a stunning barrel vault roof that recalls the American round-arch style of the building’s windows. In adapting the iconic city landmark, Practice for Architecture and Urbanism has impressively bridged the old and the new while letting both shine. To wit: The firm left a deliberate 3-to-3.65-metre gap between the old…

When an ambitious community infrastructure project was first announced, the people of Jalpa de Méndez were wary. Located in the Mexican state of Tabasco, the city harbours a population of around 90,000 and, until recently, lacked adequate public spaces. The unfinished structure for a gym sat dilapidated in the middle of a park; the baseball stadium was falling apart; an annual marketplace had to be improvised by citizens, who set up their makeshift shops using tarps and metal rods. Promises from local politicians to address these issues had been made and broken enough times in the past to leave residents disillusioned. “We faced a great deal of distrust in the program,” says Bernardo Quinzaños, founder of Mexico City–based firm Centro de Colaboración Arquitectónica (CCA). In 2020, as part of the…

BRADY DINING Designed for Minotti, the pared-back and rational geometry of Rodolfo Dordoni’s Brady dining table puts the emphasis on the richly veined marble top (variants include Grigio Orobico, Calacatta, Marron Damasco and Nero Marquina), which is placed within a lenticular-shaped frame (in matte Moka scratchproof lacquer), similar to a precious jewel within a ring setting. Combined with the hefty yet handsome metal cylindrical base with decorative ferrule (in satin finish bronze or matte Moka), Brady makes an undeniably striking impression. KEYHOLE COMMUNAL TABLE San Francisco design–build firm Fyrn showcases its woodworking and craft expertise with the Keyhole collection of tables and benches by revealing rather than concealing the structural supports. Employing its own Stemn system (a proprietary fabrication process that allows legs, joints, arms and seats to be easily…

BRIDGE As with the piece of infrastructure that inspired it, the Bridge light by Tonone founder and designer Anton de Groof features multiple evenly distributed supports that maintain balance along the linear design. The dimmable LED is sandwiched between two lengths of transparent recycled Plexiglas — in Fog White, Toxic Green or Lava Orange (shown) — and the power is conducted by the steel-cable suspension for an ultra-clean look. The pendant is available in spans of 110, 150, 180 and 220 centimetres. ECHO Munich-based emerging designer Lukas Heintschel describes his charming Echo table for COR as resembling little mushrooms sprouting from the ground. The tone-on-tone toadstools come with three differently sized “stems” that are wrapped in fabric or leather and topped with a removable super-glossy glass “cap” that reflects its…

Beautiful, solid, comfortable. When Simone Ferkul met ATTIC co-founders Melissa Gobeil and Susan Shaw, she asked them to choose three words that define their custom, ethically sourced gold jewellery and engagement rings. “Those are the three words they gave me, and they turned out to be very layered ideas about their brand, and who they are as makers and creators as well,” Ferkul says. These words served as the raw material — the diamond in the rough — from which Ferkul reimagined ATTIC’s multi-functional headquarters in a historic building in downtown Toronto. Equal parts office, workshop and by-appointment-only showroom, the space refracts the functional elegance of ATTIC’s work and provides daily inspiration for Shaw, Gobeil and the team. What Ferkul created for ATTIC is unquestionably splendid. The centrepiece jewellery bar…

Carpet Tile, Linoleum & LVT 1 Drumline Inspired by the coordination of a marching band, these Bentley Mills carpet tiles bring together a variety of patterns — some bold and booming, others soft yet impactful — to convey a harmonious sense of rhythm. Choose from 12 colourways, four PVC-free backing options and two sizes. bentleymills.com 2 Cocoa By adding cocoa husks to the natural raw materials used to manufacture its Marmoleum line of linoleum flooring, Forbo created this subtly flecked collection. Twelve fresh colour introductions (including Salted Caramel, shown) expand upon the range’s four original mineral tones. ​forbo.com 3 Antiquities Interface marked its recent 50th anniversary by looking back. A standout of the manufacturer’s Past Forward collection, this pattern adapts old-world textile motifs into modular 50-by-50-centimetre carpet tiles that balance…