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Location: South Rosedale, Toronto
Project size: 2,690 square feet

Program: Roxborough House, an Edwardian-style dwelling in South Rosedale, Toronto, was recently renovated and expanded to accommodate the family of five residing in it. For architecture firm gh3*, balancing the house’s existing character—subject to Toronto’s stringent heritage conservation districts—and meeting the clients’ wish for a minimalist aesthetic, proved to be the principle design challenge.

Design Solution: The clients asked the architects to maintain the original number of bedrooms and living spaces, but to enhance spatial flow throughout the house. Gh3* achieved this by widening hallways, moving the staircase to a more central location, introducing more daylight, and utilizing full-height flush doors. A rear addition also expands the floor area of the common spaces on the ground floor, as well as the primary suite—one of five bedrooms—above it.

Photo © Nicholas Callies & Raymond Chow

Throughout Roxborough House, an emphasis on simplicity prevails—the soapstone kitchen island, the arched ante-room pantry, and the vaulted hallway leading to the primary bedroom all exhibit elemental forms and geometries. A western gallery wall on the ground floor features original leaded windows of differing datums and heights, which have been set into shaped, sculptural niches. This abstract composition is the result of relocating the staircase and recontextualizing the leftover apertures. The rear opens to an intimate garden courtyard, bookended on the far side by a garage that doubles as a studio and social space.

Additional Information
Completion date: March 2022
Site size: .086 acres
Total construction cost: Withheld
Client/Owner: Withheld

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Photos © Nicholas Callies & Raymond Chow

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Images courtesy gh3*, click to enlarge