House-introvert in Toronto

Peter Tan (Peter Tan) and Christine Ho Ping Kong (Christine Ho Ping Kong) met at the University of Toronto. Both have moved here as children: Ho Ping Kong – from Jamaica, and a native of Cambodia Teng – from Hanover (Ontario). After graduation, the young couple has traveled half the world, in which identified common architectural preference: homes with open, sunny courtyards, seen them in Spain, Mexico and the Indian province of Rajasthan.

This is the house and was designed exclusively to live together upon returning to Toronto in 2001. The choice fell on a former wholesale store – two-story building of concrete blocks with a storage yard in the middle. The construction is perfectly suited to young architects: it did not have to pay for lots of things that would not have come in handy, and they could safely proceed to implement all of their most crazy ideas.

For a typical combination of Toronto’s skyscrapers, entire blocks of private houses with a bit of land and standard prefabricated houses. Minimalist facades often hide behind them bright modern interiors, monotonous, gray streets and alleys – self-contained, beautifully manicured courtyards. Since the late 1980′s some of the most innovative urban architects have found areas in the backwaters of small neighborhoods, trying in this way the forces on the construction of comfortable housing in a rather unfavorable (in many ways) conditions. In the new house, completely separated from the street where all the windows looking inside, Peter and Christine had to use the creative resources to the maximum.

Outside can be seen not so much: most of the walls of the warehouse is preserved, stripped the facade is cut by a gateway, a courtyard tucked away safely behind concrete blocks, reminiscent of the ramparts. Teng said that initially most of the neighbors did not understand that the building was turned into a house, even after their family moved into place.

The house unfolds in all its splendor and friendly, as soon as the visitor crosses the threshold of the outer gate. The first floor of the breadth ten feet out on the spacious patio, decorated with natural stones and a beautiful Japanese maple. On the open ground floor housed offices of family architectural company Studio Junction Inc, the first draft which became the house, as well as kitchen, dining room and living room. Panoramic sliding walls of living in a cedar frame, without requiring a large space for the opening, however, provide a wide passage into the yard. Here it was decided to make a small workshop, which creates architectural models young studio.

To allow sunlight to penetrate freely into the room the second floor, Peter and Christine have decided to open its part in bringing on the facade appeared U-shaped cut – the second patio overlooking the windows of his bathroom and laundry, as well as the adjacent bedroom. Most of the walls paneled in mahogany, fir, or teak, soft glow which gives the interior is warm and extraordinary comfort. All the woodwork was done by Peter, one of the main character traits which is attention to detail and thoroughness in any kind of activity.

The house is connected various architectural influences: the windows in cedar frames and built-in furniture appeared under the sign of creativity idol of our couples – American artist Luis Israel Kahn (Louis Israel Kahn), while in other elements of the Tan has mobilized techniques of traditional Japanese joinery, the motives of the Victorian era and the California modernism.

Over the five years that architects have created a house, they had two children, which could not make adjustments to the initial draft of their homes. Bed in the master bedroom is located in front of three doors, screens, behind which lurk cribs. With flexible walls are formed or more spaces, or common open space for children. The second sliding wall system will be installed when the children dorastut up their own separate rooms.