House on Bohemia Island
This island cottage replaces two cottages that burned down in 2012. Local zoning restricted the footprint to be no wider than the original buildings.
The design concept was to express the building as three separate buildings to break down the mass and length of the new cottage. The building features two bedroom wings at each end separated by a living room, dining room, kitchen, entrance hall and den. The cottage is naturally daylit through the use of glass walls that focus both on the lake and the island forest at rear.
LOCATION
Muskoka, Ontario
COMPLETED
2014
SIZE
6,500 ft²
SERVICES
Reconstruction
House on Monyca Island, Skeleton Bay
The L-shaped plan accommodates two full bedroom wings organized around a central great room.
The great room has glass on three sides, but the entire plan capitalizes on the exterior by having floor to ceiling glass on each elevation. Even the corridors have large picture windows which provide views into the site.
The design incorporates a renovated existing sleeping cabin which has been attached to the building adding more sleeping and washroom space for a total of eight bedrooms. The living room features a games alcove suitable for puzzles and board games while overlooking the view. An outdoor sitting area surrounds an exterior wood burning fireplace which attached to the house.
A new three slip boathouse with a 650 ft² living space above was also part of the project.
The design concept was to use the L-shaped design to capitalize on topography and views to the south and west.
LOCATION
Muskoka, Ontario
COMPLETED
2012
SIZE
7,500 ft²
SERVICES
New Construction (Cottage) & Renovation (Boathouse)
House on Torrance Bay
This five-bedroom cottage is sited to respect the existing landscape and rock outcrop.
The building wraps around the contours and the rock face forms one wall of the entrance walkway. All principal rooms and bedrooms have a lake view, with service rooms on the land side, with a walkway which serves the bedrooms but affords views into the landscape and maximizes daylight. A clerestory window spans the entire building and promotes cross ventilation and natural daylight.
LOCATION
Muskoka, Ontario
COMPLETED
2011
SIZE
4,500 ft²
SERVICES
New Construction
Dufferin Lake Residence
This property encompasses a valley created by a natural watershed, resolving itself into a small lake surrounded by steep, wooded, sheltering hills.
The environmentally sensitive site demanded a design proposal confined to a pre-existing development footprint. The design team focused on a solution that would reinforce the compositional beauty of the site through the use of natural materials and simple geometric planes, and spaces in a highly transparent configuration.
In conjunction with a new two-storey vacation home on the site, the project also included the design of a small boathouse pavilion on the lake. The richness and warmth of the wood reinforces the connection to the site as a re-interpretation of the verdant natural setting outside.
LOCATION
Caledon, Ontario
COMPLETED
2010
SIZE
8,000 ft²
SERVICES
New Construction (House) & Renovation (Boat House)
PRESS
10 offbeat plaids for new projects
Interior Design Magazine
Three stunning boathouse designs – and how you can get the look
Globe and Mail
Rock the Boat: A Canadian Boathouse by +VG Architects-The Ventin Group
Interior Design Magazine
St. Clair Avenue West Condominium
+VG worked in association with Studio AC on this new condominium development which includes 76 residential suites and two commercial suites.
The building includes common areas for gathering and entertainment, fitness and exercise room, management office, mail room, bike storage, locker room, and roof top mechanical penthouse, along with outdoor amenity space. Additional amenities include full time security, concierge and management staff on site. Designed to minimize cost and maximize profit, the building has an 86% Energy Efficiency Rating (Total Sellable Area/Total GFA). This rating excludes underground parking, loading, bike and waste storage, and indoor amenities.
The superstructure building is poured-in-place concrete load bearing walls and columns with poured concrete floor and roof slabs and integrated balconies with structural thermal blocking. The exterior cladding is comprised of Precast concrete (brick pattern), and aluminum pre-insulated sandwich panel with extruded aluminum entrances. Balcony railings are aluminum supported glass rails.
LOCATION
Toronto, Ontario
COMPLETED
In Construction
SIZE
15,425 ft² building footprint; 69,500 ft² GFA
Habitat for Humanity Housing Development
This project involved the redevelopment of an existing abandoned baseball field within an urban residential neighbourhood.
The new community-based affordable housing development has a multi-residential mix of ownership, with one, two and three bedroom units. The complex is designed to be cost-effective and durable and includes individual buildings (Blocks) of two and three storeys, each containing eight condo units for a total of 56 units.
Adjacent to a church, strip mall and residential development, the new stacked town condos take into account energy efficiency, common area green space and a degree of standardization across the property. Approximately 40% of the units are designated “Habitat” units for assignment to families in need.
Jackson Condominium Development
This Design/Build project with Vicano Construction involves a five-storey multi-residential redevelopment of an existing brownfield property in downtown Hagersville.
Adjacent to the “Rail Trail”, a church, baseball park and arena, the new condominium includes a variety of amenities such as a guest suite for visitors and a large meeting/reception room which extends to the rear patio. Residents also have access to private storage lockers and a bicycle storage room.
The building was constructed using cost-effective techniques including a completely pre-cast structure. Individual cooling controls with condensers were placed on the roof to maximize space.
Treetops Resort Condominiums at Hidden Valley
Huntsville is physically defined by its natural setting of forests, granite, and water.
The environment has shaped the development of the community and contributed to the development of a woodland and waterfront character that has commonly been described as the “Muskoka Style”. One of the primary objectives for this development is the respect of the natural environment.
The proposal development, divided in six distinct phases, consists of three-storey, stacked town-homes buildings for a total of 13 blocks and 122 units, distributed along a winding road, on the south-facing slope of a hill. The site offers a spectacular view of the lake at the bottom of the hill. Landscaping has been designed to connect the buildings with the street and assist in the direction of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The landscaping also reduces the visual impact of parking areas, loading areas, and garbage storage areas.
A recreation/utility Pavilion structure with washrooms, change room facilities, pool equipment storage, and a site servicing pump room is proposed at the core of the development, and nested within the slope of the hill.
Natural cladding materials with a warm palette of colours are used throughout.
LOCATION
Huntsville, Ontario
COMPLETED
Ongoing
SIZE
13 Blocks / 122 Units
SERVICES
New Construction
