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Shoreline Commemorative wins 2016 Ontario Association of Architects Award

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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

Shoreline Commemorative by Paul Raff Studio

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

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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.

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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.”

Photo: Nicola Betts, 2012

Part of a collection belonging to job #2015-043.

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.”

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Part of a collection belonging to job #2015-043.

 

Echo House ranked #1 design project of 2014 by Interior Design Magazine online readers

Echo House - Most Popular Design Project of 2014 on Interior Design Magazine - Cropped

Interior Design Kitchen Capture

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

 

Designs in Progress

Creative Work Aplenty!
We rolled up our sleeves on lots of projects last year, including:

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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.

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A country house

Designing a house among the fields and trees of Northumberland County to maximize the pleasure of living in the landscape.

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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.

Mayor Ford Knob

Knob Portrait: Mayor Ford

IKEA, the ubiquitous furniture manufacturer teamed up with the Design Exchange and some of Toronto’s best creatives, including Paul Raff Studio, for a unique fundraiser. 

Echo House Featured in Globe and Mail

Echo House Toronto Architecture

The work of Paul Raff Studio was profiled in The Globe and Mail on Friday, September 6th, 2013.  The Echo House was  the cover story of the Globe Real Estate section.

“From grumpily Modernist to contemporary cool, Paul Raff transforms a Bridle Path home with glass, warm wood and classic joinery”

“Mr. Raff has fashioned an eloquent contemporary dwelling from the bones of a grumpily modernist one, sparing the usable portions of the old structure and introducing new elements that add up to a coherent, excellent piece of architecture. I can think of only one thing it now needs to be a perfect house, and that is to be lived in.”

-John Bentley Mays, The Globe and Mail

 

   

Cascade House

Valentine’s Fashion Shoot at Cascade House

National Ballet of Canada principal dancers and real-life-couple Heather Ogden and Guillaume Coté recently modelled for a special Valentine’s fashion shoot at Cascade House.

Read more

Kids Renovations Toronto

Kid-Approved Renovation – Part 2

As a continuation to our second floor re-design, we recently completed the first floor renovations to a now very family-friendly Baby Point home. The kitchen, dining and living areas are transformed. Read more

Kid Approved Renovation

A Kid-Approved Renovation

To meet the needs of a young growing family’s energy and lifestyle, we recently updated the second floor of their Baby Point mid-twentieth century home. Read more

Breaking Ground Thailand Architecture

Breaking Ground in Thailand

Bluepoint Condominium broke ground on April 14th, 2011 and is now under construction. Paul Raff is pictured third from the right with owners of Bluepoint Development, and members of the project development management firm Abode Development, Able Architects, and PJC Wood. Read more