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La Cadrée Perchée by L’Empreinte Design Architecture showcases how architecture and nature can combine to revitalize, balance, and restore its residents’ well-being.
If you’re a regular on Toronto’s Ossington strip, you might’ve noticed a shiny new storefront on the vibrant thoroughfare: ECCO’s new flagship store. The Ossington concept store reflects the Danish leather-goods label’s new direction, complete with a slick design by Toronto architects Ron Noble and Arthur Goldstein.
On a 250,000-square-foot plot of forested land sits a house that marries nostalgia and kinship with modern design. The Apple Tree House by ACDF Architecture, a peaceful oasis in the heart of Quebec’s Lanaudière region, is a single-storey home that encourages human connection with both each other and nature.
In Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood, Thomas Balaban Architecte gave new life to a 1910 carriage home by virtue of a small floating extension. The expansion proved a difficult undertaking due to the neighbourhood’s architectural preservation rules, which restricted the building’s height. TBA’s challenge was to also figure out how to expand the home without stripping it of its character and limiting its already minute outdoor space.
Ron Thom’s Case House, perched on the bluffs above West Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay, was originally built for naval architect Dennis Case and his wife, Adele. The house reflects Case’s love for the sea combined with Thom’s midcentury aesthetic, specifically his use of a hexagonal, multidimensional floor plan. Now being marketed as the Geometric House by the West Coast Modern real estate agency, Thom’s genius is up for grabs.
On Hornby Island sit two cabins designed to recede into the lush landscape. The newly built Hornby Cabins by Leckie Studio feel as if they are woven into their environment rather than imposing upon it. Enveloped in cedars and prehistoric ferns, the cabins were built on a ridge just above the rocky shore, leaving the coastline undisturbed.
1255 project by Omar Gandhi Architect reimagines the concept of the traditional family home. Situated on property just north of Lake Ontario in the Greater Toronto Area, the home uses the surrounding topography to create a stronger connection to nature—something the clients were keen to integrate into their home. The environment in which this home resides feels far removed from suburbia; instead, it is reminiscent of a cottage retreat.
The best Canadian residential architecture from our Home of the Week series, according to our readers.
The 9,500-square-foot structure features the juxtaposition of concrete and wood, improbable forms, and generous glazing, resulting in a sculptural residence that still complements the dense foliage of its surroundings.
