ArchShowcase Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Creemore Farm in Toronto, Canada by PLANT Architect designed using VectorworksAugust 3rd, 2011 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: PLANT Architect The Creemore Farm is a renovation and extension to a turn of the century farmhouse north of Toronto near Creemore, Ontario. The project involved the removal of an existing addition and the creation of an entirely new, two-storey tower form built on, and cantilevering off of the existing foundations.
The site overlooks a range of rolling hills and farmland with expansive views of farms and barns to the South and East. The new 85m2 addition reorients the house toward the view, presenting tall panoramic corner windows in the sitting area at the ground floor, and the master bedroom at the second floor, both framing the vista to the Southeast. The deck extends this interior space to the exterior and overlooks the pond below. The tower addition allows for increased ceiling heights and a more generous volume of space over the small existing footprint – it stands tall, taking in the valley and sky. Next to the existing historic farmhouse form, the simple tower form has a contemporary expression, yet mirrors the sense of stark simplicity of the traditional farmhouse, and the traditional barn and silo relationship. Program: The 85m2 wood frame addition to this weekend house comprises a vestibule, powder room, kitchen, storage and sitting area at the ground floor and is connected by a new stair to the new second floor master bedroom suite and original bedrooms. The owner was looking to rethink the house for retirement on a frugal budget. The project proposes a total reconsideration of the house orientation, proportion and form within a new tiny and efficient floor plate to create a lofty, light space that uses its relationship to the landscape to make it feel far larger than it is. To preserve funds, the new floor plate was founded on the existing foundation of the previous addition, though slightly overhanging it, to free it from the original form that had ignored the view. The illusion of space would be made not by increasing square footage, but instead by the room and window heights, and the orientation to the sloping land of the valley, thus making the space feel even taller and generous. The historic farmhouse needed a new weather envelope, and a face-lift – it had been badly clad in brick. The existing farmhouse and new addition were reconceived in a light material that instead would be lofty against the sky. A tapestry of grey/blue horizontal and vertical siding provide texture and differentiation of the contrasting building volumes, while still marrying them together as a whole. The exterior sunshades ensure the interior space is open to the landscape, but not blinding. The interior form is simple, with the changing seasonal landscape as primary decoration framed and accented with bamboo millwork and dark offcut-hardwood flooring. Categories: Farm House, Vectorworks |