Elevating living to an art form in Toronto
Located in Toronto and designed by Urbanscape Architects, the FA2 house, is a renovation of a 1960’s side split home, completed in 2017. Designed for a creative, middle-aged couple with adult children, the house is an exercise in accommodating opposite, yet complementary personalities.
Without art on the walls, the art of the FA2 house is in the way it is lived in. Each focal element, the car, rooftop hot tub, the DJ booth doubling as a home office offers interaction, purpose, and personality. Their specific day-to-day use may be prescribed, but they open the space up to an infinite possibility of uses. The activities unfolding here ask for the full mind body and soul, be it in the shop, kitchen, or office. In combination, any number of people can be orchestrated in a dance of movements, sounds, textures, and intellects. The specificity of each activity is what makes the whole composition of both the space and the couple so unique.
The mélange of activities is organized around the central structure, a bright light well connecting the basement to the top floors. The couple remains connected and visible to each other even when participating in varied activities: one could be tuning a car and the other cooking a meal, each master of their respective domains. The husband and wife can bring entirely different aspects of their personalities to a unified whole, facilitated by the house and the way it carefully bridges the gap between dichotomic characters and spaces. The unity extends beyond the couple themselves and into the community. The house and its inhabitants are equally inviting: first time guests are given a tour of the home, friends, neighbours and passerbys voice their admiration. The open structure of the house, both internal and external, extends into how it is used, interpreted, and lived-in by occupant and neighbour.
About Urbanscape Architects: led by Ali Malek, Urbanscape architects is an up and coming Toronto-based architecture firm designing unapologetic contemporary buildings, based upon the belief that great architecture has the transformative power to shape its occupants’ lives. In its residential work, Urbanscape designs spaces that draw upon the personalities of the users, translating them into tailored spaces. Motivated by an unwavering dedication to clients, craft and manifested through intent listing of clients’ needs and wants, Ali Malek’s process allows for the deliberate exploration and maturation of his designs. In a world where delivering yesterday is never soon enough, Urbanscape stands out for its commitment to an intentional, inquisitive and creative design practice.
Material Used :
1. Facade cladding: Stucco, Prodema composite panel, Granit natural stone
2. Muti Kitchen
3. Kenwood, Pre engineer hardwood floor
4. Inline fibreglass windows
5. C-living interior glass doors
6. Euroface recess lighting
7. Smart aluminum garage door
