Randall Residences Insights

The Randall Residences were conceived to bring a pocket of ultra luxury to one of the prominent sectors of Downtown Oakville. The intersection of Trafalgar Rd and Randall St is a major connection point within the iconic village. Up until the original announcement for the Randall Residences, this pocket was fairly desolate, although an important strip, it didn’t have an attractive feature of this caliber to occupy the space. The addition of the Randall Residences will help bring energy into this section. The main focal point of Downtown Oakville is the Lakeshore Rd strip, however the potential for northward growth is substantial and the Randall Residences support this by adding both residential units and also street level commercial space. The styling will make it an instantly recognizable landmark within Oakville and will help continue to set the luxurious tone of the town. As is quite obvious upon first impression, the architectural form is inspired from European origins. As with most haute real estate, European architecture still holds the most prominence given its innate, immediate relation to this category of luxury residence.

The Randall Residences are modeled after a popular form of French Parisian architecture known as Beaux-Arts Architecture. During my visit to Copenhagen I had the pleasure of viewing a smorgasbord of varying architectural styles within close proximity to each other. The royal palace there is drawn up using the Rococo style which was immediately followed by the Neoclassical architecture movement. The Beaux-Arts were essentially the “peak” of neoclassical form. This clean and luxurious design collective allows for the use of traditional finishes while crafting an appearance that never goes out of style. The exterior desaturated façade may seem cold given the muted colour, however the concise details bring life and sophisticated appointments to the entire structure. It is the ideal choice of design that crafts a building which blends within natural forms, and any other future constructions that will eventually surround it. The Randall Residences required a timeless design that will always hold up to the grandeur of Oakville, and the Beaux-Arts choice was perfect for achieving this.

The Randall Residences Oakville are the product of two architectural minds who have a record of crafting fine luxury products. The exterior of the Randall Residences was crafted by Richard Wengle Architects and pulled on all of the previously mentioned architectural inspirations to craft the now recognized design. The interior layouts and finishes were conceptualized and brought to life by the design house of Ferris Rafauli, known for developing grand scale ultra luxury estates with an extreme level of detail from the exteriors, furniture and interiors. Ferris took all of these instrumental experiences and incorporated them into a condominium space to bring the grandeur of an estate home into a much smaller space, without losing the scale and luxurious awe associated with his design style. These concepts are brought into physical form through the development powerhouse Rosehaven Homes. Known for the high caliber construction quality, the Platinum division of this company allows for faith in the methods and intricate attention given to proper assembly of the residences. These three individual creative forces have allowed the Randall Residences to benefit from experience, knowledge and a luxury flair that has not been seen so far in a local condominium development.

The Randall Residences provide a unique atmosphere for the residents within. Like any condominium, there are common areas that are shared between all members of the building. Within the Randall Residences the main common focal point is the rooftop terrace. Although the penthouse suites and some of the regular units have outdoor spaces, the communal rooftop patio is a space where the wealthy, common minded residents can congregate. Mingling, meeting and interacting with people of similar financial stature, taste and vision allows for a great and unique dynamic for residents. Most condominium buildings have hundreds of suites but the Randall Residences only have 36 units meaning residents could theoretically know all of their fellow neighbours, forming new friendships and connections that are always valuable in life. The address at 300 Randall St offers underground secured parking for residents and private elevators to the Penthouse suites. Security is of utmost importance and is guaranteed not only by the building itself, but also the general neighbourhood quality of Downtown Oakville. This stunning blend of social potential, location, individual suite grandeur and future value appreciation makes the Randall Residences one of the greatest construction projects to grace the town of Oakville. Concrete statistics for the Randall Residences Oakville include 10 foot ceilings within all suites – the Penthouses come standard with 12 foot ceiling heights. Every unit has two parking spots inclusive in the price and Penthouses have private access personal rooftop terraces that range in size. The units themselves have varying square footage between 1,800 SQFT to over 3000 SQFT. Excavation of the construction site began in October of 2014 with final completion slated for 2017. The duration length is given the sheer amount of time required to craft such an intricate and detail oriented piece of art.

Randall Residences Floorplans

Design

Here are two homes built by Ferris Rafauli located in Oakville. These are general shots and will introduce you to the style which is prevalent in all of his builds. Although most of the Ferris Rafauli works feature a similar palette of exterior finishes, the details and overall layouts are substantially differentiated and particular to each project. We’ll begin with a bit of background. Growing up, Ferris Rafauli came from a family in the construction business and jumped right into the industry. He completed his first home build at the age of 18. From there, the business expanded and now his art pieces cover various luxury neighbourhoods.

The development which initially garnered much attention was built in Burlington. It was constructed as a spec home and sold at the time for the highest price ever paid for a non lake adjacent property within Burlington for approximately $3,400,000. At the time, Burlington was just entering this “renaissance” period with Ferris Rafauli‘s project being one of the forefront investments into the high-end luxury custom home market. This home set precedent for a series of future developments by Ferris Rafauli which would gradually get grander and larger in scale. The plot of land right next door was later developed into a home which although has the signature feel of a Ferris Rafauli built home, is completely different in layout and overall design.

Illustrated here are images of the before and after of the adjacent residence built along this now iconic stretch of Lakeshore Rd in Burlington. As of the writing of this article, a further development across the street is nearing completion alongside the lake. It seems the style influences are garnered from archaic origins but with a flair of in vogue, modern appeal. Every property stands out when viewed alongside its cookie-cutter neighbours. When a project is built by Ferris Rafauli, it not only crafts a work of art within the street, but increases the immediate appeal and sometimes price of the surrounding vicinity homes. Samples of inspiration feature Greek columns, but simplified for today’s more clean appearance. The smooth surface exteriors complement the surrounding greenery in an unexpected way. Each vision is crafted within Ferris Rafauli‘s mind and then drawn out in archetypal form.

Process

The entire design, build process is turnkey and completed in-house. This creates a seamless, streamlined result. You’ll notice in the following images of the same project that there was a change in the logo and styling. As the name and portfolio grew the company did a “rebranding”. The firm has now become a staple of not just beautiful homes, but custom furniture, landscaping and a full blown brand synonymous with the top tier luxury market. Smart move. As always, there are some builders who have taken these branding cues and copied them identically, I won’t mention specific names.

What has also become more prevalent across the world is the use of “O” shaped iron work. This is found in window designs, fences and other pieces. Combined with the square, linear lines it evokes a hint of royal atmosphere, but simplified. This small detail utilized in the correct situation completely changes the presence of the home. Many home builders are now using this styling piece within their projects. Situated to the right is an example of this being used in a Los Angeles concrete contemporary home situated in the Sunset Plaza neighbourhood of the Hollywood Hills.

Transformative

One of my favourite Ferris Rafauli residences is located right in the Morrison Corridor of Oakville and was just recently completed. This development features a clean, modern design while retaining classic Roman influences in both the styling and layouts. The images here show pre and mid construction phases on the Morrison Corridor home which features gloss black finishes for the window framing and doors as well as a large, stately vehicle concourse.

The clientèle for these homes is undoubtedly the upper echelon individuals of society. The construction phase of the home featured below is for the CEO of a famous Canadian beverage company. As much as I love the new contemporary homes which are finally starting to sprout up in our locales, Ferris Rafauli has managed to keep a classical form, but has modernized it. The palatial, Victorian inspired villas which everyone has seen around Beverly Hills and The Bridle Path are personally not my cup of tea. These cleaned up, modernized interpretations however are much more fitting. This is just my personal opinion and viewpoint.

Below is a series of images depicting the transformational construction process of another Ferris Rafauli crown jewel. As you may have also noticed, the size of these homes has gradually increased. Oakville and Burlington have been blessed with stately lot sizes allowing grand construction projects and quite a versatile canvas for designing these behemoths. Ferris Rafauli has always designed both the interior, exterior and landscaping of the homes. Over the years custom furniture was added to the mix as well. The materials and finishes used are as luxurious as the appearance of the homes might hint at. Zebra woods, fine leathers, marble, Caesarstone, the options are limited as your imagination. Interestingly one of the latest grand projects is something completely different.

The Randall Residences are a Parisian inspired condominium development situated in Downtown Oakville. Ferris Rafauli was appointed within the team to handle the interior designs, and they are in tune with what you would expect from one of his grand estates. The format is new and unique being a smaller condominium space, however the elegance and grandeur are just as ubiquitous.

Here’s the kicker, all of this success and achievement has been attained at an early age, Ferris Rafauli as of the writing of this article is still under the age of 40. This further validates the point that passion and true commitment for your craft yields exceedingly substantial and spectacular results. As the level of grandeur and wealth increases within our communities the need for large scale homes has risen. Hats off to Ferris Rafauli for maintaining originality in this mainly washed out environment. I must admit, recently, unique, and daring designs have started appearing which leaves me with hope for our neighbourhoods. This profile is meant to give insight and some background to those who may have driven past some of these “palaces” and wondered what the story is. It is also intended to show appreciation for those individuals who are continuing to push the boundaries and forge a world class collection of homes right here in our backyard. Anyone who is familiar with the Vancouver high end market has seen the brilliance in design out there, why can’t we have that here? Slowly however architects are starting to put together unique projects. Below is an image of one of Ferris Rafauli‘s recent and largest developments located in Mississauga topping off at around 40,000 square feet! To view more information and pictures of interiors/furniture visit Ferris Rafauli’s official website.