avling
kitchen
& brewery

AVLING KITCHEN & BREWERY

A renovation of an old A&P supermarket, Avling Kitchen and Brewery draws inspiration from the “field to glass” principle of early breweries. The concept was to deliver a clean, bright inclusive space. Fields of activity are delineated by larger than life 3x6 raw wood frames, pink steel, and optic fields of lights, glazing and a custom mural. On the roof of the building is a 400 square meter vegetable and herb garden. The roof is integral to the function of the whole building and maintains a connection to the name Avling, Norwegian for harvest. The mural by Madison van Rijn reinterprets the crop fields of rural Ontario as color fields, patterning the walls with forms on the verge of recognition.

2019

Toronto, ON

Client: Avling Kitchen & Brewery

Type: Renovation, Heritage

Team: James Macgillivray, Weihan Vivian Lee, Ella den Elzen, Kiefer Savage, Ron Noble

Photography: Félix Michaud

Street scene with a white building, two large windows, a small tree, and a parked black SUV, with a utility pole and overhead wires.
Empty modern cafe with wooden tables, chairs, and bench seating by large window, decorative lighting fixtures, and a painted mural on the wall.
Interior view of a brewery with large stainless steel fermentation tanks and ductwork visible on the ceiling.
Modern restaurant interior with a circular bar, wooden chairs, colorful wall art, and industrial ceiling ductwork.
Interior of a modern cafe with wooden chairs and tables, a bar counter with a brass tap, and a colorful mural on the wall. Several people are seated and chatting.

Awards + FEATURES

Awards

2020
Frame Awards, “Avling Kitchen and Brewery” Bar of the Year Award. Selected from over 1000 international entries.

2020
Architecture MasterPrize, “Avling Kitchen and Brewery” Restoration and Renovation Award 

2019
Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Award, “Avling Brewery” honorable mention in Building Renovation, Commercial Category

Features

2020
Gerfen, Katie. “Avling Kitchen & Brewery.” Architect Magazine. Digital and Print, September,

2019
“Avling Kitchen & Brewery” Archdaily, Digial. October 15, 2019

2019
Morris, Lauren Grace. “How a bean sprout farm became fertile ground for a Toronto restaurant-brewery” Frame Magazine. Digital, October 8, 2019

2019
Grillo, Francesca. “22,000 litres of beer and a roof garden in a restaurant in Toronto” Domus Web. Digital, October 23, 2019

A man on a platform inspecting industrial brewing equipment in a brewery.
A man and woman sitting at a wooden table in a modern, industrial-style cafe, with large glass partitions showing brewing equipment in the background.
Interior of a modern restaurant or cafe with wooden tables and chairs, pendant lights, a painted mural on the wall, and a glass partition separating the dining area from the kitchen.

Executive Architect: MGBA
Structural Engineer: Blackwell
Mechanical Engineer: Spline
Contractor: BLT Construction
Mural Artist: Madison van Rijn
Lighting Consultant: CS Design
Millwork: Creativebuild

Cross-sectional illustration of a building with a rooftop garden and an underground brewery or distillery with tanks, barrels, and workers, showing different functional areas.
Urban rooftop garden with vegetable beds, greenhouse structures, and surrounding trees.
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