The Double Duplex was created in response to the cities growing need for alternative housing models due to the rising cost of urban real estate and the need for urban densification within Toronto’s established residential neighbourhoods. A proliferation of high and mid-rise condo’s have densified the urban core and serve as the predominant model for entry level home ownership within the city. However, very few new low rise infill models of densification or affordable living within Toronto’s sought after historic residential neighbourhoods have been developed.
“Bilateral house is characterized by its two unique façades. The main façade is heritage while the rear is distinctly modern. At first glance, each side appears to be different, however upon a closer look you begin to understand how they are related,” says Gianpiero Pugliese, Principal of Audax.
The homeowners of Bilateral House are a married couple with three girls. They purchased a lot with a 116-year-old Period Revival home in a mature picturesque neighbourhood in the city. As avid collectors of contemporary art and vintage furniture, they wanted to build a modern gallery-inspired home with high ceilings to display their collections artfully. However shortly after purchasing their property, the house was designated as Heritage and could not be demolished.
Toronto-based development company baukultur/ca just recently completed the transformation of a 110-year-old house into a contemporary, highly sustainable home and, even though strictly modern, its exterior complements the traditional Beaches neighbourhood.
The four level residence is one of the few houses in Toronto designed to minimize the carbon footprint, and its specific use of materials and finishes reduces future maintenance as well as supports the sustainable approach even further. Even though it is built to sell in a market just about to become aware of sustainability and its benefits for both the city as well as the homeowner, baukultur/ca took the opportunity and, at the same time, the risk to construct a home that not only enhance the immediate environment but also would establish new standards in design and energy efficient green building.
[Misfit]fit is a new six-storey, 32,000 square foot boutique office building situated on a small vacant site in Toronto’s Liberty Village. Seeking to build upon the rich lineage of Toronto’s precast concrete history, the proposal provides an alternative to the pervasive glass curtain wall project. The building’s program is comprised of four floors of flexible office space, retail at grade, and a rooftop sculpture garden/ event space.
The Junction Shadow House is a semi-detached residential dwelling that began as a mirror-image of its attached neighbour. Early in the design process, it became evident that the previous additions (front room over the porch, rear Mud Room) were structurally compromised and threatening to destabilize the original masonry structure. As a result, they were demolished, leaving the shell of the original house to work with, in the shadow of its longer neighbour. Natural light was not available from all sides, so the design focused on maximizing the light penetrating from the south, as well as moving it through the house as much as possible. The interiors are a bright white colour and the spaces are visually interconnected on all levels through a feature staircase, creating views and plays with shadows on all levels.
When VICE Media — the world’s preeminent youth media company— needed a new Toronto bureau — having expanded from 50 to over 150 people in over a year— they engaged DesignAgency because the two companies share a common core: both are cross disciplinary, collaborative and creative. VICE asked for a space that reflects their strong brand, and exudes the youthful energy that they are famous for. Attuned to the needs of its client, DesignAgency infused a decommissioned factory with the informal, relaxed vibe of a classic cigar lounge, then stealthily layered technology, lighting and sound equipment throughout. The results are instrumental for the VICE team to produce their multi-platform content, while allowing the open-plan space to play triple duty as a day-to-day working environment, a film and recording set and a showpiece that speaks to the personality and values of the company.
328 Euclid Avenue is an urban infill site in downtown Toronto. Dean Goodman and Janna Levitt designed the house for their own use on a standard 20 foot wide downtown lot. Their intention was to build a small house of approximately 1,550 sq. ft., which would use a pragmatic approach to green building practices. It is two storeys high plus a basement, and utilizes all of this space to maintain a small footprint on the lot. The layout anticipates the changing needs of a family with teenagers and how the house may evolve over time as the children grow up and leave home. Modest in size, the main floor has an open floor plan of approximately 16’ x 55’ with large sliding doors at the front and back. This, coupled with a 12 foot ceiling height, contributes to the feeling of a generous interior larger than its actual size. Large windows allow for excellent natural light throughout the entire house and provide a sense of space, helping to moderate the long dark Toronto winter.
The parents of a close-knit, multi-generational family wanted a quiet and easily maintained urban retreat as a comfortable place for their family to enjoy a variety of experiences, alone or together, particularly outdoors. They were also extremely interested in land stewardship. In response, LGA Architectural Partners master planned the family’s existing home into an unusual and holistic environment that exemplifies a new form of luxury: a non-material and restorative environment that is designed to foster connections with both family and nature. In an affluent area of Toronto and on the bank of a tributary of the Don River, the property is unique, a blurring of indoor and outdoor spaces that engage the family with their setting while also fostering biodiversity and wellness.
On a street of historic, working-class cottages in Toronto’s west end, adjacent to a railway line and a supermarket parking lot, a vacant auto-body shop may have seemed like an unlikely impetus for a residence with a domestic character. The clients—Debbie Adams, a graphic designer, and Peter Fleming, a furniture designer/craftsman—had a limited budget but considerable talent and resources. Working with Levitt Goodman Architects, the project became a laboratory for artistic collaboration and experimentation. Over several years they have transformed the industrial site into an artful urban oasis.
Multidisciplinary design studio +tongtong recently completed a renovation and addition to a traditional Victorian house in Toronto. The house was transformed into an open and bright modern home through a series of strategic moves and incisions.
The specifications were to build a modern family home that expands the area of livable space while remaining true to the vernacular of the neighborhood. This challenge was met with an emphasis on natural materials and light. Inspired by rural living and the original build date of the home, industrial materials accentuate re-imagined architectural qualities in an unmistakable contemporary space.
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