Retail
Pickering, Canada | Completed 2022

Photographer: Riley Snelling

“Curating cannabis that delivers a vibe” was founder Nick Baksh’s concept for Montrose, and the starting point for the design of its first store. Centred on the relaxing, ethereal sensations associated with cannabis, the interior takes cues from the study of visual alteration, using colour intensity, geometry, and detail to shift sensory perception.

Beyond a dim, quiet vestibule, a sunset-inspired glass backdrop draws visitors into the store and anchors the interior. Its translucent, etched surface creates a hazy field of colour while framing the dispensary passthrough where orders are delivered. Against its intense ombré hue, the rest of the space remains largely monochromatic. A reflective reception desk curves through the interior, echoed overhead by a modular luminaire following the same contours, while tubular pendants and softly illuminated perimeter walls create quieter moments throughout. 

The approach references the experiments of the 1960s Light and Space movement, particularly the work of James Turrell and Larry Bell, where light and material alter perception. At Montrose, these ideas extend into an atmospheric, slightly disorienting retail experience shaped by movement through the space.