Creating a visual symphony
Symphonia, the stylish and luxurious multi-phase waterfront project on the southern tip of Nuns’ Island, is on the cusp of launching its latest edition; Symphonia VIU. We spoke to the team behind the project to understand the detailed process of what it really takes to form and conceptualize a residential project’s creative direction, including its interior design, from initial idea to official launch.
Behind the scenes, it’s a long, painstaking process that involves everything from coming up with a name, image and marketing strategy to drawing out how the final showroom and graphic design elements are going to look.
“Beethoven and Jimi Hendrix were big sources of inspiration for me once the name Symphonia was decided upon, years ago, and every phase of the project has been some sort of reiteration of the original concept, which was that of a musical symphony,” explains Alain Desgagné, the founder of Innédesign and the interior designer behind the luxury waterfront development.
“Most people think it’s about colour choice and deciding whether to make something blue, green or yellow, but a good design will take the current political mood, societal transformations and international trends and translate them into the built environment. The pandemic really changed things, for us, and that’s what we’ve tried to adapt to in a practical, esthetic way.”
All of Symphonia VIU’S common spaces were designed and re-designed after many rounds of discussion — and changes — with the latest comfort, style and safety factors in mind. The lobby, gym, co-working space and pool were all created to provide more personal space and intimacy than usual too.
Instead of counting on people wanting to work, workout and/or mingle in the socially-distanced company of others as they did PRE-COVID, all of the units were designed with secluded areas that can double as home offices or be used for a variety of other activities, including working out.
Symphonia VIU’S entrances and exits will be sensor-operated, for touchless entry, and each resident will also have access to a fob as well as their phone to automatically operate the indoor elevators, package retrieval system and doors.
The award-winning team that includes designer Alain Desgagné and architect Roch Cayouette from Provencher_roy worked in close partnership to come up with each and every creative detail of the project.
“Our vision for the project was to achieve unparalleled excellence in our premium living environments,” says Kevin Robinson, the general manager of Développements Symphonia. “Our creative team continues to produce elegant and refined designs that are bold and exciting.’’
A sleek, slender 43-storey tower with a singular style to match its sophisticated yet edgy interior design, Symphonia VIU, like its sister buildings, is blessed with breathtaking views of downtown, the forest, golf course, St. Lawrence River and the project’s rear garden, which is what led its architect to create a structure that both embodied the duality of its natural setting and was in line with Symphonia’s overall architectural signature.
“The décor is very serene but it’s not stark, it’s warm,” says Robinson. “The materials that Desgagné used in the lobby, like terrazzo tiles and bleached woods, are a little retro.”
Inside the units, Robinson says, Desgagné continued with his overarching mission to bring the outdoors in and use Nuns’ Island’s unique, natural lighting and panoramic views as integral elements of the décor, opting for frameless doors, builtin armoires and a variety of wall finishings and wood essences to create subtle, monolithic elements.
“Features like recessed lighting, wide plank flooring and increased ceiling height provide for warm and welcoming living spaces,” Robinson says.
“The bathroom tiling will vary from earth tones to more dramatically veined tiles, in large formats, with an array of top-notch vanities, cabinets and lighting to create the perfect backdrop for personalized accents.”
Soothing, natural earth tones were used to highlight the large, light surfaces and generous fenestration that make up the bulk of the openconcept condos as well as to complement the extra-spacious terraces and balconies, and the panoramic landscape views they look out on.
Sales for Symphonia VIU, which is slated to house 223 condominiums measuring between 680 sq. ft. and 4,000 sq. ft., including several multi-storied penthouses, launch this spring.
For more information on the upcoming launch, register at