Construction Documents 101

One of my on-going classes in my Interior  Design program is Construction Documents which is a great class full of interesting information. 

Recently as part of my research for my main Interior Design project I was privileged to visit one of Montreal's most fantastic architectural examples from the earlier part of the 20th century. The landlord allowed me access to a space that has been used for the better part of a century for light manufacturing and is now vacant and being redone completely from floor to ceiling to get it ready for new tenants. 

This was great chance to see what my Con-Docs instructor has talked about in person. 

I took some photos to give myself some visual documentation and thought I should probably start posting things here again, for easy future reference. 

Here is the section of the existing demising wall being framed on this side for new tenants. Metal studs 16" O.C.

Treatment at column. 

If I'm Ever in Connecticut

While it is highly unlikely that I will be visiting Connecticut ever anytime soon, if I do I will be sure to stop by this place just to see it first hand.


Right from the website, seen here;
The Philip Johnson Glass House, a National Trust Historic Site, offers its 47-acre campus as a catalyst for the preservation and interpretation of modern architecture, landscape, and art; and as a canvas for inspiration and experimentation honoring the legacy of Philip Johnson (1906-2005) and David Whitney (1939-2005).

Cubism Cubed

Today was our big Art History presentation at school. It was a group project that I worked on with fellow classmates Susan and Jonathan. It went relatively smoothly as far as presentations go and it was nice to have worked together on a blog format that we presented in front of the class.

Our topic was Cubism which I have been enjoying researching as this is a very interesting art movement. The shared blog can be seen over at Cubism Cubed. It was based on a visit to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

The table pictured above is from a furniture designer in San Diego, CA called The Modern Project. You can see the blog here and OH LOOK! He has an Etsy site too!

Site Visit to Vista

Today we had a site visit and here are a few pics of some of the features we saw. Our hostess, Margo was very gracious and showed us the entire place. The colours she used are so fun and fabulous!

Lounge/meeting area. Also some computer stations where clients can check email.

In a private suite.


















What a pool! I think I would move in now if I could! They also had a small gym, a bar and a depanneur on site. Everything you could ever need.

There was an amazing amount of feature lighting but I think those pics need a post of their own.

CIOT: Site Visit Report

Yesterday we went on a field trip to CIOT!
It was a very informative tour of the showroom and fabrication areas on St-Laurent;
9151 St Laurent
Montreal, QC H2N 1N2
(514) 382-7330

The company was established in Montreal in 1950 by founding President Giovanni Battista Ciot and has since evolved and expanded. They are obviously doing something right because they are still in the process of expanding their St-Laurent location to make it even bigger.

^from the website ^

The company is divided into three main sections;

Habitat for the retail customer and home-owner.

Tecnica which assists designers on commercial projects.

Fabrica which is the custom and oone of a kind specialization area.

I had previously been there on a recon mission of my own but it was nice to have an official guided tour and see how the whole place functions. The lovely Marie-Claude showed us around and gave an informative "animation" but she chose to speak in french which was "un peu pire" because of my francais. It was also quite loud in the fabrication area so there was some info that I missed I am sure. Nontheless a very interesting behind the scenes look at what goes on.

I particularly enjoyed the natural stone section and the mosaic fabrication area. It was nice to see that the mosaics are still done the good old fashioned way, tumbled and hand cut to the detail. Each design is unique.

Here is a great example of a book match application of marble in the front entry way of the showroom.



Before we were told that pictures were not allowed I had snapped a few shots so I will share here (but don't tell anyone!)


Modular porcelain tile w/detailed relief.
Mosaic shower application.

Different designs in varioius sizes.

J.P Metals - Site Visit Review

For our Materials 1 class this week we went on a field trip to J.P. Metals.

Our wonderful host Tony gave us a very thourough tour of the place where I really learned a lot about how they fabricate their products.

The company was founded in 1968 and is still privately owned, now being one of the largest manufacturers of wood and metal retail systems in North America. It is quite a success story as you can see from the website. It is a family owned business that still uses the same methodology to get things done.



Everything is done in-house (or as much as can possibly be done) to avoid dependency on other fabricators. Tony explained how this keeps their delivery times shorter and there is less possibility of delay as they can definitely rely on their own fabricators to produce what they need. The company prides itself on delivery as promised and they were very busy so it seems this philosophy is really paying of for them.

We got to see the CNC machines in action and learned what a "v-cut" is and how that reduces production time while retaining accurate measurements when done using the latest technology.

All in all a VERY informative visit.