Award

3. 6. 4. 5. focus on micro scale is typical of all of our clients." Chou is also launching a line of high-end furniture for Nienkämper and recently created a line of kitch- ens for AyA Kitchens and Baths. As with so much of his work, the kitchens are minimalist and serve double duty: for example, kitchen islands feature a concealed cooktop that when revealed provides additional work- surface space; pivoting dining tables can be stored when not in use. While Chou's business model is unique, by provid- ing comprehensive design services he and his team are better positioned to ride out economic downturns than those professionals who limit themselves to a single discipline. But the road to developing this type of company was circuitous. Born in Taiwan and transplanted to Toronto in 1966, Chou was raised by an engineer father and an artist mother. "The former was very analytical, raised with Confucian principles, and the latter very intuitive, or Taoist, and that had a profound influence on me," he says, adding that his earliest passion was for music, which led to his proficiency in playing various musical instruments. Although sketching was also a lifelong passion, Chou didn't discover architecture until towards the end of high school. He subsequently enrolled in the Uni- versity of Waterloo, and upon graduation he interned with Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and other prominent professionals. Unfortunately, his formative years as an architect came during a market downturn in the 1990s, and as a designer in many offices he found himself unemployed soon after the design phases of a project. "However, it was during this time I learned to be resilient. I seized an opportunity to refine my graphic and furniture design skills, which has resulted in added value to our services." The next crucial step in Chou's evolution came in 1996, when he co-founded Archive Inc. Gallery & Art Library in the Queen West Gallery District. This venue was recognized for its innovative group shows curated by writers, artists, designers and filmmakers. More importantly, it serendipitously provided Chou with his first clients and the opportunity to create Johnson Chou Inc. One of his initial projects was for the late Eric Yolles, son of renowned structural engineer Morden Yolles. "I was tasked with designing Eric's condo, and he came to me with a four-page manifesto of requirements and ended with two words of advice: 'Think penitentiary'," he recalls. Although Yolles's remark was a reaction to the fam- ily home that was filled with an abundance of fine art, Chou took inspiration from penitentiary design and came across the 18th century panopticon concept in which a radial layout allows centrally-located war- dens to see everything around them. This prompted him to make Yolles's bathtub the focal point where he could see everything in his condo – much to the client's delight. Chou has frequently characterized himself as a modernist: "When modernism is done well, it engages on a primal, subconscious level. Its latent power is evoked by the abstraction of the first principles of architecture: movement, space, light and form. How- ever, it's not all about stripping down a space, but rather extracting and distilling the essential forms and essence of the space and then amplifying them." Two projects gave Chou international recognition: the ad agency Grip Limited and the headquarters for Red Bull Canada. For the former two-phase project in 2004 and 2006, Chou was tasked with creating an interior that matched the young and energetic tastes of Grip staff and the trendy Queen West district. The outcome was a big orange slide and fire pole that upper level employees use to reach the main floor, as well as elements such as a hot tub-like meeting space. "It really was a spatial branding exercise that enabled Grip's cli- ents to understand right away what they are all about," says Chou. For Red Bull, Chou focused on the transformation- like sensation that many consumers claim to experi- ence when drinking the energy beverage. "We created a narrative represented by the notion of a memento box, a container that captures one's transformation over a lifetime," he says. "For example, all of Red Bull's meeting rooms are vessel-like in form, like a box within a box. One is very conscious of being in a meeting room because that's where ideas are exchanged and where individuals whose careers are supported by Red Bull undergo a personal transformative process over time." Not surprisingly, Chou's concepts are sometimes greeted with shock. Such was the case with Blowfish Restaurants, first opened in the mid-1990s as one of Toronto's first Asian fusion sushi eateries. "I paired a modern interpretation of shoji screens against French- inspired chandeliers of our own design: a fusion of Japanese and Western elements," he says. "But when presented to my clients they thought I had lost my mind! Fortunately they quickly grasped the concept, and since then the chandeliers have become a defining element of the brand." Chou has worked hard to attract and retain col- leagues who understand his vision. His reputation abroad came in handy when Silke Stadtmueller turned down an offer to be a partner in a German architecture firm; she saw one of his projects in an international architecture magazine and in a fit of spontaneity flew to Canada within the week. From her hotel room, she designed and printed her resume. "She arrived at my office without an appointment and when she pre- sented her resume to me I was impressed with her directness," he says. "I was taken with the ideas she was developing and her Germanic design sensibilities certainly aligned with mine. Grip was our first project together." Although a slew of awards (including a coveted 2012 ARIDO Project of the Year for the Sixty Colborne sales centre) and a plethora of projects help distance him from the dark time when he was delivering pack- ages to pay the bills, Chou still very much exhibits the enthusiasm of a young designer made good. As such, his only goal for the future is to maintain course. "It's been a fantastic 14 years and I couldn't be happier with our trajectory," he says. "I am fortu- nate to have developed a clientele who specifically seek our studio and are supportive of our ideas; with them, I hope to create projects of beauty that inspire wonder." ■ 1: Grip Limited's sixth-floor atrium. 2: Sixty Colborne (2012 ARIDO Project of the Year). 3 and 6: Red Bull Canada's meeting rooms, hallway and offices. 4 and 5: 142 Kenilworth (2014 ARIDO winner). BRendA Liu BRendA Liu Tom ARBAn PhoTogRAPhy Tom ARBAn PhoTogRAPhy october 2014 /9 Johnson chou Inc.

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