Fishing for Trees in the Ottawa River

During one of my visits to Custom Home Interiors, I learned something rather interesting from one of the products they carry: wood floors planks from Logs End. This Ottawa-based company "fishes" logs from the Ottawa river, processes and distributes them in the form of wood floors and wood paneling amongst other things. Ottawa used to be "one of the mightiest logging rivers in the world" and an estimated 14 billion logs floated down the rivers to be distributed in Ottawa, Quebec and even Europe. 2 to 5% of these logs were "lost" in the river at the time. Now these "lost" logs, preserved over the years by the cold water, the lack of natural light and lack of oxygen at the bottom of the river, they are being recovered to be sold.

This is a very eco friendly way to obtain wood from very old trees. They simply fish them out of the river. There are many available wood species based on what was found. It's really like a treasure hunt. Check out the following video for more.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all the MOOT readers out there!

I recently took this picture in the lobby of Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau. The design and the scale of the lobby is very impressive and make a great first impression. I think the glass chandeliers are by Robert Kaindl (not sure) Dale Chihuly (Thanks "Anonymous"!). They definitely make a statement.

Holiday Decoration ideas at the St-Laurent Mall

The folks at the St-Laurent Mall went beyond the generic holiday decor for a mall and created a neat lounge for shoppers to have their gifts wrapped or just to take a break. There are quite a few vignettes showcasing various arrangements that you might want to try at home. I like the use of ornaments in the vase and the gift boxes behind the loveseat. I think it's a great idea and a great initiative.

If you're looking for more ideas on how to decorate your space for the holidays, check out the latest post on M2JL STUDIO Blog and come back often for more inspiration boards.

The forgotten whale

Here it is. After Ted's comment on Ottawa's World Exchange Plaza, a hidden gem, I had to go back to see the whale across the Starbucks on Queen. Poor thing.

I also noticed something rather disturbing... Notice the five doors leading to what looks like a 24ft drop? I wonder what was the thinking behind that decision!

photos : MOOT

Ottawa Timeraiser Update

Looks like the Ottawa's Second Annual Timeraiser event, which recently took place at the National Gallery, was a great success. Over 400 people attended the event and 6450 volunteer-hours were raised. I'm still impressed with the idea of raising volunteer-hours for non-profit organizations. It's such a great idea. This year 28 non-profit organizations participated in the speed-dating process and all of the works of art obtained the maximum bid.

Check out some of the pictures from the event (courtesy of Timeraiser.ca) below.









Photos : Erin Molly Fitzpatrick (via Timeraiser)

Happy face

MOOT Innovators : Ottawa's got talent

Here's another proof that Ottawa's got talent. If you've been to Phillip Van Leewen or Zone in the Market, you've probably already seen these wall flowers. Created as jewelery for the wall, these magnetic flowers were created by Ottawa native Marion Lanktree. Upon graduation she was discovered by Umbra during a students' end-of-year showcase and her product has been in the market for the past two years. They come in white, black, green, yellow and pink and are a great addition to plain walls.

The concept is very simple. They come with a push pin that can be inserted into a wall and each flower has a magnet that attaches to it (As shown below)

By looking at people's comments and reviews of the product online, it's easy to see that there's something very positive about her design: It seems to make people happy. It's a very powerful thing that can be done with good design. And her product is now used in spaces all around the world. It's interesting to see how various people use it in their homes. Here are a few examples:

This one is by Flickr member kimhas7cats (for now)


These are from bloggers young house love



I also had one of my clients use the flowers in her daughter's bedroom, although at that time I didn't know it was a Canadian product.

It's always great to see people succeeding in design and I think it's important in Ottawa to recognize their work, specially when they're world renowned! I'll keep adding them as I find them.

photos : At Home with Kim Vallée | M2JL STUDIO | lindsey f | kimhas7cats (for now) | young house love

EcoCite is still marching on

Some of you may already know that Eco Cité on the Canal, a "new" green building condo project in the city, has been having some financial and time management issues (1,2). I remember viewing their site for the first time when I was still in Montreal, a couple years ago, and being very impressed at what they were offering... I wanted a unit.



Located right in front of Lansdowne Park, this green building project is designed to meet LEED standards with elements such as a geothermal heat pump system, a heat recovery unit, radiant floors, bamboo floors, water saving fixtures, and many other very appealing features.



This is certainly not the first green condo project in Canada, nor the first green building by Écocité Developments. Habitat 1, was successfully built in Montreal in 2003. I couldn't find any details on why this project hasn't gone smoothly, but I bet that the painfully slow construction has something to do with the money issues.

Nevertheless, they are still marching on to get the project done. And by the look of their construction update on their website (last updated in October) it should be ready soon. At least I hope so for the buyers. They must be very anxious to get in. The facade looks pretty much done. There are also pictures from inside. Who knows, maybe they'll be in before Christmas. I should go take a look at some point.





Hopefully it's worth the wait. From the pictures on their site, it looks like they've been paying attention to the details. Perhaps the wait will be compensated by the quality of the construction and the fact that they seem to still be working on making sure that the green features are actually implemented, like balcony gardens which will provide some greenery for the occupants but help retain storm water.



photos: Écocité Developments | Google map

Ottawa's World Exchange Plaza, a hidden gem

The World Exchange Plaza is a hidden gem right in the heart of the commercial core of the city of Ottawa. It was designed by BBB Architects and built by PCL Constructors Eastern Inc. According to PCL's site, it was designed to house three cinemas with a total seating of 900, 40 retail boutiques, a 25,000-sf food court, and 10 retail kiosks in a department store-style open concept concourse. The design was chosen by the City of Ottawa in a National Capital Commission (NCC) competition (great choice!). The goal was to create a truly public and welcoming complex, while accommodating the demands for a first-class office building including a hotel and retail pedestrian shopping centre. "This active and holistic environment incorporates works of art, rooftop gardens, performance courts and botanical gardens and has 25% of its overall area dedicated to outdoor parkland and programmable public space."


I went to check it out today in more detail and I find that the plaza has a lot of great features. The ceiling is nice and high and the center of the plaza is completely open. The metal trim finish and railings gives it a modern Art Deco style. Above the circular stairs, the ceiling has a circular indentation as well and a skylight. The recessed light around it and the wall sconces on top of the pillars gives it a very beautiful and grand look.


I also like the decorations that were added for Christmas, especially the chandeliers cascading in a spiral above the stairs. It's very glam. I wonder if the decorators were inspired by the 2009 Christmas Decoration trends. If so this would fit the Airy theme. In any case, I wish they would have added more to make it truly spectacular because it seems like this space deserves more. Perhaps something in the main area (like they did with dolphins in the first picture). Also, in the center of such a prominent focal point, an imposing attraction should take the place of the mini van.



Imagine if it had a tree like this one:


Or this one:

From what I understand, this mall was supposed to have a lot more retail spaces, but this is not the place for any fashionistas! It looks like the food court has taken over the second floor and the first floor only has a couple shops (LCBC, Shoppers Drugmart. etc), nothing that would attract serious fashion shoppers which is really a shame because it seems like it's the perfect location for that. Can you imagine if there were lots of stores there? Mango, MEXX, Diesel, H&M, Browns, Guess, Parasuco, etc.? Perhaps the NCC could use the help of a professional n management company that specializes in attracting retail tenants such as those. The World Exchange Plaza could stand along side the likes of the Eaton Centers in Montreal and in Toronto! And there's a cinema! I think there's enough people living downtown, students and tourists to make the plaza more alive because in the weekend (at least the last time I checked) it's pretty much dead.


photos : MOOT| chelsea.crank | jha442 | BBB |

MOOT Flickr Update

MOOT's Flickr group is growing at a nice pace. We now have 6 members and very nice photos of modern architecture and modern spaces in the city of Ottawa. And there's finally an Ottawa project featured in DWELL Magazine. You might remember this house from a previous post. I thinks it's the first one from Ottawa. Keep them coming!

Bixi bikes are alive and well in Montreal. Ottawa? Not so much... not yet

On a recent short trip to Montreal, I got to see that the Bixi bike system seems to be working just fine. In fact I saw many people on St-Laurent street well into the night (past midnight), riding the city bikes downtown. Later that evening, I even saw a city truck loaded with bikes, bringing them back to empty stations.

Maria Cook from Designing Ottawa wrote that Ottawa had a trial run for a short while for a feasibility study and then took them away. I'm not much of a cyclist, but I think a program like this has Ottawa citizens written all over it. This little city is perfect for Bixies. In any case, Montrealers and tourists are enjoying bicycle rides in the city. There are even maps to let people know where the Bixi stations are and they also have a well organized website with all the information you need.

So while Ottawa is studying the matter, the city of Montreal already has contracts to export their bikes to London (England) and Boston.

Oh and that great building in the background? That's the UQAM, one of Montreal's university. I just love the design of that building.