Floating Canopies

This project is a fond memory of one of the first projects where I was allowed to stretch a bit artistically.  The original 2 storey house with attached garage was nearly falling apart, and a local newspaper did a storey on it, marvelling at the selling price for what they called a ‘hovel’.  The programme was to retain the garage, while adding additional space via front and rear additions, and a third floor addition hidden in the attic so that the house would read from the street as a 2 storey dwelling.

The new front entry features a double height space that opens to the stairwell.  There is a line of sight all the way from the third floor to the entry, bringing in light and a sense of expansiveness.  A new mudroom entry is hidden behind the garage.  Formal living room was retained at the front, and dining mid-plan retained an existing side bay as a built-in buffet.  The new kitchen opens to a new family room and the back yard.  The new third floor is a multi-function space that opens to a roof deck at the back, and two large skylites in the side roof faces.  The client asked for a view of the CN tower, and the western skylite does just that.

The exterior employs a dark brick cladding and accent stone at the front entrance, chosen to evoke the client’s native Newfoundland.  Ipé hardwood clads the 2 storey bay at the front window as well as the canopies.  The upper canopy over the door sheds via a hidden downspout to the lower canopy which wraps around the front and side of the house, sloping all the way to drain in the back yard, and eliminate the need for any downspouts on the front elevation.  The lower canopy wraps around the garage, lit with potlights, guiding you to the mudroom entry beyond.  The front shed roof over the western 2/3 of the elevation dies into the hip roof beyond, hiding the fact that there is a 3rd floor space behind.  Custom bent steel members were configured to create the envelope necessary for the 3rd floor to exist.

If the author of that news storey were to revisit the site today, I daresay they would agree that it was money well spent.

Awards

OHBA Best Renovation over $500K 2015
BILD Best Renovation over $500K 2015

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