Tenterhooks
Status:
Design Study
Year:
2017
Type:
Mixed-Use
Size:
Client:
Private
Location:
Toronto, Ontario
Tenterhooks
Status:
Design Study
Year:
2017
Type:
Mixed-Use
Size:
Client:
Private
Location:
Toronto, Ontario
Tenterhooks was a mixed-use office and retail design proposal, conceived as a mixed-use building combining ground-floor commercial space, an art foundation, and an upper-level office environment. The project was developed around the intent to attract one or two major tenants, prioritizing spatial clarity, identity, and long-term flexibility over subdivision or speculative leasing.
A defining architectural move was the introduction of a mesh screen system, positioned between the commercial base and the office floors above. The screen established a clear break between public and private programs while contrasting deliberately with the surrounding glass envelope. Oriented to the east, it was designed to filter morning light, reduce glare, and act as a semi-transparent layer for the display of art associated with the foundation.
The project’s name, Tenterhooks, draws from the textile process of stretching fabric on tenters. This idea informed the architectural language through a series of tension-based drawings and string-like geometries, translating the logic of pulled fabric into structure, façade, and spatial sequencing.
The screen became both a functional environmental device and a symbolic threshold delineating commercial activity from curated cultural space while giving the art foundation a distinct architectural presence within the building.
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