When Noah “40” Shebib, the record producer (and October’s Very Own co-founder) known for his work on Drake’s greatest hits, first hired Reflect Architecture to design his Toronto penthouse, he made a bold claim: This wouldn’t be a place where he’d work on music. “I stopped believing him pretty quickly,” Reflect principal Trevor Wallace says with a laugh. In the end, the King West condo’s A/V setup is about as tricked-out as home stereo systems get. “You can plug any instrument into a CAT-6 connection installed in the dining table, and instantly — with zero delay — play across the entire condo,” Wallace says. Yet even more remarkable than the space’s technical capabilities is the way that it captures the soul of its owner — celebrating artistry and experimentation at every turn. For instance, that hi-fi dining table is a customized version of a glass-and-stone piece by Sabine Marcelis, the Dutch designer known for her pure forms and intriguing materials.

The rest of the 250-square-metre living environment maintains that high note, delivering a radical remix of the generic bachelor pad that had greeted Wallace when he first toured the space. In its previous life, Shebib’s condo had served as the apartment of corporate attorney Harvey Specter on the television show Suits. (At this point, the address is so steeped in Toronto lore that it might as well be designated a historical landmark). Needless to say, TV sets don’t make for the best homes. “The millwork was paper thin and the brick wall was a laminate veneer,” says Wallace. But beneath these layers was a pulsing beat: The unit spanned the entire ninth floor, boasted a ton of windows that looked onto a patio complete with a lap pool, and was located right in the heart of the city. For Shebib, who has a larger home base in Etobicoke, these central digs function as a form of local pied-à-terre — keeping him connected to the buzz of the city, while still providing a comfortable buffer. “He services party culture, but there’s an irony that he’s actually not that into it,” says Wallace.

With that in mind, the interior design is filled with subtle references to Shebib’s line of work, without succumbing to any usual nightclub tropes. “Music is certainly a major thread, but it’s just as much about the culture surrounding music,” says the architect. The kitchen is a great case in point. Inspired by 1980s portable stereos and their detachable speakers, Wallace envisioned Shebib’s cooking space as its own medley of deconstructed geometric forms. “There’s a classic photo of LL Cool J carrying one of those boomboxes on his shoulders,” Wallace says. “That’s what we wanted.” A tin-clad system designed by Belgian architect Nicolas Schuybroek and manufactured by Obumex strikes the right chord, especially since it will gain an extra layer of urban grit as the metal wears. 

Hanging above this island, circular Cortesio pendants by Davide Groppi shift the focus from cassette tapes to vinyl records. More music-inspired lighting hovers over the dining table, where Wallace selected A-N-D’s Column pendants for their resemblance to amplifier tubes. Other ceiling elements help to divide the large living space into four distinct zones: the kitchen, the dining space, a fireside lounge, and a “Netflix and chill area” with a TV. The latter three zones are each contained within their own “music boxes,” defined by a curved aluminum ceiling frame that wraps around cork acoustic panels; the kitchen, for its part, sits below a rounded concrete drop ceiling. “I think every architect struggles with an open plan — how do you set boundaries and define program within it?” asks Wallace. His solution effectively splits the generous living space into a series of distinct tracks, all the while still layering everything together into a cohesive mix.

Yet even with these playful conceptual touches, the project also has a strong sense of rigour. “We have a layer of street culture references, but then there’s this underlying palette that’s very honest and authentic,” says Wallace, who took inspiration from restrained Belgian minimalism. “Materials that felt authentic and timeless were key tenants of the decision-making process.” These include the oak flooring (from Moncer) and Blue de Savoie marble used in the kitchen, as well as the granite plinth that now runs around the perimeter of the space. “It gives the columns something meaningful to land on, and builds this 1970s sunken living room vibe,” Wallace notes. “When you live in a glass box, it’s nice to have something that offsets that feeling of being opened up to the world.”

In another move designed to bolster Shebib’s sense of seclusion, the apartment is cleverly split into southern areas that are designed to welcome the music producer’s extended team, and a private primary suite at the north end. “Borrowing from boat language, we created a real ‘owner’s cabin’ — a place where he can get up, move around and make a coffee without needing to start the day just because somebody else is over,” says Wallace. Shebib’s private chef, Chris, often arrives early in the morning — and the layout of the home allows him to get started on breakfast without waking up Shebib. Similarly, the southern half of the home also includes a small office (complete with its own bathroom) for visiting colleagues and collaborators to work from. “It’s right outside the elevator, before you’ve even gone down the long hallway to the remainder of the residence,” says Wallace.

As for Shebib’s sleeping quarters, they were effectively backwards-engineered around a wooden chair designed by Mexico’s EWE Studio. “Using that design by Héctor Esrawe as inspiration, I sat down with Mary Ratcliffe, an amazing Toronto millworker, and we created a custom bed-desk combo that has a lot of the same angulation,” says Wallace. The ensuite bathroom is anchored by its own sculptural statement piece: a faceted vanity and mirror installed below a clerestory window and designed to evoke cracking ice. Meanwhile, a wall-mounted Vitsoe shelving system installed in the nearby atelier serves to showcase the massive stamp collection that Shebib inherited from his late father — “this immense, 50-volume, 700-pound collection from all over the world,” says Wallace.

Photo by Nathan Legiehn

The atelier is also home to another notable Dieter Rams design: a restored Braun Audio 310 stereo system and speakers shipped over from Germany. “They’re not the best speakers in terms of quality, but they have a certain lo-fi appeal,” Wallace says. “And they’re set up in such a way that he can either put a record on the system and have it playing all across the condo’s integrated speakers, or just listen to the OG sound in the room as the system was originally designed.” 

If there was one thing that was even more important than the quality of the condo’s sound system, it was its climate control capabilities. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2005, Shebib is extremely sensitive to heat. With that in mind, new high-performance glass wall panels replaced their mullion-heavy predecessors, better managing solar gain while also facilitating an exterior shade system that enables Shebib to get some comfortable shut-eye on days when he might have been up working the night before. Inside, the penthouse is divided into three separate climate zones, allowing the bedroom temperature to be kept very low without affecting the rest of the home.

Wallace describes the project’s final outcome as a testament to the total creative freedom that his client granted him. “We’re incredibly grateful for the latitude that Noah gave us,” says Wallace. “When we were done with this project, my wife asked me if I was happy with it. And I told her that I’d better be, because it’s the best I can do. I have no excuses about a great idea that the client wouldn’t get behind, or anything like that.” Then again, as a music producer, Shebib is used to helping other people’s artistry shine. And now his home — with standout design grails placed at every turn — serves as the ultimate demonstration that the mind of a true creative can never be fully silenced, even when it’s technically off-duty.