PARTISANS is a Toronto-based architecture firm recognized for its future-forward approach to design and technology, civic advocacy and cultural engagement.[1] The firm was founded in 2012 by partners Alex Josephson and Pooya Baktash.[2] As of 2023 the studio is run by Alex Josephson 'OAA in collaboration with senior leaders of the studio. The name PARTISANS represent the firm's interest in collective action and architecture as a political force for social and cultural good.[3][4]
PARTISANS has contributed significantly to architecture in Canada through its unique style and approach which regards architecture as a collective, political act.[5]
In 2015 the firm was awarded the OAA Best Emerging Practice Award. 2020 the firm was recognized with the Emerging Architectural Practice Award by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. According to the 2020 jury, “The firm’s projects are original, powerful and evocative. The team is capable of thinking at all scales from interiors to city planning; the works speak to a vision for the future that is free-minded and innovative. As outspoken advocates for the quality of architecture as a social vehicle, their success is evidenced by the beloved spaces they have crafted.”[5] In Canada, where the architecture profession is increasingly corporate and conservative, PARTISANS embodies a "bold and expansive vision of architecture as an art form and a profession engaged with the biggest cultural questions."[6]
History
In 2008, the founders of PARTISANS, Josephson and Baktash, were finishing their master's of architecture degree at the University of Waterloo.[7] They became close as they consulted on each other's thesis projects, and decided to go into business together.[7] Alex Josephson had previously worked as a sculptor and worked for the architect Massimiliano Fuksas in Rome before returning to Canada.[8] Both founders had previously worked at larger firms, where they were unable to be creative, and soon decided to set up their shop together.[7] Starting with small commissions from family, the pair soon started building their firm up, winning a commission from Osmington to become the lead architect of the redevelopment and expansion of Toronto’s historic Union Station’s commercial real estate “to leverage Union’s identity as a major transit hub and transform it into ‘a fluid stage for Toronto’s most ambitious culinary, cultural, design, and retail offerings."[9] Jonathan Friedman, a licensed architect with a decade of experience in Toronto, joined the firm in 2014 as partner and left in 2022 to found his own firm.[8]
Publications
Graphic Novel
In 2014, Partisans published a graphic novel called "Suburbabylonia", a part manifesto, part satire novel.[10] The book has the appearance of dreamy images and truth-seeking spaceman hero, but beneath the surface, the authors aim to mock an off-kilter version of a Toronto-like metropolis, destroyed by unchecked building boom and ineptitude of municipal politicians.[10]
Book
In 2016, Hans Ibelings along with Partisans co-wrote a book called "Rise and Sprawl: The Condominiumization of Toronto".[2] Together they tackle the criticism of Toronto's current skyline, and how the rapid growth of downtown as well as the condominium development has changed Toronto.[2]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
