Deconstruct a condo, put it in a storage locker and then invite your friends.
There are a lot of parties in Toronto’s design and builder community, but none as anticipated as the annual installation event thrown by architect studio RAW. With a new boundary-pushing theme each year that has seen the studio churn out everything from a human-sized hamster wheel to a comic book come to life for its guests, RAW has become synonymous with summer time fun. This year the theme was RAW MATERIALS, a playful ode to the bricks, glass, metal, wood and fabrics that are at the heart of any construction project.
Over 600 guests braved the rain, making it out to a sprawling storage locker facility in The Junction – the latest in a series of unorthodox locales that have also included a parking garage, bread factory and Mini Cooper dealership.
Inside an 11,000-square-foot bulk storage space, party goers were met with installation after installation as RAW’s team of architects did their best to turn the cavernous space into an industrial playground. Plywood homes hung from the ceilings, wood studs wrapped themselves around structural beams, a metallic cloud weaved itself through the space and a glass encasement invited glow in the dark drawings from guests.
Food was provided by Sublime Catering chef Michael Tong, who had his own fun with this year’s theme, providing spicy chick pea a chicken crepes cooked on large slabs of iron, cedar smoked trout served on wooden planks and Mongolian hot pots made in oversized glass bowls.
Says RAW principal Roland Rom Colthoff, “We really wanted to demonstrate all the ways these deceptively common materials interact with our everyday lives. The applications are endless.”
Based on this selection of photos, you could say Roland and his team hit their mark.