Plus Tongtong Studio

Drake Devonshire Inn

DRAKE DEVONSHIRE INN

+tongtong

Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig

ARCHITECTS
+tongtong

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
Joel Loblaw

DESIGN IDENTITY
Coolaide Design Field Office

CUSTOM FURNITURE
+Tongtong

MANUFACTURERS
Bauwerk Parkett, Flavor Paper, RelativeSpace

DESIGNERS IN CHARGE
John Tong, Eunice Lam

ARCHITECTS OF RECORD
ERA Architects

ART CURATOR
Mia Nielson

CONSTRUCTION
BLT Construction and Loyalist

OWNER
Jeff Stober, founder and CEO, Drake Hotel Properties

STYLIST
Carlo Colacci

PHOTOGRAPHS
Nikolas Koenig

AREA
1010.0 m²

YEAR
2015

LOCATION
Prince Edward, Canada

CATEGORY
Hotels, Hostel

Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig

Text description provided by architect.

In the small historic town of Wellington, in Prince Edward County, Drake hotelier and visionary Jeff Stober enlisted design firm +tongtong under the direction of John Tong to reinvent a tired bed and breakfast and original c. 1880 foundry into an 11-room and two-suite contemporary inn.

Perched over a meandering creek and a private waterfront, with sweeping views of Lake Ontario, the inn is the rural counterpart to its hip, urban sister, Toronto’s Drake Hotel, also designed by Tong and his former firm, 3rd Uncle.

Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig

The Drake’s approach was to draw inspiration from the cultural background and vernacular of the local community, while instilling a contemporary perspective.

The Drake Devonshire takes aesthetic cues from a lexicon of references including; the British country inn, retreats in the Hamptons, summer camps, and Southern Ontario’s farmhouses and cottages, with their tapestry of historical layers and styles, practical ad- hoc renovations, readily available building materials, and mismatched furnishings.

Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig

With the help of ERA Architects, specialists in heritage and conservation, Tong removed a series of additions that had been made to the original foundry and then “reinstated” them, with seemingly iterative additions.

These include a ‘barn like’ pavilion, a Douglas Fir dining hall, a modernist special events space, the Glass Box and an outdoor bar featuring a masonry chimney and double-sided fireplace and its cedar bleachers that cascade to the Devonshire’s waterfront.

Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig

The public areas offer a variety of open and private seating areas linked together through spaces that frame views and articulate the building’s new volumes and layers, presenting a building as an evolutionary experience, encouraging travellers to discover and delight in its offerings.

Both the guest rooms and the public areas are teeming with doses of the Drake’s brand of idiosyncratic and mischievous personality.

Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig

Bright and contrasting tiles are mixed
with patterned fabrics and straight-forward materials in a deliberate, but seemingly ad-hoc manner that heighten the delicate balance of old and new.

Tong and the Drake’s in-house stylist and Drake General Store buyer, Carlo Colacci, scoured local and international antique markets and vintage fairs, picking and curating furniture, fixtures and accessories.

Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig

These were refurbished and set with bespoke furniture, hand-turned lamps, virgin wool blankets and accessories that all follow the centuries-old traditionof “made not bought”.

With the Drake’s in-house art curator Mia Nielsen, site specific and evolving contemporary art installations by emerging and well-known art stars were commissioned to surprise and delight throughout the property—indoors and out.

Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig


Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig

Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig
Drake Devonshire Inn
© Nikolas Koenig

Plus Tongtong Studio
T +1 416 504 6563
Plus Tongtong Studio
35 Golden Ave #106, Toronto, ON M6R 2J5, Canada