An Entrance That Redefines the Rules

Stepping into the new Relative Floors + Walls showroom is not like walking through a three-dimensional catalog. It’s an immersive experience, a contemporary labyrinth deliberately designed to disorient — awakening a deeper, layered, and sensory perception of materials.
From the entrance, marked by a mauve-colored colonnade in pigmented lime plaster, it’s immediately clear: the boundary between retail space and gallery has been intentionally erased.

“Having a space that felt out of place was the only way to stimulate our cognitive awareness,” says CEO Tyler Greenberg.

Where Materials Lead the Way

There are no signs, no arrows — only materiality asserting itself. Porous surfaces alternate with glossy slabs, light shifts through thresholds, secret alcoves and unexpected curves appear. One might run their hand across a plank of Sumo, a three-layer engineered wood with deep, tactile grain, or walk across a slab of Pigmento Consolare, with its softened edges and textured surface that evokes the feel of aged, timeworn stone.

Every “wrong turn” becomes a discovery.

The Heart of the Journey: Matter and Sculpture

At the center, a monolithic terracotta sculpture invites stillness. It’s here that the Relative method truly unfolds: slow down, observe, touch, get lost — to find a more personal thread.
“The showroom doesn’t explain. It provokes.” says CEO Tyler Greenberg.

The Material Rooms

Surrounding the core are a series of themed rooms, each with its own atmosphere. One is clad in floral panels by Giocabazzi, another offers large-scale testing tables for real-world application.

On display are the surface collections that have made Relative a reference point across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and beyond. These include Terra, a colored-body ceramic reminiscent of Matera, handcrafted using pigmented refractory clays; Laguna, produced with aqueous glazes that mirror the shifting light of the Venetian lagoon;

Pigmento Compact, with dense, deeply pigmented surfaces ideal for contemporary continuous installations; Spezie, a modern terrazzo blending warm, sandy-toned marble fragments; and Chico, a slim herringbone inspired by European urban pavements, perfect for dynamic pattern work.

Wood surfaces like Flyt and Premium Wide Plank offer natural tones, matte finishes, and large formats (up to 25 feet), designed for wide, architecturally ambitious interiors.

The Gallery

In the Exhibition Gallery, the pace slows. This space showcases rare collections like Recycled Stone and Xero — a PVC-free flooring made with CERAMIN, a recyclable, non-toxic material produced in Germany.

Mounted on slim frames, the surfaces appear to float, elevating imperfections, seams, and tonal variations.

“Peculiar. Provocative. Profane.”
These are the words Tyler uses to describe the showroom. It’s not a neutral zone, but a creative pressure space — where every choice begins with a question.

A Bridge Between Toronto and the World

The Toronto showroom is more than just a local hub — it’s an international connector. From this location, Relative works closely with clients and firms in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, and Chicago. Designers and architects from these cities often visit to experience materials firsthand, test samples, and collaborate on bespoke projects.

Collaboration is at the core of Relative’s ethos. The studio partners with renowned firms like SHoP Architects, DS+R, Gensler, BIG, Norman Foster, DesignAgency, +tongtong, Moriyama Teshima, KPMB, and many others — all of whom share a vision of pushing the boundaries of material and architectural excellence.

Where Experience Becomes Awareness

Every element in the showroom is crafted to merge intuition and technical knowledge. There are digital workstations for real-time simulations, a material library for chromatic exploration, and neutral lighting to allow precise evaluation.

This space doesn’t offer ready-made answers — it asks the right questions.

Slowing Down to Choose Better

In a market increasingly driven by speed, Relative proposes a radical alternative: slowness as a tool for awareness. This isn’t about simply picking a surface, but about understanding what a project truly needs.

Like a carefully designed labyrinth, the showroom may cause you to lose your bearings — but only to help you find a more authentic and personal direction.