The London Residence stretches across a generous landscape, juxtaposing elegant length with weight, light in gesture yet grounded heavily to earth.  

The residence was tailored to a young family who relocated to southwestern, Ontario for a professional opportunity.

The family’s needs existed in delicate juxtaposition: a fortress-like home shielded from the gaze of the street yet flooded with natural light;  and flowing spaces that felt intimate but could easily expand to accommodate large family gatherings, social occasions and overnight guests

Two guiding design principles emerged: a fortress-like sanctuary, protected and inward-looking from the street, and a sense of elasticity internally, allowing its spaces to adapt fluidly to the changing rhythms of family life.

___”A Fortress Sanctuary”

The studio was intentional with views in and out of the residence, keen to control sight-lines and to protect the sense of the home as a refuge.

The home presents a strong restrained facade to the street — reticent and even a bit aloof.  There appear to be minimal visible openings on this front elevation but it is deceptive. 

The home provides a strong restrained facade to the street — reticent and even a bit aloof.  Facade openings are deliberate and spare, mostly concealed from public view, as with the door and a large floor-to-ceiling window concealed by a courtyard. 

A large front courtyard, created by a high L-shaped wall, conceals the glazing while allowing light to covertly flood into the interior. 

The rear, however, opens dramatically to the landscape, providing sweeping cinematic views of the expansive ravine and the ever-changing seasons.

___”Elastic Space”

The residence is primarily scaled to the family’s day-to-day life.  Although space flows and is generally open, encouraging family interaction, it also provides more intimate areas where someone can escape for moments of privacy.

The clients are frequent hosts and wanted a scalable home which could expand for large family gatherings and visiting guests.  Socializing needed to be effortless and space to expand with ease.  Entertaining and guest areas are tucked away, largely forgotten on the edges of the residence, invisible to the day-to-day of life. 

The residence thoughtfully balances protection with openness and light, and intimate spaces with more expansive entertaining areas.