Located in Toronto’s Summerhill neighbourhood, the driving concept in the design of the house is to connect it to the outside world. At the rear of the house which faces south, the inside is connected to the rear yard ravine through views to the spectacular landscape, the city and sky, and through outdoor decks and steps that lead down the sloped forested yard. As well, natural light is introduced to the centre of the house from the roof to the ground floor through a continuous vertical opening of a glass and wood central staircase via a skylight. Overhangs at the south side are introduced to keep direct sunlight from entering through the glazing during summer months.

Please visit  our project web page for more information…..

This newly constructed Orthodontic office designed by Bortolotto architecture and interior design is located in the corner suite of an existing office building. The office serves 10 patients at a time in the treatment areas and the design is driven by the flow of patients and staff to ensure an efficient and smooth functioning process.

The Reception, Lounge and Treatment Bay are arranged along the windows and separated by two enclosed Consultation Offices to provide a visual and acoustic barrier between the spaces. Sterilization equipment, x-ray and a semi private examination room are separated from the Treatment Bay which provides a partial level of enclosure. This element delineates the areas where patients and parents are free to move from those areas which require a staff escort. The Sterilization area, while strictly for staff use, is also treated in this way to make patients and parents aware of the importance of cleanliness and sterilization.

Bortolotto is now working with Column B in the design build of dental and medical professionals. Visit us at Columnb.com

Please visit our web project page to check out more photographs on this project.

Bortolotto is featured and on the cover of the current May/June 2011 issue of Canadian Interiors Magazine.

Titled “‘X’ Marks The Spot”, Leslie C. Smith writes how Bortolotto made LinX- a meeting space for undergraduates at Toronto’s Humber Institute X-traordinarily memorable.  Click here for a digital copy!

We are seeking an Intermediate and Senior Architect to join our team in the design and contract administration of various government and educational projects starting immediately or as soon as possible.

We offer health benefits, sick days, paid days off between Christmas and New Year’s Day, a bright open environment, an office dog and air conditioning. We meet weekly, have professional development “lunch and learns” and yearly staff reviews.

We are looking for a candidate that has:

• Over 7 years of relevant experience in an architectural practice.
• Excellent English written and verbal communication skills.
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of building systems and technology.
• Expertise in contract document production and construction detailing.
• Thorough knowledge of the Ontario Building Code is essential.
• Proficient in Revit or Autocad.

Please e-mail your resume to jobs@bortolotto.com

We thank all applicants for their interest but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

The Rotman South project for the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto had a budget of $2.1 million and the project came in at $2.15 million.

We will be launching Column B™ at the end of April 2011 which offers turnkey, design build services for dental and medical professionals who value inspiring designs, superb functionality and spatial-efficiency.  To make life simple, we handle all aspects of office development from design and permitting through construction and furnishing.  We also create integrated website, stationary and marketing materials so that you present one impressive face to the world. Column B is an affiliate of Bortolotto Design Architect Inc.

This project for OCAD University houses the Digital Media Research Labs to support the institution’s goal of transforming design education through the creative use of technology. Specifically, the facility is designed to offer flexible and upgradeable spaces for research but also a venue for universally accessible communication between students, faculty, collaborating institutions and industry partners.

The programmatic elements relate to each other in varying degrees from open and transparent to induce cross pollination of ideas to enclosure and acoustic isolation. These relationships were expressed in the design through the use of glazing, patterned films and an emphasis on the necessary connections between spaces through careful detailing of doors and windows. Particular attention was paid to threshold spaces such as the entry into the principal meeting room, an aperture that serves as an IT/A/V help desk and the main corridor of the facility that allows curious faculty and visitors to look into the lab spaces.

This project is scheduled to begin construction early April. Please stay tuned to our blog for updates.

The Merchandise Building Loft Condominium is one of the first warehouse conversions to a multiple residential housing complex in Toronto. The concept to reuse an existing industrial building for a condominium development is a prime example of sustainable design.

We would like to share with readers, in particular, two sustainable features in our recent design of the common areas including the lobbies, entrances and elevators at the Merchandise Building that are relatively new sustainable materials and technologies: Quartz Stone Tile and LED (Light-Emitting Diode) light fixtures.

Quartz stone tile is proposed to be installed throughout the ground floor lobby area. It will sustain heavy walking traffic in the morning and evening hours and also provide extreme protection from the exterior elements such as salt during the winter time. Quartz Stone Tile is an engineered and manufactured stone product that is composed with different ratios of finely crushed quartz, granite, glass and polyester resin to achieve different colour variation. Quartz stone is extremely durable, low maintenance, resistant to heat, stains and scratches.

As fossil energy become less available, electric energy demands increase and raises the costs for electricity. Consumers are seeking new ways to conserve energy but not to compromise their everyday life style. LED light fixtures is one of the latest technology that allow consumers to use less electricity but still able to maintain similar performance of the light fixture of the past. LED present many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller in size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability. LED lighting is introduced throughout the project to provide ambient light source.  It is also used to emphasis architectural details such as light coves and walls.

For more information:

Quartz flooring manufacturer that was specified on this project:
http://www.trendgroup-usa.com/

LED lighting manufacturer that was specified on this project:
http://www.iuseeliteled.com/en/prodline.php?l=led_cove

Green Building Council
http://www.cagbc.org/

Net Zero Energy Building
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-energy_building

We have recently completed the design of a new building for the Oakville Transit system.  This pavilion will serve as a staff facility for the Town of Oakville’s public transit bus system to provide a place for rest and refreshment for it’s bus drivers. The design is inspired by movement and speed. The pavilion is angular in plan and section and is intended to evoke the image of a fast moving bus.

The building is situated on a small vacant parcel of land encircled by a paved surface bus stop area behind a newly built big box mall. The building is conceived of as a beacon to the lackluster surroundings by introducing the striking triangular, elongated, angular and colourful pavilion.

The pavilion serves a dual role, both as a private facility for transit staff only and at the same time as a sculptural piece located within an open public space that presents itself at the intersection of crossing pedestrian paths.

Sustainability

The sustainability aspects of the building are demonstrated through its site orientation and sustainable materials. Glazing is introduced to the south side of the building to maximize heat gain through the winter sun and to minimize heat gain in the summer by recessing the window to create an external shading device. Windows are minimized on the north façade to decrease heat loss during the winter months. The building is designed with reflective white roof material to reduce the heat island effect. Both exterior and interior materials are designed to have low VOC content and are manufactured and distributed in local areas.

The pavilion is scheduled to start construction in April 2011. Stay tuned to the Bortolotto website for updates and progress!

This new McGregor Community Centre lounge building for the City of Toronto is conceived of as a box that is split horizontally. This approach provides security at the lower portion and natural light at the upper portion. The lower portion is comprised of solid brick exterior and block interior allowing for visual and physical privacy and a safe and secure environment for the users as requested. The upper portion is made of glass panels, creating a lantern, allowing plenty of natural light to penetrate into the space. The colourful glass panels create a vibrant and lively approach to the public realm. The panels wrap the upper portion of the addition toward the main entry to the building creating a vibrant sign for the community centre.

This multi-use, open, gathering space with an abundance of natural light and high ceilings allows for various members of the community, such as youth or seniors to gather, meet, form relationships, friendships and encourage community involvement. The lounge houses meeting, lounge, computer areas, office, kitchen, storage and an outdoor courtyard.

To browse the design concept and drawings, please visit our project page.