Fall 2006
Tucker Design Award:
The limestone, from Owen Sound Ledgerock, of Ontario, Canada, is type 3 dolomite in a honed finish.
Photograph © Steven Evans
By M.W. Penn
PROJECT TEAM
Designer:
Hariri Pontarini Architects, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Stone supplier:
Owen Sound Ledgerock Ltd., Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
Stone installer:
Mario Rotundo Stone & Masonry Inc., Concord, Ontario
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Taking its inspiration from the owners' collection of glass art, this hybrid of home, private spa and art gallery explores qualities of transparency, water and light. The 12,700-square-foot interior was conceived to indulge the clients' passions, showcasing a vibrant collection of art and furniture and establishing a private setting for health and wellness. The exterior, in both its massing and its construction materials, was designed to integrate with the surrounding natural landscape. Throughout all its spaces, this very personal home blurs the boundaries between interior and exterior, building and nature, richness and simplicity, tradition and innovation.
Situated in a Toronto suburb, in an area where ranch style bungalows are being replaced by pastiche European palaces with their accompanying ornamental gardens, this house is unusual in its modernist sensibility and its sensitivity to the existing landscape. The surrounding property can be described as a two-acre room enclosed in natural walls formed by an encompassing line of tall fir trees. Couched in the center of the property, the two-story house sits lightly in the landscape. It is designed to take advantage of views of large trees that had already existed on the site. The home's L-form delineates an otherwise broad property into three exterior sectors while preserving transparency from one sector to the other.
Living quarters are at the heart of the plan, relegating the non-domestic programs of art gallery and health spa to each wing; the configuration met the challenge of achieving domestic intimacy as well as providing a private sanctum for wellness and a showcase for art. The dwelling's lower level is almost entirely transparent, holding the least private components of the building, while the top layer is almost opaque, embracing and sheltering its most secluded rooms.
The external treatment of the house explores a language of natural materials: Algonquin and Wiarton limestone, copper detailing and awnings, rift-cut oak and teak windows.
Photograph © Steven Evans
The external treatment of the house explores a finely honed language of natural materials. Algonquin and Wiarton limestone, copper detailing and awnings, rift-cut oak and teak windows, all dramatically couched beside cascading fountains filled with river rocks and plant life, combine to impart a sense of permanence, nature and timelessness. The limestone is from Owen Sound Ledgerock of Ontario, Canada, a product of their Wiarton, Ontario, quarry. Type 3 dolomite, the stone can achieve a high polish, but is more consistent in the honed finish used here.
The Algonquin limestone panels were all mechanically fastened using engineered stainless steel anchors. The Wiarton rock-faced limestone was installed in continuous course heights. This installation created a linear appearance, understating the vertical joints and highlighting the horizontal joints. Each stone unit was trimmed to match the adjacent piece in form and shape to give the impression that each horizontal course was continuous. Stunning shadow lines were created by larger but recessed horizontal mortar joints. The overall color of the building is derived from the tones of the Algonquin stone — deep taupe to brown with added highlights of gray Wiarton from the same quarry.
The interior is full of unexpected surprises. Essentially one room wide, the home is almost void of doors and circulation areas. This configuration enables expansive views from one space to another, from the interior to the exterior, back in and then out again.
The overall color of the building is derived from the tones of the Algonquin stone, deep taupe to brown with added highlights of gray Wiarton from the same quarry.
Photograph © Steven Evans
Spanning two floors, the art gallery is charged with diffused light from clerestory windows and skylights to simultaneously illuminate and protect the art within. A prominent circular staircase adds a sculptural dimension to the wing as it rises to the roofline.
The spa zone, which includes a fitness area, sauna, steam shower, swimming pool and whirlpool, is framed by limestone decking that forms a bridge between the interior and exterior water pools. On the interior, water cascades from the fitness mezzanine into the swimming pool, and on the exterior it falls from one level of fountain into another, bringing tranquility and sound into all areas of the house. The sense of water is carried further with organically undulating ceilings over the art gallery and pool, suspending like heavy drops of liquid and scooping light in waves overhead.
Throughout the entire home, light is filtered in radiant veils from multiple angles through windows, skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows. Caught on a consistent backdrop of white plaster, limestone from Rossi, France, and walnut flooring, the light ignites the house with a sense of floatation, movement, spirituality and joy.
The spa zone is framed by limestone decking that forms a bridge between the interior and exterior water pools.
Photograph © Steven Evans
Recently recognized as one of the "World's 12 Best New Buildings" by Artinfo.com, the residence was designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, a Toronto-based architectural firm that draws on the collective skills and expertise of 20 registered and intern architects and support staff. Partners in practice since 1994, Siamak Hariri and David Pontarini value responsive, high-quality design and a strong sense of place and materiality in architecture, and are known for producing designs that use a very open collaborative process to combine artistic spirit with a capacity for highly detailed, beautifully crafted execution. Their projects grow out of intensive research, sensitivity to site, a dedication to detail and craftsmanship, and an emphasis on enduring materials.
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