0000

Updates

12.01.27
5468796 is featured as the Portfolio of the Week on The Atlantic Cities.

11.12.15
Bond Tower is chosen for a 2011 Canadian Architect Award of Merit.

11.12.02
5468796 chosen as one of 10 international firms for the annual Architectural Record Design Vanguard.

11.12.02
Added projects: 0212 Bond Tower | 0000 Stack | 0197 MB Start
Updated projects: 0022 BGBX | 0054 Boatport | 0133 Bloc_10 | 0078 youCube | 0169 Avenue + Hample

11.11.14
OMS Stage wins Project of the Year for Canadian Interiors Best of Canada Awards 2011

11.11.07
5468796 welcomes Eva, our new office manager!

11.09.15
5468796 wins the 2011 Arthur Erickson Memorial Award from Western Living Magazine

11.08.17
Centre Village and OMS Stage shortlisted for the 2011 World Architecture Festival.

01.08.11
Migrating Landscapes national design competition for the 2012 Venice Biennale registration is now open. Go to www.migratinglandscapes.ca for more information.  
Registration period : August 1st to September 15 

14.07.11
OMS Stage shortlisted for the 2011 WAN Interiors & Lighting Design Awards.

12.07.11
5468796 shortlisted for the Arthur Erickson Memorial Award as part of Western Living's 2011 Designers of the Year Awards.

11.07.11
5468796 welcomes Jordy to the team!

01.07.11
The Venice Biennale Migrating Landscapes national design competition is announced! See the Migrating Landscapes website for more details.

18.06.11
OMS Stage selected for People Choice in the 2011 AZ Awards | Jury Award Category! Big thanks to everyone that voted.

10.06.11
5468796 selected for the 2011 Winnipeg Arts Council "Marking a Mark" Award.

17.05.11
Of 114 entries, 5468796 is selected as one of 16 'highly commended' firms in the WAN 21 for 21 Awards.

09.05.11

5468796 along with Jae Sung Chon are selected to represent Canada at the 2012 Venice Biennale for Architecture. Visit the "Migrating Landscapes" website for details.

07.05.11
Added Avenue+Hample project.
Updated photos for WRHA, Bloc10, BGBX, and Welcome Place.

20.04.11
5468796 welcomes Jayne to the team!

19.04.11
OMS Stage wins a 2011 Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Award of Excellence [for Art].

15.04.11
Our entry to the City of Edmonton Park Pavillion design competition titled "OVER / UNDER" for MillWoods Park receives a 'citation'. The design titled "Char" for Victoria Park is shortlisted.

Over / Under [PDF] | Char [PDF] | Dugout [PDF]

08.04.11
5468796 is a finalist in the Jury-created "Special Category" of the Azure Magazine AZ Awards for OMS Stage.

20.03.11
5468796 is a selected practice to be featured in the Twenty and Change 03 publication and exhibitions.

04.03.11
5468796 is the recipient of the 2011 Spirit of Winnipeg Award in the 'small business' category.

Updated the following projects:
0134 OMS
0011 Centre Village
0027 Welcome Place

02.02.11
5468796 is commended for a 2011 AR Future Projects Award for youCUBE

14.12.10
5468796 wins a 2010 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence for Bloc10

14.12.10
5468796 wins a 2010 AR Award for Emerging Architecture for OMS Stage! The only North American project to do so this year. The whole office travelled to London, England to accept.

01.11.10
5468796 wins a 2010 Prairie Wood Design Award for both Webster Cottage and Holy Names House of Peace Dining Room!

22.09.10
5468796 welcomes Zach to the team!

Added the following projects:
0138 AnX

Updated the following projects:
0134 OMS
0133 Bloc10
0011 Centre Village
0057 Webster Cottage
0078 YouCube
0054 Guertin Boatport
0025 Venio Store

Exhibit, "Bridal Path" at Harbourfront Centre Toronto has come and gone.

01.08.10
Added the following projects:
0122 wrha on hargrave
0112 e_regulr house
0155 sunspot

08.07.10
Added the following project:
0134 OMS Stage ['The Cube']

Graphic updates for the following projects:
0011 Centre Village Housing Co-op

05.07.10
5468796 welcomes Maria to the team!

26.06.10
YouCube and Centre Village open show suites as part of the annual Downtown Living Tour.

25.06.10
YouCube ribbon cutting. Mark Penner[GSD] and Denver Kroeker[Artisan Homes] help 5468796 operate the big scissors.

23.06.10
5468796 [w/ Cohlmeyer Architect] wins a 2010 Prairie Design Award of Merit for Bohemier Residence.

18.06.10
'The Bridal Path' opens as part of Redux Park @ The Harbourfront Centre with Brook McIlroy and vlan paysages [w/ Atelier in situ].

17.06.10
OMS Stage ['The Cube'] opens! First public concerts are performed on the stage, followed by the MEME Festival and the Winnipeg Jazz Festival.

20.05.10
Johanna Hurme wins the 2010 Manitoba Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Emerging Business! We are all proud of you.

07.05.10
5468796 is 3! and we've moved to a new office at 266 McDermot.

22.01.10
BGBX is awarded a 2010 P/A Award.

16.12.09
YouCube is awarded a 2009 Canadian Architect Award of Merit.

13.12.09
Added the following projects:
0133 BLOC_10
0021 New Directions
0011 Centre Village Housing Co-op
0027 Welcome Place

10.10.09
Graphic updates for the following projects:
0078 YouCube
0057 Webster Cottage
0022 BGBX
0007 Bohemier Residence

20.09.09
0000 General | Congrats to Team 5468796 for winning the annual MAA Ken Pratt Memorial Golf Tournament!

0000 General | 5468796 part of the Twenty + Change Book 2

0078 Youcube | part of exhibit "Sounds like 1974" at UofM Arch II Gallery

0000 General | Congratulations to Colin, Architect!

27.05.09
0078 Youcube | phase 1 foundation permit granted! [confetti falls from sky]

15.05.09
0054 Guertin Boatport | "we should construct all of our buildings with helicopters" update

14.05.09
0126 Square Meal | project added

11.05.09
0000 General | 5468796 is 2.

01.02.09
0000 General | YouCube and BGBX accepted to twenty+change exhibit.
   
0072 Mitchell Copp | project added
0072 Mitchell Copp | featured in Winnipeg Free Press.
0057 Webster Cottage | project added

27.01.09
0078 Youcube | discussed in the Jury comments of Canadian Architects' Awards of Excellence 2008 issue.

05.01.09
0000 General | Office_v3. We've expanded.

01.01.09
0000 General | Happy New Year!

27.11.08
0000 Updates | created update column
0078 Youcube | updated graphic content
 

<<<

0212

Bond Tower

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  Green Seed Development
  design development
  TBD
  TBD
  commercial + office
  40000 sqft
  

Envisioned as a distinct landmark by day, glowing billboard by night, Bond Tower is an eleven-storey office building that stands in clear contrast to the downtown Winnipeg skyline. Rising as a thin, black bar from its extremely narrow lot, the tower offers 4,200 sqft floors of corporate condominiums and views of the downtown, resting on a commercial base. While the main level sits within the city’s setback regulations, the upper stories cantilever fifteen feet over the sidewalk on each short end, engaging the streetscape below, extending the usable floor space and capturing daylight through full-height glazing.

Due to the narrow, 33’ lot width, it becomes necessary to build flush with the side yards in order to maximize square footage requirements. As a result, no windows are permitted directly on the east or west façades.  The introduction of horizontal ‘courtyards’ cutting through the structure allows the space to be broken up into smaller compartments, increasing access to light, views and fresh air. Generic plans are made unique by the size, orientation, location and spatial quality of these apertures, which are angled upward and downward to incorporate a long flight of stairs / bleachers. These holes cross through two floor levels, enabling the plates to be continuous on each floor. Where the office interiors are retained as private, corporate environments, the apertures become places for potential collaboration and interaction with neighbours, opening up a wealth of social possibilities.

0000

stack

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  Winnipeg Arts Council
  competition
  2011
  $250 000
  Performance Pavilion
  710 sqft
  

Stack is a small performance pavilion for the neighbourhood of Transcona in the heart of their historic downtown. A simple and neatly arranged collection of wooden blocks will not only cradle performers, but will provide the opportunity for each resident in the community to leave their mark and assist in contributing to the next 100 years of Transcona history.

The pavilion is to be constructed out of 40,000 wood blocks, one for every citizen in Transcona. The aggregation of all of the members, (both citizens and wood blocks) coming together is the opportunity for great things to be achieved. The wooden pieces gain further significance when personalized by any and all citizens of the Transcona community. Our intent is to hold an event in Transcona where residents could attend and personalize a single wood block which would then be inserted into the performance pavilion’s construction. This would allow each community member the opportunity to physically assist in building a new downtown landmark. Analogous to establishment of the community time capsule that will be embedded in the park, the performance pavilion’s assembly produces a record of everyone who participated in the centennial activities. The construction method would allow the community to continue to add or update blank wood blocks with personalized components for new residents who move to or are born into the community.

0169

Avenue + Hample

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  Mark + Rick Hofer
  construction
  Fall 2011
  $10.8M
  Multi-family residential + commercial
  73000sqft + 20000sqft
  

The Avenue and Hample Buildings are located one block away from Winnipeg’s most famous corner, Portage and Main. Constructed in 1904 and 1905 respectively, the pair have been unoccupied for the last 10 years. In 2010, our client purchased the site from CentreVenture Development Corporation with plans to develop the properties into 75 rental apartments and 11,000 square feet of commercial space. Until now, the buildings have been perceived as a blight to the block and to the city’s downtown. A key project goal was to overcome this stigma with an intervention capable of changing public opinion about derelict buildings, while still creating a financially feasible project. Using existing openings on the ground floor, the space is carved out to draw people in and expand the public area of the sidewalk, while chrome balconies project out from the residential windows overhead.

The main floor will be occupied by Manitoba START, a non-profit group that provides arrival services for new immigrants in Winnipeg. Apartments ranging in size from 430 sqft to 1020 sqft fill the remaining five floors, with designs that take advantage of high ceilings, large windows and existing columns. On the roof, an expansive patio and lounge is planned to create a dynamic and unique “Winnipeg experience.” Above the Hample building, a new three-storey addition containing 15 units will complete the overall massing of the project.

0138

AnX

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  University of Winnipeg
  construction
  2011
  withheld
  student centre
  25 000sqft
  

The University of Winnipeg is a unique, urban institution working to extend its reach beyond traditional campus boundaries into the heart of the city. The AnX – a 25,000 sqft multi-use student centre and transit hub – is an essential new link in this ever-expanding network. Located in the former Greyhound bus depot at 491 Portage Avenue, the project strives to create an active public space with no public face, compressed as it is by busy thoroughfares and existing buildings on all sides. In order to counteract these actual and perceived pressures on the one-storey structure, the proposed design offers light and air in a heavy space, carving channels of movement into the dense, urban fabric of the space.

With the site’s existing desire lines forming the project’s organizational spine, the interior of the former depot has been completely reinterpreted as a meandering, open environment. Flowing, curvilinear circulation spaces wrap around and merge with circular pods, while the larger programmatic elements are located along the building’s edges. Movement has also been improved by filling in an awkward corner on the east facade with a triangular addition that will serve as one of the building’s main entrances. On the ceiling, an undulating pattern of suspended metal pipes creates a unique, visual landscape that helps unify the project aesthetically and combine building systems into one architectural feature.

0122

WRHA on hargrave

• User Group:
  Client:
  Status:
  Expected Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  WRHA
  Hargrave Holdings LLC.
  construction
  2011
  withheld
  office
  33 000sqft
  

WRHA on Hargrave is a six storey office building that challenges traditional ‘on spec’ design with unique floor plates and an undulating, animated facade. Faced with small, 75’ x 75’ floor plates and a large core component, each level could only provide 3,500 square feet of useable area. By pushing the stairs to the outside and allowing them to cantilever over adjacent properties, additional square footage was reclaimed for offices while simultaneously improving the quality of space within.

In order to achieve this approach, two separate staircases at diagonally opposite corners begin on the sixth floor and spiral down their respective sides, maintaining the required distance between exits on each level. The inherent flow of this corkscrew environment encourages users to communicate between floors, activating the exterior skin and reducing dependance on the elevator core.

0112

e_regulr house

• Client:
  Status:
  Expected Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  Sue + Adam Dyck
  construction
  2011
  withheld
  single family residential
  2000sqft
  

Located on an 80 acre piece of densely forested agricultural land a few miles north of Steinbach, Manitoba is the e-regular house. It nestles lightly on an elevated meadow located about 300 feet from the access road. This secluded spot is marked by well-established oak, maple and pine trees.

Distributed throughout this piece of rolling prairie are distinct geographic bands running east and west along the length of property differentiated by vegetation, elevation and soil type. The geometry of the residence recalls these geographic bands, while resting lightly on the landscape and responding to the existing trees. As the house peels open to engage the landscape, the landscape in turn becomes essential to the character of the house. It rests slightly above the ground supported by thin walls that rise up from the soil hugging the entry points. From the heart of the residence one can see outside in every direction. Surrounding views link the home’s residents to the outdoors and enhance natural ventilation capabilities. The courtyards are designed to be micro-climates that shade and mitigate heat gain during the summer while creating sheltered outdoor spaces during the winter. Roof rainwater is captured in cisterns so that it may be used for irrigation of the garden and orchard.

0155

Sunspot

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  The Forks
  complete
  2010
  $10,000
  warming hut
  18' diameter
  

Sunspot, along with four other skating shelters designed by local and international architecture firms, was part of an exhibition of “Warming Huts” along the Forks River Trail in winter of 2009.

The finished project is the result of a collaboration between 5468796 Architecture and Winnipeg-based artist Ewa Trasia. The sphere is an extension of Ewa’s exploration of ‘dot’, a recurring theme in her recent work, as well as an interpretation of the ultimate source of heat – the sun.

The Sunspot hangs from the Forks’ Historic Rail Bridge, hovering just three feet above the frozen river. Composed of a structural frame coated in a skin of ice and coloured water, the interior is rendered with a vibrant and warm glow that evokes Tarsia’s painting plates. A large diameter opening at the bottom of the sphere allows skaters to enter and experience the transformed sky. The bottom ring provides a rope-wrapped bench to rest on, while the structure offers shelter from the wind.

0134

OMS Stage

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  Awards:
  
  Exchange District Biz.
  complete
  2010
  $1M
  public performance venue
  28'x28'x28'
  2011 Project of the Year Canadian Interiors
  2011 AZ Award | Peoples Choice
  2011 RAIC Award of Excellence
  2010 AR Award for Emerging Architecture
  

Whether functioning as a neighbourhood park or as a hub for the entire city during summer festivals, Old Market Square has undeniable significance for the health and vitality of the Exchange District. Following the establishment of a Master Plan for OMS by landscape architects Scatliff+Miller+Murray Inc., a new stage was the logical next step in the park’s redevelopment. Through an open competition, the city asked for a design that met the functional requirements for a stage. Our winning submission proposed to do more; we recognized that the stage only functions as such for a very limited time, and questioned what it could be the rest of the year.

The resulting design conceives of the stage as a multi-functional environment that can be enclosed to form an interactive sculpture when not in use. Projections displayed on the flexible metal skin create an ephemeral object within the park, one that can change according to the seasons and lighting conditions. During performance events, the skin draws back to reveal the concrete stage structure within.

0133

Bloc10

• Client:
  Status:
  Expected Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  Awards:
  
  Green Seed Development Corp.
  complete
  2011
  $2M
  condominiums
  12 000sqft
  2010 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence
  

Bloc_10 is a condominium project situated on a busy traffic corridor in Winnipeg’s postwar neighbourhood of River Heights. Starting from a standard, three storey vertical volume, the individual floor plates of each walk-up are strung together along a common service core, then staggered across the site to provide unique unit compositions and a multiplicity of views. Conceived as ‘white box’ layouts, the living spaces are left open to accommodate a wide variety of planning arrangements. All ten units have access to full north and south exposure, typically with an additional east or west face, making eight into three-sided corner suites. Dotted across each elevation are 6’ deep cantilevered projections that extend the useable floor area on alternating levels. Intermediate decks criss-cross the entire façade, shielded from the street and traffic noise by a protective screen of wooden slats. Bloc_10 is a study in how a box design can be both simple and complex. The architectural challenge was to take an expected, generic building typology and create something unexpected – to shake up the white box. The final design uses basic, seemingly standard built elements (stairs, plumbing chases, windows and doors, floors and skin) to create a unique, cohesive whole, regardless of the eventual inhabitations of each unit. www.bloc10.ca

0011

Centre Village

• Client:
  Status:
  Expected Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  Publications:
  
  Centre Venture
  complete
  2010
  $2.5M
  multi-family residential
  15 000sqft [25 units]
  Canadian Architect | April 2011
  

Centre Village is a 25-unit housing co-op located on a small infill lot in Winnipeg’s Central Park neighbourhood. The project strives to create a true community – a housing village – with modest means. The design is based on simple, 8’ x 12’ modules organized on a central spine. Occasionally, the base module is replaced by a larger 14’ x 12’ unit that cantilevers off the main spine to accommodate living quarters. All upper units have their own rooftop patio, and second-storey units are accessed by exterior staircases.

The mixture of standardized modules creates richness and variability on the site, generating a seemingly unorganized, yet carefully considered composition of small one, two and three bedroom homes. These ‘bars’ of housing are arranged around a shared inner courtyard that is also open to the surrounding community.

0027

Welcome Place

• User Group:
  Client:
  Status:
  Expected Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  MIIC
  hold zone inc.
  complete
  2010
  $4M
  housing + support
  25 000sqft
  

Welcome Place is an organization that promotes and supports the protection and resettlement of refugees under the auspices of the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council (MIIC). The non-profit group has engaged 5468796 to design new offices and reception space for the vast variety of services they provide, from assistance with settlement and life-skills training to sponsorship programs and in-canada protection. The project also includes 23 units of transitional housing for new immigrants.

The design focuses on the significance of prospect and refuge for residents and patrons of Welcome Place – who are just beginning to make a place for themselves in Canada – through the integration and overlap of public and private space. The private spaces are defined by a random patterning of windows that form a uniquely textured facade with multiple views to the exterior. Walls have thickness so these views feel less expansive and more protective. The public realm begins with a sunken courtyard outside the main doors, forming an exterior ‘room’ for community functions. Within the building, public spaces are located at the building’s edges, permeating through the facade to engage the streetscape below. These spaces are identified by a living wall, composed of graphics and text that explore the history of immigration alongside new immigrants’ own stories of departure and arrival.

0126

Square Meal

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  Award:
  
  Riverview Health Centre
  complete
  2009
  n/a
  exhibit
  8'x8'x8'
  'The Event' Runner-up
  

The Riverview Health Centre serves individuals with rehabilitation and long term care needs, and strives to create a healing environment that feels more like a home than a hospital. The Riverview Health Centre Foundation supports RHC’s initiatives through various philanthropic endeavours, including a fundraising dinner called ‘The Event.’ First held in 2008, the Event calls upon local designers to create original, dining-themed settings that are then judged and awarded prizes at the end of the evening.

Square Meal is an interactive dining space, in contrast to the more formal and rigid table settings that are becoming a thing of the past in many households. The design uses 96 sheets of 1/2” mdf, spaced 2” apart, to create an 8’x8’ cube. The cube is then carved into and out of to create different eating nooks, allowing occupants to eat however they choose, whether it’s lying down, standing up or somewhere in between.

0072

Mitchell Copp

• Client:
  Status:
  Expected Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  North Portage Devel. Corp.
  closed
  TBA
  TBA
  commercial / office spaces
  10 000sqft
  

The Mitchell-Copp building emerged during an era of intense growth and economic development along Portage Avenue, one of Winnipeg’s most important arteries. Constructed in the early 1900s, the building was converted to a bank in 1920, with renovations including the monumental facade it still has today. Extensive fire damage later destroyed the interior, leaving behind a burned-out shell that remained empty for years before its recent acquisition by the North Portage Development Corporation.

The new design contains four floors of offices suspended over a restaurant space that is sunken into the former basement. This floating, translucent box is set back from the walls and front facade, bringing daylight to the interior and creating an impressive, forty foot high volume free of visual obstructions.

The project is a study in contrast between old and new, simplicity and classical embellishments, letting the existing building speak through texture and ornament. Blackened brick walls will be cleaned and left exposed, and glazing in the barrel-vaulted ceiling and arched window on the facade will be restored.

0057

Webster Cottage

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  Awards:
  
  private
  complete
  2010
  withheld
  cottage
  1200sqft [enclosed]
  2010 Prairie Wood Design Award
  

Located adjacent to Lake Winnipeg in Dunnottar, MB., this 4-season cottage was initially envisioned as a modest home away from home for a family of four. Cottage functions are divided to create a variety of habitable spaces, and allow for energy conservation through seasonal expansion and contraction. One roof envelopes three primary structures [main cottage / summer cottage / accessory building (storage+carport)] and an array of outdoor rooms [screen porch, covered decks, open decks]. The material palette is kept simple to emphasize the contrast between the roof surface [dark, ribbed siding] and the internal structures [exposed framing / plywood / and translucent glass and plastics].

Inside, a simple strip of living space folds onto itself, orienting views towards the lake, and capturing sunlight and natural breezes. Delicate maneuvers in plan and elevation avoid losing any existing trees on the property. Complexity is created at the crease where the main cottage twists in response to these site conditions. The resulting two-storey sawtooth wall that bisects the main cottage and the triangulated roof surface brings dynamic volumes to an otherwise uncomplicated wood-frame cottage structure.

0078

YouCube

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  Award:
  
  Greenseed Development Corp.
  construction
  2011 [phase 1]
  $4M
  multi-family residential
  15 000sqft [18 units]
  2009 Canadian Architect Award of Merit
  2011 AR Future Projects Award | Commended
  

youCUBE is an experiment in density and affordability at the north end of Waterfront Drive, in downtown Winnipeg. Located on one of the street’s last available plots of land with direct access to the Red River, youCUBE offers market rate housing in an area that is made up primarily of luxury condo developments.

The project challenges conventional multi-family housing design, providing 18 three and four storey townhouses clustered together on an elevated community plaza. Each unit is an open living cube defined by an architectural ‘wrap’; an element that delineates floors, mezzanines, and storage units as it weaves through the space. The wrap reacts with the walls of the cube by folding back onto itself to create a step, or continuing upward to form window openings. Ceiling heights soar up to 36 feet and roof-top terraces allow for panoramic views of the city skyline.

The building’s pristine white finish stands in intentional contrast to the neighbourhood’s current industrial setting, one which is changing rapidly as the south end of Waterfront Drive is redefined by high-priced condominiums. youCUBE has the potential to enliven the street with a new residential demographic and small-scale commercial activity, increasing pedestrian traffic and acting as a catalyst for future growth.

0054

Guertin Boatport

• Client:
  Status:
  Expected Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  withheld
  construction
  2011
  withheld
  boatport and boardwalk
  3000 sqft + boardwalk
  

The Guertin Boatport is a two-storey, open-air floating dock and fixed boardwalk situated on Long Bow Lake in western Ontario.

Reflective materials and fragmented vertical planes scatter and redirect light reflecting off of the lake surface. Perforated materials visually reduce the boatports large size and allow extended views of the lake and the surrounding Canadian Shield.

The dock and viewing deck are accessed by an extruded aluminum plank boardwalk following the profile of the rocky shore. Flexible, hinged joints accommodate the rise and fall of water levels and the freeze/thaw cycles of ice. The structure consists of custom designed, cold-formed steel C-channels, pressure treated joists and composite decking. The upper deck is lowered around its edges to keep the lake view clear and unobstructed by the stainless steel cable guards.

0025

venio store

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  North Portage Development Corp.
  complete
  2008
  $15 000 [storefront only]
  storefront
  1000sqft
  

Pedestrian skywalks are a common fixture in downtown Winnipeg, due to the harsh winter temperatures that keep city residents indoors for much of the year. The popularity of these transition spaces has encouraged retail development throughout their network, in order to serve the needs of business employees and their patrons.

One such tenant is Venio Store, located on the skywalk between Portage Place Mall and the Carlton Building. 5468796 was hired to design a creative alternative to the traditional, accordion-fold security screens that dominate most shopping malls. The end result is a white metal screen perforated with small holes to create an abstract, geometric pattern that changes depending on lighting conditions and viewing angle. The small, 610 square foot interior has also been refitted with new shelving and fixtures to suit the exterior upgrades.

0022

BGBX

• Client:
  Status:
  Expected Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  Awards:
  
  CSB Corp.
  construction
  early 2012
  $3.6M
  multi-family loft condos
  24 000sqft [24 units]
  2010 p/a Award [multifamily]
  

BGBX takes on an industrial big box typology as its prefatory metaphor, transforming a vacant lot at the intersection of Wall Street and St. Matthews Avenue into a 24-unit housing development for Winnipeg’s West End. The project incorporates six separate blocks with alternating two and three storey residential loft units and small scale commercial flex spaces at grade. The project begins as a white corrugated metal box, a blank slate which is then strategically sliced at six points to reveal unexpected glimpses of lush, green foliage at the block's centre. The landscaped courtyard cuts away at the box from the inside out to create a dynamic, multi-facetted courtyard facade.

The design seeks innovation at all levels, including its building systems. Hollowcore concrete slabs are used as air plenums, eliminating the need for ductwork. Abundant vegetation in the courtyard acts as lungs for the entire block, providing fresh air for residents. Gray water cisterns collect run-off from the roofs while permeable surfacing and bioswales in the courtyard filter runoff water into the soil.

*For sales: contact Mary Pidlaski, Re-Max | 204.477.0500 |

0018

private residence

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
  Project Type:
  Size:
  
  withheld
  closed
  n/a
  withheld
  single family residence
  2500sqft
  

An abundance of mature oak trees form a canopy of light and shadow over the site of a proposed private residence on Oakdale Drive, in Charleswood.

The clients expressed a strong desire to engage with nature, focusing on the cyclical role of their own garden in the life of the house, and the transitional presence of extended family members who occupy rooms in the house for brief periods of time.

The design is distilled into three basic components: the mirror-faced garage/greenhouse that disappears into the surrounding and reflected foliage; the private quarters expressed as an elevated, weighty mass of the second floor; and the glazed transparent living spaces that are left between the ground plane and the mass above. The living area is further defined by the garage block that penetrates the glazed envelope creating interior ‘solids’ in the otherwise open floor area.

The composition of the main elements on the site creates a an exterior enclosure from the street and cradles the south-west facing private yard.

0013

Charles Hotel

• Client:
  Status:
  Year of Completion:
  Budget:
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  Ken Zaifman
  closed
  n/a
  withheld
  boutique hotel
  40 000sqft [55 rooms]
  

The Charles Hotel created within the historic St. Charles building in Winnipeg’s Exchange District will be the city’s first boutique hotel.

This heritage building has gone through many alterations since its inception in 1913, including a mezzanine addition into the double high grand lobby space. The desire to remove the mezzanine and return the lobby to its former glory contradicted with fitting the financially necessary 50-60 guest rooms of the new boutique hotel onto the existing floors.

The design solution was to keep the mezzanine as a guest room floor and to extend the lobby area into the otherwise underused basement. The two-level sunken public lobby and restaurant area, connected with bridges over the business centre below, and the reception desk, housed in a suspended sphere in the middle of the open lobby, create a visually rich and intriguing interior landscape.

A play between the turn of the century brick exterior and the highly articulated interior is evident on the facade as the previously altered grade level will be re-interpreted as continuous metal surface with incisions and openings into the building and over the parking areas beyond.

0010

SK8*

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  The Forks | SK8
  complete
  2008
  $0.1M
  commercial kiosk
  1000sqft
  

The SK8 kiosk was developed in conjuction with the new skateboard park at the Forks in downtown Winnipeg. Developed for two clients, the Forks and the SK8 skateboard store, the venue was to be both temporary and seasonal. The project consists of two phases, the open-air kiosk and the enclosed storage and repair shop.

The phase I kiosk began as a simple exercise to create a structure that could be disassembled and would require a minimal amount of connections during its erection. While all of the components for the structure are custom manufactured, the play of creating volume and enclosure from the modular and easy-to-manufacture pieces remain evident in the final product. The 1/4” thick, one foot wide aluminum plates create a simple interlocking egg crate structure that has enough strength to span as a roof or a wall, but also to function as shelving for the store merchandise. The enclosed volume is metaphorically ‘pulled apart’ to allow for access points into the 12’ x 16’ kiosk.

The phase II structure acts as a companion piece to the original frame. The one foot module continues, but the aluminum structure is now expressed on the inside and clad with cellular plastic panels on three of its exterior faces.

0007

private residence*

• Client:
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  withheld
  complete
  2009
  withheld
  single family residence
  3500sqft
  2010 Prairie Design Award of Merit
  Canadian Interiors | Jan-Feb 2011
  

The Victoria Crescent site encompasses two former river lots in one 100 foot x 400 foot heavily treed parcel on the Red River. The original residence on the site was built circa 1920, but its form had been long lost under layers of modifications, additions and tacked on porches and decks.

The essence of the old house, not its actual presence, becomes the centre of the new residence, as the original foundation is preserved as a sunken courtyard. It turns the former spatial arrangement inside out: house to courtyard, yard to house, solid to void, void to solid. This shift allows the ghost of the old house to remain. The courtyard expands the visual space beyond the distinct rooms and creates a nexus around which circulation spirals in three dimensions.

A bridge links the carport to the main entry across the sunken courtyard - taking one over and through the void into the house. A hidden panoramic view of the river beyond is revealed upon entering the vaulted hall, further connecting the landscape to the interior.

0000

big brother | little sister*

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  Radulovic | Hurme
  complete
  2006
  $0.2M
  Loft Condos [2 units]
  2900sqft
  Award of Excellence [PDA 2006]
  

Twin condominiums occupy the south side of the 5th floor in the historic Travellers Building in Winnipeg’s Exchange District.The 1800 sq ft & 1100 sq ft dwellings were designed and constructed as a pair from their inception to completion. They share a conceptual approach and attitude to detailing, while exhibiting unique qualities and personalities responding to the residents’ priorities.

The projects attempt to carve contemporary dwellings into heritage building by means of preserving and respecting the building’s historic fabric while contrasting it with the minimalist modern interiors.

Each condominium flows freely around the enclosed functions organized at their centres, leaving the exterior walls free of joining partitions. Zones within are separated for visual privacy by procession sequences from one scale to another. Mezzanines expand the floor space and allow for intimacy in the 14-foot high space. The spaces are rendered with the essential textures of their materials, while touches of decadence and luxury add a twinkle to the restrained interiors.