1920s, but it has a 1920s-style,” she says. “The original builders were inspired by 20’s factory architecture. We maintained that inspiration but modernized it for contemporary lifestyles. The result is a nice blend of classic modernism with more contemporary materials.” Sonja Bata herself originally approached Dubbeldam and asked them to join the project team. Heather remembers being excited by the opportunity: “It’s our ideal kind of project,” she says. “It had an environmental mandate, but also a social mandate in terms of the support it would provide to the community. It gave us the opportunity to take something old and make it new again and really give it a purpose.” Also, Dubbeldam had worked with Bata before and had a “wonderful experience,” Heather says. The experience working with BDP Quadrangle turned out to be equally wonderful, she adds. That’s another reason she and her team enjoyed working on this project. “The process of working with BDP Quadrangle was amazing. It was a great collaboration.” “Ultimately, I think everyone was happy in the end,” she says. “The project has won a lot of awards. It has been really well-received by everyone. The project accomplished everything it set out to accomplish. It’s an amazing addition to the community.” She believes that the residents of the building would agree, due to the feedback the team received from the development corporation. She explained that a number of factors make the units appealing: they are “full of natural light;” some have 15foot ceilings; almost all of them have balconies; and they all have a deep sense of history, reinforced by the exposed concrete columns from the original factory. All the units were also designed with quality in mind, Heather says – and the importance of that can’t be overstated. “For every element of the building, we focused on quality. Often with this type of project there are challenges with the budget, but in this case the client did not want to compromise when it came to quality. She wanted good quality cabinetry, fixtures, finishes, hardware, everything. She wanted tomake sure it was a lovely and healthy place to live.” APRIL 2022
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