Ask Canadian architects who the most acclaimed contemporary residential architect in Toronto is, and you will likely hear the same name over and over: Peter Clewes. Christopher Hume, the architecture critic for The Toronto Star, says that he is the “leading condo designer of his generation.” If you live in Toronto, you will likely recognize many of his projects. He has worked on X Condominium, Mozo, Casa Condominiums, 18 Yorkville, Spire and the new Four Seasons Hotel-Condominium project.
Image: architectsAlliance
Peter Clewes was originally born in Montreal and he studied architecture at the University of Waterloo. However, his formative experience was getting an eight month co-op placement with famed architect Arthur Erickson in Vancouver. Erickson originally wanted him to help start up his Hong Kong office, but in the meantime, Clewes was moved to the firm’s Toronto office. The Hong Kong office never opened, and Clewes has lived and worked in Toronto ever since.
Clewes helped form architectsAlliance in 1999, when his firm of Bergman Clewes Wallman was merged with Van Nostrand DiCastri Architects. Since then, they have won numerous accolades including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s Governor General Medal, an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Canadian Architect Award of Excellence. Clewes’ buildings have been built in Toronto, Vancouver, Cambridge (Massachusetts) and Minneapolis, and they are working on projects in the Netherlands and Bahamas.
Clewes’ style is neomodern: it is based upon simple, unadorned shapes that emphasize the benefits of technology. For instance, Clewes’ tends to favour floor-to-ceiling windows because he feels that any other approach restricts the benefits of large windows to outdated notions about decoration. He also doesn’t feel that buildings need to be contextualized, or made to look like the other buildings around them. He thinks that part of a strong urban character is to have many different styles or types next to one another. Clewes says, “We need to create buildings of our time. Architecture is a record of where a city and a culture was at a particular time.”
For those people who are in the condo market in Toronto, there are several Clewes buildings that are still in the sales stage: Market Wharf has just started construction, and U and ICE condominiums still have plenty of units in their second stages available. If you are in the condo market, it might be a good idea to give one of these projects a deeper look. Buying in a building by an acclaimed architect can be one of the best ways to ensure your real estate investment is a good one.
Nelson Goulart
Broker of Record with Signature Service GMAC Real Estate
www.ssgmac.ca
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