Hambly house and Grenadier press roundup

There has been quite a bit of activity on two of our latest (and office favorites) projects both in print and online.

The Hambly house, by DPAI, is a reno of a 1939 art deco house with a rooftop addition.

Hambly house exterior at dusk.

See it on Archilovers, Dwell, Dwell again, Architecture Lab, AEC Cafe, Archdaily, Contemporist, E-Architect. It was also first published on the Globe & Mail a few months ago. We are incredibly proud and excited to see such an innovative and original project get the press it deserves.

Grenadier backyard at sunset.

Grenadier, our latest shoot for Altius Architecture, made it on to the Homes section of the National Post in the "Modern homes rankle homeowners in established neighbourhoods, but do they have to?" article last week.

This shoot was of particular importance as we collaborated with stylist Lynda Felton, who was able to bring the interiors to a level of refinement that really brought the house together in a way that only styling can. 

We are big fans of Altius' approach to residential architecture with their focus on high-performance, functional, contemporary designs. We enjoy shooting every one of their projects.

You can read more on Altius' design philosophy in this Canadian Business Journal article.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for further publications of our images.

INSIGHTS: Euro Vinyl Windows


This is the first post in a new ongoing series "insights" where Revelateur interviews people in the construction industry that are passionate about what they do and bring something fresh to the industry.

In the first feature, we interview Laura Weil, Sales and Marketing Manager at Euro Vinyl Windows, a European-inspired tilt-turn window manufacturer and its sister company Glasshaus, focused on the urban, contemporary design market.

Laura Weil, Sales and Marketing Manager

Laura Weil, Sales and Marketing Manager

Tell us about EVW: background story, how did it start, who started it?

Christopher Meiorin started the company as a tilt turn manufacturer, 28 years ago.

Tell us about what makes EVW unique.

Tilt Turn window and door systems are our flagship product line, as they aren’t a common North American window design. We manufacture an array of vinyl window and door systems utilizing REHAU vinyl profiles, which are of German design specifically detailed for Canadian living. Our manufacturing facility is located in Woodbridge, Ontario, which is a mecca for window and door fabricators and component suppliers. We import our extrusions from the REHAU facility in Winnipeg and hardware from Germany.

The philosophy of Euro Vinyl Windows has been, and remains, to build the best window and door products we can. This philosophy seems simple enough, however, sometimes it remains a challenge, especially during economic downturns and being faced with an increase in low priced windows flooding the market. With this, EVW has continued to add value to our products, and strives to work closely with our supply partners to bring the product to market for the most competitive price. This philosophy is rarely questioned or deviated from and remains a benchmark for how we go about our business.

Who is EVW catering to?

We manufacture and distribute through a dealer network across Ontario and Winnipeg.  We also operate an architectural division called Glasshaus, which serves the infill and new construction community in Toronto.

What are the company goals for the future?

Our long-term goals are to ensure that the products we build meet and exceed the expectations of those who chose to align with us. For 28 years, we have not had a service representative on staff, We want to keep it that way.

How did you get involved with EVW?

I have been working in the window and door industry or 17 years, four of which with EVW.  This is the benchmark product, and the level of pride and passion amongst the team here is my key source of motivation.

What do you like most about the company?

I like the diversity of our team, our clientele and my broad range of tasks – from marketing, retail sales through Glasshaus, dealer sales on the road, through to continual programming of the manufacturing software that drives production.

What is your biggest source of inspiration?

The amazing team here, and good design. When I get to work on a project, whether it is a marketing project, architect meeting or a challenging dealer scenario, I typically get a sense of accomplishment from the experience when good (smart) design is at the core of it.

Your dream travel location? 

Currently Australia - their architecture is on fire!

What music you listen to in the office?

I'll stream YouTube channels that suit my daily fancy.  Today, it was The Concert for Bangladesh.

Any last words / something you want to share with our readers?

This blog may be of interest: http://evw.ca/blog/office-space

Junction bungalow by Stamp. Tilt-turn windows by EVW.



FLASHBACK: Royal Saltworks | Saline Royale d'Arc et Senans

Entrance to the director's building | Entrée de la maison du directeur

Version Française ci-dessous

Back in February this year, I visited the Arc et Senans Royal Saltworks in the Franche-comte region of France. The complex was designed by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux in the late 18th century. It was intended as a salt processing facility for briny spring waters from the surroundings. 

The complex was designed hierarchically in a semi-circular plan that was to form part of a larger city imagined by Ledoux, plan that never fully came about. It was completed at a time where traditional, labour and ressource-intensive means of production were starting to be replaced by thanks to the nascent industrial revolution, which made the saltworks obsolete almost from the beginning.

It never produced to the extent it was supposed to and about 100 year after opening, salt production permanently ceased, not being able to compete with cheaper sea salt brought by rail.

Nonetheless, Ledoux designed a very innovative complex for the time, rationalizing the organization of the salt production, housing all the workers on-site, essentially forming a self-contained community. Indeed, salt was then a very coveted commodity as it was used to preserve food and was heavily taxed by the Ferme générale. Housing all workers on-site was a way to control production and prevent the smuggling of salt outside of the facility.

Of note, at the Maison du directeur, are several architectural features that separate the building from the rest of the complex, to show its importance. The columns are made of square and cylindrical sections which create very photogenic shadow plays. The central location, unique architectural feature and the oversized oculus in the  pediment makes it crystal clear how important is that building to the plan.

Ledoux’s legacy ended up being mostly made of unbuilt projects, the saltworks being on of the few built projects that still stand to this day and allows us to see how ahead of his time he was.

Director's building | Maison du directeur

Au mois de Février 2015, j’ai eu l’occasion de visiter la Saline Royale d’Arc et Senans, dans la region Franche-Comté. L’ensemble conçu par Claude-Nicolas Ledoux au 18eme siècle fut â l'origine une usine de production de sel, utilisant les sources saumâtres locales pour en extraire cette substance très précieuse.

Le projet a été conçu suivant un plan semi-circulaire ou toutes les fonctions sont hiérarchisées et placées en fonction de leur importance. Il fut conçu a l’origine comme faisant partie d’une ville conçue par Ledoux qui ne fut jamais complétée. Le complexe incorporait des méthodes de production proto-industrielles qui furent mises en place un peu trop tard, la revolution industrielle ayant commencé peu de temps après, ce qui rendit les salines obsolètes des le depart. 

La saline ne produisit jamais autant que prévu et fût fermée tout juste 100 ans après sa creation, la concurrence avec le sel de mer, livré par chemin de fer, étant trop forte.

Ledoux néanmoins conçût un ensemble innovant pour son époque, rationalisant la production de sel, incluant des logements pour les ouvriers sur site pour créer une forme de commune autarcique. Le sel étant un denrée très convoitée a l’époque pour la preservation de la nourriture, il était logique de protéger les revenus de la Gabelle de la Ferme Générale en contrôlant l’accès à la saline et en limitant les allées et venues des ouvriers.

A noter, la maison du directeur qui occupe la place centrale de la Saline, comporte des éléments architecturaux qui la distingue du reste, tels que les colonnes a sections carrées et ronde ainsi que l’oculus démesuré au milieu du frontispice, mettent en evidence l’importance de cet edifice par rapport au reste du complexe.

L’heritage de Ledoux reste composé principalement de projets non-construits, la saline étant un des rares complexes qu’il a pu voir bâti. Après la chute de l’ancien regime, Ledoux se concentra sur la conception de villes idéales et de projets spéculatifs, car ayant été un architecte disposant des faveur du roi, il sombra dans l’obscurité, jusqu’a ce qu’il fut redécouvert bien plus tard, au vingtième siècle.

Covered porch of a production building | Colonnade d'un bâtiment de production.




révélateur in Dolce Magazine

Weiss AU's boathouse was featured in the Spring 2015 edition of the magazine. Kevin Weiss' design deserves the kind of attention it's been getting lately and we hope to see more of his work published in the future.

Stay tuned for future publications of our images.

 

Flashback: Do you like Le Corbusier? | Aimez-vous Le Corbusier?

French version below | Version Française ci-dessous

Chapel viewed from the South | Chapelle vue côté sud.

During my last trip to France, back in February, I was lucky to visit the famed Chapelle de Ronchamp by Le Corbusier (Wikipedia).

I had the opportunity to snap a few photos, which hardly do the building justice. Le Corbusier has a knack for designing religious buildings that generate uplifting and highly spiritual experiences, even to the non-religious. His buildings are always best experienced in person as the space, light and materials are difficult to convey in photographs.

I took these shots on a freezing, sunny winter morning, which resulted in beautiful deep-blue skies that frame the white and grey building really well.

The property contains additional annex buildings (such as the maison du pèlerin, pictured above) in addition to a new convent for the local Clarisse Sisters chapter designed by Renzo Piano.

Piano’s building is well integrated in the hill and hardly visible from anywhere, in deference to the master’s chapel. It is nonetheless a very sensible project that is very well executed in typical Piano fashion.

La maison du pèlerin

Au cours de mon dernier séjour en France, j’ai eu l’honneur de visiter la chapelle de Ronchamp par le Corbusier (Wikipedia)

J’y ai pris quelques photos, qui rendent difficilement justice a cet édifice d’exception. Corbu savait concevoir des bâtiments religieux générateur d’expériences spirituelles fabuleuses, accessibles à tous, y compris les personnes non-religieuses. Il est recommandé de visiter ses bâtiments en personne, car la lumière, les espaces ainsi que la matérialité de ses projets difficile a représenter en images.

J’ai pris ces photos un jour d’hiver ensoleillé mais également très froid, ce qui m’a permis de capturer ce ciel très bleu qui encadre la chapelle blanche et grise et contribue a la mettre en valeur.

Les bâtiments annexes (comme la maison du pèlerin, ci-dessus) sont assez peu connus parmi l’oeuvre de Corbu et sont cependant de petits dépendances architecturalement intéressantes, bien que formellement simples et initialement conçues pour abriter le curé ainsi que les pèlerins.

Renzo Piano a récemment conçu un nouveau bâtiment qui s’intègre dans le programme existant. Il s’agit d'un couvent pour les Soeurs Clarisses, ainsi qu’un centre d’accueil et d'exposition (Porterie), qui s’intègre très bien dans la pente et n’est presque pas visible de puis le haut de la colline. Le parti architectural, a la fois discret et efficace, rend hommage a la chapelle du maître sans jamais essayer de lui voler la vedette. La lumière et les matériaux en font un projet typiquement Piano.

Yorkville Residence on the cover of Designlines Magazine →

révélateur is proud to announce its first magazine cover! Our shoot of the Yorkville residence by Audax Architecture was featured in the the Spring 2015 issue of Designlines magazine.

Spring 2015 cover

Interestingly, this is our first ever commissioned project and turned out to be a client favourite from day one. This reno of a 70's modern house turned a very dated dwelling into a sleek, contemporary, state of the art dwelling that reflects the personality of its owner, a 30-something successful entrepreneur from Toronto.

Click here for full article.