The clients had two main requests when this project began: first, they wanted to be able to move in as soon as possible, which meant that the extended footprint had to strictly adhere to zoning by-laws in order to expedite the building permit; and second, they wanted to maximize the useful floor space - as a family with a young child, they wanted to accommodate flexibility and room for play, while still ensuring that the house felt composed and ordered.
This dichotomy became the driver for both the organization and language of the home. After maximizing the footprint and height within zoning regulations, we arrived at a simple volume which was nearly as wide as it was long – a relatively uncommon scenario in Toronto, which is typically characterized by its long, narrow lots.
To leverage these proportions, we opened up a void – almost like an extra-broad corridor – running from front to back right through the center of the first floor, with the main activities segmented into distinct rooms on either side. As one moves through this open space – beginning in the wood-clad vestibule – glimpses are framed into the various rooms, which gradually become more fluid towards the back of the house.
This axial gesture recalls more traditional layout strategies to create a highly structured home, but by loosening up the corridor’s boundaries, it simultaneously opens up more playful visual connections, offering a balance between stillness and motion.
While linear on the first floor, the void shifts to offer a more concentric movement as it extends upwards and downwards through an oversized staircase opening. Centered around a generous skylight and second-floor window on the northern wall, the staircase pours natural light through the core of the house, all the way down to the basement. Similar to the corridor of the first floor, it also acts as a device that both erodes and enforces the home’s subdivisions, with the oak guardrail transitioning between blocking and revealing views between the four levels.
Throughout the rest of the home, this exploration of structure and looseness is further augmented by the materiality and compositional language. On the interior, while simple details and forms heighten the sense of structure, a quiet, pared-back material palette allows the home as a whole to feel light and breezy. And on the exterior, the window arrangement subtly undermines a certain degree of symmetry while bands of limestone subdivide the facade, together expressing a tension between stability and movement.
Between the spatial and finish strategies, Clanton Park House attempts to strike a balance between the traditional and the contemporary, and the formal and the flexible, all while exuding an unfussy, understated elegance.
