CENTRAL CONDOMINIUMS : DESIGNING KITCHENS

Part of my work with Central was to help unit owners select finishes for their kitchen. We created color schemes that best suited their needs and budget, based on the available samples. The owners had to choose from a group of nine cabinet samples, eleven countertop samples and fifteen backsplash samples. The available colors were neutral for the most. It's always a good idea to choose a neutral palette for items that are fixed and use bright colors as accents for items that can easily be changed at a reasonable price (in case you grow tired of a particular color).





Needless to say, there are a lot of possible combinations : 1485 to be exact (just for the kitchen). That's a little more than 6 times the amount of available units! So it would have been possible to make sure that none of the kitchens in the building would be identical.  Granted, not every sample works well together and some finishes were more popular than others. Still, the owners had a lot of choices and it was fun putting various combinations together during our meetings. 

All in all, there is an interesting range of color combinations for kitchens throughout the building. The installation of the kitchen happens after the walls have been primed. Prior to fabricating the cabinets, the kitchen suppliers visited the site and checked the dimensions of the kitchen space in various units, marking down the position of each appliance.


After carefully checking the dimensions on site, the kitchen suppliers started delivering and installing the cabinets a couple weeks ago. On a recent visit to the site, I took pictures of the progress in some units where the kitchens were almost completed. The surface still needs to be washed, but you can still see how different combinations of color can alter the mood of the spaces, as shown below:


With a medium colored cabinet, the white glass backsplash and white countertop brightens and freshens the look.


The metal backsplash is a nice contrast against the dark textures cabinets and the dark counter. Once the track lights are up, it will look spectacular.


The lighter cabinets with the warmer countertop and backsplash softens the look of the space and gives it a bit more traditional look while staying contemporary.


Using the same traditional style counter with the darker cabinet and complementary glass backsplash, modernizes the look a little more than the previous combination.


The dark countertop and backsplash mixed with the lighter cabinet gives a very graphic look due to the high contrast. This look is more dynamic and will look great with a bold accent color.


It's possible to go completely dark with a dark cabinet, dark countertop and dark backsplash. With the white appliances contrasting the dark finishes, this combination will require a good balance of color with the accessories. Using stainless steel or black appliances instead, this space could look very sexy with dark walls to get more of a lounge ambiance.


The darker cabinets also look great against the white countertop and white glass backsplash, which softens the look of the kitchen and brightens the space. 

Horizon 2067 : A sign for change?

About a month ago, I mentioned that the NCC was also interested in knowing what citizens would like in Ottawa and that they were starting a new project, Horizon 2067, to that effect. Today the group held their first event about the future of the Nation's Capital at the Ottawa Convention Centre. I attended the presentation entitled "Creating a more representative and vibrant capital" to see what was it was all about,  and thought I'd share my findings with you.

Upon my arrival, I was surprised to see what looked like a big media production. Literally: Lights, Camera , Action! Lots of spotlights in the front for the speakers and other guests, cameras in front and in the back, tables reserved for the medias, and posters in the back with NCC staff describing the seven challenges NCC would like to take on over the next years. In fact, Rogers TV was also there and they will be showcasing this event on TV this Sunday. There were quite a few people present, but I can't say how many were members of the public and how many were NCC staff.





For the opening speeches, Marie Lemay, CEO of the NCC, talked about what they have done in the past and the former minister of foreign affairs, Lawrence Cannon, talked about some of his observations while traveling in Asia and made some comparisons with Ottawa.  The moderator for this event was Rebecca Makonnen, current TV and Radio host for Radio-Canada.


The panel consisted of  George Hazel (chairman of MRC McLean Hazel Ltd), Florence K (artist, signer-songwriter), Stephen Lewis (professor at Ryerson University) and Richard Florida (senior editor of The Atlantic and professor at the University of Toronto). The panelists had interesting views and ideas for Ottawa. They each did a short presentation and then they had a discussion between them moderated by Makonnen.  The discussion almost turned into a left wing vs right wing political debate between Lewis and Florida. Good thing there was a moderator.


Here are some of the great ideas I noted from the panelists during their presentation:

From George Hazel's presentation :

• NCC getting the opinion of the public was a great initiative to help Ottawa grow. In fact a similar exercise was conducted in Australia in the 80s and had a great turn out from it. What stuck in my mind was the fact that Australia did this 30 years ago! That's how behind we are. Never mind the fact that the plans are for 2067. But at least it's a start. 
• "Cities are about people and that it's people that make a city work." So what people want and need should be taken under consideration when aiming to build a better city. 
• It is important to maximize the number of parks, community centers and businesses and minimize number of large roads and parking spaces. This promotes more interaction between people, makes for a better community and a more attractive city. 
• The canal and the river are underutilized assets. Most cities around the world would love to have such great features. 
• There should be more use of technology in the city like and like an app for smartphones to find out about the next bus schedule, dynamic parking like in San Francisco, etc.
• The bus system should be the same in Ottawa and Gatineau to the people riding them. In London, the buses are run by various companies but they all look the same to the public. 
• Don't underestimate the power of public chairs. Chairs invite people who are tired to take a break, take in the scenery and stay in the city. If they are tired and they are no places to sit and rest, they'll just go home. 

From Florence K's presentation :

• Attractions such as concert halls and museums are too far apart from one another, which makes it difficult for tourists and citizens to enjoy them. They should be more centrally located.
• Canada Day should be upgraded to Canada Week. With all the tourists coming from many places we're missing an opportunity to make it a bigger and better event. A lot of effort is put into it every year and it's kind of sad to have it jam packed only one day. 

From Stephen Lewis' presentation :

• It's important to build from the community up and not the opposite. In order words, building a better city starts with the people not the government. 
• Ottawa should build upon its current identity and become an internationally recognized conference centre where people from around the world could gather to talk about various topics that matters to the world. Ottawa could be the city of international dialog.   

From Richard Florida's presentation :

• Ottawa should be a capital that others can learn from.
• Openness to diversity is very important. Diversity is one of the key factors in increasing the level of happiness of a community and you need diversity to fuel creativity.  
• Having a community care about its beauty is also very important to the success of a city. I guess it builds up self-esteem on a city level. 

From the discussion session: 

• Arrival points such as the airport, the bus station and the train station are the "shop windows" of a city. (Did they read my blog? ). Our airport is better than some but could be better. There's nothing interesting around it or on the way to the city. Think about places like Grand Central Station in New York. We have a long way to go. 
• To promote more movement between Ottawa and Gatineau, the areas around the bridges should be more pedestrian friendly. This would build stronger relations between the two areas of the nation's capital and in turn make the city better. There should be things that entice people to want to cross the bridge and explore as opposed to see the river as a divide between two provinces. 
• The Embassies should be have more presence. We have so many of them, they should be part of Ottawa's identity. Perhaps with a Canada Week they would be able to participate as well. Also, it would be interesting to have embassies invite artists or chefs from their countries to some sort of international festival in Ottawa. 
• We need to build more communities. New York is a city of community that seamlessly fits together. 
• We should not look to the government for solutions or to take action. This is a major problem in Ottawa. People and businesses should take the lead instead. 

All in all it was an interesting presentation. There was a good turnout. It's unfortunate that the public could not participate in the discussion. It sort of goes against NCC's statement saying that they "want to hear about [our] values, aspirations and stories, and about how [we] think [we] should be represented in Canada's Capital." Consequently, I have to admit, I'm a bit skeptical of the outcome. It's nice to hear people talk about the possibilities and hear new ideas, but what actions will be taken from that? Will it take 56 years to implement? Will this end up as a dusty shelved report? Right besides the Sparks Street Mall Vocation Study?  

I keep going back to the mess that is Sparks Street, which to me is a benchmark. How many years have they been studying Sparks Street? There's a new NCC website, photo opts on flickr, and a TV show coming this Sunday on Rogers TV, but I think what we need are less talk more action. I really side with Richard Florida on this one: If we want change, we can't wait on the government, we have to do it ourselves. Now who wants to makeover Spark Street?

Photos : MOOT | roonsari |

Successful Park(ing) Day in Ottawa

Ever heard of Park(ing) Day? It's an annual worldwide event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to transform metered parking spaces into temporary public places known as PARK(ing) spaces. This clever project is the brainchild of an interdisciplinary studio called Rebar in San Franscico. They produced the first one back in 2005 and this quickly turned into a worldwide event. As such, each year on the third Friday of September, Park(ing) Spaces are created in hundreds of cities around the world.


This year Ottawa had one too, thanks to yowLAB. They created a nice Park(ing) space in front of a restaurant in the Byward Market, with a bright yellow fence, benches, astroturf and potted plants. Well done!

Wouldn't it be a great if Ottawa participated every year? It would be fun to have several Park(ing) spaces likes this in the city. We could even turn it into an annual competition between different wards. And perhaps get citizens to help fund these projects by installing a special parking meter placed next to future location of a Park(ing) space to help with the cost of materials to create the spaces. This doesn't need to be promoted by the city. I think it would be better and faster if individual businesses with parking in front of their store would team up with some people to make it happen.

If you're thinking about participating next year, check out what other cities have done over the years below for some inspiration.



Photos : yowLAB | the green dots | laughing squid | object | goodlifer | parking day nyc | designing hong kong

CeraGres is finally in Ottawa

One of the suppliers I was sad "leaving" as a designer when I moved to Ottawa was CeraGres. I worked with them while in Montreal and was really happy with their products, services, and especially with the way they organize their store. Every time I went there, I was inspired (which is a good thing for designers). Imagine my delight when I learned that they opened two new locations in Ottawa and Toronto.



I went to visit the new Ottawa store last week (they opened approximately a month ago), and I'm happy to say that they did not disappoint. The store is brightly light, clean and well organized. You can easily browse through all their inventory without too much effort, there's a lot to choose from and work with, you don't have to constantly ask for the price of a tiles as they are clearly labelled, and there are a lot of unique and original products that you can't find elsewhere.



They're not short on samples either. Check out these walls of backsplash tiles, each perfectly place on a little white cardboard and clearly labelled in the back. Notice also the slots underneath the counters where larger tiles are placed. There are also benches to make it more comfortable for clients, and even padding to put the tiles on so the surface of the counters don't get scratched. It seems like they thought of everything and that's the way I prefer shopping for tiles.



All in all, the new Ottawa location is just as inspiring and easy to browse through. So if you're into modern design and you're looking for something different, this is the place to be. On my recent visit, I was able to spot a couple nice tiles for the project I'm currently working on. I'll definitely be back.

Photos : CeraGres | MOOT

CAN OTTAWA HANDLE AN H&M?

On my last trip to Las Vegas, while visiting some of the huge shopping centers on the strip I discovered the H&M at the Forum Shops (shown above). My first thought was : "WOW". The design and decor of the space was spectacular!


Look at the size of the shoppers at the bottom compared to the height of the ceiling. This place is probably 40 ft high. This looks like it was designed to inspire and entertain shoppers and make shopping fun. A lot of care and attention was put into creating an exciting experience with music, colorful LED lights, suspended mannequins and shiny balls. I bet the people who designed the store had a lot of fun in creating this display. But these photos don't do it justice. Luckily I found a video on YouTube to paint a better picture :



Seeing and experiencing this store made me think of Ottawa. More specifically, the fact that many people here would love to have an H&M in Ottawa.  If you Google it you'll find many people talking about it as shown here, here, and here. There's even a Facebook group called Bring H&M to Ottawa. Still despite the fact that there are currently 56 H&Ms in Canada, including 9 in the Montreal region, there are none in Ottawa. Why is that? Could it be that Ottawa is just not ready for an H&M? 

I often hear people going on shopping trips to Toronto, Montreal and even New York to find stylish items. I do it too. The last time I went on a shopping spree was on my last trip to Montreal earlier this summer. I think the problem is the "best" Ottawa has to offer in terms of trendy shopping downtown is probably the Rideau Centre. And compared to a lot of fashion forward cities, it's not impressive nor inspiring. And the bridge it such an eyesore.


I wrote a post last year about how Sparks street could use a little help becoming more fashionable. A commenter said, maybe if H&M would come first, it would help revive the area. But this made me think, maybe one of the reasons why they are not in Ottawa is because it's unappealing in the first place.  Ideally if they came to Ottawa it should be downtown, but where? And who or what would be around them? If Sparks street was better maintained, it could be a great place to shop. But this street is far from looking like a high fashion district. Most of the occupants offer nothing for passerbys to look at. Window shopping is non existent. It's kind of depressing if you ask me. Instead of waiting for H&M to become the anchor, perhaps Ottawa needs a makeover to become more visually appealing. We are talking about fashion here. It has to look good! 

Here's a collection of photos of some H&M stores around the world. Where would a building of the same caliber fit in Ottawa? 

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 Photos : 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 

CENTRAL CONDOMINIUM : INSIDE THE COURTYARD

As some of you already know, the amenities at Central 1 include an interior courtyard. This feature essentially allows everyone living in the condo to have a shared backyard in the city. While the priority is to complete the units, work is also being done in the courtyard. I've been taking pictures of the courtyard as subtle changes occurred, documenting the process. Last week all the original construction material was gone and some workers were preparing the ground. I have enough pictures to show you a bit of the evolution of the courtyard so far.

Previously the courtyard was the perfect location to store various building materials. There was even a little "office" (blue box on the right). The big red structure on the right is for the crane used to lift items. It's really high. Once most of the windows of units facing the courtyard were in, almost everything was taken out. You can see the  concrete slab underneath. Last week, it lookeds like rigid insulation was added on the side wall and the ground was water proofed. I'm looking forward to see how this looks later on. Also given the fact that the building is so close to the neighboring house, some of the workers were also repairing the roof of the house next door, which was much needed.