Lead Firm: Cohlmeyer Architecture
Landscape Architect: HETA
Completion Date: June 2021
A highly invested client and enthusiastic design team convinced a reluctant authority to proceed with this daring showroom retrofit. Open space and natural light are integral to the project. Four storeys were opened up onto a green courtyard by carving out forty feet from the building. Each long showroom floor is bookended by either a full height glass wall overlooking the garden or a four-storey light well to the north. A reclaimed brick façade and subtle detailing reinforce an idea of reimagined architectural ruin. With deceptive simplicity this project convincingly rejuvenates an otherwise forgettable building into a beautiful showroom gallery and urban jewel.
Project Credits:
PHOTO - Nanne Springer
PHOTO - Nanne Springer
PHOTO - Nanne Springer
PHOTO - Nanne Springer
PHOTO - Nanne Springer
PHOTO - Nanne Springer
“The project, while modest in scale, is generous with a public space that is carefully created. The architecture is clean and precise, and the ‘garden’ is both foreground ‘public’ space and backdrop to the private building, creating animation and views in both directions."
"This private business development is an exemplary project that aims to give back to the community through its privately owned public space. The built form is simple and serves to create a backdrop to the natural context. Its extensively glazed facades bring the outdoors inside. It demonstrates architectural excellence at another level with its positive contribution to the community."
"This project is exemplary for its generosity. The urban gesture begins with an acknowledgement of the street wall then pulls the commercial enterprise back to reveal a pocket park that is a welcome urban amenity for the busy and vibrant street culture of St. Laurent.”
Jury members