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5468796

5468796

  • Guertin Cottage

    May 10, 2023

    0439

    Guertin Cottage

    Storm Bay, ON

    cottage

    1,960 sqft

    complete 2021

    On the banks of Lake of the Woods, three black crests quietly emerge from a scattering of birch and spruce. The forms intersect with each other to create the Guertin Cottage, phase two of a three part lake-front property.

    At the client’s request, the guest cottage evokes the form of a ’witches hut’ from the tale of “Hansel & Gretel”. Atop a simple raised platform the cottage materializes as a sculptural ’ wooden tent.’ The predominant black roof line contains three high cones with three associated low brims; each component arranged on a checkerboard grid in plan. The resulting shroud meets the ground for privacy in the northwest and is pushed and pulled at the joints and edges of the roof line to allow for light, views, and the expansion of living space to the south facing the lake. The structure co-exists with the forest both in function and aesthetic, exuding a playful character for guests of the family – primarily their children and grand children.

    Propped up on a heavy timbre frame, the roof and it’s skeleton forms a clear delineation of materials and structure that maintain the simplicity that is integral to the cottage design. Three low box volumes are positioned between the supports, designed to house utilities and to create rooms. Resting above two of these volumes are a pair of sleeping lofts. The third volume acts as a chimney servicing the interior and exterior of the cottage. These towering volumes act to draw up warm air and provide ample daylighting within the cottage.

    Press:

    2017
    Guertin Cottage | The Globe & Mail | Nov
    Guertin Cottage | The Globe & Mail | Nov

  • Chair Your Idea

    May 9, 2023

    0416

    Chair Your Idea

    Winnipeg, MB

    design advocacy

    complete 2016

    Available to all Winnipeggers, Chair Your Idea is a crowdsourced and crowdfunded open competition that seeks to generate 1000+ urban design ideas and $30,000+ to realize the winning idea.

    For a $25 registration fee, participants were asked to submit their creative initiative in 140 characters or less and contribute one white chair for public use to mark their submission. The chairs, with the ideas written on them, were placed in public locations throughout the city and cared for by participating local businesses for the duration of the three week competition period. The accumulating chairs and the creative ideas associated with them allowed Winnipeggers to enjoy newly claimed public spaces, take part in a discussion about urban design, and exchange thoughts on how to make our city even better.

    At the end of the competition period, the winning ideas were selected by a high caliber jury and announced at a block party at City Hall, where the chairs were gathered for a final spectacular display of Winnipeg innovation and pride. The winning idea – to hold a contest for kids to design environmentally themed art for city transit buses to encourage youth ridership – was implemented in the spring of 2016. Working together with Art City, an art competition called Imaginary Superbus was held at The Forks on May 14th.

  • Tree House

    May 8, 2023

    0330

    Tree House

    Toronto, ON

    multi-family residential

    42,600 sqft

    not pursued

    $4.5M

    Symmetry Developments

    Tree House is a new low-rise, 39 unit townhome development in Toronto’s emerging Birch Cliff neighbourhood. The project raises the bar for high quality, contemporary architecture in the area by offering well-built, ample-sized and affordably priced homes and authentic community spaces for first time homebuyers, particularly families. Instead of a large residential building, The Tree House is composed of three separate block staggered to follow the property lines and maximize green space, with all required parking located underground. The multi-level two and three bedroom units range in size from 935 sqft to 1325 sqft. The project will appeal to buyers who desire both indoor and outdoor areas, with exterior access in the form of courtyards, private rooftop terraces and gardens. The shared courtyards provide open communal space for residents, encouraging social engagement.

    The rhythmic, staggered geometry of stacked unit cells creates an ever-changing interplay of void and solid, shadow and light across the façade. The blocks are clad in anodized aluminum, which offers durability, modularity and beauty. The material’s almost iridescent quality provides a unique surface to receive and reflects light and shadow. Based on the length of the anodizing process, different shades are applied to each of the blocks so that the overall aesthetic remains consistent while still allowing for variety across the site.

    Press:

    2015
    Tree House | Globe & Mail | Feb

  • Parallelogram House

    May 7, 2023

    0259

    Parallelogram House

    East St. Paul, MB

    single-family residence

    2,700 sqft 

    complete 2014

    Situated on a typical suburban street in a bedroom community just north of Winnipeg, the Parallelogram House stands in quiet and refined contrast to its stucco-clad neighbours. While the clients desired a one-storey layout for their young family, they also wanted to ensure that all of the bedrooms had views of the front or backyard. By skewing the floor plan into a parallelogram, the window area was greatly increased without increasing the footprint, opening the home up to a panoramic view of the trees and preserving the site’s southern exposure within the required setbacks.

    The house is clad in vertical wood siding that wraps onto the underside of an extensive roof overhang, which is supported by a family of Cor-Ten columns that acts as both structure and screen, evoking the rich texture and shadows of the tree line. Together, wood and steel render the house as part of the surrounding landscape.

    Inside, the main living space is defined by an 11-foot high ceiling horizon and an open plan that flows around a freestanding utility box. The bedroom and garage wings are separated from the living space by white metal screens that extend the geometry of the exterior columns through the house. A simple and muted palette emphasizes the interior volumes, highlighted by a sequence of light wells and skylights.

    Photography: James Brittain

    Awards: 2018 Governor General’s Medal in Architecture ; 2017 Architectural Review House Awards shortlist

    Press:

    2019
    Parallelogram House | Dwell | Jul

    2018
    Parallelogram House | UM Today | Jul
    Parallelogram House | Avontuura | Jul
    Parallelogram House | ArchDaily | May
    Parallelogram House | Archello | May
    Parallelogram House | WFP | May
    Parallelogram House | Glocal | May
    Parallelogram House | Dezeen | May
    Parallelogram House | Canadian Architect | May
    Parallelogram House | The Globe & Mail | May
    Parallelogram House | RAIC | May

    2017
    Parallelogram House | ARQA
    Parallelogram House | Dwell Online | Nov/Dec
    Parallelogram House | Dwell | Nov/Dec
    Parallelogram House | Architectural Review | Jul
    Parallelogram House | Canadian Architect | Apr
    Parallelogram House | ARQA
    Parallelogram House | Dwell Online | Nov/Dec
    Parallelogram House | Dwell | Nov/Dec
    Parallelogram House | Architectural Review | Jul
    Parallelogram House | Canadian Architect | Apr

  • Lake & East Tower

    May 6, 2023

    0393

    Lake & East Tower

    Oakville, ON

    mixed-use tower

    160,000 sqft 

    not pursued

    $33M

    Symgine Developments

    Lake & East is a 20 storey mixed-use tower located at an important gateway intersection to Bronte Village on the shores of Lake Ontario in Oakville. The project site is one of the last remaining underdeveloped properties in the area, which is characterized by a mix of high-rise towers and one storey commercial buildings. The project brief called for 140+ dwellings with complementary amenity and retail spaces at grade.

    While the expected solution would be a podium and tower model, further analysis revealed a need to reconcile the village atmosphere with the density of the adjacent high-rises. The result is a series of scattered, boulder-like volumes at ground level that extend the low-rise fabric into the site, with a slender and reflective tower above. The tower’s cladding carries down to grade, where it wraps the site as a continuous, protective screen. The tower’s form arises from a desire to provide all suites with views of the lake beyond. At the same time, the skewed footprint preserves views from the adjacent 18 storey building and reduces the tower’s shadow impact on the intersection. The custom aluminum façade consists of a gradient of porous and solid panels, generating a pattern reminiscent of the concentric ripples produced by rain falling on water. Each permeable section unifies four to six units through interconnected balconies that create opportunities for contact between residents.

  • Zibi Windmill Tower

    May 5, 2023

    0401

    Zibi Windmill Tower

    Ottawa, ON

    mixed-use tower

    200,000 sqft

    competition finalist

    $45M

    Windmill Development Group

    In 2015, 5468796 was shortlisted for an invited competition to design a 200,000 s.f. mixed-use scheme for a former industrial site on Ottawa’s Chaudiere Island. The project scope included a 20-storey residential tower, office and retail space, underground parking and the integration of two existing warehouse buildings. Proponents were asked to tie into an existing community masterplan while maintaining social and environmental sustainability as a high priority.

    Permeability of the ground plane became an important driver for the planning strategy. By breaking down the podium’s mass into simple blocks and organizing them around pedestrian routes and the existing heritage buildings, the design increases points of contact between street and building, old and new, residents and visitors, resulting in a rich and memorable every day experience. Furthermore, the separation of the lower blocks provides a variety of entrance points and creates a diverse array of outdoor rooms, while increasing retail frontage and drawing natural light to the podium’s core. Inspired in part by Windmill’s desire to create a complete community, and in part by our belief that shared public spaces are essential to the quality of life in cities – particularly in tall buildings – the amenity spaces become part of the public domain, starting from the ground floor up and weaving upward through the building like a vertical streetscape.

  • OZ Condominiums

    May 4, 2023

    0174

    OZ Condominiums

    Winnipeg, MB

    multi-family residential

    46,000 sqft

    complete 2014

    $7M

    OZ Condominium Corporation Ltd.

    OZ is a 25 unit, high-end condominium development located in the heart of Osborne Village. Located on an L-shaped site, the project is conceived as two towers linked by a minimal glass entry and a shared elevator core. Each tower is wrapped in a cohesive skin of black metal cladding that is carved into and punctured through to introduce outdoor space, provide shelter for ground floor entrances and respect setback restrictions. The deeply fluted corrugated metal skin consists of a gradient of solid and perforated panels that create a subtle play of light across the facade. Every component that is recessed behind or cut through the skin is rendered in white, reflecting daylight into the building’s void spaces.

    Although zoning regulations initially limited the structure to five storeys, by introducing mezzanines on two levels the saleable square footage was increased substantially while still conforming to the maximum allowable building height. In addition, the precise interlocking of a variety of unit types served to reduce corridor areas. Compared to a conventionally planned development, the OZ configuration significantly increases density efficiency and thus profit potential for the developer. The square footage gained from compact planning allowed for the creation of horizontal courtyards off the mezzanines that punch through the building and provide large exterior decks with expansive vistas for loft units.

    Photography: James Brittain

    Awards: 2015 MCHAP.emerge Finalist

    Press:

    2016
    OZ Condominiums | Canadian Architect | Mar

    2015
    OZ Condominiums | Canadian Architect | Mar

  • Canadian Canoe Museum

    May 3, 2023

    0409

    Canadian Canoe Museum

    Peterborough, ON

    museum

    79,500 sqft

    competition finalist 2015

    $25M

    MTA

    Canadian Canoe Museum

    Situated on the shore of the Trent-Severn Waterway, the new CCM is inspired by the story of the canoe, its ingenuity and efficiency, its beauty and serenity, and its ability to elicit a personal response in all of us. The museum emerges in a wooded clearing as a simple box wrapped in a sinuous, shimmering cloud of mesh. As shadows move with the sun, the skin’s ethereal nature blurs the definition between architecture and sculpture and belies the efficient and rational form within. Visitors are drawn to the main entrance along an elevated boardwalk that passes through a purifying filter of birch trees. Below, the undulating terrain flows beneath the building, intersected by a creek and a meandering trail that leads visitors to the Lift Lock beyond.

    From the lobby, the museum branches in two directions, one to the multi-purpose room and restaurant, and the other to the exhibition space. Imitating the descending landscape, a set of cascading bleachers connects with the cafe, storage, educational and administrative spaces on the lower level. The exhibition space is enveloped by a backdrop of stretched fabric that creates the illusion of a solid wall under certain lighting conditions and becomes semi-transparent in others. Through surface projection, the scrim allows the gallery to take on different atmospheres, from the gentle lapping of waves on Lake Ontario to the untouched wilderness of the Far North.

  • Pino

    May 3, 2023

    0369

    Pino

    Helsinki, FI

    art gallery

    130,000 sqft

    competition 2014

    $180M

    Guggenheim

    The iconic Guggenheim brand and the quiet confidence of the Finnish identity inspire an art gallery defined by an ethereal quality of light, space and material drawn directly from an understanding of place. The visible program is reduced into a highly charged timber form that claims the site for the city, but also distills its energy into a powerful point of gravity – iconic yet restrained, playful yet subtle, warm yet stoic. Set against the city or the harbour, the lush green of Tahtitorninmaki park in the summer or the bitter whiteout of winter, the wood structure becomes a beacon for visitors and locals alike.

    The galleries rest under a civic blanket whose subtly undulated surface creates controlled ponding during and after rain, resulting in natural reflection pools. Below the plaza, the single level exhibition space provides a highly flexible and functional environment for art. A choreography of curated courtyards allows for precise filtering of light into the galleries, rendering each with a unique atmosphere and immersing visitors in a composition of dappled light and shadow. Inside the wood form, the gallery soars into an unexpected vertical volume where a movable floor takes on different programmatic identities – from performance hall to classroom to observation deck – depending on the level to which it is docked. Small apertures left between the stacked timbers modulate the delicate light that surrounds or emanates from within.

  • 548 Stradbrook

    May 2, 2023

    0258

    548 Stradbrook

    Winnipeg, MB

    multi-family residential

    9,200 sqft

    complete 2013

    $1.6M

    Sunrex Group of Companies 

    548 Stradbrook is an eight unit infill development in Winnipeg’s Osborne Village neighbourhood. Located on a mature residential street lined with turn-of-the-century homes, the building is wrapped in a reflective glass shroud that allows it to be camouflaged with its character-filled surroundings. The project responds to existing zoning setbacks and density constraints with a three-storey, compact form that contains six two-bedroom flats and two three-bedroom loft units.

    The project’s cladding treatment draws direct inspiration from its historic context, reinterpreting traditional lap siding with a custom, shingled glass facade of reflective panels that are overlaid like fish scales both vertically and horizontally across the entire building. The mirror-like finish and subtle angling of the glass creates an ephemeral interplay of reflections and light during the day, and transforms the building into a glowing apparition at night. At the second floor level, a metal canopy wraps the building’s perimeter, supported by a colonnade of thin black columns that lightly touch the sidewalk below. Functionally, the canopy defines a front yard patio space and sheltered walking path for tenants. Aesthetically, the canopy provides a stable counterpoint and grounding element to balance the ever-changing nature of the glass facade above.

    Photography: James Brittain

    Award: 2015 Architizer A+ finalist

    Press:

    2015
    548 Stradbrook | The Plan | Mar

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