In renovating a house from the 1920’s in Toronto for a young family, uoai studio structured the new living spaces with crisp bold gestures interspersed with moments of material and textural richness.   A continuous wall of white millwork runs the full length of the house unifying the ground floor level while providing plenty of storage. This armature is activated with successive materially and spatially varied vignettes identifying areas for living, cooking and dining.  

A wood lined dining niche nestles into the large front window.  At the centre, the kitchen is separated into “water” and “fire” zones. The washing area is anchored by a tiled and marble topped island offsetting the severity of the black steel and slate of the cooking area.  

The four levels of the house are connected by a continuous band of oscillating slats weaving from bottom to top of the house along the stairs.  The upper most level is dedicated to the seclusion of the master suite.  Spatial inter-connections are created around the private staircase leading from an upper level family room to the suite in a precarious balance of retreat and daring exposure.