We had only 8 weeks to transform this brutalist building a modern student living space. We had a minimal budget to create a space that integrates a sense of community with academic objectives. Specifically, the objectives were:
• To provide exterior signage and wayfinding, including the building address, site signage, and coordination with landscape consultant; level 3 terrace;
• To design signage for Public Floors, including door signage for all doors, identification of special areas (i.e. reception) and public amenity areas (i.e. main lounge, games room, printing room, upper lounge, fitness);
• To provide door signage for all doors, wayfinding for rooms, floor level identification, identification for special rooms, level 9 laundry, and amenity spaces for Levels 3–PH;

Specific Scope:
Exterior Signage
• Primary building identification / address
• Primary and secondary building entrance identification
• Shipping/Receiving/Loading
• Site signage and coordination with landscape consultant
• Level 3 Terrace
Interior Signage
• Public Floors: door signage for all doors; identification of special areas (i.e.
reception) and public amenity areas (i.e. main lounge, games room, printing room,
upper lounge, fitness)
• Directional signage
• Levels 3-PH: door signage for all doors; wayfinding for rooms; floor level
identification;
identification of special areas, incuding the Don’s room, level 9 laundry, typical
amenity spaces
• Stair level and number ID
• Elevators
• Regulatory signs and code required signs

It seems as though dozens of cranes continue to pop up almost daily in Toronto. Instead of adding to the lot, local developer Knightstone Capital Management snatched up the dowdy Best Western Primrose Hotel at the corner of Jarvis and Carlton streets, and assigned the design team with the task of transforming it into a hip new student residence.
Our design team was given only 8 weeks to transform the 1970s brutalist building into Parkside, a modern, affordable, and safe student living space. The budget was minimal, with the objective of creating a space that integrated a sense of community with academic objectives. We accomplished this with budget-friendly strategies such as freshening the walls with clean white paint, and applying bold blasts of colour and graphics throughout the walls, carpet and key building features.
Like public parks, Parkside Student Residence brings together individuals from all walks of life to create community. The philosophy for Parkside’s logo incorporates two key themes – the natural world and human experience. The icon represents both the cross-section of a tree trunk (a centre where things grow and radiate), and a fingerprint (a personal touch). The warm colours, rounded typeface, and circular forms combine for a youthful and modern logo that is distinctive and memorable.

The overarching concept focuses on the ways individuals come together to create the bigger picture and a better place. Visually, this concept is represented through a series of smaller dots that form a larger graphic, whether it be icons, numbers,letters, or words. These circular elements imitate the Parkside logo and place emphasis on Parkside’s commitment to community.

We used budget-friendly strategies such as freshening the walls with clean white paint, and
applying bold blasts of colour and graphics throughout the walls, carpet and key building features while maintaining the corporate and architectural vision of the client.

Drawing inspiration from the simple yet bold décor as well as the logo as a graphic element, the program introduces brave, cheerful visuals that speak directly to Millennial culture and creates powerful associations with the organizational brand. The complete Parkside rebrand demonstrates our ability to generate creative solutions within a compressed timeframe and budget, while maintaining the corporate and architectural vision of the client.