10 Bellair | Johnson Chou

The project is a 3500SF interior renovation project located in a condominium complex in the heart of the Yorkville district in uptown Toronto. The Client, an itinerant traveler with a penchant for the Far East, requested a design that would evoke a heightened sense of movement and ritual. While the living spaces (living, dining, den, kitchen and bedrooms) were to be spare and elemental, the architectural concept was to focus on the parti – the liminal or in-between spaces, emphasizing the journey rather than the destination. The space was to be overlayed with the Client’s memories, a collage of spatial experiences and materials that could be reminiscent of his favourite boutique hotels in Malaysia and Indonesia; his residences in Paris, France; and negotiating the narrow trails while climbing in Tibet – all primarily expressed in the parti.

At the centre of the parti is a cylindrical glass rotunda, a modern interpretation of the classical precedent, directing movement and views within and around it with strategically placed openings that lead to the powder rooms, den, guest rooms or living areas.  Visible from the living and dining areas, the Rotunda is the physical and metaphorical hub from which the residence revolves.

The Client also requested that the space be designed to accommodate his high-end stereo and home theatre systems. The living room can be instantly transformed into a theatre through an “L” shaped, custom-designed cabinet that extends from ceiling to wall, concealing a large flat screen monitor.

Like a shrine, the bath and lavatory facilities of the master bath are detailed to appear as if hewn from a single block of marble. The facilities are separated by a one-way mirror that is transparent from the bedroom and reflective when one is at the sink.

The Client, having an aversion to drywall, requested that only the ceiling surfaces be of that material; therefore, all wall surfaces are composed of fabric, statuario marble, and hand-rubbed ebony.