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Partisans (architectural firm)

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PARTISANS
Company typePrivate
IndustryArchitecture
Founded
Founders
  • Alex Josephson
  • Pooya Baktash
Key people
Alex Josephson, CEO & President
Services
Number of employees
11-50
Websitehttps://partisans.com

PARTISANS is a Toronto-based architecture firm recognized for its future-forward approach to design and technology, civic advocacy and cultural engagement.[1] The firm was founded in 2012 by Alex Josephson and Pooya Baktash.[2] Jonathan Friedman joined as a partner in 2014, offering expertise in adaptive reuse projects. In January 2023, Jonathan Friedman departed the firm to begin his practice, JFA, and in November 2023, Pooya Baktash departed to found Serotiny Group, an architectural strategy group that specializes in sustainable project management and development practices.[3] The name PARTISANS represent the firm's interest in collective action and architecture as a political force for social and cultural good.[4][5]

Contribution to Canadian Architecture

File:Bar Raval.jpg
Bar Raval, Toronto, ON, Canada

PARTISANS has contributed significantly to architecture in Canada through its unique style and approach which regards architecture as a collective, political act.[6] “Canada has a limited roster of world-class architects, who mostly work for rarified clients. It also has a small community of boutique studios that do creative one-off pieces, usually private residences. But Partisans… is different—a critical firm, specializing not only in design but also in rhetoric and activism. In six years, the firm has worked up a varied portfolio: houses, furniture, industrial pieces, restaurant interiors, sculptural lighting, books, and public interventions that border on performance art."[7]

In 2020 the firm was recognized with the Emerging Architectural Practice Award by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. According to the 2020 jury, “The firm’s projects are original, powerful and evocative. The team is capable of thinking at all scales from interiors to city planning; the works speak to a vision for the future that is free-minded and innovative. As outspoken advocates for the quality of architecture as a social vehicle, their success is evidenced by the beloved spaces they have crafted.”[6] In Canada, where the architecture profession is increasingly corporate and conservative, PARTISANS embodies a "bold and expansive vision of architecture as an art form and a profession engaged with the biggest cultural questions."[8][9]

History

In 2008, the founders of PARTISANS, Josephson and Baktash, were finishing their master's of architecture degree at the University of Waterloo.[10] They became close as they consulted on each other's thesis projects, and decided to go into business together.[10] Alex Josephson had previously worked as a sculptor and worked for the architect Massimiliano Fuksas in Rome before returning to Canada.[11] Both founders had previously worked at larger firms, and unable to be creative, they decided start their own studio together.[10] Starting with small commissions from family, the pair quickly began attaining larger projects, winning a commission from Osmington to become the lead architect of the redevelopment and expansion of Toronto’s historic Union Station’s commercial real estate “to leverage Union’s identity as a major transit hub and transform it into ‘a fluid stage for Toronto’s most ambitious culinary, cultural, design, and retail offerings."[12] On a mission to alter the way Canadians build and understand architecture, Alex Josephson was awarded the Globe & Mail 2013 Catalyst Award.[13] Jonathan Friedman, an Ontario licensed architect from South Africa with a decade of experience in Toronto, joined the firm in 2014 as the third partner. As of November 2023, PARTISANS is led and managed by Alex Josephson.

Publications & Press

Graphic Novel

In 2014, Partisans published a graphic novel called "Suburbabylonia", a part manifesto, part satire novel.[14] The book has the appearance of dreamy images and truth-seeking spaceman hero, but beneath the surface, the authors aim to mock an off-kilter version of a Toronto-like metropolis, destroyed by unchecked building boom and ineptitude of municipal politicians.[14]

Book

In 2016, Hans Ibelings along with Partisans co-wrote a book called "Rise and Sprawl: The Condominiumization of Toronto".[2] Together they tackle the criticism of Toronto's current skyline, and how the rapid growth of downtown as well as the condominium development has changed Toronto.[2]

Recognition

  • 2020 - RAIC Emerging Architectural Practice

Notable Projects & Awards

  • Current: 1925 Victoria Park Ave[15]
    1. 2023 - Holcim Gold Medal, North America
  • Current: 55 Yonge[16]
    1. 2022 - Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award, Skyscrapers & High-rises
  • 2023: Canvas House[17]
  • 2021: Vela
    1. 2021 - Azure Magazine's Top 10 Interiors of the Year
  • 2020: Gusto501
    1. 2023 - Toronto Urban Design Award
    2. 2020 - International Masonry Institute JBC Masonry Innovation Competition
    3. 2020 - IES Illumination Award
  • 2019: Innisfil Orbit Masterplan, Garden City Plan for 50,000 new homes in Ontario
    1. 2022 - Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award, Urban Planning
    2. 2021 - AZ Awards: Urban Design Visions Finalist
    3. 2021 - International Property Awards: Best Landscape Architecture Canada & Ontario
  • 2019: Toronto Biennial of Art
  • 2018: Quetzal
    1. 2022 - Michelin Star
    2. 2019 - Canada's 100 Best Restaurants: Best Restaurant Design
    3. 2019 - Canadian Interiors, Best of Canada, Hospitality
  • 2018: Fold House
    1. 2021 - WAF House & Villa (Rural/Nature) Finalist
  • 2018: Union Station, Toronto's central train terminal, Interior Fit-Out[18]
  • 2017: Yeoui-Naru Han Gang Wishbone Ferry Terminal
    1. American Architecture Prize: Winner in Architectural Design & Transportation
  • 2016: Luminato Festival of the Arts at The Hearn
    1. 2017 - Toronto Urban Design Awards, Special Jury Award for Urban Activation
  • 2015: Bar Raval
    1. 2016 - MCHAP Emerging Architecture, 2016 Nominee
    2. 2016 - American Architecture Prize, Gold in Hospitality Interior Design
    3. 2016 - AIA International Region Merit Award
    4. 2015 - Architect Magazine R+D Awards, Special Mention
    5. 2015 - Canadian Interiors Magazine, 18th Annual Best of Canada Design Competition
    6. 2015 - Ontario Wood WORKS! Interior Design Award
  • 2014: Grotto Sauna[19]
    1. 2015 - OAA Design Excellence[20]
    2. 2015 - WAF World Building of the Year Shortlist[21]
    3. 2015 - BOY, Best in 10: Beauty/Spa[22]
    4. 2015 - Architizer A+ Healthcare & Wellness Popular Choice Winner[23]
    5. 2014 - Interior Design "2014 BOY Winner: Spa"[24]
    6. 2014 - AIA International Honor Award[25]
    7. 2014 - Interior Design Magazine Award, Best of 2014[26]
    8. 2014 - Ontario Wood WORKS! 2014 Wood Design Award[27]
  • 2014: Gweilo[28]
    1. 2018 - Wallpaper* Design Awards, Lighting
    2. 2017 - European Product Design Awards, Silver for Illumination/Floor Lamps
    3. 2016 - Azure Magazine AZ Awards, Best Lighting Installation
    4. 2015 - Architizer A+ Awards, Architectural Lighting
    5. 2015 - LAMP, Lighting Award

References

  1. ^ "Toronto's Next Generation: Partisans". Azure Magazine. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Partisans". www.partisans.com. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Serotiny". www.serotiny.group. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Designers You Should Know: PARTISANS". Contract Design. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Architecture Firm Partisans Asks, "WTF?"". Designlines Magazine. 6 March 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Emerging Architectural Practice Award - 2020 Recipient". raic.org. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  7. ^ Lewsen, Simon (19 July 2018). "Who Says Canadian Architecture Is Boring?". The Walrus. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  8. ^ "A trailblazer and a troublemaker honoured with Canadian architecture awards". Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Rising Studio PARTISANS Reflects the Triumphs and Challenges of Building in Toronto". Metropolis. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Lewsen, Simon (19 July 2018). "Who Says Canadian Architecture Is Boring?". The Walrus. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Bar Raval: A chef's ambitious new venture, built to last". Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Toronto's new Union Station food court opens today". Canadian Architect. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  13. ^ "And the winners are ... Meet our 10 Catalysts". The Globe and Mail. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Suburbabylonia - Partisans Pens Graphic Novel About Toronto". Designlines Magazine. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  15. ^ "1925 Victoria Park | A prototype for sustainable apartment living". www.1925vicpark.com. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  16. ^ "55 Yonge". www.55yonge.ca. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Canvas House / Partisans". ArchDaily. 12 November 2023. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  18. ^ Lam, Elsa (10 June 2019). "Things are Looking Up: Union Station Food Court, Toronto, Ontario". Canadian Architect. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Partisans' lakeside Grotto takes the edge off traditional sauna design".
  20. ^ oaa.on.ca https://oaa.on.ca/whats-on/awards/past-oaa-award-winners. Retrieved 22 November 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ^ "World Building of the Year 2015 shortlist announced". Dezeen. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  22. ^ "Best of Year 2015: Project Winners". Interior Design. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  23. ^ "2015 Typology Winners - Architizer A+Awards". winners.architizer.com. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  24. ^ "2014 Best of Year Awards - Projects Winners". Interior Design. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  25. ^ "2014 Winners". AIA INTERNATIONAL. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  26. ^ "2014 Best of Year Awards - Projects Winners". Interior Design. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  27. ^ Architect, Canadian (18 November 2014). "Winners of the Ontario Wood WORKS! 2014 Wood Design Awards announced". Canadian Architect. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  28. ^ "Gweilo". Parachilna. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
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