Architecture

The borough's finest.

Beneath all the light, colour, and exuberant personality of the interiors, passive energy mechanisms are at work, generating conspicuous energy savings.

An Ofist building renovation in Istanbul.

“The main idea for the design of the house was to not have too many ideas,” says interior architect Yasemin Arpaç of Istanbul-based Ofist. With partner Sabahattin Emir, Arpaç formulated an eminently simple—and versatile—living space for a 45-year-old bachelor.

A twist in form.

Douglas Coupland wrote fondly about his hometown when he dubbed Vancouver the “City of Glass”, a nickname that caught on quickly for its accuracy in defining the skyline. The same glass towers have also been the subjects of criticism that urban uniformity leaves something to be desired.

Act of God.

Christchurch’s landmark cathedral gets a cardboard redesign by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, who is the 2014 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate.

Block work.

London-based Andy Martin, architect of the bentwood Thonet bicycle, makes things simultaneously baroque and minimal. Last September, Martin presented three colourful polyester-resin furniture pieces aptly titled Blocks A/B/C.

Celebrating our 15th anniversary.

The notion that great minds think alike does not apply to this selection of architects and designers. As we bring our 15th anniversary celebration to a close this week, we revisit the people, and stories, behind the spaces we’ve featured over the years.

Building legacies.

Israeli-born, Canadian-raised, and Boston-based architect Moshe Safdie has built dozens of celebrated buildings. The connecting thread of such a diverse array of projects is what the practitioner calls “inherent buildability.”

Building legacies.

Esteemed architect Moshe Safdie has left his mark worldwide. From his debut at Expo 67 in Montreal, Quebec, to projects like the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem, Safdie has built himself a resumé as varied as it is accomplished.