Toronto's Design Exchange honours hometown heroes Yabu Pushelberg

Of all the recognition that one could garner, nothing quite compares to being honoured on home turf. After 35 years of creating some of the most captivating hotels, restaurants and residences around the world, the Canadian design firm Yabu Pushelberg is being celebrated this weekend by Design Exchange, the only museum dedicated to design in their hometown of Toronto. Past honorees have included the artist/writer Douglas Coupland and Byron and Dexter Peart of the fashion label Want les Essentials de la Vie.
Both Ontario natives, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg first met as students at Ryerson University in Toronto. They went on to pursue different paths until a stroke of fate brought them back together by way of a shared office space. Collaborations ensued and before long, they decided to join their efforts both professionally and personally. More than three decades later, their passion for design continues to inform their projects and their work.
These days, the Yabu Pushelberg aesthetic – a refined mix of clean bold lines and sumptuously textured materials – has come to symbolize sophistication and luxury. Restrained forms are infused with buoyancy, thanks to gestural, individual flourishes, such as the metal screens in the Park Hyatt New York, or the statuesque, gilt mosaic tiled columns of The Edition in Miami. In furniture form, Yabu Pushelberg favours elegant silhouettes that still invite the user to explore and interact with them – a balance that’s not often achieved.
In a pre-emptive move to this weekend’s celebrations, we invite you to join us in toasting some of the firm’s greatest hits over the years.
Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto.
A room at the Park Hyatt in New York City.
The Ports 1961 boutique in Shanghai.
The concept boutique, Siwilai, in Bangkok.
'Blink' furniture collection for Stellarworks
A room (left) and the bar (right) at The Edition Hotel in London.
The firm's Boomerang sofa for fellow Canadian, Avenue Road
Primehouse restaurant in New York City
Yabu Pushelberg's headquarters in Toronto.
The duo behind the celebrated design firm Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu.
INFORMATION
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.
-
Serious cyclists now have serious options, courtesy of two new models from Canyon
With two new bikes, the Endurace: ONfly e-bike and Endurance: AllRoad, Canyon is innovating with both price and performance
-
New members’ club Beihouse revives Beirut’s architectural heritage
Following the devastating 2020 explosion, three 19th-century homes in Gemmayzeh become a social hub balancing cultural memory with contemporary luxury
-
Aman New York unveils exclusive US Open-themed experience
Aman’s ‘Season of Champions’ pairs Grand Slam action with personalised recovery and performance treatments designed by Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova
-
Omer Arbel reflects on 20 years of ‘making materials uncomfortable’ to generate novel forms
After almost two decades’ developing dazzling sculptural lighting and buildings, the designer and Bocci co-founder discusses the ‘constructed discomfort’ that allows his studio to innovate
-
Yabu Pushelberg talk design and living at the beach
Molteni & C has released a new short film in its ‘House of Molteni’ series, featuring Canadian designers Yabu Pushelberg talking design, inspiration and their Amagansett beach house
-
World View: Letter from Canada
The World View series shines light on the creativity and resilience of designers around the world as they confront the challenges wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic. Working with our international contributors, we reach out to creative talents to ponder the power of design in difficult times and share messages of hope. As Laura May Todd discovers in Toronto and Montreal, designers are staying connected digitally, setting up home studios, and finding new appreciation for tactility and self-reliance
-
Ivystudio’s clean design for White’s laundry in Montreal
-
Raw nature: Martha Sturdy distills the Pacific Northwest into object form