Project Winner

The sales office for the Malibu at Harbourfront condominiums is intended to evoke the sunny sensibility of California’s famed Malibu Beach.
The greatest design challenge was to work within the existing plan and structural and mechanical elements of the former automobile showroom to achieve open sightlines.

The custom-designed maple millwork and furniture features coloured acrylics. Paint colours mingle cool, Pacific-suggestive blues with beige, green and red shades found on rooftops and beachside hills.
Sand and seashells were strategically deployed to heighten the beach feeling. Light maple finishes reinforce the theme.
A reflecting pool by the entryway greets visitors. Its recirculating waters reflect the colour of the lighting, which changes throughout the day in a morning-to-dusk evocation. Suite floor plans printed on translucent stretch material are backlit with vivid colours, lining up along the walls of the main space in an uplifting, banner-like progression. In the “closing” rooms, tinted lighting behind translucent panels conjures up vibrant sixties colour-field art.

Drobot: You don’t often see backlighting used as a themed, focal art object.
Schleeh: I enjoy the punchy, sophisticated colour treatment.