How one young architect is transforming Toronto's big and little spaces
'Our streets should be entertaining.'
Partisans is an architecture firm with a rebellious streak. They're on a mission to transform the city of Toronto, guided by their motto: "Beauty emerges when design misbehaves."
Alex Josephson, 34, is the co-founder of Partisans. "Architecture and design affect our emotional states," he says. "Our streets should be entertaining. They should be inspiring. They should be fun."
We're not interested in yesterday. We're interested in tomorrow.- Alex Josephson
Partisans has taken the idea that city streets should be "a playground of society," and applied it to small and large spaces alike across Toronto — from their 21st-century reinterpretation of Spanish art nouveau in Bar Raval, to their reinvention of the Hearn, a decommissioned 23-million-cubic-foot coal plant that became a giant art gallery and performance space for the city's Luminato festival.
Josephson is one of a new generation of passionate change-makers profiled in CBC's new series We Are Canada. Watch the series Sundays at 7 p.m. on CBC and online.