Commercial renovation

The Design Studio for the Express clothing stores occupies 60,000 square feet in New York City’s Flatiron District. The program called for large reception and display spaces, conference rooms, and workspaces spread over three floors of an existing building. A central stair acts as a vertical skewer through the three levels, both connecting and separating the studios on the third and fifth floors and the presentation spaces on the fourth floor. Mikiko Kikuyama The simplicity of the Studio’s large loft-like spaces allow the colorful fabrics and rich textures of the clothing, like artwork, to be the focus. However, unlike the white box gallery, the architecture had to withstand the rough and ready nature of the studio atmosph... More

Infusion of tropical elements into a modern facade.Terracotta jallis and vegetation have been used to infuse a tropical touch to an otherwise modern facade. The interiors have been designed to cater to an inflow of customers with a lounge area that adds warmth and comfort to the showroom. The lounge area has been floored with wooden plank tiles which are a stark contrast to the remaining areas of the showroom which are a combination of Sahara grey floor tiles with a mix of white and grey walls. The use of grey and white was done to highlight the products that are showcased. More

The refurbished space is a street-level shop that currently functions as a real estate agency and is an integrated part of a 1960s building. The space has already taken different uses in the past and suffered various changes over the years, with small interventions predominantly in its finishings.This project aimed to carry out a more strategic intervention that would act on the store's public service spaces, maintaining its last function as a real estate agency.The pre-existing space was ample and lacking hierarchy, maintaining its relationship with the street via a sequence of windows and doors.In terms of the programmatic demands, it was defined the necessity to promote a space for receiving the clients with two work spaces, a waiting sp... More

McIntosh Poris Associates was responsible for the renovation and restoration of an existing 19th-Century wood timber and masonry building into a modern office for Ford Motor Company’s self-driving business unit.  Originally planned for Buhl Sport Detroit, the building was purchased by Ford during construction to house Ford’s self-driving business unit and attract fresh talent as part of the company’s commitment to enhancing Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood.  McIntosh Poris Associate’s design concept was to bring back the building’s original form and retain as much of the historic character as possible while meeting Ford’s requirements.  Justin Maconochie Justin Maconochie Th... More

A mixed-use residential building and an adaptive re-use of a historic structure, the Ainsworth and Dunn project, at the north end of the Seattle waterfront along the railroad tracks, captures the spirit of this moment in Seattle history.   The rehabilitation of the historic two-story warehouse modernized the building for commercial and office use and added a modest, sleek addition at the roof level. Seismic interventions were carefully woven through the landmarked heavy timber structure.   A new six-story structure adjacent to the historic building adds 61 large residential units and ground floor commercial space. Modern masonry cladding wraps the building on three sides while the taller mass is set back and clad in curtainwal... More

Artful urban living in a time of progressive densification The Vanglo house has been designed as a truly urban house for a compact inner city infill site, centrally located at 135 East 17th Street in Main Street area of Vancouver. The site is 66’ wide but only 44’ deep with a permissible density of 1,850sf for two tenants/ families with a 1,350sf 3BR main home and a 500sf 1BR rental garden suite. The house isboth a departure and continuation of the typical Vancouver houseform and typology. A simple abstract unified volume is formed and detailed to engage the passerby observer and owner / tenant into a layered dialogue. Aspects of the organization of the Vancouver Special, neighbour-hood and district by law regulations and roof forms,... More

Designed and built by a young emerging architecture firm to house their expanding design studio, this 4 story mixed use building has been instrumental in the revitalization of the industrial urban neighborhood it calls home. The 50'x50' lot sits mid-block down a cobble street in the shadow of an iconic elevated 'Viaduct'. The desire to create an ultra-modern, inviting work environment while celebrating the historical industrial context was a paramount objective right from the start. To that end the buildings final design has incorporated significant elements of the surrounding neighborhood. The upper two floors, which house a 3 unit residential component, are clad in corten steel, a brutally honest and simple industrial material used exten... More

Context: In the late 1800s this central city block was subdivided into lots one quarter the typical size to construct compact homes for immigrant workers. As time passed the resultant row houses morphed into an eclectic mix of single family homes, each assuming their own distinctive styles through in-cohesive additions and alterations. Concept: The original building on the property was structurally unsound and dismantled to its foundation creating a blank canvas to explore a modern interpretation of the terrace row house. As both architect and future homeowner, the design/ build process began with the deconstruction of the terrace row house typology. The traditional row house model was reconfigured to address context, site constraints and... More