Space Probe at 15 Roncesvalles
Interior Renovation, 2020
1 200 sqft. In collaboration with Richard John Lam.
Ever dreamt of walking into a white cotton candy-like cloud as a kid? This was it.
Our space odyssey involved an interior renovation that transformed a dark x-ray clinic into a design studio with open concept floor plan, exposed wooden joists and rough in for a kitchenette. Suite designed to contain a private washroom and common area washroom. Ground level space with 4 entrances straight from Roncesvalles Ave. This building is situated in the neighbourhood of Roncesvalles with other neighbourhoods nearby; South Parkdale, High Park Swansea, Little Portugal, High Park North, Dufferin Grove.
The design intent was to create a clean, bright and functional working space that opened up the possibilities that it offered.
With each new school year, as a kid, I would scout for a new hiding spot in the schoolyard and crown it as the hub-of-fun for my friends and me. These spaces would come to host various activities; we would turn three rocks in a passage into an alternate classroom where we would teach each other storytelling, or a wet, concrete fire exit stairwell became a submarine where we hid books. When we wanted to find each other in a different world, we would turn to our little hideout between the trees, where we would dig time capsules into the soil and choreograph a dance to the nutcracker.
We got attached to these spaces, and so over time, I would ferociously protect these secret spaces to a point where I got into fights. These spaces were almost as alive and breathing as us, lending us a nurturing safe-space for my friends and me and often came across as existing solely to protect and lean into our imagination.
If space could breathe, how would you take care of it?
SPACE ODYSSEY
INSPIRATION SOMETIMES APPEAR AT THE COMPLETION OF PROJECTS.