TORONTO TOWNHOUSE

The renovation of this townhouse in Toronto presented several challenges which are typical to infill residences in major urban centers. The provision of more living space and larger rooms, while at the same time maintaining the graceful flow of light and air into the dark center at the midpoint of the building’s depth. 

We responded to these challenges with an almost obsessive use of curved forms, simple cylindrical extrusions both in plan and section. The rounded edges of the walls, circular volumes of space and smaller flourishes resolved in moldings and millwork give the interior void of the stair a feeling of inexhaustible motion.

Ultimately, this curved form is taken up again in the rear facade with the use of concave scalloped forms which catch the late day raking light of the sun much the same way that the lightwell does. However the serrated, undulating facade cuts up the vortex of the interior and quiets the house’s inner turbulence into something akin to a series of ripples at rest.