Will Sorrell, director of Interior Design Show Toronto, has curated an exhibition of reflective spaces that includes a model of temporary housing for a site under development by architecture studio SvN.
Future Neighborhood was an exhibition held at the heart of design trade fair Interior Design Show Toronto 2024 (IDS Toronto), featuring six different installations showcasing design's “ability to shape the future.”
Each booth featured solutions to urban problems, and nearly half of the booths featured different aspects of the housing crisis, which Sorrell identified as the most pressing concern in today's urban environment.
“We looked at the application and realized that housing was going to be one of the key conversations,” Soler told Dezeen.
“This reflects one of the big problems that everyone is worried about right now, and that designers are obsessed with solving,” he said.
He also said that the exhibition is aimed at two audiences at the fair: the design industry and the general public.
The exhibition is held in an enclosed miniature “neighborhood” in the center of the fair, with a large sign with the exhibition's name bridging the entrance and Central Boulevard, toward which the booths are oriented. I was there.
One of the booths is called Housing the Unhoused and was set up by SvN in collaboration with the nonprofit organization Two Steps Home and the technology company Cabn.
The project includes a model of temporary housing made of orthogonal laminated timber, intended for installation on transitional construction sites and to provide a residential staircase between the encampment and more permanent housing. The purpose is
Designed with energy efficiency and low-cost materials in mind, the 'cabins' aim to 'break the cycle of homelessness'.
“The Two Steps Home project ties directly into SvN's work across the full spectrum of housing and the company's vision of planning and designing resilient, inclusive and complete communities,” said SvN's Chief Growth Officer. Laura Sellers told Dezeen.
“Presenting this type of project within the context of IDS is a bit provocative and a reminder that we can design the future of our communities and neighborhoods equitably and inclusively, with access to good design for everyone. I hope you let me.”
Another project by design studios SDI and Q4, Transform, aimed to provide housing for seniors in a new, more inclusive way.
The booth includes a cardboard structure decorated with graphics depicting microinfrastructure features, as well as ground and wall graphics that show how these features integrate with the infrastructure and how it ages. It showed how zoning can be made more advantageous for people.
Also in the wake of the housing crisis, local designer Noam Hazan is working on a “Tesla-like” model where buyers can buy models online, customize them and have them delivered flat-packed with modules called Blocks. We exhibited a housing unit with accessories.
Technology was another consideration for the near-future region.
Local studio IA Interior Architects has created a booth that integrates both biomaterials and virtual reality, with a windbreak wall made of biobrick and a wraparound screen, creating a beautiful backdrop for conference rooms and office relaxation spaces. I did.
Technology company Melo has taken a similar approach, creating an installation that shows a space that combines “binaural” lighting, scent, sound, and texture.
Finally, architect Safoula Zahedi created a sculpture made of reflective materials, based on his research in Islamic architecture. The installation, called “Journey Through Geometry,” was created as an experiment in a new model of “spiritual design tools” to draw people into the built environment.
Other projects addressing homelessness include a portable battery developed by Luke Talbot that allows you to charge your cell phone on a rental bicycle, and a California residential area for families experiencing homelessness.
Photos by Arash Moallemi unless otherwise noted.
IDS Toronto 2024 was held from January 23rd to 26th in downtown Toronto. For more global architecture and design events, exhibitions and talks, check out the Dezeen event guide.
