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.