32 - 33 of the Bay St. Bull Power 50: Design

Living in Toronto is an experience for culture thrill seekers. The city is evolving as neighborhood borders blend and hi-rise condos, restaurants and foreign retailers sprout from vacant cracks. Structures and new developments pave the way for migration patterns within the city, while design-focused architects create the narratives that connect communities to environments. Toronto’s established firm, Yabu Pushelberg, and design provocateurs, Partisans, are defining the Canadian cultural landscape with distinguished architecture.

32. Yabu Pushelberg

Design and life partners for more than three decades, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg have developed a distinctive portfolio of high-profile spaces that run the gamut of hotels, retail spaces, restaurants, residences, studios and products. With clean lines, natural textures and tranquil tones, the firm has mastered the use of light reflection to expose the natural beauty of luxurious materials and open space. Yabu Pushelberg defies conventional trends and aesthetics with projects in over fifteen countries. Working with some of the world's leading innovators and brands, the Canadian Yabu Pushelberg experience can be seen at the Four Season’s Hotel Toronto, the Hazelton Hotel, Avenue Road Furniture, The Room at Hudson’s Bay, and Saks Fifth Avenue Eaton’s Center location.

33. Partisans

Fresh thinkers Alexander Josephson and Pooya Baktash, of Partisans, are sculpting smart design that is leading Canadian architecture into a complex realm of building science. Distinguished by their calculated execution of amorphous shapes, sophisticated use of cutting-edge software and technology, Partisan projects manifest a sense of raw futuristic sensuality. Grotto Sauna, located in Georgian Bay, organically emerges from an island’s rock edge, while Bar Raval, located in Toronto’s College West neighborhood, is a small scale example of the large capabilities that this emerging firm holds. Next on the horizon? Evolving the city’s major transit hub, Union station, into a cultural destination.