Holt Renfrew’s ON3, Flagship by Studio Paolo Ferrari is a 20,000 square-feet multi-brand retail destination in Toronto, Canada. Our intervention centered on reclaiming a vanguard approach, by combining two seemingly disparate but correlative ideas – the dualistic concept of Radical Balance. The concept stems from an ambition to shed fresh light on the oft-overlooked culture of experimentation and eclecticism within the canon of Canadian design & architecture. We aimed to evoke the ever-relevant notion of site-responsivity and place-making—re-introducing the qualities of joy, warmth, and excitement—back to brick and mortar retail.

With this approach, Studio Paolo Ferrari brought the ever relevant notion of site-responsivity and place-making—but also joy, warmth, and excitement—back to brick and mortar retail. Through the meticulous juxtaposition of colour, material, texture, and pattern, as well as several fully-integrated commissioned art installations, Holt Renfrew’s Bloor Street flagship comprises a cleverly programmed spatial distribution of product vignettes—displaying a diverse but also complementary gamut of quiet luxury and avant-garde Men’s apparel, accessories, shoes, and grooming; unisex seasonal collections, denim, and an area dedicated to multi-brand activations. One aspect of this strategy was to create a sense of fluidity between these “magnetic zones” especially as customers are expected to shop across the offering.

Our aim was to avoid the pitfalls of the all-to-common marble palace with segmented counters, rows of shelving and overbearing drywall ceilings. Minimizing building material was a key constraint at the project onset. The existing travertine flooring was maintained and integrated into the design. In lieu of expansive drywall ceilings, a flexible strategy was implemented, involving an open plenum and suspended baffles. This approach managed acoustics, while offering the merchandising team a completely flexible ceiling, where fixtures and lighting could be suspended and re-located with ease. Future flexibility was central to the ceiling strategy and minimizing material use. The suspended baffles also conceal direct views into the plenum, creating an unexpectedly refined resolution.

A powerful way in which the design celebrates re-use is through the studio’s collaboration with Canadian textile artist Liz Pead. Liz was commissioned to produce a monumental work, comprising of 10 full height panels, which anchors men’s accessories. The notion of contrasting artistry and engineering is fully evidenced in Liz Pead’s conceptually holistic, “Fuzzy Gold” installation. Forming the walls in this space, the piece was created by compressing layers of upcycled garments—reclaimed natural fibers and reclaimed Canadian wool—rendered in a collage-like palette evoking the limestone cliff landscape of Northern Ontario. The moment of captivating intensity drives home our site responsive concept of radical balance emphatically.