Candy Loft

While there are lots of sweet details in this 157-square-metre, second-floor hard-loft conversion in a former confectionery building in Toronto’s West End, the most remarkable are the barrel-vaulted corridors. Illuminated by strips of warm LED lighting, these otherworldly portals leading to and from the main space buffer the loft’s open-concept living area from outside noise. The designers’ use of exposed raw materials enhances the main room’s serenity, a mood that’s in stark contrast to the urban hurly-burly outside. Overall, the Candy Loft is slick but not saccharine. The copper touches – the hardware on the closed storage throughout, the bathrooms’ plumbing fixtures – are decidedly wabi-sabi: They will stain and develop a patina over time.

Project Candy Loft Location Toronto, Canada Firm StudioAC, Canada Team Jennifer Kudlats and Andrew Hill Photo Jeremie Warshafsky 

FA07

Splashy yet restrained, Jorge Pizarro’s thoroughly contemporary update of a 130-square-metre family home passed down over three generations brings it up to the minute. In a quest to find its true essence as dictated by its structure and functions, the architect stripped away the Madrid residence’s former divisions and defined three new spaces: the nave (made up of the living areas), the house (where the sleeping quarters are) and the patio (a fun secondary circulation path through the home). The bottom half of the kitchen’s two-toned wall – painted electric teal – spills onto the floor and floods the patio. Emphasizing contrast, Pizarro appointed this outdoor corridor with metal plant stands painted an equally high-voltage orange.

Project FA07 Location Madrid, Spain Firm Ensalada Works Team Jorge Pizarro and Daniel Guerra Photo Miguel de Guzmán/Imagen Subliminal