Innholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2022 i AZURE

Entering “Terror Contagion,” which runs at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art until April 18, is a bit like stepping into the headspace of an evil mastermind. In the all-black exhibition gallery, you’re shadowed by a constant, foreboding whir. Voices speak up in certain spots, revealing that someone knows your exact location. If this makes you uncomfortable, the show is hitting the right nerve. The installation marks the public debut of a new digital platform designed by London-based research collective Forensic Architecture to visualize how governments and corporations track and harass citizens using the spyware Pegasus. Projected grids of lines and dots depict reported cyberattacks on people who have spoken up against state-sanctioned abuse and corruption. These colourful data points form a space-time continuum of digital violence intended, as MAC director…

Most of the time, a furniture designer is someone who makes critical decisions about a piece’s form, proportions and colour palette. But what if, instead, a designer acted as a true intermediary between manufacturers and consumers, tapping into supplier inventory to address demands on a case-by-case basis? That’s the idea behind the Stackabl collection — which Toronto design studio Stacklab and New York furniture gallery Maison Gerard unveiled at the Salon Art+ ​Design fair in November — and it’s currently patent pending. “It’s designing in reverse,” says Stacklab founder Jeff Forrest. “It’s asking, ‘What’s available, and what problem can I solve with that?’” Powered by digital wizardry, the Stackabl process starts by trawling the databases of regional suppliers like FilzFelt to catalogue any excess materials that are currently being ware-housed.…

One of the many lessons Flexform has learned over its more than six decades manufacturing premium contemporary furniture is that you can’t create beautiful, lasting designs without high-quality materials. The durable, visually appealing materials that make up Flexform’s Hamptons collection, for example, don’t just fulfill renowned designer Antonio Citterio’s vision for elegant contemporary outdoor seating — they actually helped to guide it. After years of fielding requests for bespoke outdoor furnishings that could pair with its indoor offerings, the manufacturer looked to Citterio to reinterpret its popular made-in-Italy soft seating in a line of modular sofas, ottomans and reclinable daybeds suitable for luxurious outdoor spaces like yachts and seaside resorts. Citterio found his inspiration in the warmth and beauty of solid iroko, an African hardwood known for its exceptional outdoor…

OUT SYSTEM BY WALL&DECÒ The Out system brings wallpaper to the outdoors. The fibreglass coverings (for application on concrete, gypsum board or other materials, with sanitizing primer and transparent finish) are predicted to last up to 10 years. Measuring 94 centimetres wide in heights up to seven metres (depending on project needs), the panels come in numerous motifs, including Debonademeo’s Bau-Man, a whimsical pattern of striated semicircles. wallanddeco.com MESH PANELS BY WOOD-SKIN From scintillating pastel ombrés to expressive wood prints, Wood-Skin’s Mesh Panels allow for ultimate customization. The 3D surfaces’ four facet patterns — Basic, Classic, Decor and Digital — feature parallel lines or triangles (equilateral or isosceles), or a combination thereof. Offered in sustainable materials like PaperStone, metallic and non-metallic laminates or Alpi’s manufactured wood, the series provides a…

As he was sketching guest dwellings for the vast Ontario wilderness retreat Arcana, which boasts access to more than 15 kilometres of private trails, Vancouver architect Michael Leckie considered making a version of the yurts or tiny houses that have become synonymous with back-to-nature tourism. “It was a breakthrough to not create distinctive formality [like] a pitched roof or a black box,” he recalls. Instead, the cabins take the shape of a pair of rectilinear 27-square-metre volumes outfitted like studio apartments with maple, pine and oak interiors and finished on the exterior with reflective stainless steel. “We wanted to make the experience of the cabin one of ambiguity and awe and wonder,” says Leckie, who is also a co-founder of Arcana. “The mirrored cladding blends in and is immersed in the…

DIMENSIONS One company pioneering in the area of psychedelic-assisted therapy by way of modern design is Dimensions, which is kicking off its adventure with a 16-hectare setting in the township of Algonquin Highlands, Ontario. There, the company is installing 17 private cabin suites, a dining lodge and spa facilities (a main lodge with an additional 30 rooms is in development). When Dimensions opens later this summer, an ideal stay will last seven days (bookended by extensive off-site therapy) and include a health-focused nutritional menu, relaxing sound baths and activities like yoga and tai chi alongside microdoses of psychedelics — psilocybin for guests who have obtained an exemption through Health Canada’s Special Access Program, cannabis for others — paired with psychotherapy sessions. The concept, according to Donald Currie, a registered psychotherapist…

Wood + Wood-Like 1 Ash Natural For an office building in Hillerød, Denmark, Studio Pneuma focused on promoting wellness by creating strong links to the outdoors. Finished in light oil, Dinesen’s 25-centimetre-wide planks — available in lengths of two to five metres — continue up a custom staircase by Risa Meyer. dinesen.com 2 Forêt MVRDV’s design for the Parisian flagship of lingerie brand Etam explores the idea of “unravelling beauty.” As part of that concept, the space adopts Oscarono’s end-grain flooring, arranging small wood tiles cut from timber ends into a dynamic pattern. oscarono.fr 3 Chico Measuring just 44 millimetres wide, Relative Space’s new ultra-thin planks reimagine herringbone flooring at the scale of street paving stones. Finished in matte lacquer, the white oak flooring is available in 11 different colours…

Announced as the biggest urban planning initiative in Halifax history, the city’s upcoming Cogswell District plans to transform 6.5 hectares into a vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood (shown above in an early conceptual rendering). With the help of Kristen Habermehl, principal of Atlantic Accessibility Consulting, the area is also striving to become North America’s first community to achieve gold-level certification under the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification (RHFAC) program. Launched by the celebrated Canadian Paralympian in 1988, the Rick Hansen Foundation advocates for a world without barriers. One of the group’s most recent tools is a rating system introduced in 2017 to evaluate a project’s level of access from the perspective of people with a wide range of abilities. We spoke to Habermehl — who also oversaw the accessible design of the…

Helle Cupboard by Bowen Liu While sailing the East River one morning, Brooklyn designer Bowen Liu began to think about translating the Hell Gate Bridge’s structural forms into wood. Her solid oak Helle collection, with its robust, angular base, is the outcome. “I started with a dining table, because I love hosting dinners, but my wife and I have a lot of nice ceramics, so a cupboard came next,” says Liu, who won the 2021 ICFF Editors Award for Furniture. By incorporating subtle reveals between the cabinet’s push-to-open doors and drawers, she contrasts the piece’s hefty base with a clean grid of fine lines. “I developed the proportions to create really deep drawers,” she says. “I was thinking of storage for a bamboo steamer and other big kitchen things.” bowenliustudio.com…

_A Pretty Warehouse in Italy _Moss Tiles _Stone and Metal Options When it comes to the design of manufacturing warehouses, function often trumps form. In order to accommodate the equipment inside, the barn-like structures, typically steel and concrete, are hulking and Herculean, devoid of much (if any) charm. But a recently completed facility headquarters in Turin, Italy, bucks the expected vernacular by revealing that a softer side is possible for industrial architecture. Designed by architecture firm ElasticoFarm on the campus of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics, S-LAB is the new production complex for the machinery and precision instruments required by the research agency. “It’s an important building in an important location,” says studio co-founder Stefano Pujatti of the approximately 2,000-square-metre complex. To express this significance in built form, the…

Integral to a host of diverse ecosystems, adapted to thrive in extreme conditions (from arid deserts to snow-covered mountains and everything in between), and able to absorb large amounts of CO2 and combat soil erosion — among other virtues — moss is a powerhouse in the plant world. It also sprouted inspiration for Poppy Pippin, who, during the final year of her product and furniture design undergrad at the Kingston School of Art four years ago, began paying attention to the flora while on “observational walks” through her Central London, U.K., neighbourhood. “I started noticing where and how moss occurred naturally, in the cracks and crevices of concrete, along sidewalks and the sides of roads,” says Pippin. At the same time, she was discovering a love for hand-throwing clay and…

Where do you go after you reach the very top of Manhattan’s dining scene? For New York architecture studio MN, the answer is simple: You head right back down to the street to start pounding the pavement all over again. Granted, these days, it’s some pretty lofty pavement that they’re pounding. After completing the latest in a growing portfolio of destination dining environments last August — Saga, on the 63rd floor of a Financial District skyscraper — MN is now at work contributing to Diamond Schmitt Architects and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects’ revitalization of David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. Placed in charge of the hospitality spaces, the 20-person studio envisions a new restaurant that will spill out into the venue’s monumental courtyard. “We really want the restaurant to feel…

Omar Gandhi has recently undertaken works of national significance — he’s part of the team behind the winning design for the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and just completed a magnificent promenade at Peggy’s Cove — but he first became known for his rural residential projects, vernacular-informed structures set within dramatic landscapes. His first personal residential project, however, is something of a departure: a three-storey live–work space on a 242-square-metre plot in an unassuming North Halifax neighbourhood. “It’s a place I’ve always enjoyed spending a lot of time, and the kind of place I wanted to raise my son — living around different kinds of people,” says Gandhi, who moved from Brampton, Ontario, to Halifax to study architecture, and has since grown his business between Toronto and the East Coast.…

A Boy Named Isamu Artistic prodigies will find plenty to contemplate in this heartfelt adventure book by author and illustrator James Yang. Rather than recounting Isamu Noguchi’s accomplished career, Yang instead follows a day in the life of a young Noguchi, who is drawn here like a more soulful Dora the Explorer. A trip to the local market, a walk through the forest and a visit to the shoreline all serve to highlight the deep curiosity and sensitive regard for nature that would later come to define the sculptor’s organic designs.  penguinrandomhouse.ca The Women Who Changed Architecture This encyclopedia of global talent profiles 112 architects who have made a significant impact in their field — and also happen to be women. While Zaha Hadid may be a household name, many…

In the mountains of Tepoztlán, about two hours south of Mexico City, a private spa by Soler Orozco Arquitectos invites nature to flow right through it. Located a short walk from an ultramarathon runner’s weekend home, the getaway provides a quiet place for its owner to escape the city and work out in peace. “He enjoys spending time on his own,” explains Juan Soler, co-principal at Soler Orozco. By leaving its forest setting largely untouched, the project also honours the beauty of its region, known as the birthplace of the Aztec god that created humankind. Made from volcanic stone and concrete slab covered in vegetation, the spa’s truncated cone–shaped design effectively camouflages it within its mystical surroundings — even carving space for existing trees directly into its sloped walls. The structure’s…

North of Orlando, the Florida city of Winter Park stretches forth in urban wetlands; its lakes, swamps and palm trees are interspersed with the ubiquitous stuff of American suburbia. But from this dewy landscape, a sort of sculpture garden quietly emerges. On the sinuous northwest shore of Lake Mendsen in Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, the Winter Park Library & Events Center rises in a warm, earthy composition of curves and angles. Designed by Adjaye Associates with HuntonBrady Architects, the 5,184-square-metre complex asserts a poetic identity alongside its more generic neighbours. But while the library and event venue is a beacon, its presence is a complement, rather than a counterpoint, to its setting. “I wanted to create a campus of knowledge,” says David Adjaye, “in which the contextual site contained a…

Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale in December 2021 marked a new era for contemporary art in the traditional town: It kick-started the redevelopment of the industrial zone on the outskirts of the historic capital city of Riyadh into a cultural centre for the broader creative community. Anchoring the event was Jax 01, a permanent exhibition space in a 7,000-square-metre former warehouse by New York–based firm HWKN. When reconceptualizing the distribution centre, designers Matthias Hollwich and Dorin Baul of HWKN looked to the “existing structure and local systems and materials to highlight the often-overlooked character of this amazing city.” Borrowing its name and design inspiration from its previous tenant — the household cleaning supplies brand Ajax — the building maintains its factory roots via a new articulated exterior. Retrofitting…

Shanghai architecture firm Neri&Hu Design and Research Office makes buildings that envelop but never overwhelm. Its work is modern, even modernist, but stands apart from the kind of monumental architecture that dominated the 20th century and still proliferates today — the stark, monolithic forms of Louis Kahn, Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron and Peter Zumthor. While these practitioners did (and still do) projects that announce themselves from miles away, Neri&Hu specializes in a craftier brand of design. Its buildings seem coy. They reward exploration and withhold their secrets from casual passersby. Lyndon Neri, who co-founded Neri&Hu with his wife, Rossana Hu, in the mid-2000s, believes that the firm’s layered aesthetic reflects an Asian influence epitomized by the modular tea houses of Japan, the serene scholars’ gardens of Song dynasty…

There is arguably no hotel in Toronto with better brand savvy than The Drake. And that brand is intrinsically tied to the city itself: When it opened 17 years ago on the former site of a seedy hotel and punk bar (the infamous Stardust) on a then-scrappy part of West Queen West, the boutique hotel drew from the arts scene of its surroundings, both within its restaurants — the Corner Café featured a suspension light made of bicycle frames — and in its live music programming in the Drake Underground. Almost instantly, The Drake reshaped the streetscape, becoming what many perceived as the centrifugal force in the area’s gentrification. As it has expanded over the years, the brand has taken root in other nascent hubs, from the Drake Commissary on Sterling…

“The main elements are the well-being spaces, which benefit from a lot of natural daylight and elements of Nordic wood combined with a minimalist interior architecture. An abundance of greenery is also part of our overall philosophy, especially in our co-working spaces.”—Minna Hurme, Head of Design, Valo Hotel & Work VALO HOTEL, HELSINKI For the past couple of years, we’ve seen hotels integrate co-working spaces into their layouts with creativity. Moving away from oppressive conference rooms and, worse, drab computer labs, they are including well-styled and fluid communal areas that merge with the lobby and the life of the rest of the hotel. As people increasingly work remotely and embrace new settings as their temporary office, hotels that invest in this area have more to boast than the typical amenities.…

Lounge Collections 1 Styletto Lounge With movable arm- and backrests that click into place, the padded modules of Styletto Lounge can be quickly transformed from sofa to bench to armchair to lounger. Tapered stiletto-shaped legs maintain an open and airy effect. Materials Powder-coated aluminum, foam, acrylic Dimensions 72 H × 144 or 216 W × 72 D Manufacturer Royal Botania, royalbotania.com 2 Zen Pause Sectional Sofa With two leg heights on offer, the Zen Pause sectional can appear as a classic sofa (shown) or hover slightly above the ground for a more casual set-up. Materials Aluminum, Maglia fabric in Charcoal Dimensions 62 (with low legs) or 77.5 (with high legs) H × 340 W × 95.25 to 315 D Manufacturer Jardin de Ville, jardindeville.com 3 Catalina Collection Crafted with contrasting…