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Ok see u l8r

Running slightly late but

we're on our way!

Idk what the girls are

saying tonight but I think
Im just gonna chill n
watch a movie, you in?
Yea Im down for that

No problem
5 minutes
OK leaving now

Have a lunch meeting at

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reports after?
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a couple things up
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Did you see Richardson
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finishing touches on
the report.
See you there

client:
created:
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ad size:

Keilhauer
24/05/2012
Jordan P
Ren ext 226, Ava ext 233
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on Sat!
Cool, meet at yours?
Yeah! Maybe meet a
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colours:
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info:
docket:
insertiond ate:

CMYK
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Talk is a new collection of seating and tables designed by EOOS
for Keilhauer to encourage face-to-face communication.
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 2013 Antolini Luigi. All rights reserved.

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Blue Agate

B r i n g i n g

S t o n e

To

L i f e

LiberaMente design Vuesse

AzureMagazineCA_scavolini12.indd 1

KOMMA

SCAVOLINI IN CANADA: Dekla Kitchens 1220 Yonge Street, Unit 100 Toronto
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14/11/12 10.53

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Canada,
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montreal, Quebec
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info@triede.com
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toronto, Canada
m5A 1l1
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www.italinteriors.ca

22/11/12 09.37

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IDS Toronto 2013

Booth 2110

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450.462.5555
www.siematic-montreal.com

The stringent requirements set by

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CONTENTS

FEATURES

JANFEB 2013

BRILLIANT
HOUSES

THE ART OF MODERN LIVING

STYLE

From Stuttgart to San Francisco

82

Wall Candy Seven daring wallpaper options that make a room.

Photography by Paul Weeks

SHOW REPORTS

58

Soft Curves UNStudios Ben van Berkel takes time from a busy schedule to build a house in
Stuttgart that bears his favourite move: the twist. By Mairi Beautyman

70

Box Set Koning Eizenberg Architecture

build a house that embraces Pasadenas
perfect weather. By Michael Webb

64

Ramping It Up How to add another

storey without upsetting the planning
department. ByAndrew Braithwaite

76

The Long Embrace What a house looks

like when it merges seamlessly with its
natural surroundings. ByDaniel Baird

68

It Takes a Village Sanjay Puris concrete

house in Rajasthan, India, takes its cues
from ancient history. ByTim McKeough

84

London Design Festival British

furniture and craftsmanship at their
best. ByCraille Maguire Gillies

88

IIDEX Whats new in lighting,

desking, and finish options for the
flexible office space. ByDiane Chan

90 Cersaie The latest tiles, from mixand-match patterns to wood plank

look-alikes. ByCatherine Osborne
JANFEB 2013 25

Contents
janfeb 2013

Departments

40

groundbreaker Massimiliano and Doriana

fuksas stunning hospitality school in france

IDenTIkIT

43

just In Dutch studio i29 employs bursts

of colour to delineate space in a big office

46

graphics Stefan Sagmeister on the makings

of his Happy Show in Toronto

44

just built With its raw, coiled facade, the

barclays Center finally opens in brooklyn

48

fresh Take architect Martin Stubenrauch

gives a crumbling tower in Umbria a new life

52

et cetera
Oscar niemeyers
new Chuck Taylors
andmore.

fIelD TrIP

also
36 contributors
50 calendar Must-see events and exhibitions
from around the world
112 advertiser Index
54

giorgio biscaro The Italian designer on

colour and his new gig at fontana arte

DesIgn fIle

96

forever in season The four Seasons

flagship in Toronto gets a chic new look

MaTerIal WorlD

108 Media shelf books, films and apps. What

were reading, watching and downloading
110 boldface Movers, shakers, winners and
green do-gooders
114 Trailer Living large in one square metre
on our cover
jet-setting photographer Iwan baan, who
won the julius Shulman
award in 2010, travelled
to Stuttgart, Germany,
to capture the sweeping
architecture and warm
interior of this home
designed by UnStudio.
Page58

100 bedroom furniture beds both minimal and

maximal, and an array of storage options
26 janfeb 2013

105 Transparent panels Partitions, features

and more that brighten up interiors

EVENTSCAPE_DEC_AZURE.pdf

2012-11-16

2:44 PM

CM

MY

CY

CMY

CUSTOM
ARCHITECTURAL
FABRICATORS

Dynamic free-standing metal canopy structures feature the vibrant colors

of the airport's new corporate rebranding scheme. Both terminals
incorporate a similar design, with complex intersecting angles, minimally
supported by cantilevered metal columns. At Terminal 3, low ceilings and
limited floor space necessitated a scaled down design. Corian desks,
acrylic signage & display boards were also engineered, fabricated and
installed by Eventscape.
Information Kiosk, GTAA, Design: ZAS Interiors, Location: Pearson International Airport, Toronto, ON

T. 416 231 8855 | INFO@EVENTSCAPE.CA | EVENTSCAPE.CA

Contents
janfeb 2013

VISIT OUR
NEW TORONTO STORE
162 CUMBERLAND ST.
YORKVILLE

online

see our
new
website!

azuremagazine.Com

CARPET SQUARES.
HUNDREDS OF STYLES.
COME ON, LETS DESIGN
A RUG TOGETHER.

28 janfeb 2013

design

arChiteCture

Dispatch from IMM Cologne Watch for previews

and highlights from the German design fair, where
busnelli unveils a seating collection by Claesson
Koivisto Rune (above), and guest of honour Luca
nichetto devises the Das Haus installation.

More residential architecture To complement

this issues focus on five innovative houses across
the globe (starting on page 58), we present still
more boundary-pushing abodes, like this wooden
double volume in japan by ma-style architects.

interiors

Curiosity

Indoor delights Visit us for the hottest residential, retail and restaurant interiors, including Le
Sergent Recruteur, a luxe Paris bote designed by
jaime Hayon, with his signature gold details and
whimsical illustrations on mirrored walls.

Illuminating lectures follow us for a roundup of

must-attend talks by the industrys key players. On
february 12, Marion Weiss of Weiss/Manfredi, the
new York firm behind Seattles Olympic Sculpture
Park, speaks at the University of Toronto.

video

job board

events

my azure

Click on our video section

for exclusive interviews
with notable designersa
and architects, including
Patrizia Moroso and Ross
Lovegrove.

View career openings in

Canada and internationally in 10 fields, among
them architecture, interior
design and graphic design.

Updated daily with dates

and deadlines for current
and upcoming conferences,
exhibits, competitions and
openings around the globe.

Sign up online to share

your latest creations, from
products to projects of all
sizes, with the Azure
community.

were open 24 7

twitter.com/azuremagazine

facebook.com/azuremagazine

azuremagazine.com/app

Collage Studio

DESIGN PORTRAIT.

Sophie is in love with Ray and Contemporary Art. Ray is designed by Antonio Citterio. www.bebitalia.com
INFORM INTERIORS:
50 & 97 Water Street
Vancouver - BC
Tel. 604 682 3868
www.informinteriors.com

AzureInform+Kiosk229X292SRay.indd 1

KIOSK DESIGN:
288 King Street East
Toronto, Canada
T.416.539.9665.
www.kioskdesign.ca

18/01/12 17.09

Axor Bouroullec

With spout and handles that can be mounted virtually

anywhere around the washbasin, create your ideal bathroom
with Axor Bouroullec. Learn more about this collection and
designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec at www.hansgrohe.ca

Vol. 29 no. 221 janfeb 2013

Editor
nelda rodger
Creative Director
Karen Simpson
Deputy Editor
catherine osborne
Senior Editor
elizabeth Pagliacolo

Jones Lang LaSalle by IA, Interior Architects / photo: Chris Barrett, Hedrich Blessing

Managing Editor
Diane chan

Skyline Select for Demountable Walls

Associate Editors
nina boccia, Tory Healy
Assistant Editor
David Dick-agnew
Copy Chief
Pamela capraru
Contributing Editors
beth Kapusta, Tim mcKeough, rachel Pulfer, David Theodore,
adele Weder
Contributors
iwan baan, Daniel baird, mairi beautyman, andrew braithwaite,
barry chong, bruce Damonte, Vinesh gandhi, alison garwoodjones, bob gundu, janna levitt, craille maguire gillies, joann
Plockova, justin ridgeway, eric Staudenmaier, michael Webb,
Paul Weeks
Senior Designer
Vicky lee
Assistant Designer
matteo Sgaramella
ProductionDesign Intern
michelle liando
Letters to the Editor
Azure welcomes your comments. Please send your letters to:
Azuremagazine, 460 richmond St. W., Ste. 601, Toronto, on
canada m5V 1Y1, or e-mail us at azure@azureonline.com.
Staff can be reached at firstname@azureonline.com.

Website
azuremagazine.com
Web Coordinator
francesco Sgaramella
Web Assistant
Kari Silver
Azure is published eight times per year (janfeb, marchapril,
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Published by AZURE Publishing Inc.
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Development corporation.

Azure is a registered trademark of azure Publishing inc.

registered united States Patent and Trademark office.

Twelve handcrafted glass patterns.

Affordable prices, quick lead times.

Made2013
in Chicago
32 janfeb

/ skydesign.com / 888-278-4660

2013 azure Publishing inc.

Printed in canada

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We let you do
extraordinary things

Vol. 29 no. 221 janfeb 2013

Publisher
Sergio Sgaramella
Executive Publisher
melony Ward
Advertising Director
anne Wetheral
(416) 203-9674 x226
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Senior Account Managers

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From the great room to the hotel lobby, Town & Countrys TC54 is all about
luxury on a large scale. With over 16.5 square feet of viewing area through
ceramic disappearing glass, youll see nothing but huge, bold flames.

Newsstand
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the u.S., call 1 (800) 263-9661; internationally, call (514)355-5610.
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uSPS 014-112. Published by azure Publishing inc., u.S. office of

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townandcountryfireplaces.com

34 janfeb 2013

ws54 2-3 page november 2012.indd 1

azuremagazine.com

2012-11-15 4:22 PM

Inform Interiors
50 & 97 Water Street
Vancouver BC, V6B 1A4
T: 604 682 3868 F: 604 682 0293
www.informinteriors.com

ADRB NINIX CANADA.indd 1

Eliile

Jardin de ville

Jardin de ville

Royal Botania USA

Trade showroom now open by appointment

74 Stafford St, Toronto, ON, M6J
2R9
T: 888.771.1888 | F: 888.771.1889
Direct: 416.882.1618 | eliile.com

MONTREAL
8128 boulevard Dcarie
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8/11/12 10:11

contributors
JAnfEB 2013

PARADOR

we asked: WHicH ARcHiTEcT

WOULD YOU cHOOSE TO BUiLD

YOUR DREAM HOME?

Flooring
www.tammdistribution.com (519)963-0762

John Pawson I describe my apartment as an attempt at minimalism.

Pawson could make this a reality,
and hed do it in a way that wouldnt
be too ice cube cold.
for Soft curves, berlin writer
Mairi Beautyman toured Haus am
Weinberg, ben van berkels latest
project in Stuttgart. Page58

Arthur Erickson I cant imagine

living in one of his concrete
masterpieces, but his timber and
glass homes in rural British
Columbia strike me as a perfect
balance between the built environment and the natural world.
for craft Works, Craille Maguire
Gillies scoured Londons hot spots
for new works and fresh talent during
the design festival. Page 84

36 janfeb 2013

www.komandor.ca

Toronto
Montreal
Calgary
Vancouver

416-640-1802
514-830-8020
403-251-6402
778-887-7361

Dealer opportunities available

Peter Zumthor I like the contemplative simplicity and serenity of

his work.
Daniel Baird took a trip to Port
Hope for The Long embrace, a
look at Teeple architects zinc-clad
house nestled in the rolling hills
of southern ontario. Page76

John Pawson His disciplined

minimalism really appeals to me.
Aside from his overall design,
Im captivated by how he elevates
such functional objects as
countertops and staircases into
elements to be pondered and
celebrated.
Torontos Paul Weeks photographed
seven new wallpaper patterns for
Wall candy. Page82

Clarification: We wish to correct a factual error in our october issue.

Tulip by Wetstyle is composed of Wetmar bio, a composite that uses an
organic, soy-based resin instead of a petrochemical substance.
azuremagazine.com

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built-in line

800 361 0799

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DOM INTERIORS A RESOURCE FOR LIVING 22 GRISTMILL LANE, TORONTO ON M5A3C4

T. 416-364-6477 F. 416-364-6977 WWW.DOMINTERIORS.COM INFO@DOMTORONTO.COM

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groundbreaker

haute
hospitality

The schools
shotcrete shell is clad
in Alucobond panels
and windowpanes in
thousands of size and
contour variations.

40 janfeb 2013

as the visionary, and

unrepentantly controversial,
mayor of montpellier, france, from 1977 to 2004,
and then as president of the Languedoc-roussillon
region, the late georges frche transformed
his city, helping to boost it from the 25th-largest
to the eighth-largest in the country. Like President
franois mitterrand, he commissioned grands
projets, and the latest of these, a major hotel school,
is named for him. massimiliano and Doriana fuksas
won the 2006 competition to design the Lyce

Hotelier georges frche, a complex of sinuous

concrete structures that fill the 1.7-hectare site. of
the two main blocks, a three-storey Y-plan building
contains a small hotel, a gastronomic restaurant,
and a brasserie where advanced students can hone
their skills with paying customers. bridges link
this building to a four-storey structure, entered via
an arch at the rear, which houses classrooms,
offices, an exhibition space and a canteen. Linear
courtyards separate these blocks, as well as three
azuremagazine.com

In Montpellier, France, a state-of-the-art school by

Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas takes the culinary
and hotel arts to another level
by michael webb

Occupying most
of the complexs
1.7hectares, the two
main buildings weave
around each other,
connected by bridges
and topped with
solar panels.
a detail view of
the connective
tissue between the
two main blocks.
Triangular windows
bring natural light into
the minimal interiors
and makes dynamic
patterns on the walls.

satellites containing a gym, student rooms and

staff apartments.
Despite its complexity, the finished project
conforms exactly to the physical and parametric
models. We always realize our original concepts
without any subsequent changes, even though
the contractor may have difficulty in mastering all
the details, says Massimiliano fuksas. The entire
ensemble is wrapped in a taut, geometrically patterned skin, a hallmark of recent fuksas buildings,

from the Milan fairgrounds to the new terminal in

progress for the international airport in Shenzhen,
China. The firm specified triangular panels in 17,000
size and contour variations, made of alucobond,
aluminum thermo-bonded to a polyethylene core.
These were stamped with bar codes and assembled like a jigsaw puzzle on the shotcrete shell,
along with flush-fitting triangular windows of highperformance glass. as fuksas observes, This
provided a uniform finish that is easy to clean and

changes colour with the light, while ensuring

good thermal and acoustic insulation.
a thousand students attend the school, but
even with the heavy demands of kitchen equipment fuksas managed to achieve a high level
of sustainability, reducing the carbon footprint
through orientation and rooftop photovoltaic
panels. and the firm stayed on budget, despite
the complex design and custom fabrication.

janfeb 2013 41

colour
works

just in
i29 creates a multi-hued interior in
the least likely of spaces: an employee
training facility in Delft
BY justin ridgewaY

interior design firm i29 repurposed and

repainted the furnishings in the work areas
according to colour-coded themes.

we try to look for the best story that can be told.

This is how i29 principals Jeroen Dellensen and
Jasper Jansen, based in Duivendrecht, the Netherlands, describe their approach. For the combiwerk
Delft building, designed by VmX Architects, i29
explored the narrative theme of the combination
Work initiative, a training and employment program
that helps citizens with disabilities reintegrate
into the workforce. The firms colour-coded interior
puts a positive spin on the metaphorical boxes
people with perceived limitations can be placed in,
and speaks to the nuances and vibrancy of individuals and their unique stories.
in the new building, in centrally located production halls, combiwerks employees and trainees
perform packaging, assembly, housekeeping and
postal service jobs. For its part, i29 created the
open concept office areas, as well as a restaurant
and other public spaces. The spatial arrangement
is made visible and intelligible through strategic
colour typography, a minimalist implementation of
bright, bold colour blocks. The layout was informed
by how the office would best serve the different
end users. The colour choices, however, were
ultimately intuitive, taking the shape of islands in
bright shades of blue, green, orange and red,
surrounded by grey carpeting and walls.
All of the furniture in the office areas, including
the desks, cabinetry and file drawers, were bought
second-hand and refurbished; the chairs were
refashioned in collaboration with Weder, another
social works company. This recycled office concept originated with i29s design for the gummo
advertising agency in Amsterdam, with its greypainted used furnishings, and has recently led to
the firms AsgoodAsNew line of vintage furnishings
and accessories. in combiwerk, the furniture
melds into the colour scheme with a trompe loeil
effect. in an almost fairy talelike way, say the
designers, the building contains secret gardens
full of vitality, which could be read as a reference to
the contrast between external appearances and
inner richness.
AzurEmAgAziNE.com

JANFEB 2013 43

just built

the game
changer

the facade
consists of 12,000
weathered steel
panels that were
electronically tagged
and assembled using
an iPhone app.

44 JANFEB 2013

the saga of the atlantic yards fitful

starts and stops is well

known. The 8.9-hectare development in Brooklyn began with
Frank gehrys 2006 master plan; but in a money-saving move
during the financial crisis, developer Bruce ratner handed over
the design of the sites main attraction the Barclays center,
an arena for the Brooklyn Nets (and, in 2015, the NewYork
islanders) to Ellerbe Becket. The firm, a sports architecture
giant, delivered a faceless, off-the-shelf box that further
enraged community groups already incensed by the size of the
development and the expropriation of private property that
stood in its way. Thats when ratner turned to SHoPArchitects,
asking the NewYork studio to devise a different exterior shape
and facade for the venue, and to design the interiors of its
clubs, restaurants and corridors. immediately, SHoP saw an
opportunity to do more than contribute a showy wrapper. This
project wasnt just about designing an entertainment venue,
says partner christopher Sharples. it was about creating a new
neighbourhood.
Now complete, the 62,700-square-metre centrepiece of the
still-nascent Atlantic Yards directly links to the intense urban
environment that surrounds it. The low-lying coiled structure flows
seamlessly into the city sidewalk, connecting to the green-roofed

Brooklyns new basketball arena,

by SHoP Architects, scores major
points for a massive development
BY tim mckeough

entrance of a transit hub with nine subway lines and commuter

rail service. The building has a remarkable repose, and it isnt
very vertical, says Sharples. Because Ellerbe Becket sank the
basketball court below grade, we wanted to stretch the energy
out and create civic gestures, like the canopy. This expansive
and outstanding oculus, wrapped in video screens, cantilevers
26metres over an entrance plaza, making the buildings biggest,
boldest gesture. glass walls at street level allow passersby to
peer in at the scoreboard above the court during games.
To combat the sense of a looming mass amid a neighbourhood
of smaller buildings, SHoP broke down the exterior cladding into
12,000 pieces of water jetcut steel, each with a different size
and shape, and weathered them with collected rainwater so they
looked several years old, even before installation. This creates
a scaled intimacy that plays with the colours and fenestration of
windows in the neighbourhood, says Sharples. The armoured,
unabashedly raw building doesnt exactly blend in, which has
attracted the attention of both detractors and admirers. However,
for such an imposing structure it succeeds surprisingly well,
as a welcoming new destination and transit hub, and as an icon
that reflects Brooklyns newly elevated status. its an encouraging
start for this controversial development.
AzurEmAgAziNE.com

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graphics

Q&a: stefan
sagmeister

The envelope-pushing graphic

designer puts on The Happy Show
atTorontos Design Exchange
BY nina Boccia

every seven years, Stefan

Sagmeister shuts
down his New York office for an entire year to
re-energize. After a sabbatical in Bali in 2008, the
graphic designer immersed himself in meditation,
psychotropic drugs and therapy and began to plan
The Happy Show, informed by his decade-long
exploration of happiness. Taking over Torontos
Design Exchange in January, after debuting at
Philadelphias institute of contemporary Art,
the exhibit (and future film) presents thoughtprovoking installations glass-encased stacks of
money identifying The ideal Salary, and gum ball
machines numbered from 1to 10, with the levels
of gum dispensed illustrating showgoers average
level of happiness all tied together by his own
maxims in various typography, from handwritten
to neon lit.
How did you weave together the various
elements of the Happy Show?
There are a lot of spaces, some connected, some
disconnected, so i decided to put our old trick of
handwriting into the show, and that made everything easier. it was necessary to have some sort of
common thread to move the people through. And
it gives them an opportunity to linger.
You use unlikely areas, such as bathrooms and
wheelchair ramps, as exhibition space. Why?
We do stuff in the bathrooms, in the hallways, in
all of the little non-spaces that museums never
do anything with. But they are there, and if you
treat them correctly you can make little nooks
where you can speak more closely to a visitor.
information is always beautifully communicated
if you can open up peoples attention with a little
surprise. From a spatial point of view, that is
easier if you hide something in a space that used
to be the janitors closet.
Do you edit the content of your maxims to suit
their typographic treatments?
i wrote 15 sentences extremely fast, as a list in my
diary, Things i Have Learned in my Life So Far
46 JANFEB 2013

Visitors can indicate their happiness levels

at the gum ball machines.
a provocative, pedal-powered neon sign.
The ideas can come out of the sentence or a
gut feeling, or sometimes i have a desire to go in
a certain direction and it just opens a completely
new world or new meaning for that sentence. its
all over the place.

[published by Abrams Books, 2008]. The next

bunch were written more consciously and probably
more carefully, but i might have had 10 versions
of them. Were doing a new one now for the film,
and it has several versions; one is Achieve Elastic
Tenacity, the other Be more Flexible. Were going
with the latter because it expresses the same
thing much more clearly. if the sentence is as clear
as possible, we can be more opaque formally. if
the form expresses the content, the viewer doesnt
have a chance to interpret it.
How do you resolve the treatment of a maxim?
There are some projects where we deliberately
have no idea what the outcome will be, and that
goes against my natural instincts. im comfortable
knowing where we are going, but it has the advantage of being fairly safe, and the disadvantage
of losing spontaneity. The reason i dont do it more
often is because its scary, but the results are
always good. Some of our better-known pieces,
including the Trying to Look good Limits my Life
billboards, were done using that approach.

Whats the story behind the neon sign that lights

up when people pedal the stationary bicycle?
Actually doing the things i set out to do increases
my overall level of satisfaction. Thats just it. i
found that whenever i think i should do something
and i dont make a note and forget about it, it
leaves a kernel of dissatisfaction with me. i also
discovered that exercising for 20 minutes in the
morning played a more discernible role in my day
than meditating for 45 minutes, so i wanted to
have an element of exercise. i worked with KevinT.
ocallaghan of the School of Visual Arts; he knows
the guy on Long island who made the neon sign.
What inspired the Step Up to it sugar sculpture?
Sugar is highly related to happiness. The cubes are
white, so we could project on them. its a silver
screen kind of thing, and i think its pretty. itwasnt
meant to be interactive, but the programmers, red
Paper Heart, brought that element in. Face recognition software allows the visitor to interact by
smiling, lighting up the sculpture with a burst of
colour. it changes the way the audience looks at it.
The Happy Show takes place from January 8 to
March 3 at the Design Exchange in Toronto.
AzurEmAgAziNE.com

fresh take

a fine
balance

An earthquake-ravaged medieval
tower in Umbria, Italy, is reimagined
with a dramatic steel spine
BY BarrY chong

On september 26, 1997, a

magnitude5.5
earthquake struck the italian region of
umbria, killing 10 people and leaving several
medieval structures in ruin. Among them
was the Tower of Triponzo, which became a
symbol of local grief. After hearing of the
disaster, german architect martin Stubenrauch
set out to restore the tower, as a tribute
to the earthquake victims. But his goodwill
project would be fraught with controversy
and logistical nightmares.
After he received state funding and the
blessing of several bureaucratic authorities,
his design drew outrage from the locals.
instead of demolishing and rebuilding the
tower, he kept the ruins, planning to support
their weight via a spine-like steel structure
with exterior corten bracing, which would
climb what used to be the towers central
shaft an elegant, functional design, without
ornament. People hated me for it, says
Stubenrauch. No tower of the fifty that once
existed ever got funding for revitalization.
And i had decided to leave the ruin, monumentalizing their tragedy.
There was also danger in stabilizing the
crumbling structure. using cranes with
baskets, the crew had to secure each of the
loose stones some the size of boulders
from top to bottom, tying the walls together
with nylon ropes. We were terrorized, said
Stubenrauch. When the first major tremor hit,
we had consolidated the walls but had not
placed the steel support. Four workers were
up on the scaffolding when the entire thing was
moving like a swing. They then drilled eight
holes 20metres deep into the towers solid
rock foundation, enabling them to install the
680-kilogram corten brace.
With the work now complete, Stubenrauch
looks on his 12-year passion project with
pride. its beautiful to see that people have
started to understand the inner logic of the
work, he says. From its inception, the tower
revitalization has represented humanitys
resolve against natures destructive forces.
one can now say that it also symbolizes the
resolve of an uncompromising architect.
The 680-kilogram corten brace holds the
monumental towers ruins together.
48 JANFEB 2013

AzurEmAgAziNE.com

25
Years
of
Design
The 25th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair
May 18-21 2013 at New York Citys Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
800-272-7469 or 212-204-1060 icff.com

Produced and Managed by GLM

ICFF_2013_Azure_11262012_PMS887C.indd 1

11/27/12 5:11 PM

Calendar
January 24 to 27

interior
design show
toronto

toronto in january may

be freezing, but iDS heats

things up at the metro Toronto convention centre
with vibrant new furniture and installations from 300
exhibitors. boconcept presents a finely crafted modular
sofa by anders nrgaard, while Wetstyle launches a
collection of ultra-minimalist bathroom fixtures. The
shows two main features, Prototype and Studio north,
return with experimental and bespoke pieces, such as
a brushed brass stool by Lori Harrison. and an auction

of boldly customized blu Dot chairs displays the wildly

unique talents of designers around the country, including
illustrators marian bantjes and gary Taxali. on january
25, the azure Trade Talks welcome berlin industrial
designer jerszy Seymour; and architect jrgen mayerH.,
the man behind the waffle-like, all-timber metropol Parasol
in Seville as well as a slew of mould-breaking cultural
buildings in the republic of georgia.
interiordesignshow.com

January 14 to 20

IMM coLoGnE
coLoGnE, GErMany
at the first international furniture fair of the year, where many
european manufacturers launch hundreds of products, pay
close attention to the german furniture giants. Vitra, e15
and Walter Knoll shine, displaying their latest and greatest,
including the lasts new soft seating by architect ben van
berkel. inspired by the natural smoothness of geological
forms, Seating Stones (shown) drew crowds at orgatec in
october and are sure to impress showgoers in cologne.
italys Luca nichetto creates this years Das Haus installation,
furnishing the space with his works for foscarini, De Padova
and Venini. imm-cologne.com

boconcept shows off carmo,

anders nrgaards modular sofa
that features exaggerated piping
and comes in fabrics including
felt (shown) and leather.
Marian bantjes transforms
blu Dots real Good chair into a
graphic display of a film synopsis.

uPcoMInG FaIrs
January 9 to 12
HEIMtEXtIL, FranKFurt
The ultimate contract and residential textile
fair. heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com
January 12 to 15
DoMotEX, HanovEr, GErMany
an international showcase of floor coverings,
from handwoven rugs to ceramic tiles.
domotex.de
January 18 to 22
MaIson&obJEt, ParIs
Parisian-flavoured decor for the home.
maison-objet.com
January 23 to 27
MacEF, MILan
italys largest home accessories and decor
show. macef.it

FEbruary 16 to JunE 2

LEbbEus WooDs, arcHItEct

san FrancIsco
its fitting that before the San francisco museum of modern art
hunkers down for its Snhetta-designed facelift, it is showing
a survey of 75 works by the late, visionary american architect,
whose conceptual drawings and models often grafted spectacular new structures onto the existing urban fabric. His wildly
imaginative and undeniably human-centred unbuilt works
ventured beneath the earths core, examined seismic design and
critiqued postwar development. in a concept for earthquakeprone Sanfrancisco, a cluster of buildings creates a bridge. in
war-ravaged bosnia, a protective wall encloses the country while
still letting people in. and in his foreboding Lower manhattan
illustration from 1999, he depicted the city, where he died just as
Hurricane Sandy was on its way out, as sitting atop exposed
rock, all its rivers dammed and excavated. sfmoma.org
50 janfeb 2013

FEbruary 5 to 9
stocKHoLM FurnIturE anD LIGHt FaIr
The latest in nordic interior design.
stockholmfurniturelightfair.se
FEbruary 15 to 19
aMbIEntE, FranKFurt
chic home accessories and giftware.
ambiente.messefrankfurt.com
aPrIL 9 to 14
saLonE DEL MobILE, MILan
The design mecca, with hundreds of off-site
attractions, this year coincides with euroluce.
cosmit.it
aPrIL 29 to May 2
covErInGs, atLanta
aisles of tile and stone floor coverings.
coverings.com

azuremagazine.com

ET CETERA
2

1 THONET BIKE BY ANDY MARTIN

For $70,000, one can own this
brakeless beech ride by Australian
architect Andy Martin. It is made
using CNC cutting and Thonets
steam-bending process, originally
from 1859. andymartinstudio.com
2 SCHLUMP ONE BY J. MAYER H.
German architect Jrgen Mayer H.,
known for his amoebic forms, shook
up a Hamburg neighbourhood with
this renovation of a 50s building.
Named after a nearby subway station, Schlump houses offices and a
private university. jmayerh.de
52 JANFEB 2013

3 THOMAS BAYRLE FOR

MAHARAM

4 OSCAR NIEMEYER FOR

CONVERSE

5 THE CAVE BY BENJAMIN

GRAINDORGE

Visitors to Londons Frieze Art Fair

might have noticed some impressive
entryways and rest stops en route
to the various shows and events. The
wall treatments were courtesy of
Maharam, with U.K. company Rutters
supplying the carpeting. Maharam
resurrected patterns based on
German pop artist Thomas Bayrles
art pieces from the 60s, digitally
printing them on a non-woven solid
substrate. The motif is now part of
Maharams Digital Projects collection.
maharam.com

Architect Oscar Niemeyer never shies

from embracing the new. Rather than
a building, his latest project is a line
of Converse sneakers, this one with
a bold red tongue that references the
entrance to his Ibirapuera Auditorium
in SoPaulo. The canvas upper is
decorated with the text of his famous
quote: It is not the right angle that
attracts me, nor the straight line. It is
the sensual curve I find in the mountains of my country, in the sinuous
course of its rivers, in the body of
the beloved woman. niemeyer.org.br

For the French furniture company

Moustache, Benjamin Graindorge
devised a sculptural mood lamp,
illuminated from within a hollow core.
moustache.fr
6 BEEHIVE BY JOHANSON DESIGN
To install this felt sound absorber,
each hextagonal piece fits together
and mounts to the wall with magnets.
Designed by Johanson Design of
Sweden. johansondesign.com
COMPILED BY DIANE CHAN

AZUREMAGAZINE.COM

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IdentIkIt

gIorgIo
bIscaro

Fontana Artes exciting new art director

carries on with his own line of vibrant,
innovative furnishings
BY joann plockova

Born
Vercelli, italy, 1978
location
milan and Treviso, italy
education
2002 bachelor of industrial design,
iuaV university of Venice
occupation
furniture designer, art director
selected exhibits
2012 edition of nine, Ventura
Lambrate, milan Design Week
2010-12 new italian Design, traveling
exhibit by the Triennale di milano
2011 represented italian design at
150th-anniversary celebrations of
italys unification, Turin
2011 edition of Six, Ventura
Lambrate, milan Design Week
2009/10 Salone Satellite, Salone del
mobile, milan
selected clients
bosa, birex, cb2, Doimo, maison
203, mizar, nuovostudio, Slide
giorgiobiscaro.com

The sable led lamp has a monobloc form

with a small, space-saving head, designed by
Biscaro for something good, the production
workshop he co-founded in 2011.
Magritte, a lemon/lime squeezer in injectionmoulded plastic.

designing Before knowing design

When i was a child, my father used to bring home
electronics, lamps, furniture things i could study,
break, dismantle and reassemble. This affected
my understanding of how things are made, and how
different element combinations could affect the
final object and the way i interacted with it. When
you begin to question your surroundings and find
out how to solve the problems you see, you start
to become a designer.
The universiTY of venice
To be honest, i learned very little about how design
actually works. The school had only been founded
a few years earlier, and it was not yet equipped
to teach properly. but we soaked in every type of
design, from graphic and interior design to ergonomics. This was the biggest lesson: never stop
learning, because things always change.
The school of foscarini
as i finished my first three years at iuaV, a pro-

54 janfeb 2013

fessor told me about a young, dynamic lighting

company that was hiring. i asked for an interview
and took some works with me ugly works that
i had made the previous year. incredibly, they hired
me. i was in the engineering department, because
there was no r&D department at the time, and
everything was beautifully unstructured; there were
so many things to learn. i worked, for example, on
[marc] Sadlers mite floor lamp, and iwas one of
the first to see the concept for caboche [by Patricia
urquiola and eliana gerotto]. foscarini shaped the
way i see a project, and design in general.
The freelance dance
i quit foscarini after less than a year to try a
freelance career. What a fool i was, and how much
i still needed to understand. my first job was
creating a prototype for an external alarm horn.
i spent two weeks collecting all the information i
could about sirens, then started designing, then
made a Styrofoam prototype. i sold the result to
the company that gave me the brief, without
azuremagazine.com

 the Bundled light fixture, in

development for a french brand,
is made with cotton fibreboard.
constructed from birch and
oak plywood topped in iron, the
reprouv stool, for cB2, pays
homage to jean Prouv.

this prototype chair is named Pollo (italian

for chicken). the painted metal frame reminds
Biscaro of a cartoonish roasted bird.
Perfect for a single bloom, flynn consists
of a 3D-printed lattice set in a purple glass vase.
the offset stool, for maison 203, is made of
plywood sheets bent and cut into chevrons and
screwed onto three legs.
to create his wood-capped Yalog vessels,
Biscaro used rough branches to form the moulds
into which the glass is blown.

getting a royalty. Today that alarm is one of the

most sold in europe, and I dont get a buck for
it another good lesson about design.
Later I taught in the synthesis lab of Politecnico
di Milano, while working as a freelancer at nuovostudio and learning how to devise the communication strategy around a product.I was also employed
as art director at Disenia, which gave me control
over the creative process, because it was the kind
of high-quality, small-sized Italian company where
you could learn by doing everything. freelancing in
Italy is anything but easy almost half of your
earnings go to taxes but I decided to start my own
studio in 2007, because I truly believe in my job
and all of its different aspects.

Lariviera, an armchair for the outdoors, is

made with a minimal metal frame and vibrant,
gradated PVc cushions.

first major successes

My Offset stool for Maison 203 was built around
the idea of redesigning a process more than an
object. even before it was on sale, it was featured

in almost every Italian magazine and many blogs.

Two works I made with craftsmen in 2011 and 2012,
the Sable lamp and the Torii chair, are also among
my most important pieces. They speak to a future
where we will produce less, but better.
Sometimes I feel as if I have worked too much
in companies, because Im a perfectionist and
always see too many problems in a product I have
in mind. My design process tends to be very long
and articulated, because I see production,
commercial or even supply chain issues. besides
this, I always try to put something more into my
projects, something that sets them apart in terms
of production methods, materials, behaviours,
and relationships with the user.
fontana arte
In 2012, I took on the artistic direction of fontana
arte, which was founded in 1932. It has a great
history, yet in the past 30 years, instead of
promoting the original values of innovation and
modernity, the company became conformist,
sticking with mono-material, monochrome products. My goal is to innovate again, contacting
good designers, no matter if they just graduated
or are world famous, and working closely with
them to build the product together.
In the next collection, I will use nearly 20 different
materials: fibres, expanded foams, fabrics, plastics,
glass. I want to push this, because I feel the crisis
has brought about the worst thing for a designer:
a lack of experimentation. a dramatic change
is the best thing for fontana arte, and I am lucky
enough to be one of the main players in it. Many
people will criticize us for turning our backs on the
past, but we cant live in the past forever.
into the future
Im also working with other design brands to produce some of my projects a low table, a bookshelf
and a clock for french and Italian companies
which I hope will be produced in 2013. This work
between a freelance career and the company life
is the best job a designer could desire. I will keep
doing what Im doing now just better.
janfeb 2013 55

Real beauty speaks for itself.

We could mention our custom burners that deliver a full spectrum of heat output from a tender flame
to an intense blaze. Or reference the carefully handcrafted construction. But thats not what makes the
48" Pro Range a perfect centerpiece for your kitchen. Its the fact that you dont even need to know all
this to fall in love with it.

P26223_GE_APL_V13.indd 1

monogram.ca

12-11-15 5:32 PM

White Light
Ville Kokkonen /Artek Studio
2010

Artek USA Inc.

artekfurniture.us
info@artekfurniture.us
T:212 219 0589

Azure-Ad-final.indd 1

14.11.12 19:47

Project:

haus am weinberg
firm: UNstUdio, amsterdam

soft
curves
58 JANFEB 2013

Ben van Berkel brings his love of

twists, bends and all-white walls to his
latest residential project in germany
By mAiri BEAutymAN
PhotogrAPhy By iwAN BAAN

AzurEmAgAziNE.com

House Profile
Location: stuttgart,
germany
BuiLding size:
920 square metres
Lot size: 1,280 square
metres
structuraL materiaLs:
cast concrete, stucco

Located next to a vineyard, the threestorey house is perched on a terraced

hillside. It takes on remarkably different
appearances from every angle.

Its not often you fInd a functIonIng HIstoRIcal vIneyaRd in a suburb, but
thats what adjoins one new family house located on a craggy hillside on the
outskirts of Stuttgart. Well-cultivated rows of grapevines fill the nearby
lot, while in another direction the site offers sweeping views of rooftops and
distant city lights. The newly built, 920-square-metre cast concrete home,
designed by UNStudio, fits into the landscape like a glove, with both volume
and roofline responding to the rising terrain.
We studied endlessly how to capture views of the mountaintop, says

principal Ben van Berkel, who credits his love for high terrain as a response
to his own native countrys lack of elevation. Perhaps because Im a Dutchman, Im happy to see any mountain, he says with a laugh, even if its only
a metre high.
For the client, retaining the big-name Amsterdam firm to dedicate
time and attention to a private residence was a major coup. UNStudio has
completed such high-profile projects as the Mercedes-Benz Museum (also
in Stuttgart), the dramatic Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, and a luxury
JANFEB 2013 59

 The most striking feature, visually

and structurally, is a load-bearing
S-shaped stairway that connects all
three levels and guides the organization of the house.
To maintain the drama of the
staircase, UNStudio used cables as
a discreet protective barrier.
A large fireplace fills part of a
wall near the entrance; its facade is
make of one piece of locally sourced
stone called Jurakalk.
A library provides a solitary
alcove, though not an enclosed
one. The house is designed to blur
boundaries between private and
public space.
UNStudio custom-built a white
Corian kitchen table that extends
outdoors, its form mimicking the
curves of the house.
60 JanFeB 2013

azuremagazine.com

 The third floor wellness area, with

STUTTGART
SECOND
itsFLOOR
egg-shaped bathtub and wooden
sauna, offers a sensual experience.
A glass opening on the second
level looks down into the wine cellar
one floor below.

SECOND FLOOR

2
4

FLOOR PLANS

FIRST FLOOR

9
11

10
12
7
13

14

1 Master bedroom
2 Walk-in closet
3 Bathroom
4 Gallery/library
5 Sauna
STUTTGART
Wellness area
FIRST6FLOOR
7 Elevator
8 Terrace
9 Lap pool
10 Dining area
11 Kitchen
12 Dog shower
13 Living area
14 Music room
15 Technical room
16 Storage
17 Wine cellar
18 Wine tasting area
19 Bedroom
20 Garage
21 Entrance

STUTTGART
GROUND FLOOR
GROUND FLOOR

17
15

16

16

16

18
16
19

13

62 JANFEB 2013

19

21

20

department store in South Korea. Im excited to do house projects, but

at the same time careful; they can absorb an enormous amount of time
and money, van Berkel says. However, when the clients contacted him
after spotting one his best-known houses in a magazine (the VillaNM in
NewYork, which has since burned down), he was intrigued.
On the one hand, they wanted a beautiful house, but they also have a
keen interest in architecture, he says. Their specifications outlined the
number of square metres for each room an attention to detail virtually
unheard of. Like VillaNM, Haus am Weinberg is defined by a central twist,
a dramatic departure from traditional construction in which the threestorey house literally twists from within, following a series of diagonal
movements that allow for just four support elements: an elevator shaft, two
pillars and one inner column. In turn, minimizing structural reinforcement allowed for glazing on all four corners.
Interior circulation is organized around an S-shaped stair that begins
at the southern facade of the lowest level, just inside the main entrance.
Partially integrated into the hill, this floor includes a two-bedroom
apartment for guests and the owners college-age children, and a climatecontrolled wine cellar. The stair curves up to the second levels living area
and open kitchen-dining spaces, where the coveted mountaintop is prominently viewed through double-height glass. In good weather, glazed walls on
two sides of the dining area open fully, completely blurring the boundaries
between inside and out. The stair concludes on the third floor with a gallery
space, a master bedroom, an ensuite bathroom and a wellness area with
sauna and terrace.
White surfaces are everywhere, with floors alternating between pale oak
and slabs of light grey local stone. The kitchen cabinets are lacquered white,
and muted white clay stucco walls unexpectedly sparkle when daylight hits
embedded reflective stone. Im so against normal stucco, especially in such
a special house, so we made it a little shiny, vanBerkel explains.
Further interior accents reveal what he calls the clients secret life.
Above the four-metre-long solid oak dining table, LED lighting circles a
mounted stag head between two ram heads. The wild game theme carries
through to the music room, where surfaces suddenly turn dark and brooding and stuffed hunting trophies including a cheetah, a bear, and the
heads of a boar and several deer loom from the walls. Its like stepping
into another world of their life, says van Berkel, the way a good dream
can also turn into a bit of a nightmare. In contrast, a room adjacent to the
kitchen houses a 20-square-metre shower for the dogs.
AZUREMAGAZINE.COM

ramping
it up
SFOSL takes on San Franciscos tight

building restrictions and adds an entire

floor to a 1920s row house
By AndRew BRAiThwAiTe
PhOTOgRAPhy By BRuce dAmOnTe

Writers dread the empty page.

So it comes as no surprise that architects often consider a carte
blanche commission, coupled with unlimited resources, an
anxiety-inducing, head-spinning proposition. Sometimes, the
best assignments come with restrictive parameters budget,
zoning, an existing structure established at the outset. Indeed,
if youre Casper Mork-Ulnes and Andreas Tingulstad of SFOSL,
working on a tricky renovation in San Franciscos Potrero Hill
neighbourhood, you might even find that these limitations yield
brilliant solutions you would otherwise have overlooked.
Twentieth Street is a great example of a project where we
managed to play within the constraints, says Tingulstad of the
residential remodel in question, which began with a British
software salesman looking to expand his two-storey home (the
ground floor was entirely garage). The two principals who have
collaborated since 2008 and took the name SFOSL in 2012 characterized the house as a bachelor pad: cramped, old and poorly
laid out. The place hadnt been touched in 40 years, and even the
client, Mike, would tell you it was pretty much a disaster, says
Mork-Ulnes.
Two main obstacles to revitalization emerged. The first was the
citys planning department, whose residential design guidelines
for Potrero Hill mandated that the facade be preserved. Although
the building was not historically listed, the city permit office
stipulated that because this was one of eight uniform houses
on the street, all built by one developer in the 20s, the design
had to fit within the existing block fabric.
The best solution was to build upward. Following zoning
restrictions that forced a setback of the third floor, to maintain
the streetscapes visual height, the architects managed to increase
the floor space from 150 to 210 square metres. This move also led
them to relocate the houses public functions kitchen, living,
dining to a single space on the top floor. What had been a dining
room and kitchen on the second floor became a fourth bedroom
and a master ensuite bathroom.
An engineered steel catwalk installed off the rear of the new
third floor facilitated access to the back garden. This satisfied the
primary objective of two important stakeholders: Mikes dogs,
Merv and Roxy, who have heartily welcomed additional access to
the terraced green space that was transformed by local garden
guru Flora Grubb.
The second big challenge was the tight budget. While $170 per
square foot is easy to achieve in other places, it sure isnt in San
Francisco, says Mork-Ulnes (the firm has twin headquarters, in

House Profile
Location: san francisco
originaL buiLding size:
150 square metres
current buiLding size:
210 square metres
Lot size: 93 square metres
structuraL materiaLs:
ramp armor cladding,
oriented strand
boardflooring

artists fear the blank canvas.

64 JANFEB 2013

The three-storey house is clad

in Ramp Armor, a paper-based
phenolic resin panel used in
skateboarding ramp construction.
SFOSL installed a catwalk for
access to the new top floor from
the back garden.

Project:

20th Street
reSidence
firm: SfoSL,
San franciSco

JANFEB 2013 65

A crank-operated bifold panel

opens to create an overhang
above the third-floor patio.

To maintain the continuity of the

existing street facades, the new
roofline is set back.
66 JANFEB 2013

San Francisco and Oslo). Fortunately, the client brought his own interest in
low-cost materials to the process. The house is clad in Ramp Armor Deluxe, a
paper-based phenolic resin panel used in skateboarding ramp construction.
The new floors are oriented strand board plywood finished with a heavyduty urethane coating by Top Secret that withstands scratchy dog paws. The
staircase connecting the two floors features the rough texture of parallel
strand lumber beams laminated in place.
These material choices helped to keep the budget down, while giving the
interior and exterior spaces a feeling of honesty and freshness. Even the
original Douglas fir ceiling beams, which were not substantial enough to be
retained as floor beams, were repurposed by a local furniture maker into a
dining table and a custom shelving unit.
Nowhere is the ingenuity driven by regulation and budget better illustrated than with the sunshade that shields the third floors south-facing
glass wall. Large panels, also made from Ramp Armor Deluxe, are mounted
atop a custom-built, crank-operated bifold lift. The shade is deployed to
control light and ventilation, eliminating the need for air conditioning; in a
nod to the planning department, it is perforated in a pattern that replicates
the historical blocks geometry. The planning department told us they
really liked that touch, says Mork-Ulnes
The client worked overtime with project manager Greg Ladigin to handdrill the sunshades 21,756 holes, using a simple paper stencil as a guide.
After the projects completion, Mike now married to Kathryn, who moved
in to complete the propertys transformation from bachelor pad to family
homestead gave Ladigin a suitable wedding gift: two Makita power drills.
Everyone is pulling in the same direction, says Tingulstad.
AZUREMAGAZINE.COM

White epoxy coated deck flooring.

White epoxy coated OSB floor.

Catwalk

Kitchen island.

Skylight above shown as dashed.

Double-pane windows throughout.

Laminated PSL stair.

Double-pane, multi-slide doors.

Built-in media nook

10 Lightwell.
11 Transluscent guardrail.
12 Sunshade above shown as dashed.

UPPER LEVEL FLOOR PLAN

13 Guardrail sided with skate ramp cladding.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

SECOND FLOOR
Laminated PSL stair.
Custom sliding barn doors.
Lightwell.
Landscaped concrete planters.
Synthetic lawn patio.

Existing stair resurfaced with epoxy coated OSB.

Clear epoxy coated OSB floor.

Double-pane glass doors

Double-pane windows throughout.

6
LONGITUDINAL SECTION

SECOND FLOOR

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

8
9
10
11

Living area
Bifold panel
Dining area
Kitchen
Living area
Bathroom
Gangway

7
4
10 Concrete patio.

Bedroom
Master bedroom
Patio
Terraced
landscaping

THIRD FLOOR

8
6
8

11
9
6
8

5
2
1

Original beams
were repurposed into
custom shelving and
anew dining table.
On the second floor,
the master bedroom and
ensuite bathroom look
out onto the terraced
back garden.
The central staircase uses parallel
strand lumber beams
glued into place.
Perforated with
21,756 hand-drilled
holes, the sunshade
blocks out heat and
glare in the kitchen
and living areas.

THIRD FLOOR

10

Project:

courtyard house
House Profile
Location: rajasthan,
india
buiLding size:
3,500 square metres
Lot size: 7,200 square
metres
structuraL materiaL:
concrete

68 JANFEB 2013

firm: sanjay Puri

architects, mumbai, india

it takes
a village
Inspired by the ad hoc arrangement of
traditional settlements, Sanjay Puri builds
a house in India made up of many rooms,
with courtyard access at every turn
By tIm mckeough
PhotograPhy By vIneSh gandhI

to design a cutting-edge home in the scorching desert of Rajasthan,

India, Mumbai architect Sanjay Puri looked as much to traditional Indian
architecture as he did to 21st-century forms. With daytime temperatures
routinely soaring to 50 degrees, he says the concept for the Courtyard
House grew out of a simple question: How do you battle this crazy amount
of heat? Fortunately, history provided some tried-and-true strategies.
When you look at Indian architecture, which dates back 700 years, people
made houses based on an internal courtyard, says Puri, noting that when
rooms are arranged around a common outdoor space it provides protection
from direct sun while helping the interior rooms unload hot air.
He twisted the courtyard idea to his needs by breaking the individual
rooms into 19 unique modules that he embedded in the landscape around
a series of courtyards. We didnt want to make simple boxes, he says.
Every room has its own identity, and each one looks out in a different
direction. The loose arrangement was inspired by the haphazard way
traditional village huts are placed, he says, so the house looks more like
acollage of spaces than a single volume.
In addition to orienting the main living areas around one massive courtyard and the guest quarters around another, Puri gave almost every room
a separate, smaller terrace on the periphery of the 3,500-square-metre
building. No room faces south, and all of the windows are deeply recessed
under angled rooflines, to avoid direct sun.
The decision to use concrete as the main building material was never in
question. The house sits at the edge of a large cement plant, and the owner
is the companys chairman. Luckily, the dense materials natural thermal
qualities help regulate the comfort of the living spaces as temperatures rise
during the day and plummet at night. In such an extreme climate, air conditioning is still essential. You have to have it, says Puri. But the energy
requirements go down tremendously.

each room has its own identity,

says the architect, and each one looks
out in a different direction.
various peaked volumes jut outward
at one end, and at the other link to one
of two central courtyards.

Concrete surfaces, inside and

out, provide natural thermal control
in the extreme heat.

JANFEB 2013 69

Project:

south pasadena
residence
firm: Koning eizenberg
architecture
santa monica, california

70 JANFEB 2013

House Profile
Location: pasadena,
california
BuiLding size:
300 square metres
Lot size: 2,700 square
metres
structuraL materiaLs:
wood, concrete, cedar
cladding

box set
Inspired by Chinese takeout containers, Koning
Eizenberg Architecture creates a unique family
home that embraces indoor-outdoor living
BY MIChAEl wEBB
PhoToGrAPhY BY ErIC STAndEnMAIEr

pasadena flourished as a winter resort for rich Midwesterners back in the

40s, before it was swallowed by the burgeoning metropolis of LosAngeles.
Yet it still retains its distinctive character as a tranquil community seeded
with architectural innovations, from the first California bungalows to
Morphosis fractured addition to Caltech. The latest surprise is well con
cealed from the street, on a 2,700squaremetre lot surrounded by trees.
There, Koning Eizenberg Architecture has created a family compound of
white stucco cubes that enclose a grassy courtyard and an outdoor pool.
Each contains a single living or sleeping area, and each opens up through
sliding or pivoting doors that lead to the next room or to gardens on either
side. Anedgy yellowgreen accent defines the door frames.
Its an exemplary model of southern California indooroutdoor living,
even though the architects say that inspiration first came from the white
cube shape of Chinese takeout containers. The uneven roof lines, which tilt
at varying degrees, channel rain to one corner and maximize the exposure of
solar panels. Between the four main boxes lie four elongated volumes that

Sliding glass doors open to

the main garden from every room.
The bright green frames are
painted with Benjamin Moores
Yew Green 2025-20.
The uneven rooftops add visual
drama, with steep angles that
allow for effective rain drainage.
JANFEB 2013 71

 Radiant concrete flooring

is among the houses energysaving features.
The hub of activity
concentrates in the living,
dining and kitchen area.
Burnside pendants by
Rejuvenation.
Stairs lead to a loft
office, the only upper floor
of the single-level dwelling.
Like most of the rooms,
the master bedroom looks
out onto the garden.

An impressive chandelier
made from a giant tumbleweed, by Kyla Hansen, hangs
above the dining table.
The house pulls you
through with glimpses of
what lies beyond, says the
owner. It feels generous
but intimate.

JANFEB 2013 73

AERIAL VIEW

Bedrooms

Dining
area

Existing
building

Kitchen

Pool

Pool
house

Living
area

Studio

Bath
and
storage

link the varying forms as one, and internally serve as spaces for bathrooms and storage. Each is topped with a roof garden and a wooden deck,
and each is clad in planes of cedar boards lightly charred to a striking
black finish.
The owners first came to this lot from a dysfunctional spec house,
seeking a sense of freedom for themselves and their teenage sons. Shes
a painter; he has been a chef, a gallerist and a stock trader, and is now
embarking on a law career. We had admired Koning Eizenbergs work
for a long time, and we gave them a free hand, says one of the owners.
I had seen Frank Gehrys Schnabel house, and I thought it was a cool
idea to have separate pavilions where we could work at home, the boys
could hang out with friends, and my family could visit.
Simple shapes and the inventive use of off-the-shelf materials are
key elements for Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg, who still champion
the frugality and earthiness of their native Australia, 30 years after
moving to L.A. The house pulls you through with glimpses of what lies
beyond, says the owner, and the spaces feel generous but intimate,
The kitchen and family areas are the hub of social activity, spilling
onto the lawn, where movies are projected onto a white wall with
embedded speakers nearby. The varied angles of the folded roofs give
each room its own character. Edison bulbs are casually strung from
the ceilings or suspended from a trapeze of knotted cords. One of the
owners grew up in a traditional house and so they indulged in a formal
dining room, and a powder room decorated with Chinese-inspired
floral wallpaper. The kitchen is woodsy, with a ceiling of Douglas
fir plywood, a massive oak table that doubles as an eating counter, and
a stair of wooden treads leading up to an office the only upper level of
the otherwise single-storey house.
As local temperatures rise to 40 degrees during the summer, crossventilation and warm air are drawn in by fans at the edge of the lawn and
chilled in tubes, buried several metres below ground, to cool the interiors.
The concrete floors have radiant heating, and solar collectors supply
hot water and heat the pool. Sustainable, adaptable and free flowing, the
house is a perfect fit for this family. Julie loves the element of surprise,
and she wanted the house to have layers of experience, says one of
the owners. The architecture is almost invisible, because everything
works so well.
Various outdoor
features, such as
a brick pizza oven
and rooftop decks,
take advantage of
Pasadenas mild
temperatures.
74 JANFEB 2013

At night, movies are

projected onto a white
wall with outdoor
speakers embedded
nearby.

The pool house is

clad in a translucent
polycarbonate that
glows at night.

AZUREMAGAZINE.COM

JANFEB 2013 75

House Profile
Location: port hope,
ontario
BuiLding size:
413 square metres
Lot size: 30 hectares

the long
embrace
Teeple Architects latest residential
project in southern Ontario celebrates all
that surrounds it: fields, trees and water
BY DANIEL BAIRD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BOB GUNDU AND
SCOTT NORSWORTHY

76 JANFEB 2013

in late fall, the farmland on the lakefront road into Port Hope, Ontario, is
pristine, even idyllic: golden fields rolling toward a shimmering horizon of
water, here and there clutches of tall trees, their leaves a brittle yellow or
blazing red. As the main road turns into a gravel lane that winds through an
open field, there is still little evidence that a newly built house, by Teeple
Architects, lies straight ahead. Not, at any rate, until one catches a glimpse
of the muted green, zinc-clad structure rising and curving up from the
scrub and flaring toward the lake.
Set on 30 hectares, the two-storey dwelling at its highest point overlooks
a rocky bluff that drops precipitously to the lake. But this unusually narrow, low-lying house really begins sunken in the regions compact earth at
its north end, with a rectangular lap pool and a whirlpool surrounded by
a wooden deck and radiant-heated limestone. The pool is kept warm year
round because the Danish owner prefers to swim in the dead of winter.
From there, the house ramps upward. On one side, an exterior staircase
leads to a deck that traces the entire length of the house. Part of the top will
eventually become a green roof, further connecting the structure with its
surroundings. This is one of the few houses that actually has a concept,
says principal Stephen Teeple as we wander around the periphery with
project architect Luc Bouliane. From a distance, the house appears to rise
from the ground like a cresting wave. Its about organic growth; it begins
in the earth and gradually opens, blossoms, up toward the light, Teeple
continues. Most houses are just nice boxes. This one connects to everything that surrounds it: fields, woods, water.
AzurEmAgAziNE.com

ABovE PHoTo BY BoB guNdu

structuraL materiaLs:
concrete, Zinc, steeL,
LaminateD WooD

PROJECT:

PORT HOPE HOUSE

FIRM: TEEPLE ARCHITECTS,
TORONTO

Clad in zinc, the house rises

from ground level and twists
toward the lake. A mortar-free
retaining wall made of hand-cut
marble frames the driveway.

The pool is kept

warm year round
usingge othermal
heating. Inside, the
entrance leads to
a media room and
a sauna.

JANFEB 2013 77

78 JANFEB 2013

AzurEmAgAziNE.com

Bottom lEFt PHoto BY BoB guNdu

The focal point of

the house is the sunken
living and dining area,
which faces onto trees
and the edge of Lake
Ontario.
A wood-burning fireplace divides the kitchen
and living areas. To the
right is a breakfast
nook for quick meals.
The owners plan to build
a deck off the kitchen
for direct access to the
lakefront.
The top floor curves
more generously than
the ground level, allowing for a narrow deck
that leads to the pool
out back.
The deck can
also be reached from
inside via a dedicated
stairway.

JANFEB 2013 79

SECOND FLOOR

SECOND FLOOR

1
2
3
4
5
6

1
2
3
5

GROUND FLOOR

GROUND FLOOR

19
7

20

8
11

Second Floor Plan - 1:250

Roof deck
Master bedroom
Master bathroom
Office
Walk-in closet
Exterior stairs

12

10
13

15

17

15

14
15

7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

16

18

15
16
17
18
19
20

Future deck
Living area
Breakfast nook
Kitchen
Dining area
Main entrance
Laundry
Vestibule and
side entry
Bedroom
Media room
Sauna
Pool
Car port
Berm

Ground Floor Plan - 1:250

With no neighbours
around, the master
bedroom and ensuite
bath are unabashedly
glazed and surrounded
by treetops. The
cast-concrete basin is
custom made.

The main entrance is at its midpoint. A media room, a fully equipped

sauna, a mud room, and bedrooms for the owners two teenage boys are
located along a narrow corridor defined by a radiant concrete floor tinted
a deep grey. But the houses real drama reveals itself as the foyer morphs
into a sunken dining and living room with vein-cut Eramosa limestone
floors that run all the way to a fully glazed wall. Next to the living room is
an elevated kitchen and a breakfast nook with warm walnut panelling and
raw concrete features. The view, from both the kitchen and living areas, is
directly through the trees to the lake, by turns complicated and cinematic.
A V-shaped skylight lets light seep in from above, giving the main floor a
full-bodied glow.
The stairway to the second floor is steep and narrow, the steps clad in the
same warm, striated walnut as the kitchen. Tall windows in the stairwell
create the sensation of climbing upward directly from the fields. Both the
spacious master bedroom and the ensuite bath are framed by full-height,
curtain-free windows that are open to the lake; yet these are intimate
spaces, private by virtue of the propertys size and the position of the house,
80 JANFEB 2013

that fully embrace the sublimity of the natural world. Behind the bedroom
is a small office and an entrance to the deck that leads all the way back to
the pool.
While the house incorporates such energy-efficient elements as rainwater harvesting, geothermal heating, radiant floors, and windows that
provide ample opportunities for passive heating and cooling, it makes
no attempt to discreetly meld into the surroundings; rather, it provides
a dynamic, symbiotic addition to nature. Although expansive in size
and form, it also contains small, elegant touches: a retaining wall at the
entrance, made from hand-chipped, mortar-free marble, curves along the
driveway; and a young birch, rooted within a small courtyard, is now growing up through the roof.
The only major addition the owners plan is an extended bridge from the
kitchen to the cliff above the lake. Inside the house, you cant hear the water,
so looking at it can be a bit like watching a movie, the owner notes. But
on the other side, you can hear waves crashing on the shore. With the deck,
there will be a more direct connection between the house and the lake.
AZUREMAGAZINE.COM

Azure_Mise en page 1 12-11-15 14:30 Page1

riobel.ca

Wall
Candy

compiled by elizabeth pagliacolo

photography by paul weeks
styled by alanna davey
paDDle Bench By saMare, courTesy oF klaus, ToronTo

82 JanFeB 2013

checker
This vibrant 3-D embossment, by
Graham& brown, comes in hot pink, and
such subdued shades as cream, grey
and black. $60 per roll, grahambrown.ca

bermondsey square
While it may look retro, this triangle print
with a pewter foil finish, by custhom, pays
homage to modern British architecture.
$41per metre, custhom.co.uk

chroma
The multi-hued blurs in this double helix
motif by Trove are made up of manipulated
photos of people dashing around Manhattan.
Two columns form the full repeat. $13 to $16
per roll, troveline.com
azuremagazine.com

PHoTo BY Lorem iPSum DoLore

Forget dull palettes and damasks.

The bravest wallpaper companies are
conjuring new motifs with bold graphics
and trompe loeil photography

PHOTO BY LOREM IPSUM DOLORE

Yonkers station ceiling

Part of rollouts Wanderlust: New York line,
this pattern transforms the skylights and
ceiling mosaics of the Yonkers train station
into a kaleidoscope. $10 per square foot,
rollout.ca

cuben
Graphic designer Simon Page applied
his programming background to this
geometric artwork for Flavor paper, with
customizable pattern size and colours.
$8per square foot, flavorpaper.com

concrete
Love raw concrete but not up for tearing
down drywall? Piet Boons photorealistic
paper for the Dutch company nlXl comes
in several finishes, including wide blocks
and a black version. $295 per roll, nlxl.com;
hollacecluny.ca

the long passage towards night

Jacob Hashimoto hand-painted and
digitally printed a variety of kites and interwove them. He captured his tapestry in 64
photos, editing them together to create
this beautiful, busy pattern for Maharam.
Price on request, maharam.com

london
design
festival

craft
works

at Londons biggest design event, british

taLents prove, once again, theyre wiLd
about retro and refined artistry
by craiLLe maguire giLLies

3
not long after london wowed the world with its
2012Olympic extravaganza, it marked another
achievement: the 10th anniversary of the Design
Festival, which, according to organizers, had 350,000
visitors filling their itineraries day and night for 10
event-packed days in September. There was no
standing on ceremony, with emerging talents at Tent
London, top-tier manufacturers at 100%Design,
and a consortium of hot designers and companies at
Designjunction all reinforcing the British love for
mixing originality with artisanal craftsmanship.
Such up-and-comers as Gareth Batowski (who
displayed his arresting sycamore furniture) and Lola
Lely (showing her captivating marble Potluck stool,
an ink-pigmented wooden cylinder with a useful handle) were just two of the budding practitioners who
devoted themselves to bespoke. Lee Broom, a master
at embedding sartorial charm into reclaimed antiques,
set up a vintage-y pop-up, replete with old fruit crates,
grocery scales, and a sawdust-strewn floor. On show
were over 200 Crystal Bulbs, a line of screw-in LEDs
etched with a dazzling crystal-cut pattern.
For even more English charm, its worth exploring
the newly minted FAO (Fashion Art Object) online
concept shop. Launched at the festival, the site
(faoshop.com) offers a well-curated selection from
such leading local brands as Another Country; and
Bethan Gray, whose spare wooden stool with brogue
detailing on a leather top makes a nod to Savile Row.
As in previous years, the Victoria and Albert Museum
served as the festival hub, filling its galleries with
crowd-pleasing displays, including Keiichi Matsudas
giant Prism, which had one corner pointing downward into the museums cupola; the installation was
powered by crowd-sourced data culled from London
news, weather and traffic reports. While visitors could
partially see the piece from within the museum by
looking up, they were encouraged to view it in detail by
ascending a narrow staircase to the top of the dome,
a space usually only accessed by maintenance crews.
If a trend could be spotted among so much innovation and diversity, it would be a modern take on
country style that eschews ornamentation for clean
lines and finishes in natural woods, lifted right from
the U.K.s great outdoors.
84 JANFEB 2013

AzurEmAgAziNE.com

8
7
6

7 into the light

Quebec native philippe malouins
Blur paintings are part of the
Digital Crystal exhibit at the Design
Museum (until January 13). Each
piece consists of Swarovski crystals
strung on a metal thread, illuminated
by LEDs, and spun at high speed via
a central motor. philippemalouin.com

9
1 tasK master

3 hidden gem

5 east meets east

Inspired by 19th-century mining

lamps used in northern England,
designer David Irwins MLamp for
Juniper design is clad in powdercoated steel and aluminium. It can
operate for up to eight hours on a
single charge. juniper-design.com

Keiichi matsudas Prism, made of

washi paper with projections of
digital data gathered from across
London, was a showstopper. The
installation was placed in the V&A
Museum cupola, so visitors had
to ascend a steep, narrow staircase
to reach it. keiichimatsuda.com

East London design darling Jasper

morrison launched a line of cast
iron kitchenware for Oigen Japan, a
perfect marriage of Morrisons modern minimalism and the 160-year-old
foundrys classic simplicity.
jaspermorrison.com

2 light etching
London luxe designer lee Broom
worked with Cumbria Crystal, the
sole remaining producer of handmade English full-lead crystal, to
create these screw-in LEDs with a
classic crystal pattern etched right
into the bulb. leebroom.com

8 divide and conquer

Easy to assemble and with a sculptural simplicity, oscar magnus
naruds Ship Shape shelves are
rendered in folded white metal and
plain timber. The A-frame design
also works as a free-standing room
divider. oscarnarud.com

6 space maKer
4 nature meets nurture
ginger& Jaggers Earth to Earth
series mixes opulent materials with
natural motifs. Case in point: the
Fig Tree Console, by Pedro Sousa,
with tree branch legs, shown here
in brass. gingerandjagger.com

Londons Truman Brewery was the

site where young designers showed
their wares. Spotted at the show
were self-taught artisan gareth
Batowskis multi-functional furnishings made from locally sourced
wood. garethbatowski.co.uk

9 maKing a marK
Forget chintz. With its FSC European
oak frame and button-back detailing,
Gala Wrights BoscoII sofa for mark
product presents an understated
approach to new British design.
markproduct.com
JANFEB 2013 85

11
10

13

12
15
10 under the spotLight
using a thermal tracking device and
Philips LED illumination mounted on
a moving monorail, Cinimod studios
Walk the Light was both beautiful and
eerie. A cone of white light followed
pedestrians as they traversed a
tunnel while multicoloured lights
flowed throughout the space.
cinimodstudio.com

14

11 benCh mark
13 doubLe duty

15 take me with you

17 good wood

tom dixons whimsical Eclectic

doorstop, in black powder-coated
cast iron or copper plate, doubles
as a paperweight. it riffs on the u.K.
designers iconic Jack sitting,
stacking, lighting thing, launched
in the mid-90s. tomdixon.net

Local designer Lola Lely played

around with marble surfacing effects
and colour bleeds for her Potluck
stools, a limited edition series of
stump-like seats with handles that
make them easy to move.
thenewcollectivism.wordpress.com

Samuel chans Finnieston line, made

for his company Channels design,
remains loyal to his woodworking
roots back in Hong Kong, though
the line is produced at the channels
workshop in Shropshire, u.K.
channelsdesign.com

12 textiLe sensation

14 t-totaLLer

16 mix master

18 youre so Fine

From her studio in East London,

rising irish textile designer
Claire-anne obrien creates chunky
cable-patterned knits to drape
over equally chunky footrests, such
as this yellow cisan Beag stool.
claireanneobrien.com

The back and seat pan of Benjamin

Huberts clever Pelt chair for de La
espada is made from a single sheet
of plywood shaped like a T-shirt.
Launched at the festival, it has a
solid ash frame and can be stacked
up to six high. delaespada.com

The customer is a collaborator with

the Element Vessel, from the London
design studio Vitamin. Each piece
can be customized by mixing and
matching materials such as cut glass,
turned wood and 3D-printed resin.
vitaminliving.com

russell Pinch, a former product

designer with the conran group,
co-founded pinch design with his
wife, oona Bannon. He created iona
cheval, an elliptical mirror set in
solid oak with Shaker-style joints
and rivets. pinchdesign.com

Established & Sons and the Victoria

and Albert museum teamed up to
present 10 bespoke benches to mark
the festivals 10th anniversary.
Fernando brizio showed a playful
interpretation made from cork in
the shape of an iberian pigs hoof.
fernandobrizio.com

86 JANFEB 2013

AzurEmAgAziNE.com

17
16

18

19

19 bowed over
Benjamin Huberts Bow Trestle table,
for de La espada, is a prime example
of new British design that pairs the
natural (solid ash frame) with the
industrial (curved steel supports), all
in a simple form that is anything but
plain. benjaminhubert.co.uk

20

20 home run
The new Belgian brand Llinell
showed the statuesque Venus floor
lamp, an award-winning design for
its World Series line that would look
right at home in a photographers
studio. llinell.li

21

21 the sound of design

22

At Trafalgar Square, visitors entered

the all-black be open sound Portal
by Arup and found themselves in
an all-white room filled with original
sounds created by five artists proof
that good design can be heard as
well as seen. beopenfuture.com
22 toP shoP
For his Visage mirror, NewYork
designer Joe doucet riffed on the
classic spinning top with a coneshaped base in unfinished walnut and
tree ring designs on the brass-hued
surface. joedoucet.com
JANFEB 2013 87

SUPERFLEXIBLE

IIDEX
CANADA
TORONTO
1

THE SHEER ARRAY OF INNOVATIVE WORKSTATIONS,

LIGHTING AND FINISHES AT IIDEX CANADA SHOWS
HOW VERSATILE THE OFFICE HAS BECOME
BY DIANE CHAN

WITH EVERY POSSIBLE WORKPLACE SCENARIO in mind, Teknion debuted

two new office furniture lines at Canadas largest contract expo, in
a display that was nothing short of inspiring. Against a backdrop of
energetic sketches by artist Wendy Ding, depicting cartoonlike workers
with retro-modern tech accessories, the office manufacturer presented
Interpret and Sidewise, both designed by Figure3s Christopher Wright.
The first consists of work surfaces outfitted with everything from screens
to mounted cabinets, which attach to a central steel frame, creating
a combination of desking and benching. Sidewise, on the other hand, is
most notable for its storage-equipped recliner, upholstered in bright
red fabric and designed as a collaborative hub or a spot to recharge.
The innovation seen at Teknion was rivalled only by a lighting display
(somewhat hidden) at the 3M booth. A small iteration of Todd Brachers
Lightfalls installation revealed the potential for virtual LED technology
to produce dazzling light features while minimizing energy use. For
finishes, New Walls giant murals by Marimekko depicted whimsically
interwoven birds and plants, while softer forms and muted shades
dominated floor coverings: Weavers Arts Modern Elements collection
of rugs, with names like Tulips and Pomegranate, features fruits and
flowers in taupes and greys.
The main attraction, though, was the art installation Special Delivery.
Working with manufacturer sponsors, local artisans took over four
18-wheelers parked on the show floor. Sculptor Scott Eunson paired
with surfacing company Wilsonart to devise Surface Forms from 2.5millimetre-thick compact laminate. His fractal shapes, based on patterns
seen in nature, were CNC cut and suspended to conjure a lacy cumulus
cloud. While it was meant as art, it showed how a basic finishing material
used in countless contract projects can be reimagined as an interior
design element.
88 JANFEB 2013

1 TAILORED SEATING

4 SKINNY STACKS

The refined upholstered sides

of Dauphins Atelier seating lend it
the quality of a finely crafted suit.
Available in three heights, it ensures
privacy in a hotel or office setting.
dauphin.com

Invited by Keilhauer to design a

stackable chair, Tom Deacon drew
inspiration from nature. The result is
Loon, an elegant collection of steel
and nylon seats, suited for a caf or
a conference centre; it can also be
fitted with tablet arms.
keilhauer.com

2 ILLUMINATING IDEA
Designed by Todd Bracher and
engineered by 3M, the Lightfalls
installation uses virtual LED technology to diffuse light across a
broad surface with minimal wattage.
A few strategically placed reflectors
are embedded with LEDs, whose
light is distributed from one module
to another, creating the effect of
multiple bulbs. 3m.com

5 SUM OF ITS PARTS

A core frame plus a variety of work
surfaces come together in Teknions
Interpret line, which also accommodates sliding screens and mounted
storage. The system, by Figure3s
Christopher Wright, can be installed
in almost any office. teknion.com
6 BRANCHING OUT

3 WALLFLOWERS
Whimsical illustrations of birds,
flowers and faces adorn Iso Satakieli,
a Marimekko mural from New Wall.
It measures three metres high and is
designed for contract or residential
environments. newwall.com

Three tree-inspired designs make

up J+J/Invisions modular Urban
Canopy collection. The organic
patterns, in 10 earth-toned colourways, are composed of nylon with
recycled content. jj-invision.com

AZUREMAGAZINE.COM

7 ORGANIC GROWTH
To create his intricate suspension
piece inside an 18-wheeler for
the Special Delivery exhibit, Scott
Eunson designed and CNC-routed
Wilsonarts compact laminate
into some 150 fractal forms, in five
sizes. scotteunson.com
8 FLIP TOP

Ideal for classrooms, the versatile

Pivot tables from Nienkmper fold
down, thanks to mechanisms in their
chrome legs, and store in multiples.
Lockable casters enable them to be
moved around with ease.
nienkamper.com
9 SUPPORT DESK

10
9

Humanscale exhibited Float, a

sit-stand table that recently went
into production. The ergonomic
desk can be raised or lowered to any
height in a 50-centimetre range,
just by pressing down on the surface
or tapping a lever, and it supports
up to 73kilograms. humanscale.com
10 GRACEFUL LADY
Nitzan Cohen designed the She Said
stool for Mattiazzi, shown at the
Herman Miller stand. The line, in two
heights and four solid wood finishes,
suits cafs; and it has a counterpart,
called He Said. hermanmiller.com

11

11 SCORCHED EARTH
Depicting life in Arizonas desert
capital, Weavers Arts distressed silk
and wool Phoenix rug, from the
Modern Elements collection, is filled
with hawks and cactus flowers.
weaversart.com
12 SOFT MODULAR

12

Thanks to its high-resilience foam,

Aqua by Palliser is ideal for lounges
and lobbies. The sleek sectional
has four components, upholstered
in fabric or leather, which can be
configured to any space. palliser.com
JANFEB 2013 89

optical
effects

at cersaie, the worlds largest tile show,

ceramics stood in for just about anything,
from quilts to wood and concrete lookalikes by catherine osborne

cersaie
BologNA

last spring, northern italy was rocked by two devastating earthquakes

that damaged many ceramic factories in the region, but none as badly as
that of SantAgostino, which lost one of its manufacturing facilities and,
even more tragically, two employees. Rebuilding the region is still a pressing issue, and it was a hot topic at Cersaie in September, where 474 tile
exhibitors filled Bolognas rambling exhibition centre. The show invited
architect Shigeru Ban to speak about the emergency structures he has
built in similarly traumatized places, such as Kobe, Japan; New Orleans;
and LAquila, Italy. Ifthere is a model of resilience to point to, it would
be SantAgostino, which bounced back with an ambitious booth devoted
to Flexible Architecture, Philippe Starcks first-ever line of tiles. The
geometry of this dual-textured porcelain collection is simple a box within
a box although, depending on how the tiles are arranged, the variations
are endless.

90 JANFEB 2013

The Paris designers mix-and-match concept proved to be a recurring

theme, and many other manufacturers aimed to entice buyers with designs
that invite self-expression. Refins Geometric, for instance, is made up of
eight versions of one pattern packaged randomly; and Patricia Urquiolas
Azulej cement tile collection, for Mutina, offers 27 bold motifs that work
best when laid out like patches on a crazy quilt.
Almost every company presented a variation on simulated wood planks
and grey-hued concrete, making the distinctions between one and the next
barely discernible. Yet on closer inspection, variety was found here, too. In
Link, by Keope, the concrete texture features a ghostly imprint of carpeting,
which adds visual softness; while Blend, by Fioranese, is a square grey slab
edged with planks. Why are these two effects so popular? Tile offers what the
real stuff cannot: lightness, strength, antibacterial properties, and, with an
eye on the future, a much greener option.
AzurEmAgAziNE.com

1 linear works
Geometric is one pattern in a
collection of four that make up
refins new Frame series. The
60-centimetre-square tiles come in
eight variations, deliberately boxed
randomly, so each configuration
is unique. refinceramictiles.com

2 mix, patch and match

Patricia Urquiolas Azulej, a cement
tile created for mutina, marked a
renewed interest in designing tiles
that actually look like tiles rather than
wood or concrete. The series comes
in 27 patterns and has a slight
worn-in look. mutina.it
3 glass touch

Fondovalles Murano, made of

double-pressed porcelain in two
sizes, comes in six elegant hues,
including this Nordic-inspired cobalt
blue. fondovalle.it
4 cloud land

Domus Academy Design student

Aki Motoyama worked with Brix
to produce Cloud, a cluster of five
small, box-shaped tiles that are off
kilter from one another, an effect
inspired by the loose formation of
clouds. Available in three earthy
tones: bone, clay and mud.
brixweb.com

5 past: meet Future

When designer Gio Ponti launched
his Triennale tile in 1960, its jigsaw
puzzle shapes were too complex to
put into mass production. marazzi
now offers an inspiring array of
colour options for building into
unique designs. marazziusa.com
6 architonic system
Philippe Starcks Flexible Architecture for santagostino isnt as
statement making as it is versatile,
with two surface typographies that
combine rocky with slightly wavy. The
textural differences can be endlessly
mixed and matched.
ceramicasantagostino.it
7 Fade to grey

Like most Italian tile companies,

keope offers an array of porcelain
stoneware that sports the popular
look of distressed industrial concrete. The Link collection includes
such effects as the ghostly imprint
of a carpet in pale silver tones.
keope.com
8 carpet magic
Tile patterns made to resemble
Persian carpet are another trend
thats gaining traction. Base by
Fapoffers ancient, muted tones of
stoneware witha lived-in feel that
works equally well indoors or out.
fapceramiche.com
9 wavelength
Designers Domenico De Palo and
Alessandro La Spada have expanded
on antolinis glamorous Natura
Collection of engraved stone with
Wave, one of seven attention-grabbing patterns. antoliniusa.com
JANFEB 2013 91

10

10 SEAMLESS PATTERNS
Lea Ceramiche is using Slimtech
technology for Diego Grandis
Studies in Gouache, a series of six
classic and repeatable dual-textured
patterns, including a loose scribble
(shown). The method makes the
surfacing extra-thin and super-light.
ceramichelea.com
11 BIGGER IS BETTER
The push to go thin and go big
continues, with such high-tech
companies as Porcelaingres of
Germany launching slabs that
measure three metres long and a
mere three millimetres thick.
porcelaingres.com

11

12

13

14

12 NATURAL ILLUSIONS

15 CLEAN AND SIMPLE

As its name suggests, the Blend

collection by Fioranese brings wood
and cement into one coffered laying
scheme. The collection includes a
wavy texture that emulates the
texture of cardboard. fioranese.it

Fincibecs latest innovation, Antibact,

significantly enhances the sanitary
properties of porcelain, and Technica
by Century is the first line to feature
the new technology. fincibec.it
16 HARD AS STONE

13 OLD IS NEW AGAIN

Apavisa has come up with one
of the most vibrant versions of
simulated wooden planks, inspired
by the aged look of sun-bleached
siding and chipped paint on brick.
Called Vintage, the tiles come in six
vivid colours, including acid green.
apavisa.com
14 SHOWSTOPPER
Brixs stunning off-site display
was housed inside a 14th-century
former orphanage. The installation
showcased the five-millimetresquare IFrammenti, billed as the
worlds smallest mosaic tile (available
as of this month). brixweb.com

92 JANFEB 2013

Using high-definition inkjet technology, Edilgres Stonelab by Kale

recreates the look of natural stone,
with unique surface variations intact. Its nearly impossible to tell that
this is a full-body porcelain tile youre
looking at. kaleitalia.com
17 INTO THE WOODS
Another plank effect, by Ceramica
Colli di Sassuolo, brings together
the textures of wood and fossilized
stone. The eye-popping collection is
appropriately called Wow. colli.it

AZUREMAGAZINE.COM

16

15
17

18

18 DAZZLE ME

19

20

Dutch designer Marcel Wanders

brings his campy baroque sensibility
to ceramic surfacing with Minoo
for Bardelli, a series of five rich
arabesque patterns silkscreened
onto porcelain. bardelli.it
19 WOOD YOU WANT ME?
Caesars Root collection, a convincing
oak effect in five shades, allows for
the look of wood in spaces where tile
is a more durable option, such as
restaurants and retail environments.
caesar.it
20 WITH GREAT POWER
Cerdisa continues to expand its
architectural lines for indoor and
outdoor use, with more grey to black
shades in various sizes. EC1, made
with recycled material, is seen here
at Milans Salone del Mobile proof
that it can handle heavy traffic.
cerdisa.biz
21 THE LAYERED LOOK

21

Woodays 20mm by Tagina can

be laid out on almost any surface,
including sand, gravel or grass.
Its density makes it ideal for such
outdoor spaces as decks and backyard poolsides. tagina.it
JANFEB 2013 93

T:9

kia.ca

DESIGNED TO
BE ICONIC.

T:11.5

When you design your cars to a different beat, people notice. Six red dot wins in four years,
J OD M V E J OH B tC F T U P G U I F C F T U u G P SU I F , J B 0 Q U J N B B SF Q F SG F D U F Y B N Q M F T
Official Automotive partner

2011 Optima awarded: 2011 reddot design award for best of the best visit red-dot.org for details. KIA is a trademark of Kia Motors Corporation and Kia Canada Inc.

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art of
fire

the

art | style | performance | comfort

Napoleon products are not just about performance.
They are an expression of passionate visual creativity
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field trip
ToronTo

forever
in SeaSon

Torontos Four Seasons Hotel hits

the refresh button for a new look
that will take it well into the future
by Alison GArwood-Jones

Alissa Coes porcelain dandelions,

suspended in the triple-height
reception area, mark the beginning
of a tour de force of Canadian art.

96 JANFEB 2013

show the world

how to pull off luxury and service with the Four
seasons Hotel chain, started in 1961 by Torontos
own isadore sharp with a hip motor inn he had
hoped to call the Thunderbird (thankfully, the
name was taken). Fifty-two years and 89 hotels
later in locales as far flung as Paris, Buenos
Aires and shanghai the company has turned its
focus back to Toronto, where it all began, to give
the brands birthplace the five-star treatment it
never received but always secretly wanted. our
last location took over the Hyatt Hotel, says sharp,
now chairman of the board, who has famously
compared the arrival experience at the 70s highrise on Avenue road to driving into a garage. We
never had the chance to give it our own stamp.
designed by Architects Alliance of Toronto,
the new 55-storey main tower and the adjacent
26-storey residential building opened last october
in the upscale Yorkville district. The main tower
houses 217 guest rooms and 42 suites on the first
21floors, with residential units on the floors above.
AzurEmAgAziNE.com

PHoTos BY EvAN dioN

it took a Canadian Hotelier to

 Dbar, in the lobby,

is named after chef
Daniel Boulud. Yabu
Pushelbergs open
concept makes it an
ideal venue for seeing
and being seen.
Size and floor level
differentiate the
entry-level rooms from
the suites. All are outfitted with iPads, Etro
amenities, espresso
machines, and Geneva
docking stations for
smart phones.

PHOTOS LEFT AND TOP RIGHT BY EVAN DION

A floating marble staircase

leads up from the main-floor
lobby to Caf Boulud on the
second floor. Intricate metal
screens define the public spaces
and form intimate enclosures.

Ceilings in the entry lounge

were deliberately compressed,
to heighten the effect of the
soaring reception area. Warm
walnut cladding and plush seating
lend a luxurious residential feel.

In a stroke of serendipity you would never expect

from government officials, city planners encouraged head designer Peter Clewes to make the
main tower significantly taller than the residential
one, to create a compositionally stronger statement. Both buildings are clad at the base in an
elegant dark grey Spanish slate, and sheathed
above in a semi-reflective glass that catches the
changing cloud patterns more subtly than mirrored
glass. The balconies have been streamlined into
the corners, emphasizing the towers simple,
ethereal presence against the sky.
While the exterior soars, the interior envelops
and surrounds you with the luxurious comforts
of home, including extra-wide armchairs and sofas
strewn with pillows that staff members regularly

fluff, as youll discover if you sit there long enough.

The furniture and interiors are the work of the
acclaimed local firm Yabu Pushelberg. Taking as a
point of departure the grand hotels of yesteryear,
which relied on chandeliers and soaring ceilings
to heighten the sense of arrival, the designers set
about modernizing the experience for todays
traveller. The first message we wanted when you
arrive, says Glenn Pushelberg, is the feeling of a
plush, quiet residential space. His partner, George
Yabu, adds, We opted for delayed gratification,
explaining how they consciously compressed the
ceilings in the entry lounge, so that when you turn
the corner and head for the reception area the sky
opens up and the orchestra of elements hits its
highest note. Thats when you know youve really

arrived, he says. Head back, mouth agape is the

only way to take in the triple-height volume, warm
walnut cladding and veil-like metal screens that
define the space, which he reveals were inspired
by the precise geometric links on a luxury mens
watch band.
Floating over the reception desk are five giant
porcelain dandelions being unseeded by an
imaginary breeze. Handcrafted by Toronto artist
Alissa Coe, these are the kickoff to an art journey
deftly curated by Yabu Pushelbergs art consultant,
James Robertson, who commissioned more than
540 original works by 30 Canadian artists for the
public spaces and private guest rooms.
If viewing the art makes you hungry, stop by the
sunken Dbar, around the corner from reception,
JANFEB 2013 97

field trip
ToronTo

and take in the casualness and theatricality of

yabu Pushelbergs open concept space, specifically
designed for people watching. Then head up the
floating marble staircase for lunch or dinner at caf
Boulud designed by isadore sharps wife, rosalie
Wise and indulge in michelin-starred chef Daniel
Bouluds signature new mediterranean cuisine.
A trip to the fitness centre or spa in this hotel
doesnt mean heading underground to a dark,
nondescript basement. A light-filled nine-storey
function block on the northwest corner of
the main tower offers panoramic views of the city,
whether youre running on the treadmill in the
eighth-floor gym, attending a reception in one of
the event spaces, or floating on your back in the
98 JANFEB 2013

Architects Alliance struck a balance between

commercial and residential design with an all-glass skin
and square balconies tucked in at the corners, creating
a dramatic composition on busy Bay Street.
The Four Seasons hotel and residences stand next
to a Victorian fire hall that was rebuilt in 1890, after it
ironically burned to the ground.
relaxation pool of the zenlike spa that fills the
entire ninth floor and part of the eighth. The
gathering of these services into a separate, visually
prominent block creates a clear destination for
guests and locals alike.
At the main entrance to the hotel and residence,
on yorkville Avenue just east of Bay street, montreal
landscape architect claude cormier has designed
a whimsical public space that nods to the areas
Victorian roots. An oversized copy of a period
fountain, painted classic parlour room burgundy,
sits on a heated carpark set with red and grey
granite pavers arranged in the swirling patterns
of a so-large-its-pixelated Persian carpet. in look
and scale, these elements work as ahistorical

segue between the contemporary glass towers

and the Victorian fire hall and the beaux arts
yorkville library just down the street.
Next to the fountain, cormier designed a rose
garden, set to open later this year. low hedges of
yew, boxwood and barberry are fashioned in the
shape of a giant rose, which can only be discerned
from above, with paths between the petals for
people to circulate in, as in a maze or labyrinth. This
space is cormiers play on gertrude steins axiom
Arose is a rose is a rose. meaning: things are what
they are except when theyre not.
Entry-level rooms from $495 per night, onebedroom suites from $605. fourseasons.com
AzurEmAgAziNE.com

PHoTo lEFT By ArAsH moAllEmi

For the Yorkville Avenue entrance,

Yabu Pushelberg created an etched glass
porte cochre, while ClaudeCormier
riffed on the areas Victorian roots with a
supersized period fountain on a so-largeits-pixelated Persian carpet.

Design File

bedroom furniture

beD anD
beyonD

Stylish, multi-functional models with

hidden storage, room-dividing headboards and other extras bY diane chan

1
2

5
4

1 area
by magnitude

2 naidei
by Poltrona frau

4 dune
by eQ3

6 Volage
by cassina

in this modular system by belgian

designer alain gilles, a straight
headboard bookended by curved
sections creates a room divider,
delineating a separate bedroom zone,
such as a workstation or a bath.
analuminum and steel lamp, a bench
and bedside tables complete the
collection. magnitude.be

This bed with built-in nightstands

folds up and morphs into a sofa. a
daybed version comes with a storage
drawer under the mattress.
poltronafrau.com

beneath the mattress of this platform

bed, upholstered in any fabric from
the eQ3 range, the wooden base
contains hidden storage. eq3.com

Philippe Starcks bed incorporates

his KTribe lamps, in a range of
finishes. They can be affixed to the
headboard, which comes covered in
fabric or leather. cassina.com

100 janfeb 2013

3 Wall bed
by california closets
ideal for compact spaces, such as
a guest room or a home office, this
system allows you to fold the bed into
the wall, concealing it behind a wood
veneer or melamine panel.
californiaclosets.com

5 Wildwood
by Lago
anchored to Wildwoods oak headboard (with optional glass sides),
fabric-covered shelves do double
duty as bedside tables and storage
pockets. lago.it

7 campo
by bonaldo
This bed, in six sizes, incorporates
storage below, accessed via a lifting
mechanism. The blanket-stitched
headboard, in a choice of 100 fabrics
and 35 leathers, doubles as a
backrest. bonaldo.it
azuremagazine.com

sleep
easy

No-fuss beds in an assortment of

styles, finishes and textiles

1 Jalis
by Interlbke

3 Superoblong
by Cappellini

5 Powell
by Minotti

7 Piano
by Flexform

Stuttgart designers jehs+Laub

worked with Interlbke to create this
playful bed, with a pocket spring or
cold foam mattress, that resembles
an inflatable flotation device.
interluebke.com

jasper Morrisons plush Super

oblong sofa inspired this bed, which
comes in various sizes and colours,
with a cushiony polyurethane
backrest/headboard upholstered
infabric or leather. cappellini.it

Powells generously cushioned

headboard comes in heights of
94 and 121 centimetres, in several
shades of leather or fabric.
minotti.com

framed in cherrywood or three types

of walnut, Pianos naturallooking
head and footboard come finished
with cane or reed. flexformny.com

2 Aton
by Poliform

4 Olivier
by Flou

Upholstered in fabric or leather,

the ruched headboard of Giuseppe
Vigans bed lends it an air of
tailored elegance. poliform.com

This bed has an oldworld feel, with

a rounded form covered in sleek
woven leather, fabric or ecopelle
synthetic, perched on bronze
coloured aluminum feet. flou.it

6 Wish
by Molteni & C
Rodolfo Dordonis bed, available in
five sizes, has a builtin headboard
of fabric or leather cushions, and
a base in oak, wenge or american
walnut. molteni.it

janfeb 2013 101

Design File

bedroom furniture

sTellAR
sTORAge

From dressers to wardrobes,

storage solutions for bedrooms
big and small

1 dress bold
by rimadesio

3 nine
by Lema

5 Altdeutsche
by moooi

7 babl
by emmebi

Slatted doors define this walk-in

wardrobe, with shelves, floor units
and wall panels made of melaminefinished larch wood treated with a
coal stain. rimadesio.it

alessandro Dubinis chest for Lema

contains nine drawers of various
heights, made of thermo-treated oak
in a tobacco finish. lemamobili.com

Studio job applied its skulls-andcrossbones motif to this line, which

takes its cues from antique pine
furniture. it includes a grandfather
clock and a wardrobe. moooi.com

named after the biblical tower, these

tapered dresser drawers in mattelacquered mDf play with light and
shadow, an effect enhanced by the
triangular handles.
emmebidesign.com

2 Link
by misuraemme
available in every colour from the
misuraemme palette, this glass
storage system is accessed via a
geometric groove that adds a sleek
design detail. misuraemme.it

102 janfeb 2013

4 Wunder
by Skitsch
ornate jewel handles adorn the
striped doors and drawers of
alessandra baldereschis mDf
storage units, inspired by the
Wunderkammer, a 17th-century
curiocabinet. skitsch.com

6 Air
by Porro
Piero Lissonis modular storage
system is essentially a stand-alone
walk-in closet, composed of twometre-tall panels in glass and
particleboard overlaid with hemlock,
mongoi or oak. porro.com
azuremagazine.com

RivercityAZUREJanFeb2013FINAL:Layout 1 22/11/12 9:36 AM Page 1

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Built-in
transparency

Material World
Beautiful light-permeable
interior elements that
boost privacy and enhance
spatial organization
BY DaviD Dick-agnew

project:
dental office
torres vedras,
portugal

set against an all-White background at

Lisbons hippest dental office, glass doors
and room dividers feature sparkling stripes of
minty green and black. Light is transmitted
and refracted in endless patterns, evoking
shimmering blocks of ice.
Local firm MMVarquitecto fabricated the
walls on site, stacking eight-centimetre-wide
offcut glass strips of varying thickness, with
a steel and neoprene frame to hold them in
place. Two doors made from narrower glass
strips were assembled off site with adhesive,
and are supported by a steel bar that connects the hinges to the opening system.
We wanted to construct something with a
unique, handcrafted character, says principal
Miguel Marques Venncio, who aimed to
create a bright, contemplative space that felt
at once modern and timeless.
although the architects produced the
partitions on a limited budget, the results are
undeniably striking. They allow light to penetrate deep into the office while giving
patients privacy during appointments an
injection of bespoke design that doesnt compromise the functional needs of the space.
aF africa aS asia aU ausTraLia eU europe Me MiddLe easT na norTh aMerica nZ neW ZeaLand Sa souTh aMerica Uk uniTed KingdoM ww WorLdWide

graphic glass panels

Forms & Surfaces Vivigraphix
elements laminates continuoustone patterns between two panes,
creating subtly translucent motifs
inspired by marble and wood.
ww forms-surfaces.com
glazing enhancements films can be
applied to glass for permanent or
ephemeral bursts of animated colour.
Vitroshift and Vitroflip superimpose
multiple graphic layers that appear
to move with the viewer.
aF aU eU Me na nZ Uk

glazingenhancement.com

embellished with images and patterns, graphic glass injects colour while
controlling light and breaking up sightlines.

garibaldi glass fX silk-screened

ceramic frit glass has an enamel
image embedded directly into it, for
results that wont scratch off or fade.
custom patterns can be rendered
in almost limitless colours.
ww garibaldiglass.com

Pulp Studios boing stacks layers

of colourful, translucent circles,
squares, op art lines or custom
designs between multiple sheets of
laminated glass, for patterns that
float in three dimensions.
na pulpstudio.com

goldray industries Technographic

interlayer sandwiches high-res
printed polyester between glass
surfaces, rendering photorealistic
images onto one or both sides
of clear, translucent or opaque film.
ww goldrayindustries.com

imaging Sciences combines

metallic inks with laminated safety
panes to create such effects as
copper pinwheels, chrome fibres, a
softly luminous corten rust haze,
or hair-thin strands of gold.
ww imaging-sciences.com

janfeb 2013 105

Material World
teXtured glaSS paNelS
Nathan Allan Glass available in
dozens of textures and tinted with
an assortment of brilliant colours,
enviror95 is composed of minimum
95per cent post-industrial glass
salvaged from old buildings.
AF AS EU ME NA SA nathanallan.com

Meltdown Glass produces panels

with hand-rendered textures and
patterns, from gentle dappling to
hieroglyphics. They can be made to
any thickness, and most can be
tempered for safe installation.
ww meltdownglass.com

Think Glasss art glass is made

for wall panels, countertops, shower
stalls and floor tiles. The organic
textures evoke cracked slate, rippling
water and bamboo, in thicknesses
from three to 457millimetres.
ww thinkglass.com

Fusion Glass Designs sells a

standard range of kiln-cast textured
glass sheets in dozens of styles,
including an optional dichroic finish.
The company also produces bespoke
patterns and commissioned works.
ww fusionglass.co.uk

Skyline Design manufactures

panels with its eco-etch process,
employing recycled, reusable
aluminum oxide powder to abrade
the glass without harsh chemicals.
NA skydesign.com

Lamberts eco-glass is fired using

an eco-friendly, oxygen-fuelled
process. it comes in a wide range
of ornamental glass panes, with
optional embedded wire mesh for
increased security.
ww lamberts.info

MeSHeS aNd SCreeNS

Interlams architectural wall panels
and partitions, made of non-urea
fibreboard sourced from recycled
pre-consumer wood fibre, employ a
formaldehyde-free adhesive system.
ww interlam-design.com
w.S. Tyler architectural woven wire
meshes, designed for wall cladding,
room dividers and balustrades, come
in a selection of weaves designed for
visual interest, privacy and sound
absorption.
ww weavingideas.net

Made from engineered wood or metal, these features lend visual interest
while enclosing space.

Expanded Metal Company

The modern metal collection of
architectural meshes, in a range of
materials and colours, is styled for
solar screens, louvres and decorative elements in contemporary
settings.

Cascade Coils woven wire

drapery for interior partitioning is
made using recycled content. The
companys new copper-clad steel
collection gives a warmer colour
and greater corrosion resistance.
ww cascadecoil.com

aS eu Na Sa

Cambridge Architectural Meshs

metal fabric is designed for window
and door areas, reinforcing security
without the appearance of heavy
protection.
ww cambridgearchitectural.com

expandedmetalcompany.co.uk
Bruag laser-cuts engineered wood
panels into perforated screens
and partitions with over 70 geometric and botanical motifs. The caDbased process can even inscribe
custom patterns into panels up to
30millimetres thick.
ww bruag.ch

NoN-glaSS paNelS

Recyclable acrylic and resin panels provide an array of patterns, colours

and translucence.

Mykon Sized to spec, this companys screens enclose aluminum or

polycarbonate cells between polymer
sheets. They are available in translucent, for optimal light diffusion; or
with a transparency that varies with
the viewers position.
ww mykon.com
Altuglas Plexigas rnew is manufactured from a high-performance resin
bio-sourced polymers, and acrylic
acid derived from glycerol.
ww altuglas.com

106 janfeb 2013

These panels introduce unique tactile surfaces without sacrificing

natural daylight.

Bencore Lightben acoustics

architectural panels are designed for
backlit ceilings and partition walls,
with a polycarbonate cylindrical cell
core that enhances acoustics.
ww bencore.co.uk
Evonik The assembly of acrylites
high-impact multi-Skinned Sheets
allows for thermal expansion with no
loss of seal. multiple air layers boost
the insulating properties of these
panels, which come in a range of
colours and translucence.
ww acrylitebuildingproducts.com

Coroplast Lightweight, moistureresistant Stinger panels work well for

suspended or open-air structures.
The translucent honeycombed
boards are made from 100per cent
recyclable polypropylene.
NA SA coroplast.com
Duo-Gard made with recycledcontent plastic, Stremeline comes
in multiple colours. The translucent
soundproof panels are ideal for temporary walls and backlit partitions.
ww duo-gard.com

azuremagazine.com

Interior Jan 24-27

Design 2013
Show Toronto

Presented by

Wetstyle

ept

BoConc

Miele

Canadas Design Fair

Registration, tickets and details:

InteriorDesignShow.com
Sponsors

IDS13_AZURE_JANFEB_2.indd 1

Metro Toronto
Convention
Centre
North Building

Thurs Jan 24
Opening
Night Party

Fri Jan 25
Professional
Trade Day

Sat Jan 26
General
Admission
IDS Official Hotel

Sun Jan 27
General
Admission

IDS Design Hotel

Produced by

2012-11-22 11:05 PM

MEDIA SHELF

3
1

1 FROM THE GROUND UP:

INNOVATIVE GREEN HOMES

2 BREAKTHROUGH! 90 PROVEN STRATEGIES

TO OVERCOME CREATIVE BLOCK AND SPARK YOUR
IMAGINATION

BOOK EDITED BY PEGGY TULLY

BOOK EDITED BY ALEX CORNELL

In 2008, New Yorks Syracuse University School of Architecture spearheaded

an ambitious competition that challenged entrants to reimagine affordable
single-family dwellings for Near Westside, a local neighbourhood considered
one of the poorest in North America. Interestingly, the brief called for multivalent responses. Locally, it sought designs for a financially depleted community;
on a national level, it called for a new model of investment in family housing
that could help to regenerate economically devastated regions throughout
the country.
Of the 52 entries received, three were chosen as finalists, along with four
pre-selected firms (though we never learn the why of the latter). Chock full of
excellent drawings and photographs, this Princeton Architectural Press book
documents seven submissions and the three winning schemes, which have
now been constructed. The metric for affordability was defined as buildable
for US$150,000, while the guidelines for sustainability were left open to
interpretation. In his introductory essay, Michael Sorkin delivers an intriguing
summary of the current thinking around these issues, which not only affect
the American Rust Belt, but also areas recuperating from environmental
disasters, such as New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
All three built houses by Onion Flats of Philadelphia, and New York
offices CookFox Architects and ARO/Della Valle Bernheimer are exuberant
and individuated by each teams preoccupations. In addition, they incorporate fulsome ideas on sustainability, such as strategies for multi-generational
occupation, live/work use, and easy renovations to allow for rental income.
From the Ground Up is a great reference for anyone working in this field.
A note of caution: we learn that all three houses cost double what they sold
for, though the actual figures are not divulged. The omission limits a proper
assessment of the competitions success. That is, can building affordable,
sustainable single-family housing really change depressed neighbourhoods?
YOUMAY ALSOLIKE: Prefabulous and Almost Off the Grid (Abrams). Many
leading American architects now building low-energy prefab houses are
generously represented in this visually rich 240-page volume. BY JANNA LEVITT

The personal advice offered in this pocket-sized manual from

Princeton Architectural Press is as varied as its sources. Ninety
creative types, including culture writer Douglas Rushkoff and
Pentagram principal Paula Scher, explain the tricks they use to
deal with creative block. Many suggestions are droll: creative
director Michael Place offers a recipe for chili and rice, which he
asserts will do the trick, though the real exercise is in the meditative benefits of washing up after the meal. The most useful
thoughts arrive when authors describe their processes and failures, or what creativity is. More often than not, the best ideas
are a unique combination of old ideas rather than something
that springs out of thin air. YOUMAY ALSOLIKE: Austin Kleons
book Steal Like an Artist (Workman Publishing Company), which
contains thoughts on how to follow your interests and remix
ideas into original work. BYDAVIDDICK-AGNEW

Janna Levitt is a founding principal at Levitt Goodman Architects in Toronto

and has built many energy-efficient houses, including her own.
108 JANFEB 2013

3 MADE IN JAPAN: 100 NEW PRODUCTS

BOOK WRITTEN BY NAOMI POLLOCK

Whats not to admire about Japanese design? In many cases,

its form is inspired by a solution to some discomfort most of
us are only half aware actually bothers us. Marnas standing
rice scoop, for instance, is a brightly coloured spoon that rests
upright to prevent countertop messes. This book, published
by Merrell, highlights 100 such products, with each given a
full-page description and a generous visual profile. Many of
the names are familiar (Naoto Fukasawa, Nendo), but there
are new ones, too, such as Tripod Designs Satoshi Nakagawa,
who devised a thermometer that reads a childs temperature
when gently placed on the forehead. YOUMAY ALSOLIKE: The
monograph Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible (Phaidon).
The late German designers famous credo Less is better
still reigns over such maverick brands as Apple and Muji.
BYCATHERINEOSBORNE

AZUREMAGAZINE.COM

Interior Jan 24-27

Design 2013
Show Toronto

Presented by

4 99% INVISIBLE
RADIO SHOW AND PODCAST BY ROMAN MARS

San Francisco broadcaster Roman Mars describes his weekly

radio program as a show about design and architecture, though
he means this in the loosest of terms. One story begins with
novelist PhilipK. Dick describing a dystopian view of high-tech
objects, while MoMA curator Paola Antonelli counters that
technology is becoming less intrusive, allowing us to communicate even more effectively. Another segment on Buckminster
Fullers decaying geodesic dome in Massachusetts ends with an
architect calling for its demolition just as the community is finally
embracing it. Each podcast, downloadable on iTunes, offers
elucidative thoughts on culture. YOUMAY ALSOLIKE: Venue, a
multimedia show by Nicola Twilley and Geoff Manaugh (the latter
of Bldgblog), with a rich online component that tackles more
eggheady topics at v-e-n-u-e.com. BYELIZABETHPAGLIACOLO
5 BIJOY JAIN: SPIRIT OF NATURE WOOD ARCHITECTURE
AWARD 2012

PHOTOS BY ALESSANDRO CANCIAN

BOOK PUBLISHED BY RAKENNUSTIETO

This slim volume marks Indian architect Bijoy Jains capturing

of the 2012 Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award, a Finnish
prize whose recipients have included Kengo Kuma, Peter
Zumthor and Renzo Piano. Jain did his postgraduate studies in
the U.S., and worked there for several years before returning to
his homeland to establish his own practice, Studio Mumbai, in
1995. The firm operates as a community of skilled artisans and
architects who collectively design and construct sensitive,
responsive buildings of modern inspiration, utilizing traditional
craft techniques. Their serene workplace is filled with hand
tools and models, while the mainly residential projects in the
book demonstrate the precision, affinity for scale, and material
richness that are Studio Mumbais hallmark. YOUMAY ALSOLIKE:
Visiting Peter Zumthor, from Blackwood Productions series
The Practice of Architecture, in which critic Kenneth Frampton
draws out the famously reclusive Swiss architect.
michaelblackwoodproductions.com. BYNELDARODGER

Canadas Design Fair

Trade registration and details:

InteriorDesignShow.com

Metro Toronto
Convention
Centre
North Building

Fri Jan 25
Professional
Trade Day
Presented by

Sponsors

IDS Official Hotel

IDS Design Hotel

Produced by

JANFEB 2013 109

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Jan/Feb 2013 Azure - 1/3 Page.indd 1

2012-11-21 10:18 AM

STEFAN SAGMEISTER
THE HAPPY SHOW

and the winners are

Wilkinson Eyre accepted the coveted World building
of the Year title at the World architecture festival in
october, for the cooled conservatories at gardens by
the bay in Singapore. The London firm designed the
largest climate-controlled glass houses in the world, the
flower Dome and the cloud forest, with lightweight grid
shell glass supported by an array of arches. Landscape
Project of the Year went to Atelier Dreiseitls Kallang
river bishan Park (also in Singapore), which integrates a
complex river system into a public park, transforming it
into a stormwater management site and local hot spot.
The city, which hosted the festival, shone in three other
projects, including Kerry Hill Architects martin no.38,
a multi-residential and commercial building in a former
warehouse area, which took home the housing prize;
and the Xtra-Herman miller store, by local firm PAC,
recognized as best shop. Li Xiadongs Liyuan Library in
beijing won in the cultural building category; VoTrong
Nghia Architects received two awards for projects in
Vietnam, the Stacking green house in Ho chi minh city,
and the curvy binh Duong School in binh Duong city;
and Billard Leece Partnership and Bates Smart won
for their collaboration on the royal childrens Hospital in
melbourne, which features a six-storey atrium and a starshaped in-patient building. For the full list of winners, visit
worldarchitecturefestival.com.
also in october, the Sainsbury Laboratory at the university
of cambridge, by Stanton Williams, was crowned winner
of the royal institute of british architects prestigious
Stirling Prize. The crisp, L-shaped research centre features
1,000square metres of photovoltaic panels, and a rainwater collection system that irrigates the sites greenhouses. The building, which has also earned an excellent
rating in sustainability from breeam, outdid oma, which
was nominated twice, for glasgows maggies centre
cancer care facility and the new rothschild bank headquarters; David chipperfields riverside Hepworth
museum; oDonnell+ Tuomeys Lyric Theatre in belfast;
and Populouss olympic Stadium.
recognizing imaginative problem-solving concepts,
the redDot awards were recently handed out to 263
proposals, including a dry-compression mosquito net
that can be distributed as a bag for transporting aid
goods, from a design team led by Chae Chang-Yi and
Hyundais construction subsidiary; Arman Emamis
flying, pint-sized indoor camera, which is operated by a
mobile device and can be used for film production as
well as security surveillance; and Matthew Plumsteads
workstation for Herman Miller, a fully functional desk
that incorporates a cushioned lounger. For the full list of
winners, go to red-dot.org.

January 8 - March 3, 2013

rotterdam landscape firm West 8 and u.K. lighting

designers Speirs+ Major have won the commission for
the lighting plan at Kruunuvuorenranta, a former oil
harbour in Helsinki that will be redeveloped into a residential neighbourhood with 10,000 homes. The concept
maximizes the sites reflective surfaces, including the
water, while minimizing the artificial lighting installed.

The Happy Show offers visitors the experience of walking into internationally
renowned graphic designer Stefan Sagmeisters mind as he attempts to increase
his happiness via mediation, cognitive therapy, and mood-altering pharmaceuticals.
Stefan Sagmeister The Happy Show is organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania.
ICA is grateful for primary sponsorship from The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative.
Additional funding has been provided by The Chodorow Exhibition Initiative Fund for support of the exhibitions tour.

PRESENTING SPONSORS

The museum of contemporary canadian art presented

Partners in Art with the 2013 mocca award, which
recognizes innovative canadians who have been active in
the visual arts over an extended time. Partners in art is
a volunteer organization with 75 members who champion
contemporary art by establishing partnerships with
galleries, curators, educational initiatives and the business
community. in its 10-year history, Pia has raised more
than $800,000.
montreals inaugural facteur D awards were given out
this past october. acknowledging the economic and
social benefits of investing in architecture, design and
planning, seven prizes were awarded to local projects.

HAPPY SHOW AZURE.indd 1

110 janfeb 2013

2012-11-19 1:33 PM

azuremagazine.com

architecture and design firm Sid Lee earned nods for

its rebranding of the citys public transit system; and for
bota bota, a floating spa in the Old Port. Other winners
included Claude Cormier+ Associs, for suspending
a kilometre-long ribbon of 170,000 pink resin balls above
the gay village last summer; Lemay Associs and media
corporation Astral, for the vibrant four-storey interior
of the latters local headquarters; and Alto Design, for
the revolving-deck oven and stackable oven system it
developed for Picard Ovens. For the full list of winners,
see facteurd.com.
bostons Hweler + Yoon took home the audi Urban
future award for an ambitious concept that proposes
the reorganization of all transportation systems in the
bostonWashington, D.C., corridor. The new american
Dream plan calls for a network of roads, train tracks
and tunnels, starting in boston, and connecting to
Providence, Rhode Island; new Haven, Connecticut;
new York; Philadelphia; and baltimore; and ending
in Washington. as well as rail traffic, it is designed to
accommodate cars, bicycles and pedestrians.
Led by Vito acconci, brooklyns Acconci Studio
was named Designer of the Year at Design Miami in
December. Commissioned by the fair, the studio has
conceived a childrens climbing structure, to be permanently installed in the Miami Design District by 2014.

Library Ladders
5130 st-patrick
montral, qubec h4e 4n5
tl: 514-765-3414 / 1-800-508-6479
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green goods
The U.S. Green building Council has named the 2012
class of LeeD fellows, a program that designates LeeD
professionals and recognizes extraordinary green
building innovations and developments. among the 43
practitioners named are Steve Benz, of landscape
design firm OLIn and Paula Vaughan, of Perkins+ Will.
For the full list, visit usgbc.org.
The massive Royal bank Plaza in Toronto now broadcasts
its energy usage in real time, on large screens in the main
lobby. In October, Oxford Properties Group, the towers
owner, selected Zerofootprints Velo platform to display
how much energy is consumed throughout the day by the
195,000-square-metre complex.

scodesign.com

it from Scodesign
@ 800.508.6479
LTD 042 Azure JanFeb2013 Lobby_FNLGet
15/11/12
9:43 AM Page
1

scodesign.com

The Lobby Collection

coming soon
The Center for Character and Leadership Development,
designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for the U.S. air
force academy in Colorado, broke ground in October.
Located where the cadet precincts meet the campuss
public spaces, it will provide flexible spaces for academic
and social interaction. Thanks to a collaboration with
astronomer Devin Della-Rose, the 4,275-square-metre
building aligns with the north Star, via an oculus that tops
a 32-metre-tall skylight in the Honor board Room.
In Lyons, new jersey, construction began on The Archi
tec tural Teams Valley brook Village, a 62-unit housing
facility for veterans of the Iraq and afghanistan wars.
The development will offer on-site services, including
outpatient treatment and job training programs.

in memoriam
Lebbeus Woods, the visionary architect whose elaborate
drawings, installations and models defied gravity, died in
Manhattan in October. He was 72. Woods worked alongside Kevin Roche at eero Saarinen and associates and
collaborated with Steven Holl. While his conceptual work
resembled alternate realities, it explored the possibilities
of seismic vulnerability and postwar rebuilding.
Gae Aulenti, a female pioneer in postwar contem porary
architecture, died in november in Milan, Italy. aulenti
famously converted a Paris train station into the Muse
dOrsay and renovated museums in Venice and Istanbul.
She also designed showrooms for Italian auto giant fiat,
and pens and watches for Louis Vuitton.

lisataylordesigns.com

janfeb 2013 111

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trailer

A room of ones own

Van Bo Le-Mentzels tiny DIY houses
Depending on where youre from, just owning a
slice of privacy can be priceless. For Van Bo
Lementzel, who began life as a refugee in Laos,
the idea of holding property no matter how
small was once a dream. Now living in germany,
the 35yearold has come up with a room shaped
like an archetypical house, available for anyone
to make their own.
Like all of Lementzels work, the blueprints
for the one Square metre House are accessed for
free through his Hartz IV Mbel blog. He began
this democratic approach to design by posting a
downloadable series of Bauhausinspired furniture
plans, asking only that DiYers pay it forward by
114 JANFEB 2013

sending him photographs of their finished projects

for his first book, or by engaging in some other
karmic enterprise.
This spirit of goodwill informs the one Square
metre House, which works as follows: You down
load the plans and buy 20metres of frame timbers,
along with plywood for the walls, 200 screws, four
wheels, one acrylic window and one door. it takes
a day to assemble. Stand it upright, and its a two
metretall office or dining nook; position it sideways
and its a bed, the peaked roof doubling as a back
rest. For entrepreneurs, it can be customized as a
ticket counter of ones own, a cooking island of
ones own anything you can think of that easily

wheels to wherever its needed.

The BmW guggenheim Lab is touring the house
around the world, and the old Brewery mission,
a homeless shelter in montreal, recently hosted a
workshop with the designer. Lementzel is working
on a stackable version that will become a hotel,
in time for his 2014 book, Karma Economy. Whats
it all about for him? making people think about
spaces and encouraging them to pose the right
questions: to whom do the earth, the air, the lake
view belong?
Elizabeth Pagliacolo is a senior editor at Azure.

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