Behind every striking rock formation is a story about the slow, sculptural forces of the past. In the design of Vela, a new restaurant in Toronto’s King West neighbourhood, architecture studio Partisans has related the idea of weathering and erosion to a sense of timelessness to address the rich layers of the project’s setting, the 1904 Parisian Laundry Building. “We wanted to respect the residue of brick and timber but also to breathe in new life,” says firm partner Jonathan Friedman.
Prior to its latest reinvention as a destination dining environment, Vela’s portion of the historic landmark most recently operated as an office. While the space provided...
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Woven into a wavy, topographic ceiling, ribbons of light traverse space and time.