Toronto's Design Exchange honours hometown heroes Yabu Pushelberg

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The Edition hotel, Miami. 
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, including the lobby of The Edition hotel, Miami.
(Image credit: Nikolas Koenig)

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.

Four Seasons Hotel, Toronto.

(Image credit: Evan Dion)

Gypparkhyatt Guestroom King

A room at the Park Hyatt in New York City.

(Image credit: Evan Dion)

The Ports 1961 boutique in Shanghai.

The Ports 1961 boutique in Shanghai.

(Image credit: Michael Weber)

The concept boutique, Siwilai

The concept boutique, Siwilai, in Bangkok. 

(Image credit: Dennis Lo)

'Blink' furniture collection for Stellarworks

'Blink' furniture collection for Stellarworks

(Image credit: press)

A room (left) and the bar (right) at The Edition Hotel in London.

A room (left) and the bar (right) at The Edition Hotel in London. 

(Image credit: Richard Powers)

The firm's Boomerang sofa for fellow Canadian

The firm's Boomerang sofa for fellow Canadian, Avenue Road

(Image credit: press)

restaurant in New York City

Primehouse restaurant in New York City

(Image credit: press)

Yabu Pushelberg's headquarters

Yabu Pushelberg's headquarters in Toronto. 

(Image credit: Evan Dion)

The duo behind the celebrated design firm Glenn Pushelberg

The duo behind the celebrated design firm Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu.

(Image credit: Yabu Pushelberg)

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Pei-Ru Keh

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.