The home is set 250ft back from the street, accessible via a long winding driveway and situated along the upper edge of the ravine offering views down onto Lornewood Creek below. A primary objective was the clients wish that the renovated home build upon the existing homes structural and aesthetic ‘good bones’. A key challenge was existing local conservation authority guidelines that prevented any expansion of the building footprint on three side of the dwelling (rear and two sides). Commissioned as a ‘forever’ home for a local couple, a key priority was to design a space that was comfortable and intimate for the family yet flexible and inviting for entertaining of guests.

The vision was to transform a low-slung, inward looking, dark space into a welcoming light filled modern home with a high-quality interior environment. The existing ground floor plan worked well for the new homeowners requiring only minor adjustments. The existing bedroom wing containing three bedrooms and one washroom was reconfigured to accommodate two bedrooms and two ensuite bathrooms. The existing stair was relocated away from the kitchen area and now sits directly in line with the front entry offering a view onto the ravine below.

The new stair is host to a 140 sq.ft green wall extending from the stair landing up to the ceiling. At the bottom of the stair, a freshwater pond was installed to actively feed the green wall with a discreet drip irrigation system. This green wall not only compliments the adjacent natural environment but also enhances indoor air quality throughout for all occupants. In place of the existing stair, we created a small pantry adjacent the kitchen area. The location of the kitchen, dining and living area remained essentially unchanged.

Walls separating these spaces were removed, the fireplace relocated and the kitchen reoriented to face the new open area. We removed the entire roof area and replaced previously low ceilings with new ceilings of varying heights. The existing primary bedroom positioned away from the other bedrooms, was located adjacent the living room with entry to the room in close proximity to the mudroom area. We appreciated the relative isolation of the primary bedroom and decided to relocate the entry to the room towards the ravine, tucked discreetly around the corner from the living room fireplace.

The desire for a larger ensuite and dressing area together with the need for greater separation between the primary bedroom and garage, lead to the decision to pull the garage forward for additional square footage and create a new buffer space to house these expanded areas. Opposite the ensuite and dressing area, this buffer space contains a powder room and folded plate stair that climbs up to a rooftop deck located above the primary bedroom. At the lower level, much of the original space planning remained with the exception of the indoor pool room.

The pool was removed and portions of the exterior walls were demolished. The space was divided in two with 1/3 made into an indoor fitness room and remaining 2/3’s becoming a covered outdoor amenity space with hot tub overlooking the ravine. A careful assessment of the existing dwellings spatial configuration combined with diligent adherence to the homeowner’s specific needs allowed the team to propose a thoughtful transformation and reimagined feel to the home with only moderate interior changes throughout.

The restrictive conservation measures surrounding development on site forced the team to re-evaluate our assumptions on outdoor amenity spaces. No ground plane additions were permitted on three sides of the dwelling as well, no horizontal projections beyond the building envelope were allowed into the ravine with the only exception being a modest allowance for roof projections. Our initial ideas of decks, patios, balconies etc required a re-think, therefore a decision was made to attempt to position these amenities within the building footprint where possible.

Careful space planning created pockets of outdoor space on all levels. Walls were removed in a dark, climate-controlled pool room, transforming this space into a 4 season, serene patio perched just above the forest floor. A primary bedroom with only the essentials in terms of furniture provided an opportunity to carve out a small portion and effectively creating a negative corner in the room, allowing for a small private balcony offering views across the ravine. Extending the dwellings roofline beyond the double storey space, yet still fully within the building footprint, provided the opportunity to create a treehouse like space above the primary bedroom area.

Varying roof heights along the front façade offers some privacy to this rooftop deck from street side onlookers while a generous open rear elevation provides views across the treetops. Another key aspect to this design arose from the homeowner’s interest in hosting informal social gatherings at the front of the house. This request also offered an opportunity to re evaluate the path leading to the front door from the driveway area. The team settled on creating a courtyard using the dwelling and ravine as its outer boundaries, while the surrounding tree canopy would act as its natural terminus above.

Defining the outer edge of the courtyard is an elevated boardwalk with long ribbon-like roof of matching dimension. The slightly elevated boardwalk served two purposes. First, it helped create a defined activity boundary for the inner courtyard that was further delineated through the use of different surface materials; a fine, compacted pea gravel for the courtyard and a natural wood plank for the boardwalk. Second, due to the constant changing grade leading to the front door and all around the perimeter of the house, the team decided for the boardwalk, to rest galvanized steel beams onto helical piles in order to avoid disturbing the natural topography.

The boardwalk, sitting just above the natural grade and cantilevered beyond the edge of the adjacent top of slope, provides a level pedestrian path to the entry of the home and offers a dramatic viewing platform into the ravine below. Lastly, the desire to build upon the home’s existing ‘good bones’ extended also into the use of exterior cladding materials. The team carefully collected and cleaned brick from portions of demolished walls with the goal of reusing the masonry and minimizing waste. A design goal of keeping the material palette on the interior and exterior as simple and consistent as possible lead to the decision to bring the reclaimed brick together with new shou sugi ban charred cedar siding into the home effectively blurring the lines between program spaces inside and out.