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Last week we brought you the first and second installments of our extensive tour of Triangle West Developments’ Art Condos where we examined the project’s view, finishes and retail and much, much more. Joined once again by Triangle West President, Gary Silverberg and architect David W. Oleson of Oleson Worland Architects, we continue along the building's winding, naturally-lit hallways. Passing a north-facing corridor window, Mr. Silverberg points out the courtyard for the “SkyTowns”, townhouse-inspired suites located 2 storeys above the ground, and with a view over the neighbourhood's rooftops.
These homes can be accessed from the separate front door we ended part two with. The courtyard’s heated floor provides a snow-free environment, unlike the surrounding yards and rooftops! One notable feature present in the courtyard is the use of weathered-Corten steel planters. These large boxes will be planted with either tall grass or corn to create some privacy for residents, as well as introducing nature into this elevated landscape.
The steel posts in the image below are being fitted with eyelet screw to string metal cables which will allow vines something to cling on to, and provide further intimacy for Sky Town owners. “What we are imagining is that this will all become overgrown” said the building's architect, David W. Oleson, describing the space’s potential of becoming “a landscaped mews”.
Stepping into one of these Sky Towns reinforces the intensions declared above. The large 2-storey model suite, staged by Design Republic, features unique pop-art inspired décor and a playful touch—evidence of life including shoes, hats and everyday items. The unit also features an imported Italian glass staircase railing , French balconies, as well as the now familiar projector setup (which we referred to in Part One) in the living room.
Moving along, we find ourselves at the building’s amenity space located on the fith floor. The indoor common area features a lounge area for residents to relax with friends. The space is also equipped with a wall-mounted dock for iPods, giving residents the option of bringing their own personal music libraries to the amenity space. Volume and track selection can be controlled manually with a panel of buttons, or remotely via Apple wireless devices through the built-in “Airplay” feature. The lounge TV, as well as others in a boardroom and a screening room, can also be controlled via an app from an iPad or iPhone.
Exiting through the lounge doors, we reach the amenity deck, featuring an outdoor kitchen, fire pit and soon-to-be-completed hot tub. The patio’s intimate booths will be surrounded by tall grasses, providing additional privacy for residents looking to share this common area. These spaces can be reserved by residents for private functions and meetings as well as for personal get-togethers. “You want to interact socially and you also want some intimacy” said Mr. Silverberg, “so we tried to design this space to give a number of groups intimacy at the same time.”
Next on our tour, we come to a large, bright, unfurnished unit featuring windows on both ends of the suite. Unlike many Toronto condominiums, units at Art Condos come with standard sliding wall dividers and track and pot lighting. Polished concrete ceilings add an element of industrial influence while maximizing ceiling height by eliminating the need for further finishing. “There is an editing aspect to design” said Mr. Oleson, describing the choice of polished concrete, “Instead of adding on until everything is uniform, sometimes it is a good idea not to do something”.
Everywhere we turned here there were thoughtful touches. Not necessarily huge surprises, but time and time again the details here exceeded our expectations. At the time of our visit there were just five units out of the 149 total left to sell. Joining the club here is pretty tempting!
Special thanks to David W. Oleson and Gary Silverberg for taking the time to show us around the project. We'll look forward to future projects from this creative team!
For additional renderings and information pertaining to Art Condos, please visit the associated dataBase page, linked below.
| Related Companies: | Hariri Pontarini Architects, L.A. Inc. |
