Designing with light

Located in Toronto’s Roncesvalles Village neighbourhood this house was conceived as an urban home that places a bold emphasis on natural materials, sustainable design and contemporary living. The home was constructed on the site of an existing home typical of Toronto’s older neighbourhoods and just steps from Roncesvalles. While renovation was considered, rebuilding was the most cost effective way to achieve the project goals to a create free flowing open concept design with natural daylighting, passive ventilation and a high performance building envelope.

This design implements a passive solar design strategy that takes advantage of the sun’s daily passage and the movement of air in different seasons. In summer, the overhangs limit heat gain to the south facing rooms, while operable windows are orientated at the north and south ends of the building to take advantage of natural ventilation through large operable patio doors. Two main vertical cavities (above the dining table and above the stair) are also used to bring light into the middle of the house year round and in the summer to naturally ventilate the spaces utilizing the stack effect to vent hot, stale air above and draw cool, fresh air in through operable skylights. In winter the sun is able to penetrate the building and heats up the concrete flooring to take advantage of its thermal mass while highly efficient radiant in-floor heating and a wood burning fireplace are used to heat the house. The heat in summer and the cool in winter are kept out through a highly efficient envelope with walls of R-30, roof of R-40 and ICF Foundations. These passive strategies reduce energy loads and augment comfort to minimize the demand on the mechanical system are minimized. The use of energy efficient appliances and LED and compact fluorescent are used to minimize the electrical loads.

Brick is first used to ground the building in place as a denser material that harmonizes with the existing character of the street, while the lighter wood introduces a new material that wraps the front entry and extends upwards to envelop the bedroom on the second floor. Cedar is selected as the main cladding material as it naturally creates a warm and inviting entrance to the house that is also durable and long lasting. Though the interior spaces are kept crisp and clean, wood is used for the stairs and millwork to provide a richness and warmth in its contemporary design. Wood is also used throughout to support the structure and its workability and versatility makes it easily compatible with other structural systems.

Green roof systems help mitigate stormwater runoff, landscaping is designed to require minimal irrigation and rainwater collected for reuse. Water conservation is considered in the selection of efficient plumbing fixtures.

Sustainability Features

• Program and Spatial Optimization
• Passive Solar Heating
• Natural Ventilation and Passive Cooling
• Natural Daylighting
• High Performance Envelope Design
• Renewable Materials and Finishes
• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and Non-toxic Materials and Finishes
• Radiant Heating
• Heat Recovery Ventilation
• On Demand Hot Water Systems
• Wastewater Heat Recovery
• Rainwater Collection and Reuse
• Low Energy Lighting & Appliances
• Water Conserving Appliances & Fixtures
• Green Roof Systems