Toronto-based commercial design-build specialist BUILD IT by Design is on a roll in Q3, basking in the praise for Toronto’s new Waterworks Food Hall, celebrating its 15th anniversary by reaching 600 projects on its books and announcing plans to expand in the next year.
The vast majority of BUILD IT’s projects are in the restaurant and retail sector in Toronto.
BUILD IT director of operations Reuben Barkin explained it takes a special skillset to stay busy in the competitive sector and his firm has succeeded in part because of the expertise it is able to offer through its in-house millwork division.
“It’s incredible the demand that we’re seeing in the city of Toronto alone, and how the envelope is being pushed,” Barkin said of the busy commercial sector.
“Millwork is always a very integral part in all the builds. It’s certainly a competitive advantage for us.”
Typically using the design-build model, BUILD IT aligns with its clients right from the beginning of concepts, Barkin explained, helping them source real estate, negotiate leases and take care of high-level budgeting, initially, to see if there’s even a case to move forward.
At that point, they assemble a design team with interior designers, architects and engineers and engage in value engineering.
The millwork team then creates custom woodwork, cabinetry and ornamental details, store fixtures, storefronts, entrances and artistic installations. Often the restaurants it creates are part of infill projects in Toronto’s downtown, so that may offer high ceilings, exposed brick and old mechanical systems to design around.
Ready to Rumble
Two recent notable Toronto projects, the Waterworks Food Hall and the Rumble Boxing Studio, were both adaptive reuses.
The Waterworks project created a buzz even before the facility’s July opening. It’s located on the site of a 1932-era City of Toronto Waterworks building which spanned an entire city block in the Adelaide West neighbourhood. The developers are Woodcliffe Landmark Properties and MOD Developments. Since 2016 they have led the redevelopment of the site with a condo component on Richmond Street with 290 units and a new 60,000-square-foot YMCA.
The food hall opened in July to significant social media acclaim.
Woodcliffe CEO Eve Lewis visited some 50 food emporiums over several years to gather ideas for the food hall. Leading consultants in the restoration, design and fit-out included ERA Architects, Diamond Schmitt, Cecconi Simone, Futurestudio, DesignAgency and Steven Fong Architects.
The space features heritage brick walls and 44-foot ceilings with original steel beams and columns. BUILD IT performed kiosk build-out.
“The bones were there, the shell was there,” said Barkin. “The purpose of that kiosk was to show the world what the concept was, how is it going to be different. They were trying to market it.”
Instead of allowing the food sellers to design their own units, the developer pre-designed them.
“It was great to take care of all the mechanical, all the millwork, all the finishes, all the lighting, all the integration to the base building services,” said Barkin.
No zinc here
The owners of one bar, Civil Works, wanted zinc countertops but BUILD IT had to convince them and the design team that would not work logistically in a wet bar.
“It’s one of the nicest bars we’ve built, and it’s got an absolutely incredible 20-foot-tall back bar, and this gorgeous front bar,” said Barkin.
“We were able to come up with a painted stainless option that saved money, had a better finish, was easier to integrate, and can be a lot more sustainable, but still gave the same look.”
The Rumble Boxing Studio at Yonge and Eglinton bills itself as a fight club with a nightclub vibe. It was built into the basement of a condo building and was a “logistical nightmare,” Barkin said, with no elevator and just a staircase for lugging supplies.
“It started off as this really cold and desolate concrete box with basic mechanical services, and we needed to come in there and have the vision to be able to see the studio through using a lot of tricks with paint and colour to block out the mechanical services,” he said.
Sound was an issue with businesses operating beside and above.
“There was a lot of acoustical concessions and textures that need to be taken into account for the boxing ring, and then a lot of high-end millwork and softer materials to make you feel that you weren’t in a basement space.
“Some lighting techniques were used in a brighten up, make the space look extremely inviting.”
As for the expansion, BUILD IT added a Calgary office five years ago and Barkin said within a year there will be a Vancouver headquarters, probably followed by Ottawa.
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