Located in Toronto’s historic St. Lawrence neighbourhood, The Berczy, a boutique collection of urban residences, unveils its new public artwork on Wednesday, December 10th, 2014. Artist and architect Paul Raff will join developers Concert Properties, Ward 28 Councillor Pam McConnell, and The Berczy residents to celebrate the new Shoreline Commemorative.
The artwork’s location, south of Front Street on the west side of Church Street, was the site of Lake Ontario’s shoreline for thousands of years. The artwork has a sculpted limestone base evoking the original topography of the city’s edge. Its focus is a glowing glass orb set on a bronze tripod, which acts as a dense glass rendition of the line separating sky and water. The tripod reminds passerbys of the surveyors’ instrumentation of the line of sight, an important tool in creating the city. The brick wall to the south is inscribed with the text: “For 10,000 years this was the location of Lake Ontario’s shoreline. This brick wall stands where water and land met, with a vista horizon.” These elements, as an ensemble, present a summary of the experience of being on the shoreline with the horizon view open to open water, an experience formerly available at this exact location.
Artist Paul Raff describes, Shoreline Commemorative as “a special addition to the city, a landmark and unique situation for pedestrians to discover in the urban landscape.”
Other noteworthy public artworks by Paul Raff and his studio include Mirage, a large scale mirror-like artwork suspended overhead of pedestrians at Underpass Park, and Regina Gateway, a monumental sculptural public artwork that acts as a gateway into the City of Regina (in collaboration with Jyhling Lee).
Richmond CastleOctober 12, 2017 - 2:29 pm
Madrigal HouseOctober 12, 2017 - 2:30 pm
Vaughan Metropolitan StationOctober 13, 2017 - 6:35 pm
Nookomis Garden
Couterpoint House on Archello
Ontario Design – Q&A by Samantha Sannella
Culture Talks
Images of the presentation.
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Ten homes where mirrors are used to maximise space
EntreArchitects episode 410: Paul Raff
Paul Raff’s Kaleidoscope House Channels the Sun
Nature and Nurture – In Conversation With Sustainable Architect Paul Raff
Paul Raff: How your home can extend your life
Here, in this exclusive interview from Eluxe Magazine, Paul Raff explains how your home can extend your life, why conscious architecture matters, and much more.
Paul Raff Studio Wins 2018 CODAworx Award
Paul Raff Studio has won the prestigious 2018 CODAaward for Atmospheric Lens at the Vaughan Metropolitian Centre Transit Station. The CODAworx Awards celebrate public artworks that most successfully integrate commissioned art into interior, architectural, or public spaces. Atmospheric Lens was commissioned by the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension as part of an official mandate on behalf of the Toronto Transit Commission to recognize the importance of the user’s experience in new infrastructure.
Spanning 16,000 s.f. Atmospheric Lens dissolves the convex ceiling of the above-ground pavilion into a dynamic, cubist collage of reflections of life inside the station. Lined in polished steel mirrors and punctured with solar-aligned skylights augmented by coloured reflectors, the dome sets light and reflection into perpetual motion throughout the day, affecting an artful interior sky. Commuters moving under the ‘lens’ complete the passive kinetic effect by seeing their reflection in the panels, becoming part of the ever-changing atmosphere above.
Sherry Dobbin, Juror and Cultural Director at Futurecity praises the project “as an excellent example of integrated design and collaboration. The entire space is part of the experience and work. It could also be used for temporary events, creating a purposeful series of kaleidoscopic design.”
Photos: Shai Gil
Monument Design Unveiled
Paul Raff Studio is proud to share that we have been commissioned to create a permanent public monument at Queen’s Park, Toronto to honour the service of Correctional Workers in Ontario.
Shoreline Commemorative wins 2016 Ontario Association of Architects Award
Photo above: Senior Development Manager of Concert Properties Ltd., Kelly Wilson; OAA President, Toon Dreessen; and Paul Raff of Paul Raff Studio.
Photo credit: Keith Penner
For “recognizing clarity and uniqueness of expression of an architectural idea as well as promoting the involvement of individuals in the areas of design presentation, art and other design related endeavors,” Shoreline Commemorative was recently presented with the Concepts & Presentations Award by the Ontario Association of Architects. Read more about Shoreline Commemorative here.
Summer Kaleidoscope House Celebrations
On Wednesday, June 15th, 2016, we had the pleasure of co-hosting an intimate gathering in the newly built Kaleidoscope House. Though it began to rain, the gentle sound of the raindrops served as a lovely backdrop to the evening, as guests toured the home that the owners describe feeling like they are traveling through a kaleidoscope.
Paul Raff Studio would like to give a special thank you to the owners, our guests, and everyone for an enchanting evening.
Kaleidoscope House’s striking and strong contemporary exterior is integrated into a leafy, urban setting, with powerful visual and physical connections to its garden. Built for an active family of four, it is an immense pleasure to see the house being lived in and enjoyed.
What Does A Home Mean To You: Paul Raff
Beauty & Sustainability: Producing Original and Inspiring Architecture
Visiting Mirage at Underpass Park
Have you visited our public artwork Mirage at Underpass Park yet?
Suspended overhead of pedestrians, large scale mirror-like surfaces create an illusory appearance, which bends light rays to produce a displaced image much like a mirage. Made up of 57 reflective polished stainless steel panels fastened to the underside of the overpass, Mirage also makes for the perfect selfie spot (as seen above and shared by a many instagrammers!)
And if you take a picture, please be sure to share it with us and tag us @PaulRaffStudio and hashtag #MiragePublicArt. Happy exploring and photo-taking!
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Counterpoint House Ranked Best Urban House by Azure Magazine
We are starting the new year with a smile carried forth from the last, for our Counterpoint House was among Azure Magazine’s “10 Best Houses of 2015” as the “Best Urban House of 2015.”
Azure says, “Counterpoint House, built in 2014, gains a spot in our 2015 best houses list for its elegant materials, beautifully resolved finishes and ingenious touches. This urban house maximizes light and flow with a large south-facing clerestory window, and an effortless floor plan.
Besides it’s chunky grey-tiled exterior, a metal brise-soleil gives this house its unique presence. Effectively a screen of aluminum slats, it swaths the entire upper level. Inside the slats reflect the sun and create beautiful patterns of light throughout the day.”
We are honoured to say the least!
To view a time lapse video of the Counterpoint House, click here.
Mirage and Echo House featured in NBC’s Heroes Reborn
Toronto Urban Design Awards 2015
September 16, 2015 was an exciting evening for Paul Raff Studio and many others who attended the
25th anniversary for the Toronto Urban Design Awards.
2015 Jury Members
Alex Bozikovic, Architecture Critic, Globe & Mail
George Dark, Partner, Urban Strategies
Stephen Teeple, Founder and Principal, Teeple Architects
Sibylle Von Knobloch, Principal, NAK Design Group Inc.
Mirage received an Award of Excellence in the Elements category for its significant contribution to Underpass Park, animating the area by visually altering the play of light and space.
Jury Comment, Mirage
“This installation uses light and colour to animate a difficult space – the underside of an overpass – which might otherwise feel grim. The work is simple in its composition and yet produces a variety of experience, addressing both adults and children and transitioning well from day to night.”
Shoreline Commemorative received an Award of Merit in the Small Open Spaces category for using a recess in Front and Church Street to contextualize our relationship with space and time in regards our visual field.
Jury Comment, Shoreline Commemorative
“Toronto’s original waterfront along Front Street is, today, invisible. With just three gestures, this thoughtful work of public art evokes this lost topography and the built form that has overtaken it. The jury admired the way this work fills a space which might have been an afterthought in the design of the building.”
Echo House ranked #1 design project of 2014 by Interior Design Magazine online readers
Originally featured in Interior Design Magazine‘s April 2014 issue, Echo House rose to become the magazine’s #1 Most Popular Design Project of 2014. With the goal of highlighting the abundance of life that takes place within a home, Echo House was minimally, yet decoratively, designed to live up to its name. We at Paul Raff Studio are honoured to be placed among some of the most beautiful design projects from what clearly was a reverberating year.
Syncopations, an Artfully Designed Fence for the Don Valley Trail
As a result of winning a national call for artists, Paul Raff Studio designed Syncopations, a 1.6 km long fence and low relief sculpture. It is situated between a pedestrian cycling path and railway line, and adjacent to the highway and bridges of Toronto’s Don Valley. Transformations are created by a sequential manipulation of standard fence panels to create a steel fabric that ripples and interacts with sensory interruptions. It transforms “magically” and differently as viewed from cars, trains, bicycles or on foot.
Wavelengths: Surface of Lake Sculpted in Frozen Motion
As part of a large mixed-use urban development including a 46-storey residential tower that occupies a full city block just south of Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, Paul Raff Studio designed a phenomenal ceiling to its outdoor public passageway. The wave-like relief simulates the surface of Lake Ontario, which ten thousand years ago was as high as the passageway ceiling.
See more here.
Echo House wins Design Excellence Award
For its outstanding creativity, sustainability, and legacy as a benchmark for architectural excellence, Echo House was presented with a Design Excellence Award by the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA). Read more about Echo House here.
Photo above L-R: OAA President Toon Dreessen; and Sean Solowski, Samantha Scroggie, and Paul Raff of Paul Raff Studio.
Paul Raff weighs-in on an important urban issue, and sustainable architecture and art of place.
Does John Tory have the courage to teat down the Gardiner?
“John Tory has positioned himself as a mayor that is focused on results over spectacle. The Gardiner Expressway offers him a chance to prove it.”
– Paul Raff, Toronto Star, Commentary, January 26, 2015. Read full article here.
For Toronto to rise, Gardiner must fall
“Tearing down the eastern Gardiner would create a beautiful waterfront for our city. It is already there, where the Don River is channelled into Lake Ontario. Just imagine what it will be like as a canal, lined with shops and restaurants — the type of place people want to be.”
– Paul Raff, Toronto Star, Commentary, June 7, 2015. Read full article here.
Sustainable Architecture and Art of Place Talk in King City
Paul Raff was invited to speak at the King City Public Library on May 13th, 2015 to illustrate how sustainable architecture and artistic strategies can create a value in city-building. Read more here.
Paul Raff Studio Designs Winter Stations
“Although the Beach neighbourhood of Toronto is a summer-long festival of colour and pageant, this is not true of the winter months. No place is this more evident than along the boardwalk of Toronto’s east-end beaches, where vacant utilitarian lifeguard stations stand out as symbols of public space beholden to weather.”
To infuse colour and vibrancy into Toronto’s winter landscape, a new international design competition was launched to transform the Beaches’ lifeguard stations into whimsical art installations.
Paul Raff Studio submitted a straw bale snow fort design entitled “HAY, YOU!” This engaging climbable structure offers the pleasure of elevated lake views to the south, long views of the winter beach to the east and west, and the delight of a quick slide back down to the snowy sand.
The design evokes warmth through movement, play, and cozy repose. A red painted banner beckons boardwalk pedestrians to circle around the big straw cube to the lake side. Scramble up the red bale terrace and survey the ramparts from this grassy belvedere. Take in the long prospect of the snowy shoreline and marvel at the view of the city beyond.
Designs in Progress
Creative Work Aplenty!
We rolled up our sleeves on lots of projects last year, including:
A park and amphitheatre
Collaborating with with Planning Partnership and Forrec on the new Lee Lifeson Park in North York, including an iconic sculptural bandshell.
A country house
Designing a house among the fields and trees of Northumberland County to maximize the pleasure of living in the landscape.
An urban residence
Designing a bold downtown residence in the spirit of the Renaissance palazzo but with materials and details inspired by fine automotive design.
Accolades for Echo House
New Public Artwork Commemorates Toronto’s Shoreline
Located in Toronto’s historic St. Lawrence neighbourhood, The Berczy, a boutique collection of urban residences, unveils its new public artwork on Wednesday, December 10th, 2014. Artist and architect Paul Raff will join developers Concert Properties, Ward 28 Councillor Pam McConnell, and The Berczy residents to celebrate the new Shoreline Commemorative.
The artwork’s location, south of Front Street on the west side of Church Street, was the site of Lake Ontario’s shoreline for thousands of years. The artwork has a sculpted limestone base evoking the original topography of the city’s edge. Its focus is a glowing glass orb set on a bronze tripod, which acts as a dense glass rendition of the line separating sky and water. The tripod reminds passerbys of the surveyors’ instrumentation of the line of sight, an important tool in creating the city. The brick wall to the south is inscribed with the text: “For 10,000 years this was the location of Lake Ontario’s shoreline. This brick wall stands where water and land met, with a vista horizon.” These elements, as an ensemble, present a summary of the experience of being on the shoreline with the horizon view open to open water, an experience formerly available at this exact location.
Artist Paul Raff describes, Shoreline Commemorative as “a special addition to the city, a landmark and unique situation for pedestrians to discover in the urban landscape.”
Other noteworthy public artworks by Paul Raff and his studio include Mirage, a large scale mirror-like artwork suspended overhead of pedestrians at Underpass Park, and Regina Gateway, a monumental sculptural public artwork that acts as a gateway into the City of Regina (in collaboration with Jyhling Lee).