BRINGING SPACE TO LIFE
Designer created multifunctional areas
Johnson Chou, the interior designer for 150 Redpath, was charged with bringing life to both the shared and private spaces, while creating a sense of seamlessness between them. Chou has worked in both architectural and industrial design, furniture, interiors, graphic identity and corporate communications. His hallmark is multi-functionality and his imprint can be found at the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art, Blowfish, Red Bull Canada’s headquarters on Queen St. W. and the Bang and Olufsen showroom in Yorkville. At 150 Redpath, there is a lot of focus on shared spaces. But they’re not big, empty rooms and areas. What’s the thinking? In all of the spaces, the TV area, the main room, the pool area, they may seem large at first, but then you realize they’ve been separated into smaller spaces, rooms within rooms, where you can be alone or be with someone in a more private setting. Smaller condos mean a bigger challenge. How did you deal with it here? The level of sophistication is reflected in the details, like a basin near the steam shower, the built-in wine cooler with backlighting, the built-in bookshelves in the unit with doors and without, so the owner can Johnson Chou, project designer for 150 Redpath and principal of Johnson Chou design practice. choose to hide or reveal their collectibles. It’s a way of dealing with clutter which is often an issue in condos. What’s the design concept, overall? The design concept here is not about defining space but that the design should articulate the lifestyle. Typical buyers are expected to be those with busy lives. How do you design for that? As designers, it was really our task to evoke a level of sophisticated purpose into the interiors, both the private and the public spaces. You think about how people will engage with the space . . . People can choose to engage with others or not. You don’t have to feel awkward when you walk into the pool area because there are cabanas — you can go there to read and be alone if you choose. In all the open spaces it’s the same, you can choose to be alone or choose to engage with other people.
Ian Harvey