When the worlds of innovative material design and visionary architecture collide, the result is often extraordinary. Such is the case with the Ēclos® Maitake Table, a stunning collaborative piece by global surface leader Cosentino and the acclaimed Patkau Studio. This modular furniture piece takes the raw, expressive potential of Cosentino’s newest mineral surface, Ēclos®, and shapes it into an organic masterpiece for the modern living space. Image courtesy of: Doublespace From Wood to Stone Originally conceived by Patkau Studio in solid wood, the Maitake Table has been beautifully reimagined. It trades its wooden roots for the structural strength and deep visual consistency of Ēclos®. The result is a sculptural table that perfectly balances fluid, curvilinear geometry with sharp, precision engineering. Its gracefully curved edges taper down to an elegant, thin profile, while its flat linear edges are designed to fit together flawlessly. Adaptable by Design Inspired by the spontaneous, flowing forms found in nature, the Maitake Table is highly modular. Individual pieces can seamlessly interlock, creating adaptable compositions. Whether a room requires an intimate centrepiece for a quiet corner or an expansive, sprawling surface for a large lounge, the table effortlessly adjusts to the environment. Craftsmanship and Precision The journey of the new Maitake Table began simply: with a small sample of Ēclos® placed on a boardroom table. This sparked a deeper exploration into what the material could achieve. Moving away from the traditional, heavy slab look of stone, Patkau Studio approached the design through organic geometry. Using advanced CNC stone routing, the design team crafted the table's signature tapered profile. The intrinsic grain of the material shines through, creating a rich and tactile experience. To fully embrace the material, even the table's legs were redesigned with new, curved forms made entirely from Ēclos®. They are held together by discreet steel brackets and threaded inserts, ensuring the table is incredibly sturdy on-site without interrupting its seamless visual flow. Rooted in Sustainability Beauty and function are only part of the story; sustainability played an equally crucial role in the design process. Honouring the recycled content found within Ēclos®, the team focused heavily on minimizing waste. They developed an ingenious and efficient production layout that allows nine perfectly compatible modules to be cut from just a single sheet of material. The Ēclos® Maitake Table is more than just a piece of modular furniture. It is a timeless reflection of technical innovation and emotional design. By pushing the boundaries of material exploration, Cosentino and Patkau Studio have created a beautiful, highly functional, and sustainable piece that brings a touch of nature's poetry indoors. Image courtesy of: Doublespace About Patkau Studio Patkau Studio is an extension of our architectural practice, Patkau Architects. It is a dedicated space where our fascination with material, form, and craft is distilled into functional, accessible objects. Each piece is born from an experimental process where every detail is carefully considered, the design evolving through the act of making. Our furniture concepts often emerge in parallel with our architectural designs, sharing a common language of structure and intent. They aim to enrich environments with refined, articulate objects that invite visual, tactile, and emotional engagement. All Patkau Studio furniture is designed and made in Canada. About Cosentino Cosentino is a global family-owned company that produces and distributes innovative and sustainable surfaces for architecture and design. As a leading company, Cosentino imagines and anticipates, together with its customers and partners, design solutions that offer value and inspiration to people’s lives. This goal is made possible by pioneering brands that are leaders in their respective segments, such as Silestone®, Dekton®, Éclos® and Sensa by Cosentino®. These innovative surfaces allow the creation of unique environments and designs for the home and public spaces. Cosentino currently distributes its products in more than 120 countries, from its headquarters in Almería (Spain), and is present with its own assets in 32 of them. The multinational has nine factories (eight in Almería, Spain and one in Brazil), one intelligent logistics platform in Spain, and more than 180 commercial and business units worldwide. More than 90 percent of Cosentino Group’s financial turnover comes from international markets.

Just north of Toronto, perched on the edge of a wooded valley, sits Ravine House—a contemporary home that redefines what it means to live in harmony with nature. Rather than acting as a barrier against the outdoors or simply occupying a plot of land, this stunning residence acts as an immersive, beautiful mediator between comfortable domestic living and the natural landscape. Image courtesy of: Riley Snelling Built on the principles of biophilic design—the concept of connecting humans with nature to improve physical comfort and emotional well-being—Ravine House proves that a home can be much more than just a shelter. It is a space for true restoration, turning the sights, sounds, and rhythms of the ravine into a daily lived experience. Inspired by the Forest Canopy From the outside, the home is a direct homage to its environment. The front facade features a sculptural, abstract leaf-like relief pattern supported by tall, slender steel columns that mimic the surrounding tree trunks. Deep overhangs and cantilevered forms stretch out like a forest canopy. These clever design choices do more than look beautiful; they recreate the feeling of walking beneath tall trees while naturally keeping the house cool and mitigating solar gain during warmer months. At the rear of the property, expansive glazing seamlessly connects the glowing, warm interior to the outdoor pool and untouched landscape. The Courtyard: The Heart and Lungs of the Home At the core of Ravine House is a breathtaking open-air courtyard that serves as both an environmental and experiential anchor. Far from just a visual centrepiece, this courtyard acts as the lungs of the home. It pulls fresh air, deep daylight, and private forest views right into the living spaces, especially the bedroom level. Because it is open to the elements, the courtyard turns the changing seasons into a living work of art: The vibrant foliage of summer The brilliant colours of autumn leaves The quiet blanket of winter snowfall Paired with skylights and a unique interior glass floor, the courtyard successfully dissolves the conventional boundaries between the inside and the outside. Natural Textures and Dancing Light Inside, the home leans heavily into sensory richness. Step into the double-height living room, and the eye is immediately drawn upward to a custom, suspended art installation inspired by falling leaves. Designed to catch and reflect natural light, this dynamic sculpture shimmers and moves as the sun crosses the sky, bringing a quiet, organic energy into the heart of the home. The materials chosen for the home are deeply tactile and intentionally restrained to echo the textures of bark, shadow, and exposed earth: Warm natural woods blend seamlessly with the forested outdoors. Charred Shou Sugi Ban adds a striking, dark, and dramatic contrast. Rich stone and sleek dark steel provide a sense of grounded permanence. Nature is treated as an architectural feature rather than mere decoration. A towering 12.5-foot living green wall anchors the dining space, working alongside built-in planters to naturally purify the air, soften the acoustics, and add a calming presence. Every transitional space celebrates this connection. A beautifully lit wooden staircase is grounded by a serene rock garden at its base, while upstairs, suspended vanity mirrors in the tranquil bathroom perfectly frame the vibrant green forest outside. Downstairs, the kitchen effortlessly blends stone counters with natural wood cabinetry, opening completely to the patio for a seamless indoor-outdoor flow. Smart, Sustainable Design Ravine House proves that sustainability does not need to rely on bulky technological add-ons. Instead, eco-friendly practices are built right into the architecture through smart, passive strategies: Climate Control: High-performance glazing and carefully calibrated roof overhangs keep the temperature comfortable year-round. Energy Efficiency: The courtyard-driven layout creates natural cross-breezes, dramatically reducing the need for artificial cooling. Ecological Preservation: A compact footprint minimizes site disturbance, ensuring that the property's original ecosystem remains protected and untouched. A Model for the Future Ravine House explores a beautiful question: How can architecture go beyond simple housing to become a tool for physical comfort and mental well-being? By beautifully weaving together landscape, natural materials, and wellness-focused design, it stands as a restorative infrastructure and a brilliant model for deeply human-centred contemporary living. Property Inquiries This exceptional house is located in Richmond Hill and will be on sale from June 11th. Any inquiries can be directed to: KL Homes By Kevin Lin Team Phone: 905-881-5115 About Prosun Design Build At Prosun, architecture and construction unite to deliver exceptional custom homes. Through Prosun Architects Inc. and Prosun Homes Inc., they offer a seamless design-build experience from the first sketch to move-in day. Specializing in modern luxury, Prosun crafts spaces that respond intuitively to a client's lifestyle and the site's unique character. Guided by Expertise The firm is led by two complementary experts: Prithula Prosun Roy: An award-winning, OAA-licensed architect who solves complex architectural challenges with elegant, highly creative solutions. Amit Sinha Roy: Bringing 20+ years of executive project management experience, Amit ensures rigorous cost control, precise scheduling, and complete transparency. This unified model guarantees absolute design integrity, proving that the best homes are not only beautifully designed but flawlessly built.

Choosing materials for a home renovation has always required a leap of faith. For decades, customers have been handed a small tile or a tiny wood swatch and asked to imagine how it will look spread across an entire kitchen or bathroom. While massive retail chains have the budget to develop highly customized, proprietary design software to solve this problem, small to mid-sized businesses are often left behind. They have historically relied on physical samples, verbal explanations, and fragmented design support. This reality created a massive gap between what modern customers expect and what smaller retail teams can realistically provide. Designer Hsin Ting Chiu recognized this disconnect and developed an ingenious solution. Rather than spending millions of dollars building new software from scratch, Chiu reconfigured existing tools to create a highly practical, affordable, and visually stunning retail workflow. The Flaws in Legacy Visualization Tools Before this breakthrough, small retailers and independent designers had to choose between tools that only solved a fraction of the problem. None of the existing options provided a complete, workable solution for the fast-paced retail environment: 2D Visualizers (e.g., Roomvo): These tools are fast and user-friendly, allowing customers to digitally "paste" floors onto a photograph of their room. However, they lack spatial accuracy. They do not account for real room dimensions, grout lines, or actual construction logic, making them highly impractical for interior layouts where precision is required. Closed Systems (e.g., IKEA Planner): These are excellent for 3D visualization but are highly rigid. They are locked to a specific company's product database. Independent retailers cannot easily adapt these systems to their constantly changing product lines without paying heavy platform fees. Traditional 3D Software (e.g., 3ds Max): While these programs produce breathtaking, photorealistic imagery, they are far too slow, expensive, and technical for everyday retail consultations. The market desperately needed a solution that was fast, spatially accurate, highly flexible, and affordable. SketchUp and D5 Render: How the Workflow Actually Works In 2024, while helping establish the design department at Toronto-based Besso Floor & Decor, Chiu developed a new approach: using SketchUp as the structural foundation and D5 Render as the visual core. The secret to this combination is live synchronization. Here is a step-by-step look at how this dual-system workflow operates in a real-world setting: The Structural Foundation: The designer uses SketchUp to build the exact dimensions of the customer's room. SketchUp handles the real-world spatial structures, layout adjustments, and vital construction logic. The Visual Engine: Connected seamlessly to SketchUp is D5 Render, which acts as a real-time visualization engine. It instantly processes lighting, textures, and material finishes. Real-Time Consultation: As a designer adjusts the physical dimensions or moves a cabinet in SketchUp, those changes are reflected immediately in D5 Render. Instant Material Swapping: Unlike older rendering plugins that require users to jump back into complex modelling software to make changes, D5 Render allows for direct material replacement on the rendering side. A designer can sit with a customer, swap a polished marble tile for a matte ceramic one with a single click, and instantly see how the light hits it in their specific bathroom layout. Much like how advanced video game engines revolutionized the film industry by allowing directors to see digital environments live on set, this workflow transforms retail. It takes rendering out of the back office and turns it into a real-time, interactive sales tool. Why D5 Render? Choosing the right software was a business decision as much as a technical one. While tools like Twinmotion are phenomenal for exterior architecture and landscapes, interior design requires a workflow tailored to precise indoor spaces. Most interior designers already know tools like SketchUp and D5, making recruitment and onboarding incredibly fast. In fact, new staff can learn this specific retail workflow in just three days. Furthermore, compared to rendering plugins like Enscape—which require the user to jump back into the modelling software to make material changes—D5 Render allows for direct material replacement on the rendering side. This creates a smooth, uninterrupted consultation experience for the customer. Much like how Unreal Engine revolutionized the film industry by allowing directors to see near-final visual effects live on set, D5 Render transforms building-materials retail. It takes rendering out of the back office and turns it into a real-time, interactive sales tool. A Four-Pillar Impact: The Benefits of the System Discussions around design often focus purely on aesthetics. However, in the building materials industry, design must function as commercial infrastructure. This system turns design from a visual bonus into a foundational business tool. The benefits ripple through the entire renovation process across four distinct groups: 1. Empowered Consumers By seeing a true-to-scale, dynamically lit 3D model of their exact space, customers can make decisions with total confidence. This eliminates the anxiety of mismatched materials and ensures that the final result is much closer to their initial expectations. 2. Streamlined Business Operations For building-materials retailers, product lines change rapidly. New tiles, flooring, and bathroom fixtures are introduced regularly. This workflow offers massive operational advantages: Cost-Efficiency: Retailers can build and update their internal material libraries instantly. When a new tile arrives in the showroom, it can be added to the digital catalogue immediately, without waiting for a third-party platform to update its database. Reduced Software Costs: The combination of open-market tools is vastly more affordable than licensing closed commercial visualization platforms. Faster Training: Because SketchUp is widely taught in design schools, new hires can adapt to this workflow with minimal friction. In fact, a new staff member can learn this specific retail system in just three days, drastically reducing training costs and onboarding barriers. 3. Professional Growth for Designers Because this workflow is built on widely used tools, it naturally attracts top design talent. The skills learned through this system are not locked to one company’s proprietary software. Instead, they remain highly transferable across interior design, commercial retail, and construction fields. This allows businesses to maintain consistent service standards while encouraging designers to build long-term, valuable professional skills. 4. Accurate Construction Execution Because the stunning visuals are generated from real 3D dimensions, they serve as valid, accurate construction references. Contractors receive a clear visual map of tile layouts and precise material quantities, heavily reducing costly miscommunications and errors on the job site. From a Manual Workflow to a Systemized Model The impact of Chiu’s workflow quickly gained industry attention, notably winning a Silver Award at the 2024 MUSE Design Awards. This proved that commercial speed does not require sacrificing professional design quality. By 2026, the building-materials retail market in Toronto showed a massive shift, with many competitors attempting to introduce similar SketchUp and D5-centred visualization models. Retailers are now universally expected to provide customers with clearer, more realistic design support before a purchase is made. To meet this growing demand, the project evolved from a manual workflow into an automated, scalable implementation model. In 2026, Hsin Ting Chiu collaborated with Ruby developer Chun Brown to create the FG Enhancer, a custom SketchUp plugin specifically designed for tile and flooring applications. Here’s a quick walkthrough to get you started. The FG Enhancer automates parts of the workflow that previously required tedious manual modelling. Its key functions include: One-click generation of precise tile and flooring layout grids. Randomized texture patterns to create highly natural, realistic visual results. Support for incredibly fast material mapping and layout testing. Improved efficiency when preparing reusable visualization templates for common room shapes. The Future: Democratizing Design The ultimate goal of this project is not just to help one store, but to create a standardized, accessible, and scalable framework that any small to mid-sized business can adopt. This technology has officially entered the U.S. provisional patent application stage (Application No. 64/066,803), titled “System and Method for Dimension-Constrained Surface Mapping for Generating Construction-Valid Layouts.” Slated for official release in 2027, the tool and its accompanying workflow are planned to be made available as a free download. By removing the financial and technical barriers, this system will empower independent retailers, local contractors, and small design teams to provide world-class, construction-referenced 3D previews. Ultimately, this workflow proves that incredible, accessible design is the ultimate competitive advantage in modern retail. About Hsin Ting Chiu Hsin Ting Chiu (Angel Chiu) is a Toronto-based designer and workflow innovator who specializes in extending design thinking into business, marketing, and the application of digital tools. Her research focuses on how existing tools can be recombined to create a low-cost design system specifically for building-material retailers. One of the earliest implementations of this workflow began during her time as the first designer at Besso Floor & Decor in Toronto. Working within a limited budget and under conditions where the company’s design service had not yet been fully established, she applied this low-cost visualization workflow in a building-material retail environment, helping to build the early customer consultation and design-service process.

Just a few steps away from the bustling Bell Centre, a fresh take on the classic French brasserie has opened its doors. The new Chez Lionel, located inside a landmark building at 1250 René-Lévesque Boulevard, brings a contemporary pulse to a timeless dining style. Image courtesy of: Maxime Brouillet Designed by Cleo Katcho Design Architectural Inc., the project breathes new life into a 1990s commercial space. Instead of fighting the building's strict architectural limitations, the design team embraced them, creating a beautifully connected, fluid environment where the bar beats as the vibrant heart of the room. Turning Obstacles into Opportunities When the design team first walked into the space, they faced a disjointed layout where the dining room, bar, and upper levels felt entirely disconnected. The biggest hurdle? A massive, immovable granite core housing an emergency staircase sat right in the middle of the room. Instead of hiding this obstacle, Cléo Katcho and her team used it as an anchor. A Bold Expansion: The designers made the daring choice to extend the restaurant outward into the building’s main lobby. Blurring the Lines: This created a seamless lounge area that connects the public lobby to the private dining space, giving the restaurant a striking, inviting presence right from the street. The Bar Takes Center Stage In the restaurant's previous life, the bar was tucked away on an upper mezzanine. For Chez Lionel, the team brought it down to the ground floor, completely changing the energy of the room. Now, the bar sits directly in the center of the action. It acts as both a natural walkway and a welcoming gathering spot. Whether guests are walking in for dinner or just grabbing a quick drink, they immediately feel the lively brasserie atmosphere. To keep this connected feeling going, the designers merged two separate upper levels into a single, unified mezzanine. This ensures that no matter where a guest is sitting, they have a clear, engaging view of the bustling ground floor below. Designing the Vibe: Classic Meets Contemporary The look of the new Chez Lionel balances the familiar warmth of a traditional French brasserie with sleek, modern upgrades. The design team carefully selected materials that update the classic aesthetic while honouring the building's original character. Key Design Elements: Urban Textures: Warm brick pairs with sleek metal accents to give the room a modern city feel. Classic Glamour: Gold finishes, woven mesh details at the bar, and custom crystal lighting bring in the traditional elegance of a European brasserie. Lush Greenery: Thoughtfully placed plants mimic the feeling of a grand European glasshouse, adding freshness and life to the room. Original Stone: The building’s original 1990s granite floors and columns were kept intact, anchoring the restaurant in its downtown history and giving it a unique personality. Solving the Invisible Challenges A beautiful space also needs to feel comfortable. With so many hard surfaces—like granite, glass, and brick—the room naturally echoed. To solve this, the designers cleverly hid sound-absorbing materials within the darker ceiling finishes, ensuring the dining experience sounds as good as it looks. Additionally, the bright lights of the building's public lobby threatened to ruin the moody, intimate vibe of the brasserie. By working closely with building management, the team adjusted the lighting levels to create a smooth, gentle transition from the bright entryway to the cozy restaurant interior. A Masterclass in Smart Design The new downtown Montreal location of Chez Lionel offers a wide variety of seating—from cozy banquettes to casual lounge chairs—making it the perfect spot for everything from a quick evening aperitif to a full, lingering dinner. Through smart planning and creative problem-solving, Cléo Katcho Design Architectural proved that the best design doesn't always come from a blank canvas. Sometimes, true innovation comes from taking strict limitations and turning them into the very foundation of a great experience. About Cleo Katcho Design Architectural Inc. Cleo Katcho Design Architectural Inc. is a design studio specializing in corporate, commercial, medical, funerary, multi-residential, and hospitality projects. Its approach focuses on creating spaces that are both functional and human-centred, while meeting performance requirements and supporting operational efficiency and long-term value. For over six years, the team — composed of interior designers and architectural technologists — has supported clients at every stage, from initial concept through to execution. The practice is grounded in a structured methodology, informed by a deep understanding of context and oriented toward concrete, implementable solutions. By combining technical expertise, business insight, and design sensitivity, CKDA develops environments that adapt to evolving organizational needs and support their growth over time.

On May 29th, as the sun began to set over the historic brick facades of Old Town Toronto, the streets took on a new, electric energy. The King East Design District (KEDD) Neighbourhood Hop—the highly anticipated annual event presented by DesignTO in collaboration with the Old Town Toronto BIA—was officially underway. For a few magic hours, the neighbourhood morphed into a sprawling, interactive playground for creativity and innovation. The Forma's team was on the ground, wristbands secured, hopping from venue to venue to take the pulse of the city's design scene. We expected to see stunning furniture, cutting-edge architectural surfaces, and state-of-the-art tech. What we didn't expect was the sheer human dynamic playing out on the sidewalks and in the showrooms. A Beautiful Collision of Eras What truly defined this year's event wasn't just the products on display, but the people filling the rooms. Walking down King Street East, you were shoulder-to-shoulder with the usual suspects: distinguished architects, busy builders, elite interior designers, and major industry suppliers. But the real surprise of the night? The students. There was a massive, refreshing wave of young creatives from local architecture and interior design programs pouring into the streets. It is a rare and beautiful sight to see the established "old guard" of Toronto’s design scene mingling so effortlessly with the next generation. You could spot groups of twenty-somethings wide-eyed at material demonstrations, striking up casual conversations with seasoned pros who have been shaping the Toronto skyline for decades. For one night, the traditional industry hierarchy completely disappeared. Everyone moved through Old Town Toronto with the same goal: to get inspired, share fresh ideas, and build the connections that will fuel their future projects. Inside the 7 Neighbourhood Hubs With a simple check-in granting an all-access wristband, attendees were free to chart their own course between seven distinct locations. Each venue brought a unique flavour and focus to the evening: BSH Experience & Design Centre: Thermador set a mesmerizing, sensory tone with ‘Moonlight Blue,’ an installation curated by Kilowatt Kate. Walking into the space felt like stepping into another realm. Soft, glowing illumination highlighted a masterful mix of fine-crafted metal, woven rattan, and bamboo. With oceanic accents tying it all together, the room perfectly captured the quiet, magnetic pull of a pending full blue moon. Candace & Basil: Here, the spotlight was strictly on homegrown excellence. Their immersive, design-forward experience highlighted luxury furniture proudly crafted right here in Canada. The showroom became a masterclass in how premium quality, ergonomic comfort, and hyper-customization can seamlessly converge in modern living spaces. Cosentino City, Toronto: This stop was a major draw for the architecture crowds. The centrepiece was the breathtaking Maitake table, envisioned by Patkau Architects. It served as a brilliant, tactile demonstration of Cosentino’s new Ēclos surface material. Having John Patkau and Cosentino leadership on hand to offer remarks gave the audience—especially the eager students—rare, direct insight into the minds of industry pioneers. Design Within Reach: True to its name, DWR kept things accessible, warm, and incredibly chic. Their "sip and shop" experience allowed guests to wander through displays of authentic, built-to-last modern design with a drink in hand. It was the perfect atmosphere for casual networking and admiring timeless, functional art. EQ3: If you were looking for high energy, EQ3 delivered. The showroom buzzed with live music, clinking cocktail glasses, and animated conversations over light bites. Beyond the festivities, it offered a highly exclusive sneak peek at unreleased products. Having the EQ3 President and Head of R&D actively mingling in the crowd made the brand feel incredibly personal and approachable. KPMB Architects: For the students in attendance, this was a holy grail stop. The award-winning studio hosted an open house, allowing the public to literally step inside the very rooms where transformative, city-shaping projects are dreamed up. It was a powerful reminder of the profound impact design has on our communities and the built environment. Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove Showroom: This space offered a breathtaking fusion of culinary engineering and haute couture. While the refined kitchen performance appliances were front and center, the environment was elevated by four pop-up, couture-inspired window displays. Tailored from the finest artisan fabrics and textiles, it showed how different design disciplines can beautifully intersect. The 2026 KEDD Neighbourhood Hop was completely free to attend, but the value of the inspiration generated over those few hours is incalculable. Great design does more than just shape our physical spaces; it brings people together. For the Forma team, walking away from Old Town Toronto last night, one thing was clear. With such an eager, passionate new generation ready to take the reins, and an established community so willing to open its doors to them, the future of Toronto design is in very good hands. About DesignTO DesignTO is a charitable arts organization celebrating 16 years of designing a sustainable, just, and joyful future. We curate exhibitions, presentations and educational programming to increase the public’s knowledge and appreciation of design. As Canada’s largest annual design festival, DesignTO has welcomed over 1.2 million attendees, reached 2.6 billion people through media, and showcased 7,500+ artists and designers since 2011.

Founded in 1912, the Quebec-based architecture firm NFOE has spent over a century building a reputation for thriving in the most demanding environments. Recently, the firm marked an exciting milestone by appointing four new partners: Erika Landry, Vanessa Godin, Roxane Fortier, and Marie-Eve Cyr. Image courtesy of: Vadim Daniel With these promotions, women now make up the majority of NFOE’s partnership team, holding 8 out of 13 positions. This shift highlights the firm's modern culture and its commitment to recognizing exceptional talent wherever it is found. A Legacy of Precision NFOE brings together more than 130 professionals across three offices in Quebec. Over the years, the firm has become the go-to reference for technically complex projects. The team specializes in spaces where high stakes and strict rules are the everyday norm: Pharmaceutical and biomedical laboratories Large-scale hospital complexes Advanced scientific research institutes Industrial and aerospace facilities In these highly specialized fields, rigorous design and regulatory expertise are absolutely non-negotiable. Meet the New Partners The appointment of these four women comes as no surprise to anyone familiar with NFOE’s recent work. For years, they have been the driving force behind some of the firm’s most challenging mandates, expertly coordinating multidisciplinary teams to bring massive projects to life. Erika Landry leads some of the firm's most complex scientific research and industrial projects. Known for her structured leadership and rigorous approach, she is currently a central figure in the expansion of UdeM's Sciences Complex. Vanessa Godin specializes in healthcare and educational settings where regulatory and operational demands are exceptionally high. Recognized for her client-focused rigour, she is currently contributing to large-scale projects like the future Research and Innovation Pavilion at UQTR and the new technology institute at Cégep de Granby. Roxane Fortier works extensively within scientific research, biopharmaceutical, and industrial sectors. She stands out for her detailed analysis of programmatic needs and her ability to integrate multidisciplinary constraints, skills she is currently applying to the expansion of the Polytechnique laboratories. Marie-Eve Cyr expertly navigates operationally complex contexts across healthcare, education, and scientific research. Her current major deliverables include the Nouveau Complexe Hospitalier at the Hôpital Enfant-Jésus site and the Innovation Complex in Agrosciences and Agritechnologies in Lanaudière. As Managing Partner Enrik Blais explains, these leadership roles are incredibly well-earned. "We work on projects where there is no room for approximation. For a long time now, Erika, Vanessa, Roxane, and Marie-Eve have proven that they are built for that." Enrik Blais, Managing Partner, NFOE. Looking to the Future In addition to the new partners, NFOE is also securing its future by welcoming nine new shareholder collaborators. This growing team includes: Anabel Michaud Déric Gilbert-Baril Gabrielle St-Pierre Hicham Marquoum Isabelle Lisi Jade Loiselle Lyne Gadoury Sébastien Bissonnette Thomas-Antoine Boucher By expanding its leadership and continuing to champion meticulous, high-quality design, NFOE proves that even after more than a century in business, it remains firmly at the forefront of the architectural industry. About NFOE Founded in 1912, NFOE is a Quebec-based architecture firm specializing in the design of complex, technically demanding facilities. With more than 130 professionals across three offices (Montreal, Laval, and Quebec City), the firm works in demanding sectors: scientific research, pharmaceutical industry, healthcare, education, and industry. NFOE has contributed to the design of more than three million square feet of specialized buildings in Quebec, Canada, and North America. Regularly recognized at the Grands Prix du Design and LEED-certified on numerous projects, the firm combines technical rigour, sustainable design, and a deeply human approach.

When a compartmentalized single-family home in Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal needed a fresh start, local interior design firm Indee Design stepped in with a clear vision. The result is the Plateau Kyoto Residence, a striking home renovation that perfectly balances mid-century Montreal warmth with the calm beauty of Japanese minimalism. Image courtesy of: Caroline Thibault Designed for a young couple and their two children, the home is built to evolve with the family over the next twenty years. It is a space where everyday life feels fluid, light, and deeply connected to nature. Rethinking the Flow The original home had plenty of charm, but its layout no longer worked for modern family life. Indee Design’s primary challenge was to open up the cramped spaces and create an intuitive flow. Rather than tearing everything down, the firm completely reimagined how the spaces connect. By repositioning the staircase, they expanded the main living area and created a seamless bridge between the ground floor and the upper level. The home now opens entirely out into the garden, offering the family a peaceful retreat at the end of a busy day. “Clients aspired to a home where fluidity, light, and efficiency come together to enhance the existing structure—particularly through a bold staging of the courtyard and a luminous opening on the front façade. The harmony of the project stems from a fully open space where connections between each zone are achieved through subtle proximity and rigorous alignment of lines.” Florence Charron, interior designer and founder of Indee Design. The Art of "Less, But Better" Drawing inspiration from both 1970s retro aesthetics and Japanese minimalism, the home is a masterclass in combining intimacy with shared family experiences. To make the space perfectly suited to the family, all the furniture was custom-designed. Every corner serves a purpose without cluttering the visual space: The Meditative Window: In the new extension, a suspended bench floats in front of a large window, leading to a special wall alcove designed specifically to hold a bonsai tree. Hidden Technology: A beautiful maple shelving unit cleverly conceals a video projection system, keeping the living room looking clean and uncluttered. A Floating Staircase: The new painted steel staircase rests elegantly on glass blocks, hiding clever storage compartments behind integrated doors. The Upcycled Kitchen: The original walnut kitchen cabinets and stainless steel countertops were fully reworked and modernized, paired with fresh ceramic backsplashes for a sleek, contemporary look. The Gathering Hub: A custom circular maple banquette paired with a rotating table creates a cozy, highly engineered dining spot designed for family meals and sharing. A Playful and Artistic Spirit While the home is incredibly chic, it doesn't take itself too seriously. Indee Design wove a sense of playfulness and art directly into the architecture, ensuring the children feel just as at home as the adults. The children's play area is bathed in natural light and features walls covered in plywood climbing holds, a reading bench, and a pegboard wall that looks like a traditional workshop. The fun continues into the kids' bathroom, where clever placement of sconces, a round mirror, and a wall sink creates the friendly silhouette of a little monster. There is even a removable track on the staircase so the kids can race miniature cars down the steps. To tie everything together, an eclectic mix of art gives the home its unique personality. Vintage movie posters hang alongside whimsical illustrations, while a striking central piece by street artist Sticky Peaches anchors the dining area. “All furniture was entirely custom-designed to precisely meet the occupants’ needs while integrating seamlessly with the architecture. From the rear extension to the front of the house, every intervention reflects meticulous attention to use, detail, and spatial experience.” Florence Charron, interior designer and founder of Indee Design. A Space Made to Last The Plateau Kyoto Residence proves that a great renovation is about more than just knocking down walls. It is about crafting an atmosphere. By focusing on smart storage, natural light, and custom details, Indee Design has created a home that is as functional as it is beautiful. “The Plateau Kyoto Residence is a lasting living space, balancing intimacy and conviviality, designed to evolve with its occupants while offering a constant visual and emotional anchor.” Florence Charron, interior designer and founder of Indee Design. Project Details Location: Plateau Mont-Royal, Montreal, Canada Completion: 2025 Designer: Indee Design Project Lead: Florence Charron Project Team: Félicie Lallement (Junior Interior Designer), Sara Vézina Ulrich (Senior Technologist) Extension Architect: Zornitsa Dineva Extension Engineer: Julie Fournier Construction Team: Ind. Cons. Millwork: Stéphane Metayer, Meggan About Indee Design Founded in 2018 by Florence Charron, Montreal-based interior design studio Indee Design places strong emphasis on respecting clients’ needs, lifestyles, and above all, their well-being. The firm embraces a diversity of styles—from classic to contemporary—skillfully blending genres and palettes to reflect an eclectic and creative spectrum. Since its inception, the studio has completed numerous large-scale residential and commercial projects and has received several prestigious awards for its work. Press release source: v2com-newswire

How can a home truly blend in with the natural world around it? Tucked away on the edge of a beautiful wooded property in Mirabel, the Du Corail Residence answers that question perfectly. Image courtesy of: Maxime Brouillet Designed by the Montreal-based studio Entre Quatre Murs, this contemporary 7,700-square-foot family home was carefully developed over four years. Rather than dominating the landscape, the house settles into it gently. The final design is the result of studying the natural site and carefully listening to the family who would call it home. A Three-Level Journey The architects designed the interior layout to feel like a journey through different spaces, all connected by a striking, suspended staircase. Featuring a clear glass railing, this seemingly weightless staircase acts as the spine of the house, allowing natural light to flow freely from top to bottom. The home is divided into three distinct zones: The Mezzanine: Perched at the very top, this level serves as a private, quiet retreat for the owners, offering carefully framed views right into the treetops. The Main Floor: The heart of the home features a massive open-concept layout that brings the living room, kitchen, and dining area together. Huge windows line the walls, turning the abundant natural light into a defining feature of the room. The Lower Level: Thanks to the natural slope of the land, the bottom floor feels surprisingly bright and open. This space is dedicated to leisure, teenagers' bedrooms, and guest rooms, built with the exact same high-quality standards as the upper floors. Bringing the Outdoors In The materials chosen for the Du Corail Residence deeply connect the home to its rocky, forested surroundings. Natural stone flows seamlessly from the outside of the house into the interior living spaces, blurring the line between indoors and outdoors. Warm wood is used everywhere—across ceilings, floors, and custom cabinetry—creating an organic connection with the trees outside. These durable, natural materials are part of a smart, eco-friendly approach. The house also relies on clever positioning to take advantage of the sun's warmth and natural breezes to keep the home comfortable year-round. A Kitchen Built to Inspire Designed closely with the owners, the kitchen is a masterclass in modern style. It layers pale grey cabinets, natural wood, and bold black accents, all brightened by smooth, pale quartz countertops. However, the true star of the main floor is the custom glass corner wine cellar. It marks the transition between the kitchen and the dining area, keeping the open-concept feel alive while acting as a stunning visual centrepiece. Instead of hiding the bottles away in a dark room, this glass cellar displays them like a beautiful library, turning storage into a piece of sculptural art. Designed Just for Them This highly customized approach doesn't stop in the kitchen; it flows through every single room. After countless conversations with the family, the designers created custom walk-in closets, built-in furniture, and personalized bathroom vanities perfectly suited to the owners' daily routines. Even the smart backlighting is designed to change and adapt to the mood throughout the day. More Than Just a Beautiful Space The Du Corail Residence is a testament to smart design. It proves that a home can be stunningly beautiful without sacrificing everyday function. For the team at Entre Quatre Murs, an interior is never just about what looks good on the surface—it is a supportive framework built to hold, enhance, and celebrate the lives of the people living inside it. Project Details Location: Mirabel, Québec Area: 7740 sq.ft (715 m²) Year: 2024 Studio: Entre Quatre Murs Designer / Project manager: Debby Pagé & Gatline Artis Cabinetmaker: Ébénisterie LGL Suppliers: Ramacieri Soligo, Unik Parquet, Stone Tile, Calligaris, Céragrès, Ciot, Arriscraft, CB2, EQ About Entre Quatre Murs Founded in 2009, Entre Quatre Murs is a Montreal-based high-end interior design and architecture studio specializing in large-scale residential and commercial projects, in both renovation and new construction. Driven by a team of young, passionate designers, the studio is dedicated to creating living spaces that are unique, timeless, warm, and deeply personalized. Its primary goal: to enhance the comfort of its clients' lives, evoke genuine emotion, and translate their identities into spaces that truly reflect who they are. To achieve this, its approach rests on three core pillars: functionality, materiality, and light. Combining human and collaborative practice with meticulous attention to detail and a relentless pursuit of the finest available resources, the team at Entre Quatre Murs creates spaces imbued with a lasting sense of well-being and rightness. For these designers, life is a succession of experiences, a collection of moments and memories — and design shapes the setting in which most of them unfold. They believe, therefore, that working with an interior designer goes far beyond creating an aesthetically pleasing space: it is about crafting a place that mirrors the personality of its inhabitants and nurtures their fulfillment. Recognized on numerous occasions for the quality of its work, the close-knit team at Entre Quatre Murs is a mosaic of talents committed to excellence and dedicated to redefining, day after day, the spaces we inhabit. With more than sixteen years of practice, the studio continues to grow through a careful selection of projects and an established presence in international design competitions and publications. Press release source: v2com-newswire

Transforming a former industrial district into a welcoming residential neighbourhood is one of the toughest challenges in modern city planning. Too often, new developments bulldoze the past to build the future, erasing the unique character of a neighbourhood. However, a new residential project in Montreal is flipping the script. Image courtesy of: Adrien Williams Located in the Atlantic sector of the Outremont borough, right behind the new Université de Montréal campus, Vivre 2 is a masterclass in how to blend modern housing with historical charm. Honouring the "Soul of the Place" For years, this sector of Montreal was closed off, functioning solely as a hub of warehouses and industry. Recently, the creation of Thérèse-Lavoie-Roux Street opened the neighbourhood back up to the city, bringing with it a wave of new possibilities. Designed by ACDF Architecture, Vivre 2 is the natural continuation of its neighbouring sister project, Vivre 1. Instead of dropping a generic glass-and-steel box into the neighbourhood, the architects decided to draw inspiration directly from the area's industrial roots. "The reconversion of such a sector should never be a blank page, but rather a dialogue between the before and the after," explains. It’s about listening to the soul of the place—its history, its scale, its textures—and understanding what makes it unique. Only then can we add a new building that is coherent with this identity, enriching the genius loci, rather than diluting it.” Maxime Frappier, the project’s lead architect. Image courtesy of: Adrien Williams A Modern Twist on the Classic Warehouse From the outside, Vivre 2 nods respectfully to the strong, pragmatic shapes of the factories that once defined the area. But it is far from a simple, heavy block. To keep the building feeling fresh and dynamic, the architects introduced a striking diagonal "cut" that climbs up one of the main facades, starting from the ground-floor lobby and commercial spaces all the way to the top. Lined with sleek glass guardrails, this design choice breaks up the visual weight of the building. As Frappier notes, it injects an "architectural breath" into the structure. The materials also tell a story of old meeting new. The facade features two distinct shades of clay brick: The Structural Grid: One shade is used to highlight the building's framework, mimicking the old concrete frames of traditional industrial buildings. The Intervals: The second shade fills in the gaps, creating a beautiful play of contrast that is both deeply historic and resolutely modern. Rethinking the Alleyway Perhaps the most brilliant aspect of Vivre 2 is how it treats its surrounding spaces—specifically, the back alley. While the facade facing the main street is restrained, organized, and confident, the side facing the alley is designed to be energetic and inviting. In many modern buildings, common spaces (like lounges or gyms) are tucked away on the roof. The team at ACDF took the opposite approach: they placed the shared amenities right on the ground floor, opening up into the alleyway. This incredibly smart layout transforms the alley from a forgotten, neglected service road into a vibrant hub of community life. It encourages residents to interact, naturally increases safety by keeping "eyes on the street," and breathes human energy back into the urban landscape. A Blueprint for the Future Vivre 2 is a shining example of how cities can grow and densify without losing their history. By respecting the scale of the past, getting creative with traditional materials, and prioritizing community connection, ACDF Architecture has created more than just a place to live. They have created a highly sensitive, intelligent model for the future of urban living. "We wanted to inject air into the mass—an architectural breath that structures without weighing it down.” Maxime Frappier, the project’s lead architect. Image courtesy of: Adrien Williams Project Details Client / Developer: Presti Architecture: ACDF Architecture Interior Design: ACDF Architecture Civil and Structural Engineering: GENIMAC Mechanical and Electrical Engineering: Équipe SP Landscape Architecture: BC2 General Contractor: Presti Winner of Prix d'Excellence d'Architecture de l'Ordre des Architectes du Québec, 2026 About ACDF Architecture With a portfolio of ambitious and design-savvy commercial, residential, hospitality, interior, and master planning projects, ACDF is recognized as one of Canada’s most forward-thinking architecture firms. Under the direction of Maxime-Alexis Frappier, Joan Renaud, and Etienne Laplante Courchesne, the firm’s harmonious designs of large-scale projects have received numerous awards and accolades in recognition of their progressive approach to a new generation of meaningful and impactful buildings. ACDF is built upon a foundation of pragmatism and creativity, embracing the belief that every building should serve its inhabitants and passersby. Beyond the status of grand gestures and iconic appearances, the firm believes that buildings should be experiences infused with emotive and democratic architecture that touches and benefits all who come in contact with it. That process begins with practical solutions and creative designs that foster harmonious architecture, ensuring that every finished structure projects a sense of meaning and mission. Based in Montreal, Quebec, ACDF draws inspiration from a city known for its liveability and vitality, and which straddles the divide between Europe and North America, and between the historic and the modern. Energized by challenges and constraints, ACDF explores and evaluates each project’s limitations in order to inject it with fresh ideas and innovative solutions that exceed expectations and imagination. Press release source: v2com-newswire

In the heart of Quebec’s rugged Laurentians region, a new kind of home has taken flight. Located in the quiet community of La Conception, The Albatross is not just a house; it is a masterclass in modern residential design. Image courtesy of: Stéphane Groleau Created by the teams at MU Architecture in close collaboration with architect Anik Patry, this extraordinary home was built around a beautiful, simple idea: to place a modern family at the very center of a spectacular natural world. Designing a home of this calibre is no small feat. It required nearly 5,000 hours of intense design work, a deep understanding of complex engineering, and an absolute commitment to craftsmanship. The result is a residence that stands as a benchmark of excellence—a place where technical control meets artistic poetry. Taming a Wild and Beautiful Landscape The story of The Albatross begins with its remarkable location. The home sits on a secluded, steep hillside at the most pristine, untouched end of Lake Xavier. Because the property faces protected land, the breathtaking views of the water and the mountains are guaranteed to stay completely uninterrupted for generations to come. Building on such a steep and wild site presented massive challenges. A typical approach might have been to blast away the rock and drop a massive, box-like structure onto the hillside. But the architects deliberately avoided that route. They chose to honour the land rather than conquer it. Instead of one giant, heavy building, the architects designed a series of connected, smaller shapes that step gently down the hillside. By preserving the existing trees and shoreline bushes, they wrapped the home in a natural green blanket. This thoughtful approach minimizes the visual impact of the large house, allowing it to exist in a quiet, respectful conversation with the forest around it. Image courtesy of: Stéphane Groleau An Architectural Illusion: The Albatross Metaphor When you first approach the property, The Albatross plays a clever trick on the eyes. The front of the house is understated and humble, intentionally hiding its true size. It is a home that reveals itself slowly, stage by stage, creating a genuine sense of discovery for anyone who visits. As you move around the structure, the design opens up dramatically. The architecture uses a fascinating "retro-futuristic" style. This means it feels incredibly forward-looking and innovative, yet there is a comforting, timeless familiarity to it. "Inspired by the Albatross—a bird that symbolizes long journeys and absolute freedom—the home features bold sections that extend out over the hillside like wings in mid-flight." These dramatic, floating sections (known as cantilevers) elevate the living spaces, creating a cinematic view of the lake. When you step onto the raised outdoor terraces, you get the distinct, thrilling sensation of hovering balanced between the earth and the sky. The outside of the house is finished in a clean, luminous white wood cladding. This gives the home a subtle nautical feel, reminiscent of a beautiful ship. During the cold Canadian winters, this white exterior allows the building to blend seamlessly into the snow-covered landscape, making the home look as though it is floating on a sea of white. Inside the Dream: A Floor-by-Floor Tour While the outside of The Albatross is all about lightness and air, the inside is designed to be deeply welcoming, functional, and generous. The architects optimized every single square foot so that no space feels wasted, and every room feels effortless to live in. 1. The Main Level: The Social Engine The journey begins in a wide, spacious entry zone. Designed for an active Canadian lifestyle, this area connects directly to a double garage and a massive, sports-oriented mudroom. Equipped with plenty of storage, counter space, and a built-in sink, this mudroom is the perfect staging area for returning from a day of skiing or hiking. From there, the floor opens into a bright, continuous social space: The Living Room: A sun-drenched space that opens onto a terrace facing the east—ideal for watching the sunrise with a morning coffee. The Dining Area: A grand space featuring a table that comfortably seats twelve people for family feasts. The Kitchen: The true heart of the home, featuring two large, irregularly shaped islands that encourage people to gather around the cook. It is backed by a fully equipped, hidden service kitchen to keep the main area clutter-free. The Sunset Terrace: Located right off the kitchen, this outdoor space is built for evening cooking and watching the sun dip below the mountains. Bonus Spaces: A private dog room and a hidden powder room complete this level. 2. The Upper Level: The Private Sanctuary The top floor is conceived as a "suspended volume"—a private world floating above the rest of the house. Dedicated entirely to the parents, this level is a calm, quiet sanctuary designed for rest and reflection. It contains a dedicated home office, a quiet meditation room, a massive walk-in closet, and a luxury bathroom. The master bedroom itself is a peaceful haven, complete with its own private reading nook and a cozy fireplace for cold winter nights. 3. The Garden Level: Fun, Wellness, and Hospitality Stepping down to the lowest level reveals a space dedicated entirely to children, guests, and relaxation. The layout is divided beautifully to give everyone their own privacy: The Kids' Zone: Features two full bedroom suites with built-in desks, a dedicated playroom, and four built-in bunk beds designed for memorable sleepovers. The Guest Wing: Located in a separate wing of the house, offering two comfortable bedrooms, a shared bathroom, and a compact kitchenette so guests can enjoy their morning routine at their own pace. The Entertainment Hub: A central lounge featuring a state-of-the-art home theatre and a billiards room. The Spa Zone: A masterfully designed wellness cocoon wrapped in warm wood and frosted glass. It guides you through a curated health ritual: from a hot sauna to a refreshing shower, to an icy cold plunge pool. This space connects directly to an outdoor hot tub, a firepit, and a home gym that offers immediate access to the shores of Lake Xavier. The Hidden Strength: Engineering Meets Warmth What makes The Albatross truly remarkable is the contrast between its materials. On the outside, the home is white, crisp, and airy. On the inside, it is wrapped in a rich palette of warm woods. This creates an immediate feeling of comfort and security, acting as a cozy shield against the wild weather outside. The interior spaces are a beautiful symphony of shapes. Ceilings rise and dip, walls curve gently to guide your movement, and rooms slide into one another. These changing shapes create different moods throughout the day, moving from cozy and intimate to vast and breathtaking. Behind the beautiful wood panels and perfect wall alignments lies a triumph of modern engineering. The entire home is supported by a highly complex, custom-engineered steel frame. This strong skeleton was carefully coordinated to hide the home’s advanced electrical, heating, and cooling systems, ensuring that nothing interrupts the clean visual lines of the architecture. Every cabinet, bookshelf, and storage unit was custom-designed and built into the architecture, making the massive home feel incredibly tailored, elegant, and never flashy. A Timeless Legacy The Albatross is the beautiful result of an ongoing, deeply collaborative dialogue between a visionary client and a team of brilliant architects. By hiring local craftspeople and utilizing regional expertise, the construction of this house also left a positive, lasting footprint on the local community. This home was built with a legacy-driven mindset. It was not built for today's trends, but for longevity. Through its timeless design language, superior materials, and structural rigor, The Albatross stands as a piece of living architecture—a beautiful home that will stand up to time, weather the elements, and provide an ever-renewing experience for the family who calls it home. Project Details Name of the Project: The Albatross Location: La Conception, Québec Architect: MU Architecture, in collaboration with Anik Patry, architect Team: Charles Côté, Jean-Sébastien Herr, Magda Telenga, Andrée-Anne Godin, Alexandre Arcens, Lou Émier, Baptiste Balbrick, Structural Engineer: Génibois Mechanical Engineer: Antoine Assaf Geotechnical Engineer: Paskal Lamontagne Landscape Architect: Josiane Léger Landscape Contractor: Parker-Charbonneau General Contractor: Construction Metric Metal Work: Enterprise Slik, Felix Lepage Design Cabinet Making: La Fab’ric Doors and windows: Alumilex Wood cladding: Juste du Pin Cellar: The Wine Square About MU Architecture Founded in Montreal in 2010 by Charles Côté and Jean-Sébastien Herr, MU Architecture is known for its contemporary residences, creative office spaces, and forward-thinking projects. Drawing on experience from renowned firms in Montreal, Vienna, Barcelona, and Dubai, the founders have infused international standards into their practice. MU Architecture shapes unique spaces using the latest technologies, blending refined style, natural light, and innovation. The firm stands out for its human-centred approach, strong communication, and commitment to environmentally conscious design. The work of MU Architecture is driven by a talented and passionate team and has earned multiple awards and international recognition. Press release source: v2com-newswire

It has been exactly one year since GKC Architecture & Design relocated its Montreal team to a fully redesigned office on Gary-Carter Street. Now, the firm is taking a step back to look at how the new space has actually changed the way they work. Image courtesy of: Adrien Williams Built to be flexible, collaborative, and completely centred around the people who use it, the office was designed to support the company’s growth while adapting to modern work habits. Twelve months later, the real-world impact of those design choices is clear. Designing for Growth and Connection When GKC planned their new office, they were in a period of strong growth. The redesign was driven by three main goals: Attract top talent by creating a highly inspiring work environment. Encourage a return to the office by offering a space that is both functional and motivating. Reflect the firm's brand identity, which is deeply rooted in innovation and teamwork. The move was a major success for team expansion. The new layout ensured that every employee retained a dedicated workstation while making room for about fifteen new team members—a growth milestone that would have been impossible in their old space. This smart setup has successfully supported the firm's goal of having the team work on-site about 80% of the time. A Space That Breathes Located in a former industrial building that GKC actually converted for a client back in 2018, the redesign honours the building's original architecture while giving it a fresh, modern purpose. The aesthetic is confident and warm, featuring clean lines, angular forms, and a colour palette of dark blue and light grey to symbolize trust and adaptability. But beyond looking good, the space is built to feel good: The Open Area: Wrapped in glass, the main work area maximizes natural light and gives employees long, open views. The HUB: A central gathering space designed for spontaneous chats and team activities. Nature and Comfort: Two striking green walls greet visitors at the entrance, creating a calm atmosphere. In the cafeteria, a large kitchen island adds a cozy, residential feel that invites people to hang out and connect. Quiet Zones: To balance teamwork with well-being, the office features two individual quiet rooms where employees can recharge and find focus. Thanks to a mix of open collaborative zones, enclosed private offices, and smart acoustics, the office supports everything from deep focus to hybrid meetings. In fact, having so many versatile rooms has directly led to a noticeable increase in internal training sessions and knowledge-sharing among the team. The Verdict from the Team An office is only as good as how it works for the people inside it. A few months after moving in, GKC surveyed its employees, and the results were highly positive. The new office scored an impressive 8.28 out of 10 in overall satisfaction. Employees gave exceptionally high marks for accessibility, the quality of collaborative areas, and how well the space supports hybrid work. The survey also highlighted an interesting reality about workplace design: changing a space doesn't instantly change human habits. For example, using the dedicated focus rooms to escape the natural noise of an open-plan office proved to be less intuitive for the team than expected. It showed that good design is a long-term catalyst for changing behaviours, not an overnight fix. “Beyond design intent, it is everyday use that truly validates a project. These offices were conceived as a living environment, capable of evolving with our team and supporting the way we work.” Fernando Lozano, CEO, and Managing Principal at GKC. GKC Architecture & Design’s Montreal headquarters proves that a great workplace is thoughtful, adaptable, and grounded in real, everyday experience. About GKC Architecture & Design Aligning vision and a, GKC Architecture & Design has been a recognized leader in industrial, workplace, and commercial architecture for over 65 years. Renowned for its strategic vision and technical excellence, the firm creates inspiring and sustainable spaces that embody its clients' ambitions and culture. With approximately 4 million square feet designed and built each year, GKC emphasizes collaboration, vision, and a thorough understanding of its clients' business objectives to ensure the functional, aesthetic, and financial success of each project. Press release source: v2com-newswire

How a delayed renovation taught interior designer Joan MacAlpine the value of slowing down and reconsidering the pace of residential design. There are some homes that come together quickly, built on swift decisions and tight schedules. And then there are the homes that ask to be understood first. Image courtesy of: Lauren Miller For interior designer Joan MacAlpine of Joan + Company Interiors, the renovation of her own family home started as a standard project. Still, it quickly became an unexpected reflection on the residential design industry. Ultimately, a five-year pause reminded her of the deep value of allowing creativity the time and space to evolve thoughtfully. An Unexpected Halt When the property was purchased in 2020, the plan was to dive into an immediate transformation. Plans were drafted swiftly and submitted to the city just as the realities of the pandemic-era construction market began to hit. Suddenly, permit timelines stretched to nearly ten months. Material and labour costs climbed dramatically. To make matters more complicated, the home was hiding severe structural issues, including a cracked foundation and ongoing water infiltration, pushing the dream renovation further out of reach. “We had every intention of moving forward right away. But the reality was that the house, and the industry, had other plans for us.” Joan MacAlpine of Joan + Company Interiors. For nearly four years, the family lived cautiously within the partially repaired home. They patched roof leaks, managed basement flooding during heavy rains, and saved their resources. But while the physical work was paused, the design itself was quietly and constantly evolving. Escaping the Industry Rush During this waiting period, the residential design industry was operating under enormous pressure. Timelines were compressing, furniture lead times were stretching dramatically, and projects were often rushed simply to secure materials before costs rose again. Joan noticed that this accelerated pace risked turning the creative process into a purely transactional one. Decisions that traditionally required exploration and reflection were being dictated by manufacturing schedules and shipping windows. For Joan, her home's unexpected pause became a rare opportunity to step entirely outside of that frantic cycle. “Good design should never feel commoditized; it’s a thoughtful and explorative process. The strongest homes are not created through urgency. They emerge through reflection, creativity, and a deep understanding of how people truly want to live.” Joan MacAlpine of Joan + Company Interiors. A Design That Evolved Because the project was given room to breathe, the original plans drafted in 2020 shifted significantly. Instead of responding to a specific, fleeting design trend of that year, the interiors slowly evolved toward a more enduring sense of timelessness. In 2023, Joan completely redesigned the floor plan. The extra time spent living in the space revealed how the family actually moved and functioned. Key changes included: Relocating the Kitchen: Moved entirely to the opposite side of the home. Enhancing Functionality: The kitchen move created the necessary space for a highly functional mudroom and powder room, dramatically improving the home's overall flow. Focusing on Materiality: The interiors were approached with restraint, using natural textures and layered finishes to bring warmth, depth, and a calm character to the rooms. “The house I would have designed in 2020 is very different from the one we live in today. The pause allowed us to step back from immediacy and focus instead on what would feel meaningful and lasting over time.” Joan MacAlpine of Joan + Company Interiors. The "Forever" Result Nearly five years after purchasing the property, the family finally moved into what Joan now confidently calls their forever home. Designed over time rather than in haste, the residence reflects Joan + Company Interiors' broader philosophy: homes should support real life first, while maintaining a strong emotional connection to the people living within them. In hindsight, Joan says she would not change the timing at all. The renovation became a powerful exploration of designing beyond the immediate moment. It proves that when everyday rituals are allowed to guide a layout, the result is a beautifully grounded, tactile, and quietly inviting space. By slowing down long enough to create a home rooted in clarity rather than urgency, The House That Waited stands as a testament to the belief that the strongest spaces are shaped not just by aesthetics but by the way people truly live within them over time. About Joan + Company Interiors Joan + Company Interiors is a design studio based in Toronto’s west end, specializing in residential renovations and custom home builds. Founded and led by Joan MacAlpine, the studio is recognized for its thoughtful approach to design and its commitment to creating homes that balance beauty, function, and longevity. At Joan + Company Interiors, design is built on collaboration and trust. Every project reflects a clear understanding of how people live, resulting in interiors that are timeless, grounded, and unmistakably personal. Press release source: PiTCH media

Transforming a house into a forever home often requires looking past severe imperfections to see the hidden potential. In a recent full-scale renovation, an interior design team took a failing structure and completely reimagined it, blending classic Cotswold design elements with fresh, modern charm. Image courtesy of: Laura Prete By pairing contemporary architectural details with soft textures, earth tones, and clean lines, they created a sophisticated yet highly livable space for a growing family. From the Ground Up: A Structural Rescue When the interior designers first arrived on the scene, the home was in desperate need of restorative care. The original floor plan lacked natural flow, the finishes were severely dated, and the structural integrity was dangerously compromised. Strikingly, the home's original piers were being held up by old tires and car jacks, leading to dramatically sloping floors. Furthermore, the insulation in the walls and roof was nearly non-existent. To build a safe, energy-efficient, and sound environment, the team stripped the entire structure down to the studs. This blank slate allowed them to address the foundational issues while preparing the canvas for a beautiful, modern redesign. Reimagining the Footprint To maximize functionality, the original footprint was completely reconfigured into a thoughtful, zoned layout: The Central Hub: The heart of the home now features a spacious, open-concept family area that seamlessly connects the living and dining spaces. A Kitchen with a View: The kitchen was intentionally relocated into the former primary bedroom, allowing the family to enjoy unobstructed, scenic views of the backyard while cooking and gathering. The Private Wings: Branching off from the central living area are two distinct zones. One wing houses a private primary suite, complete with a dark, luxurious marble ensuite and an expansive closet. The other serves as a dedicated guest and family wing, featuring a sunlit nursery, a flexible office or bedroom space, and a whimsical guest bathroom defined by a playful green and grey checkerboard floor. The Heart of the Home The true anchor of the open-concept living space is a nod to the home's history: the original wood stove by Elmira Stove Works. Serving as the driving inspiration for the living area, this classic piece is honoured by a surrounding wall of rustic brick by Centura Tile. This creates a commanding and cozy visual focal point right from the entryway. This European-inspired narrative continues throughout the home. Looking up, new vaulted ceilings and hallways are adorned with classic crisp white shiplap and rich, stained wood beams, adding depth and a sense of architectural history to the freshly renovated spaces. A Kitchen Steeped in Tradition The custom kitchen is a direct and elegant nod to a traditional English Cotswold cottage. Colour Palette: A warm, sophisticated palette of smoky blues—courtesy of Benjamin Moore—pairs beautifully with natural walnut elements to ground the space. Textures and Finishes: To infuse a modern take on tradition, the team introduced unlacquered brass accents and hardware. Tile Details: Floor-to-ceiling glossy zellige tiles by Centura Tile reflect natural light from the large window, making the room feel bright, expansive, and timeless. Ultimately, this extensive renovation proves that with smart design and structural care, a crumbling foundation can be transformed into a masterpiece. The result is a stunning home that pays thoughtful homage to its traditional heritage while functioning beautifully for modern, everyday family life. Project Details Interior Designer: Studio Isabelle Design & Co. | Laura Prete Construction Team: Carmcon Inc. | Carmine Prete Location: Port Perry, ON Type of Project: Whole Home, Full Service Interior Design + Build Home Size: 1,100 sqft About Studio Isabelle Design & Co. At Studio Isabelle Design & Co., the philosophy is simple: they treat every renovation as if it were their own. Understanding that remodelling can be overwhelming, the team offers a seamless, integrated approach to design and construction. By managing every granular detail, they allow homeowners to skip the stress and simply enjoy the transformation. Led by Principal Designer and Founder Laura Isabelle Prete, the studio is built on a lifelong passion for homes. Growing up watching her parents flip houses, Laura developed a deep understanding of construction early on. She believes that exceptional design creates a profound emotional connection, blending effortless beauty with everyday livability. Bringing these visions to life is Carmine Prete, Head of Construction, whose meticulous attention to detail ensures flawless execution—all while Oakley, the "Chief Bark-itect," keeps morale high. Together, they provide a tailored, stress-free experience, turning complex remodels into an enjoyable journey toward laid-back luxury.

Imagine a surface that feels exactly how it looks. Tafisa, a North American leader in decorative panels, has brought this concept to life with the launch of ICONIQ, a brand-new collection of decorative melamine and high-pressure laminate surfaces. Image courtesy of: Tafisa Making its grand debut at the inaugural Montreal Design Week, ICONIQ offers a fresh, highly realistic take on natural wood that is catching the attention of cabinetmakers, designers, and architects alike. The Magic of Synchronized Embossing Tafisa manufactures its surfaces at its Lac-Mégantic plant—the largest of its kind in North America. Over the past decade, the company has mastered a specialized technology known as synchronized embossing. In simple terms, this technology ensures that the physical texture of the panel aligns perfectly with the printed wood pattern. If you see a knot or the sweep of a wood grain on the panel, you will feel that same groove when you run your hand over it. This seamless alignment creates a tactile continuity that elevates standard cabinetry, office furnishings, and kitchen designs to a new level of authenticity. “The design and texture are developed together. Each detail you see is found on the surface. This precision results in a more authentic look, closer to the feel of natural wood.” Pierre-Luc Bérubé, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Tafisa Canada. Oak: A Timeless Foundation When developing ICONIQ, Tafisa chose oak as the unifying theme. Oak is widely recognized in the interior design world for its versatility and enduring appeal, allowing it to easily transcend passing trends. The collection is designed with harmony in mind, featuring a versatile palette: Six Wood Tones: Ranging from a light, airy blond to a rich, deep brown. Two Solid Colours: A striking black and a soft, slightly greyish beige. These options were specifically crafted to complement one another, allowing designers to effortlessly mix wood tones and solid colours within a single project. A Hands-On Debut Tafisa kicked off the launch of ICONIQ digitally in March 2026, but the true highlight was presenting the collection in person at the first-ever Montreal Design Week. Partnering with the Complètement Design trade show, Tafisa used the event to connect directly with the local architecture and design community. While the collection is currently embarking on a North American tour to reach distributors and professionals before a full rollout this spring and summer, the Montreal premiere served a very specific purpose: allowing people to actually touch the product. As Mr. Bérubé notes, seeing a photo of the new oak finishes simply isn't enough to grasp the technology behind it. “Montreal Design Week is an important showcase for us. It’s a way to support the local community, highlight designers’ work and create a meeting place centred on materials and projects.” Pierre-Luc Bérubé, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Tafisa Canada. About Tafisa Founded on a commitment to innovation and craftsmanship, Tafisa is a premier North American manufacturer of high-quality particleboard and decorative surfaces. Operating out of its state-of-the-art facility in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec—the largest and most advanced plant of its kind on the continent—the company has firmly established itself as a design and environmental leader. Tafisa specializes in the production of Thermofused Laminate (TFL) panels and High-Pressure Laminates (HPL). By utilizing 100% recycled and recovered wood fibres, the company delivers sustainable, fashion-forward interior solutions without compromising on durability or style. As a trusted partner to cabinetmakers, furniture manufacturers, and architectural designers, Tafisa’s expertly curated collections are widely used to elevate residential kitchens, corporate offices, commercial build-outs, and custom millwork across North America. With the recent relocation of its commercial headquarters to the heart of Montreal, Tafisa continues to deepen its ties with the creative community, consistently driving new trends and shaping the future of interior design. Press release source: v2com-newswire

Great architecture does more than provide shelter—it tells a story. For VMA, a dynamic architecture firm headquartered in Philadelphia with offices in New York City and Washington, D.C., that story is all about connecting the past with the future. Image courtesy of: Jeffrey Totaro Guided by enduring principles of tradition, beauty, craft, and sustainability, VMA creates spaces that thoughtfully respond to the people who use them. Their exceptional commitment to the craft was recently celebrated at the 45th Annual Arthur Ross Awards, held on May 11, 2026, at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. Designing for the Future While Honouring the Past VMA specializes in cultural, academic, and civic spaces. They are experts at a very delicate balancing act: renewing historic buildings and designing new architecture that fits seamlessly into their historic surroundings. Their recent academic projects showcase this talent beautifully: Lincoln University: The firm breathed new life into Vail Hall and successfully transformed Cresson Hall into a vibrant living-learning community for students. Millbrook School: VMA designed the new Anthony House, creating a welcoming, purpose-built center dedicated to alumni relations and school development. Setting the Stage: Reviving Art Deco Masterpieces Some of VMA’s most exciting current work involves rescuing historic entertainment venues. The firm was selected to lead the transformation of two stunning Art Deco theatres, upgrading them into modern cultural hubs while preserving their classic charm. The Metro Theatre (New York City): Located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, this historic gem is being converted into a five-screen cinema. It will serve as a lively community gathering space for art-house films and classic movie screenings. The Sedgwick Theatre (Philadelphia): Built in 1928 in the Mt. Airy neighbourhood, the theatre is being carefully renovated and expanded. It will soon boast a 250-seat capacity, serving as the permanent home for the Quintessence Theatre Group. The Perfect Balance What makes VMA’s approach so special is their deep respect for a building's original character. When they tackle a restoration project, they don't erase the past to make way for the future. Instead, they find creative solutions that solve modern operational challenges while keeping the unique architectural identity of the building intact. Whether they are upgrading a historic college hall or rescuing a 1920s cinema, VMA proves that with the right care, our historic architecture can continue to serve and inspire our communities for generations to come. Image courtesy of: Jeffrey Totaro About Voith & Mactavish Architects LLP Voith & Mactavish Architects LLP (VMA) is an architecture, preservation, planning, and interior design firm based in Philadelphia, with expanded presence in New York City and Washington, D.C. The firm was founded in 1988 with a commitment to the highest quality design and service. VMA believes that great architecture stems from innovation within the context of tradition. The global practice draws inspiration from traditional building principles to create architecture that responds to place and people. They strive for a depth of understanding of socio-cultural and physical contexts to reflect the client’s aspirations in a wide range of realms, including art, academics, athletics, community, living, and wellness. Guided by their core principles of tradition, context, innovation, beauty, craft, and sustainability, VMA buildings consider the long-term impact on the environment and future generations. The firm's integrated services are managed by five partners who direct a talented team of forty. Each project is partner-led and adheres to the collaborative nature of VMA's practice, rooted in the exchange of ideas and longstanding client relationships. Voith & Mactavish Architects LLP is certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Press release source: v2com-newswire

The global economy is built on a foundation of confidence, but in China, that very foundation is visibly cracking and crumbling. The numbers involved are almost too large to comprehend for the average person. Since the crisis began to take hold in 2021, Chinese real estate developers have failed to repay more than $100 billion in debt. This is not just a minor dip in the housing market or a temporary slowdown; it is a full-scale, catastrophic collapse of what was once considered the world's largest and safest asset class. To understand how a country with such massive, unstoppable economic power got to this devastating point, we have to look deeply into the causes, the reckless culture of borrowing, and the key players involved. The Chinese Engine: How the Miracle Became a Mirage For decades, the Chinese economy was viewed as a miracle of modern financial growth, and real estate was the roaring engine powering that miracle. As millions of people moved from the countryside to the expanding cities, the demand for housing exploded to levels never seen before in human history. To keep up with this demand, a unique and ultimately dangerous system was developed: the "pre-sale" model. In very simple terms, everyday people would hand over their entire life savings to buy an apartment that was nothing more than a drawing on a piece of paper. The builder would take that cash, but instead of using it purely to build that specific apartment, they would use it to buy more land to sell even more unbuilt apartments to new buyers. It functioned very much like a giant, spinning pyramid of debt. The biggest players in this dangerous game were massive, sprawling companies like Evergrande Group and Country Garden. Evergrande grew from a small local builder into an absolute empire that owned more than 1,300 projects across 280 different cities. At its peak, it was the most valuable real estate brand in the entire world. But this glittering empire was built almost entirely on borrowed money. The Trigger: The "Three Red Lines" and the Sudden Halt The immediate trigger for the collapse occurred when the Chinese government finally realized that this massive mountain of corporate debt was a ticking time bomb that threatened the entire nation. In late 2020, regulators introduced a strict new set of financial rules called the "Three Red Lines." These rules were designed to aggressively stop property developers from borrowing too much money. However, the policy worked far too well and acted as a sudden shock to the system. Because giant companies like Evergrande relied completely on taking out brand-new loans just to finish their old projects, the sudden cut-off of cash stopped everything overnight. The builders could not pay their construction workers. The suppliers of steel and cement were not paid. The cranes stopped moving, and the building ground to a complete halt. The Aftermath: Ghost Cities and Lost Savings The human cost of this collapse has been absolutely devastating. Across China, there are countless "ghost cities"—massive, sprawling neighborhoods of half-finished, grey concrete towers where nobody lives. Millions of regular, hardworking citizens are now stuck paying monthly mortgages for apartments that will never be finished. The $100 billion collapse has totally wiped out consumer confidence. Because so much of the total wealth of the Chinese middle class was tied up in property, the entire country's economy is now slowing down. People are refusing to spend money, leaving the government frantically scrambling to find a way to fix a deeply broken financial system. The dream of homeownership has, for many, turned into a permanent financial nightmare. Canada’s Crisis: A Different Landscape, a Similar Pain Halfway across the world, Canada is facing its own real estate nightmare that is beginning to look eerily similar. While the Canadian landscape is not covered in unfinished ghost cities, it is currently suffering from a massive collapse in housing prices and sales volume. Major financial institutions, such as the Bank of Montreal (BMO), have warned that Canada is currently in the middle of its biggest and most severe real estate crash since the devastating recession of the 1990s. To properly understand the dire situation in Canada right now, it is important to look back at the wild behavior of the past five or six years. From 2020 to early 2022, during the height of the global pandemic, Canadian real estate experienced an historic, almost unnatural boom. Because interest rates were cut to incredibly low levels to save the economy, borrowing money was practically free. People flooded the housing market in a panic, and the average price of a home surged by an incredible 56.7% in just two short years. A powerful psychological frenzy took over the country. Buyers believed that housing prices would only ever go up, completely ignoring economic reality. People were buying houses, slapping on a cheap coat of paint, and selling them a few months later for hundreds of thousands of dollars in pure profit. The Interest Rate Shock and the Market Freeze A market built entirely on cheap money and extreme greed cannot last forever. When severe global inflation hit, making the cost of groceries and gas skyrocket, the Bank of Canada was forced to raise interest rates aggressively. Suddenly, borrowing money to buy a million-dollar home became very expensive. The debt bubble finally burst. Today, the situation in Canada is incredibly bleak. Since the peak in early 2022, nominal home prices have plunged by over 20%. But that number hides a much darker economic reality. When you account for the damage inflicted by inflation, the true value of homes has dropped by nearly 30%. Financial experts warn that Canadian homeowners have now seen almost an entire decade of zero real price growth. The housing market has completely frozen. Demand from buyers is incredibly weak because even though house prices have come down slightly, the high interest rates mean that monthly mortgage payments are still totally unaffordable for the average family. Meanwhile, the supply of unsold homes is piling up rapidly. Builders are facing incredibly high construction costs and cannot find enough buyers willing to overpay, so they are suddenly delaying or canceling thousands of new housing projects. The Common Thread: Speculation and Debt It might seem strange to compare China’s massive ghost cities with Canada’s quiet suburban streets, but the underlying illness is the same. If Canada does not rapidly change its course, it will face the same long, hard, crushing economic crisis that China is enduring right now. The first major parallel is the extreme over-reliance on real estate. In a healthy economy, money flows into creating new businesses, developing new technology, and manufacturing goods. But in both China and Canada, an unhealthy amount of the nation's wealth was poured exclusively into buying and selling properties. Real estate became the single biggest driver of the entire economy. The second shared cause is rampant, unchecked speculation. In China, citizens bought multiple empty, concrete apartments because they had no other place to invest their savings. In Canada, regular people bought second, third, or fourth properties, treating them like stock market assets. Real estate developers directly catered to these investors by building thousands of tiny "micro-condos" that were great for renting out, but terrible for actual families to live in. Both countries forgot the most important rule: a house is supposed to be a home for shelter, not a gambling chip. The Looming "Mortgage Renewal Wall" The most terrifying process that threatens to drag Canada into a China-style long depression is the impending debt trap. Canadians currently hold some of the highest levels of personal household debt in the entire world. Right now, a massive financial shock is looming on the horizon. In Canada, mortgages usually renew every five years. This means that a massive wave of homeowners who bought their houses during the cheap-money boom of 2020 and 2021 will be forced to renew their mortgage contracts in 2026 and 2027. When they do, their monthly payments will skyrocket because interest rates are so much higher now. This looming "mortgage renewal wall" will undoubtedly force thousands of families and investors to sell their properties because they simply cannot afford the new payments. This forced selling will flood the housing market with even more inventory, driving property prices down even faster. If nothing is done to structurally fix the market, Canada faces what economists call a "lost decade"—a long, painful period where the economy stagnates in misery. Potential Solutions: Fixing a Broken System Avoiding the long and hard crisis that China is currently trapped in will require bold, difficult, and immediate solutions. Zoning Reform: Cities must change strict, outdated laws to allow for the rapid construction of "missing middle" housing—townhouses, duplexes, and low-rise family apartments. We must stop building tiny investor-focused condos and start building homes for actual families. Ending Speculation: The government needs to introduce heavier taxes on individuals and corporations who own multiple residential properties. Real estate must be made into a bad investment for people looking to make a quick profit. Government-Built Housing: The government must step back into the business of building non-market, social, and cooperative housing. These are homes built to provide stability, not to generate profit for developers. Market Acceptance: The real estate bubble must be allowed to completely deflate. While primary homeowners struggling to survive should be supported, those who gambled on real estate as a pure investment must be allowed to fail. The prices of homes simply need to fall to a level that matches what local people actually earn. The $100 billion real estate collapse in China is not just a distant news story; it is a giant warning sign flashing for the rest of the world. It shows us exactly what happens when a society builds its perceived wealth on a shaky foundation of runaway debt and empty towers. Canada is now standing at the very edge of that same cliff. With the biggest market crash since the 1990s already fully underway, the days of easy money and guaranteed housing wealth are officially over. The choices made by leaders and citizens today will ultimately determine whether Canada falls into a long economic winter or whether it can successfully rebuild a housing market that actually serves its people.

For over half a century, the American suburban home has been a powerful cultural sigil—a promise of stability, privacy, and prosperity. However, the sprawling archetypes of the past now face a reckoning. In an era defined by climate urgency, economic volatility, and evolving social structures, the "White Picket Fence" is being reimagined. PRIZE FUND: 20,000 € 1ST PLACE: 10,000 € 2ND PLACE: 5,000 € 3RD PLACE: 3,000 € Student Award: 10,000 € Sustainability Award: 1,000 € DATE: Closing date for registration: 20 May 2026 Competition Q&A deadline: 26 May 2026 Closing date submission: 30 June 2026 - 23:59 (London Time) Announcement of the winners: 22 September 2026 PARTICIPANT: Everyone (No professional qualifications required) COST: 140 € (Students: 120€) The Next House: USA is Buildner’s global invitation to deconstruct the suburban prototype. We are looking for the "Next Dream": a home that is compact yet generous, technologically smart yet soulful, and—above all—attainable. The Challenge: A Prototype for a New Century We task you with designing a detached residence for a contemporary household (two adults and one child). This isn't a one-off luxury villa; it is a replicable blueprint for the future of American housing. The Parameters: Scale: A maximum of 1,500 sq ft (≈140 m²). Focus: Prioritize adaptability over square footage. How can a home grow with a family? How can it shrink to save energy? Context: While the site is open, the design must be a "functional machine" capable of adapting to the diverse climates and zoning realities across the United States. Beyond the Foundation: Three Core Pillars To win, a proposal must move beyond aesthetics and solve for the three pressures facing modern American life: Climate Resilience: How does the home breathe? How does it harvest energy? We are looking for "passive-first" strategies that reduce the environmental strain of the traditional suburb. Economic Logic: The Next House must be buildable. High-concept design must meet cost-conscious reality to address the national affordability crisis. Social Connectivity: Suburbia is often criticized for isolation. Your design should explore how a private home can still nurture a sense of "front-porch" community and neighbourhood belonging. Buildner will award a total of $20,000 USD to the visionaries who successfully set a new benchmark for 21st-century living. This competition is open to everyone. Whether you are an established firm or a student with a radical idea, your voice is needed. No professional license is required to enter. The American Dream isn't disappearing—it's evolving. Will you be the one to draw its new horizon? Your next big idea starts here. Visit Buildner. [ENTER NOW]

What happens when a surface stops being just a "surface" and starts becoming the soul of a three-dimensional object? Cosentino, the global powerhouse in architectural surfaces, and DesignTO are putting that question to Canada’s brightest creative minds. The duo has officially announced a nationwide call for submissions for the 2026 Éclos Capsule Collection Competition. This isn't just a design contest; it’s a high-stakes invitation for Canadian designers—whether residing at home or abroad—to pioneer a new era of material application. PRIZE FUND: An artist fee of $1,000 CAD will be paid to applicants selected by the jury to participate in the Capsule Collection. Additional Benefits Exhibition Opportunities: Inclusion in two or more curated showcases, including one major Canadian city and one major U.S. city Press Campaign: Inclusion in Collection press release and ongoing press outreach Professional Documentation: Access to professional photography of the Collection DATE: Closing date for project submission: 22 May 2026 - 11:50 P.M. (ET) Announcement of the winner: Late-June 2026 PARTICIPANT: Everyone (No professional qualifications required) COST: FREE! The Catalyst: Éclos® and Inlayr® Technology At the heart of this competition is Éclos®, Cosentino’s next-generation mineral surface. This isn't your standard slab. Developed through a staggering 28,000 hours of research and 1,500 hours of testing, Éclos® is the result of a serious commitment to innovation. Key features that designers have to play with include: Inlayr® Technology: A proprietary process that creates integrated, three-dimensional patterning throughout the material. Sustainability-First: The composition includes zero crystalline silica and a high percentage of recycled materials. High Performance: It offers the durability required for complex fabrication without sacrificing the aesthetic depth of natural stone. The goal? To move beyond traditional flat-surface applications and explore how this "full-body" design can be sculpted into furniture, objects, or art. From Concept to the Global Stage For the selected winners, the prize is more than just a title. The competition offers a rare, end-to-end pipeline for bringing a vision to life: Fabrication: Selected designs will be fabricated in Toronto, giving designers access to top-tier manufacturing expertise. Documentation: Works will be professionally photographed and documented to build a world-class portfolio. Exhibition: The final collection will tour through Canada and the United States, providing winners with massive international exposure. A Jury of Global Calibre To match the ambition of the material, the submissions will be scrutinized by a heavy-hitting panel of experts representing the intersection of art, media, and architecture: Brigitte Shim, Architect, Shim-Sutcliffe Architects Eduardo Cosentino, EVP Cosentino Group & CEO of Cosentino Americas Elizabeth Pagliacolo, Editor in Chief, Azure Magazine and Executive Editor, Design Milk HaeAhn Kwon, Artist and Assistant Professor, Fine Arts, NSCAD University Luca Nichetto, Industrial Designer and Creative Director Nicholas Sangaré, Industrial Designer How to Get Involved This competition represents a unique bridge between industrial innovation and artistic expression. Whether you are an established name or an emerging talent, if you are a Canadian designer with a vision for the future of three-dimensional form, the floor (and the surface) is yours. All submissions must include the following: A description of the object (max. 300 words) — please be sure to include a concept statement and proposed dimensions a short bio on you and/or your creative practice (max. 150 words); 2-5 images of the object, such as a digital rendering, drawing, or sketch (max. 2MB per image); Your: contact info (name, email, phone number, mailing address), and website URL and social media handles (if available). Additional information: Applicants can submit more than one entry using one form per submission. Are you ready to shape the future of mineral surfaces? "The Éclos Capsule Collection challenges designers to move beyond traditional surface applications and engage the material in three dimensions." Your next big idea starts here. [APPLY NOW] About Cosentino Group Cosentino Group is a global family-owned company that produces and distributes high-value innovative surfaces for architecture and design. As a leading company, Cosentino imagines and anticipates, together with its customers and partners, design solutions that offer value and inspiration to people’s lives. This goal is made possible by pioneering brands that lead their respective segments, such as Silestone®, Dekton®, and Sensa by Cosentino®. The group bases its development on international expansion, an innovative research and development program, respect for the environment and sustainability, and its ongoing corporate commitment to society and the local communities where it operates, education, equality and health & safety. Cosentino Group currently distributes its products and brands in more than 110 countries, from its headquarters in Almeria (Spain), and is present with its own assets in 30 of them. The group has eight factories (seven in Almería, Spain and one in Brazil), one intelligent logistics platform in Spain, and 140 commercial and business units throughout the world. Cosentino has seven centres and three showrooms in the Canadian market, created for exclusive display, distribution, education and service in Montreal, Stanstead, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver. More than 90% of Cosentino Group’s financial turnover comes from international markets.

Rome is a city of stone, sun, and ancient echoes—but it is also a city of water. From the grand aqueducts to the humble nasoni fountains, water has always been Rome’s civic pulse. Rome Rain Rooms invites you to continue this legacy by imagining small, reversible pavilions that transform a storm from an urban inconvenience into a profound civic celebration. PRIZE FUND: 10,000 € 1ST PLACE: 5,000 € 2ND PLACE: 2,500 € 3RD PLACE: 1,000 € Student Award: 1,000 € Sustainability Award: 500 € DATE: Closing date for registration: 28 May 2026 Competition Q&A deadline: 2 June 2026 Closing date for project submission: 29 June 2026 - 23:59 (London Time) Announcement of the winners: 15 September 2026 PARTICIPANT: Everyone (No professional qualifications required) COST: Advanced (15 Jan - 12 Mar): 105 € (Students: 85€) Last Minute (13 Mar - 28 May): 135 € (Students: 105€) The Vision: Architecture as a Rainmaker The goal is to design a "Rain Room"—a temporary, modular, or reversible structure that acts as a sensory bridge between the city and the sky. This is not just about shelter; it is about choreographing the storm. Participants must address two core dimensions: Environmental Performance: Each pavilion must be a functional machine, capable of capturing and storing at least 5 m³ of rainwater per storm. This water is then gifted back to the city to nourish neighbourhood trees, community gardens, or non-potable fountains. Sensory Delight: How does the rain sound hitting your structure? How does the light reflect off a stored pool? Designers are challenged to celebrate the mist, the movement, and the tactile presence of water, turning a rainy day into a social event. The Site: Your Roman Canvas There is no fixed location. Instead, the entire city of Rome is your laboratory. You may choose a site that enhances your narrative: A sun-drenched piazza in need of cooling and communal life. The edge of a bustling market where water can be repurposed for cleaning or irrigation. A quiet inner courtyard within the historic center, creating a hidden sanctuary of sound and reflection. The intervention must be reversible, respecting Rome’s delicate historical layers while providing a modern solution to climate resilience. A total of 10,000 € will be awarded to proposals that masterfully blend narrative clarity with technical water performance. This competition is open to everyone—architects, landscape designers, urbanists, and students. No professional license is required to enter. Your next big idea starts here. Visit Buildner. [ENTER NOW]

Architecture is often viewed through the lens of utility, yet its most profound power lies in its ability to hijack the human psyche. We don’t just inhabit buildings; we feel them. The Museum of Emotions / Edition #8 challenges designers to strip away the crutch of language and prove that a structure can speak directly to the soul. PRIZE FUND: 10,000 € 1ST PLACE: 5,000 € 2ND PLACE: 3,000 € 3RD PLACE: 1,000 € Student Award: 1,000 € DATE: Closing date for registration: 18 June 2026 Competition Q&A deadline: 22 June 2026 Closing date for project submission: 20 July 2026 - 23:59 (London Time) Announcement of the winners: 29 September 2026 PARTICIPANT: Everyone (No professional qualifications required) COST: Advanced (26 Feb - 23 Apr): 105 € (Students: 85 €) Last Minute (24 Apr - 18 Jun): 135 € (Students: 105 €) The Challenge: A Binary of the Human Experience Participants are tasked with a dualistic architectural experiment: the creation of two contrasting exhibition halls within a single museum. One must serve as a vessel for positive resonance, while the other must plunge the visitor into a negative emotional state. As the eighth installment in Buildners’ renowned series of "silent" competitions, this edition carries a strict constraint: no text allowed. There are no labels to explain the intent and no manifestos to describe the mood. The design concept must be communicated entirely through visual storytelling—the architecture itself must be the narrator. The Designer’s Toolkit: Beyond Bricks and Mortar In this competition, your materials are not just concrete and glass, but the intangible elements of human perception. How do you incite fear without a sign that says "Beware"? How do you evoke joy without a smile? The Power of Scale: The transition from a crushing, low-ceilinged corridor to a soaring, light-filled atrium. The Journey: The sequence of movement—spirals that disorient or linear paths that provide clarity. Lighting and Shadow: The cold, harsh glare of industrial lighting versus the soft, ethereal glow of dappled sunlight. Tactility: The visceral reaction to cold, raw stone compared to the warmth of polished wood. The purpose of the Museum of Emotions is to use architecture as the primary tool to create emotional states. Participants are free to choose the specific emotions they incite—from the sharp sting of anxiety to the weightless lift of pure happiness. By removing text, the competition forces a return to the fundamentals of design. It asks: Can a floor plan breathe? Can a section weep? This is an invitation to explore the limits of design in shaping the human experience, proving that a building is far more than shelter—it is a mirror of our internal world. Your next big idea starts here. Visit Buildner. [ENTER NOW]