SCE faculty Jeremy Barbour’s firm Tacklebox Architecture was selected as WINNER in the Hospitality Interior category and was awarded the top prize BEST OF BEST in the Commercial Interior category in the 2023 Architecture Masterprize Awards.

The % Arabica Coffee project also received recognition for design excellence as an Honoree inthe 2023 Interior Design Best of Year Awards.

Located in historic Union Station in Toronto, Canada, the design is inspired by the geological and glacial formation of the surrounding landscape. Drawing inspiration from the layered beauty of glacial ice, folded rock, and the strata of the underlying bedrock, this space is defined by a floor-to-ceiling, faceted wall terrain. This monolithic surface is comprised of 172 faceted blocks that have been meticulously carved from 3,452 layers of stacked gypsum wallboard– a ubiquitous building material commonly sourced in the region but used here in a unique and extraordinary way.

This crisp, white geometric surface is punctuated at intervals by 24 powder-coated steel niches that house bulk coffee bags and merchandise on display. A continuous white Corian surface folds and carves space to form front and back service counters where visitors gather to receive % Arabica’s finest coffees sourced from around the globe.