happy holidays

sneak peek inside the modbox

Here's a sneak peak of a standard Mechanicsville Lofts unit. You really get a good idea of the loft feel and how nice and open it will be. I really like the heated concrete floor. It's such a great feature. This is a great opportunity to increase the amount of beautiful modern interior design in the city. Definitely something I'd love the get my hands on :)

Photos : Linebox Studio

new modbox homes in Ottawa

ModBox is a boutique property development company focusing on building modern residences in select Ottawa neighbourhoods. The brainchild of modern architectural firm Linebox Studio and builder The Lake Partnership, this joint venture is currently working on a new loft-style condos in Mechanicsville called Mechanicsville Lofts.

This building project is their response to the lack of hard lofts in the city of Ottawa. Though their project is not an actual loft conversion from an existing industrial building, it said to include "five main features that define a true hard loft; high ceilings, open spaces, exposed building materials, large windows and an urban location" with the added benefit of comfort and energy efficiency. 

This will definitely upgrade the current look of this area which, in my opinion, looks old and not very  practical for modern living. You can see from the screen captures from Google Street-view what will surround the new building.  

I'm not a big fan of the little houses like the one on the right of the new building below. Let's hope this  new project will encourage more updates in that area. 

Looking through the specifications and floor plans currently available online, there are definitely some key features that give this building a true loft feel : 11 foot ceilings, 1200 square foot open spaces, polished concrete floors with radiant heat, exposed timber columns and beams, floor to ceiling windows, a small scale building (only four floors and 6 units) and a private elevator accessing each unit directly. This is pretty much as close as you can get to a modern hard loft in Ottawa right now.

The ground floor features a large open space that includes a garbage/recycling area, a mail room and two lobbies (one in the front and one in the back), as well as a ground floor unit. I assume the stone gardens will be spectacular, based on Linebox studio's previous work. 

It's unfortunate that the back of the building is used for five cars when there are six units. I personally would have opted for common enclosed backyard and an underground parking instead. That way, each unit would have a parking spot and there would also be space for extra storage (bikes, winter tires and other seasonal items), and visitor parking.

Although, some consider Mechanicsville to be an "urban area" in Ottawa, it's not quite there yet. Residents will greatly benefit from a car to do their grocery shopping and to got out to pubs, movies, restaurants, etc., especially in the winter. The building is mostly be surrounded by houses, a church and a park. 

The proposed layouts on the floor plans look nice. My favorite is the penthouse (of course!), with the extra private deck and green roof. 

The residents will also have access to a common rooftop terrace, perfect for parties and gatherings. 

All in all, it's a great upgrade for the area. 

Source : ModBox

CANVAS : WHERE ART MEETS ARCHITECTURE

Surface Development recently joined forces with artist Christopher Griffin to create two unique semi detached homes facing the Rideau River in Old Ottawa South. Griffin is known for his "concrete painting" where he carves patterns into concrete stuccos, as shown previously on MoOt. This time he performed a live art installation using his technique on the building project. 

Griffin (shown in the video below) got his inspiration from the river and natural surroundings. After finding out that the river is home to a walleye fishery in Ottawa, he decided to integrate them into his concrete painting. It's a great way to visually connect the building to the nature surrounding it and definitely makes the building a lot more interesting and unique. Perhaps this could become a signature design feature unique to Ottawa. How fun would that be. 

Jakub Ulak, who designed this project, took his collaboration with the artist a step further by commissioning paintings from Griffin so that each homeowner gets an original piece of art from the artist who inspired the project CANVAS. Also, a copy of the art will be enamel printed on movable glass panels that will be used as privacy screens on the second floor balconies. At the same time they will act as outdoor artwork, giving the effect of  being in an outdoor art gallery to the people walking by outside. 

The floor plans look very promising. Each home has essentially 5 stories of living spaces, including the basement and the rooftop living space equipped with an outdoor kitchen. The homes are currently under construction and should be ready soon. Check out the video tour below presented by the founder for a sneak peak of the interiors under construction. Hopefully there will be an open house. It would be fun to see the finished product. 

source : Surface Development | Christopher Griffin

MORE LAMBS ARE COMING TO TOWN

Looks like Brad Lamb, a well known real estate broker and developer based in Toronto, will be contributing to the much needed modernization of Ottawa. Now that Gotham is under construction, the newest modern addition to the city's collection of Lamb buildings is Soba. 

The old commercial building currently at the future location of Soba wasn't horrible looking and certainly could have become an interesting 3-story residential loft, but it wasn't spectacular either. 

Instead, we'll be welcoming a unique 23-story building designed by Core Architects and II BY IV. The new building is a complete change and will definitely stand out. I really like the fact the shape of the building is a little more complex than a simple box and that they will be using black bricks. 

The interior looks promising as well and definitely reminds me of modern boutique hotels with unique textures and finishes, blurring the line between building components and pieces of art, as you can see in the images of the lobby, the common room and elevator area below.

On the 6th floor, you'll find the Sky Garden Club featuring an outdoor pool and cabanas. It reminds me a bit of day club hotel pools I've seen at boutique hotels in Las Vegas.  

Architecturally, Soba definitely is a great addition to the neighborhood and hopefully it will encourage more people in the industry and the city to  update and beautify the area. 

TRENDS IN DESIGN - PART 2

Urban Capital's Trends in Design series is back in Ottawa with three new design presentations to inspire and share ideas with the city, starting this week. The topics sound really interesting.

Night 6 | SEP 13 2012

Designing Modern Furniture 

Gus* is a really neat modern furniture design company with a lot of beautiful pieces. Furniture designer David Podsiadlo will be talking about the process and challenges of designing, manufacturing and selling modern furniture. 

Night 7 | OCT 11 2012

Graphic Design is Our Access to the New World

The Ontario College of Art and Design University has a very unique architecture that has most definitely become a landmark in Toronto. Roderick Grant who's a professor, designer and co-chair of the Graphic Design Program, will be talking about the relationships between graphic design and the world we live in. 

Night 8 | NOV 8 2012

Landscape Design without Grass 

If you've been to Montreal, you're probably familiar with Claude Cormier's awesome projects like the Pink Balls or the lipstick forest in Montreal. I noticed his work in Montreal before but never knew who designed them. Now I know! He's got a lot of very interesting projects in various cities around the world and one in Gatineau. I can think of a lot of places where his work would greatly enhance the city of Ottawa... starting with Sparks Street :) That should be fun. 

Check out my previous posts about last year's presentations on the links below. 

NIGHT 1 | Fashion Trends 

NIGHT 2 | New Thinking in Designing Cities 
NIGHT 3 | Where Industrial Design is Taking Us 
NIGHT 4 | Architecture in Our New Century 
NIGHT 5 | Interior Design Thinks Small

Tickets are available via Urban Capital's website at $20 per night or $40 for all three evenings. All the proceeds will go to Migrating Landscapes, Canada's official entry for the 2012 Venice Biennale in Architecture. 

source : Urban Capital' | Gus* | Emily Care Recuit | Claude Cormier | Cityzen | Design Boom

MODERNIZING THE BEER STORE IN OTTAWA

Being from Montreal(Quebec) where you can buy alcohol pretty much anywhere (the SAQ, the supermarkets, the corner stores, the gas stations, etc.) the Beer Store is a bizarre and foreign concept to me. And the ones where you can't even get the beer yourself are even weirder. But ever since I first went to a Beer Store in Ottawa, I always thought it would be neat to revisit its concept, modernize its design and turn it into a boutique store specializing in various types of beers from all over the world.  

On a recent trip to the Distillery District in Toronto, I discovered that my vision already exists! There's actually a Beer Boutique and it looks amazing. 

The design is a mix of rustic and modern style with brick walls and old wooden shelves. Everything is displayed neatly and you can pick up your own beer. It's also very clean and doesn't smell!  Check out the light under the shelves reflecting on the floor. 

How awesome is the design of the cash area? It's simple but effective. Notice the industrial looking light fixture above the main display table. It goes very well with the style of the area which is a refurbished /moderrnized industrial victorian style.


It's not a huge store, but they managed to add really neat displays in various parts of the store.



I would love to redesign a Beer Store in Ottawa. I already thought of the color scheme that I think would suit the Westboro area very well (shown below). I'm thinking a new location on Richmond Rd, west of Churchills would be great. The American Apparel Store, located on the corner of Roosevelt, is closing, perhaps it's a great opportunity!


Photos : MoOt | Contemporist | Freddy in Space | Think Good | 

KARIOUK'S INNOVATIVE CONDO REDESIGN IN OTTAWA

Two years ago, I wrote an article for the Ottawa Citizen called It's a Dog's Life where I described Paul Kariouk's ingenious dog friendly entrance design. At the time he was planning to move into a new unit in the Mondrian, with plans to design a second dog shower and have a bronze tile with his late dog's paw print set into the floor in his bedroom. I recently came across photos of the architect's condo remodel, and it is amazing. He completely transformed the initial basic floor plan to better suit their needs and make the space feel much larger. 

Above is what the original plan looked like. The many walls made the space very choppy and the options to arrange furniture were very limited.

In the updated floor plan, the architect managed to maximize the amount of natural light and significantly increase the amount of storage and living space.

Superimposing the two plans, you can see how he increased the amount of living space and  considerably reduced the amount of wasted space, especially when it comes to the bathroom. 

Looking towards the kitchen, you get a better sense of the amount of storage that is now available in the unit. The entire back wall is storage, hiding a micro office on the left, kitchen supplies in the centre and a small european style washroom on the right. In the front, under the counter, there's a hidden mini bar and television.

The shower enclosure with an extra sink also serves as a piece of art right in the middle of the space. I imagine that is also the new doggy shower (Nice upgrade).

For those who are not too keen on standing naked in a semi-transparent glass enclosure in the middle of a room, a drapery system was installed for more privacy. A more minimalist alternative would have been to use electric glass walls instead. But it's probably quite a bit more expensive as well.


I like the way he was able to conceal the concrete columns by adding more sculptural interest and storage in the space. 

You can see in the top right photo, the bronze tile with Hannibal's paw print next to the bed as planned. The architect's new big dog is shown above next to a sleek doggy water fountain. Kariouk definitely designs with his dog's in mind, which is most likely one of the reason why the entire floor is tiled. I'm definitely taking notes for when I get to adopt my own dog.

Check out the video below for a  tour of his 850 sq. ft unit. You can also find out more about the ideas behind his concept here 

Redeveloper Apartment from Chris Davis on Vimeo.

Source : Contemporist | PdK Kariouk Associates |