Isotope

This building was constructed in the 1970’s for a young family of skiers and underwent several additions and alterations over the years.

By 2019, the building needed upgrades and modernization. Because the building is on a condominium where the building is privately owned but the land is a condominium, the footprint could not be changed.

The original idea was to partially reconstruct and renovate the existing structure, but the team determined that a complete reconstruction from the foundation up was required. The design solution opened up the spaces and included larger windows and a different roof configuration to allow for more spacious sleeping areas. The basement was redesigned to house a ski storage/mudroom along with boot warmers and coat hooks to accommodate all of the ski equipment. A new games room and bedrooms were also added in the basement with walkouts. The main level included was reconfigured to house a well-defined dining area and great room.

This project involved the replacement of a small unwinterized cabin on Bass Lake, one of the smaller lakes in Muskoka.

The project had a modest program on 1,600 square feet and three bedrooms with a large open concept living, dining and kitchen area. Cost was top of mind for the owners, so an efficient floor plan with minimal circulation was required. A large deck overlooks the lake.

Due to the site sloping toward the lake, the basement was able to be configured with a walkout patio, allowing more space downstairs for a recreation area, laundry, mechanical and an extra bedroom. The building is insulated to modern standards with an efficient heating system for low operating costs. Exterior materials include pre-stained wood siding, asphalt roof and cedar soffits.

This house, located in a remote part of Haliburton, is built into the site which slopes toward the lake.

The long narrow design of the footprint allows most principal rooms a view of the lake while integrating the building into the hillside without creating an extremely high building on the lake side. In contrast, the games room and entertainment area are designed to be more enclosed, to create a more “cocooned” atmosphere as opposed to the open daylit spaces on the view side. The design integrates the interior and exterior using floor to ceiling and wall to wall glass, opening clerestorey windows and by making indoor materials continuous with outdoor materials. Lighting is integrated into the Douglas fir ceiling rafters, and the cadence and pattern rafters of the spacing results in an animated ceiling reminiscent of the tree canopy.

One feels as if they are part of the outside, sheltered between “pavilions” under one roof. The entrance procession leads guests passed light wells broken up by two-storey forms that restrain the interior corridor from the exterior window, allowing sky views from the lower level. These forms serve programmatic function while physically bringing the materiality of the exterior inside and spatially linking the differing grades on either side of the building. These objects march beyond the threshold of the front door revealing a two-storey wood cube at its conclusion. Entering the insular wood cube provides a warm nook which turns inward from the mostly open floor plan. The route down the stairs between the gateway created by these formal objects will complete the journey towards the lake.

A screened porch is located strategically behind the living room fireplace as opposed to obstructing views from the great room, and commands views to the south and west of the lake.

Located in Muskoka, Ontario, the Bridge House overlooks the south end of Lake Joseph, one of three large lakes in the region.

The house is located on a rock outcrop overlooking the lake and the boathouse, and breaks the mould of faux-traditional architecture typical of the region.

The building is L-shaped in plan, with the main living space and master bedroom wing separated from the guest bedroom wing by an elevated screened porch. The plan of the main living wing was developed to create circulation along either side of the plan to maximize openness, views, and transparency.

The L-Shaped floor plan hugs the curved crest of the hill. The building emerges from the rock face defining an edge and creating a gateway, an arrival from the water that emphasizes the boundary between the hectic city environment and the serenity of the lakeside location. The screened porch forms a “Bridge” which spans the space between the two wings, creating a threshold between the driveway and the lake. The building appears to be a part of its site, merging with the rock overlooking the lake.

Following the contours of the site, the plan encloses a courtyard on the entry side. From this viewpoint the entry side is relatively opaque, in order that the occupants may focus on the lake, and not the cars, the road, and the city they left behind.

The design is a metaphor of a series of cabins in the woods connected by a common roof with outdoor spaces in between. On arrival, one crosses a threshold and enters between two of the cabins into a large open public space which has a seamless connection to the outdoors, giving the viewer the sense that they are under a large indoor/outdoor pavilion. This pavilion houses the living, dining and kitchen areas. A secondary corridor at the rear accommodates a pantry room and a small work station, overlooking the courtyard. The clerestory windows above the main living space contribute to the outdoor ambience and when open will provide a natural ventilation system using the stack effect.

A corner bay creates a kind of inglenook along the fireplace wall to house either a games area or simply seating to allow the occupants to sit and gaze at the lake. Windows are floor to ceiling, wall to wall which provides the maximum daylight and minimum glare while maximizing views to the outdoors. Most areas of the house have daylight from multiple directions, again minimizing glare and avoiding the need for electric light in the daytime. Exterior soffits continue inside through the exterior glazing to create valances, further blurring the line between indoors and outdoors, and creating even daylighting.

A three-sided screened porch is located at the west end of the house off the kitchen and is connected to the lake through a deck. The three sides allow for a cross breeze off the lake, and its location at one end of the house allows for unobstructed views to the lake from the main living spaces.

The L-shaped floor plan not only wraps the courtyard, but also follows the site contours to integrate the house into the landscape. The east wing of the ‘L’ houses the bedrooms and allows each bedroom a view of the lake. The connecting corridor houses storage areas, a powder room and the laundry room with a view at the end of the hall. This walkway acts as a connection to the bedrooms but is designed as negative space—that is it almost feels like the bedrooms are cabins connected by an outdoor covered passageway. This also maximizes one’s connection to the outdoors while providing daylight and views to a space that might otherwise simply be considered a mundane corridor.